Well before I purchased my Armada I was seriously looking into buying an Escalade EXT, the power and handling was awesome but the interior was kinda crappy....and I kept hearing that an Escalade or Navigator no matter how nice they look they're still American SUV's that will break down sooner or later.
Most mechanics I spoke with said the life expectancy of an Escalade and Navigator are around 80K-90K miles before seeing MAJOR problems. Anyway I decided to go with Nissan and figured the engine will last forever, plus the truck is awesome. But this didn't stop all the board members on my Mustang forums from ragging on me and talking **** saying how can you pick a Nissan over an Escalade bla bla bla....
Well folks, today I fell in love with my Armada more and it looks like I'm getting the last laugh. My coworker has an 03-04 Escalade and didn't show up for work the other day, when I saw him this morning he said that his SUV broke down on him. Apparently the escalade runs its tranny fluid through the radiator as well, and some seal busted causing all of the tranny fluid to get sucked into the coolant and into his block. Anyway his transmission overheated and seized....his block/ lines/ heater/radiator/ other hoses are all filled with tranny fluid and need to be replaced as well. They say that the engine might not be damaged but everything else has to be replaced.....NOT only that, but they DID NOT give him a rental because they said they aren't sure if this will be covered under warranty and also charged him $180 bucks for the initial test drive and diagnosis.
So all you Armada people bitching and moaning about a squeak or rattle.....please shut the hell up and quit your crying. Nissan is busting it's ass to make us happy and fix these minor issues...plus I have never been charged any "Diagnostic fees" and have always been given a rental for anything I took my Armada in for. BTW, my friends Escalade has 40K miles on it, and the mechanics told him that they have seen this before...but don't know why or how it happens. NICE ANSWER GUYS!
PS- At least they called him yesterday and said they will cover it under warranty now....I'm amazed they were able to figure that part out!! I mean I always thought "Drivetrain" meant Engine and Transmission!!