Nissan Armada – Owner reviews?

It looks like the blitz on new cars/trucks/SUVs is going to continue, so if a guy wants something new you basically have to plan on ordering it a year in advance. I’m going to be due for a new SUV in late 2023 or early 2024 as my GMC Acadia will be hitting the 200k mark about then and it will be time to move on. Unfortunately, it sounds like that will mean ordering the SUV sometime in late 2022 to ensure delivery sometime in 2023 unless some miracle happens.

Anyway, looking at my options. Mrs. Grouse says upsizing from the Acadia is going to be necessary because by that time one or more of the boys will be approaching 6 feet tall with the other not far behind.

I’ve been a long-term GM guy, but I’m not going with a Tahoe/Yukon. I don’t like that cylinder shutdown crap and man there just seems to have been too many problems with the Tahoe/Yukon series, for the price GM is charging they just aren’t worth it. GM just isn’t putting out that good of a product these days IMO and I’m moving on.

There are not a lot of SUVs in this large but not jumbo segment. I’m talking smaller than the Suburban / Expedition, but larger than the old full-size category that includes the Acadia/Traverse/4Runner/Explorer/Grand Chero, etc.

Basically, there’s the Tahoe/Yukon, Sequoia, the full-size Bronco has a ridiculously small towing capacity so that’s out, the Durango, and then…

The one I haven’t heard a lot about is the Nissan Armada. It’s the right size, has the right power, has the right towing capacity, etc, etc. But I don’t know anyone who owns one.

Armada owners out there, give me your feedback. Good trucks? Chronic issues? Would love to hear about your experience.

We had a 2013 Armada. It had 41000 miles on it when we bought it and we put another 146000 on it. Replacing the alternator and radiator cooling fan were the 2 biggest repairs we had done on it. The passenger seat heater went out at about 150000 mi. My only complaint was it wasn’t a quiet vehicle to drive. We tried 3 different types of tires on it and the road noise was equally loud with all of them/

I’ve got a 2012 Armada. Bought with 100k miles and just pushing 180k now. I’ve replaced some power steering lines and that’s about it. Barely any rust on it even though we don’t wash it nearly enough. Pulls my boat better than my 2013 f150 (5.0). My understanding is they aren’t as plush on the inside as most of the other brands and their about 3-5 years behind on engineering but I have had so few problems with mine maybe all that extra engineering just leads to problems with the other brands. I know consumer reports always rates Nissan low, but I’ve never met anyone who’s had issues with theirs. I’ve had a few Silverados and an F150 and I can say the Armada beats them all durability wise, just with a less appealing interior, granted after 10 years now things could have changed.

We just rented a 2021 on vacation.

It was a nice ride, with a fair amount of room.

I HATED the adaptive cruise control (slows down to whatever speed the vehicle in front is going), but a lot of cars have that now as well.

The mileage sucked, and I was pretty easy on it.

Fully.com shows the newer models averaging 14-15.5 mpg real world mileage.

Not exactly impressive for a family grocery-getter, especially when considering a far more capable 3/4 ton crew cab gasser will get 12.5mpg real world.

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A coworker’s wife has the highest trim level available in one. B-Man hit it spot on.

The biggest drawback to them is that they guzzle gas. I’ve been in it a few times riding to a concert and some sporting events and they have a decent amount of room and they’ve had no issues with theirs but it’s still pretty new.

At that price point and size, I’d look into the Grand Cherokee L with the 3rd row seat. You are getting an extra foot of wheelbase over the Acadia while still doing better on mileage than a truck or the guzzling Armada. They are rated to 6200# for towing if properly equipped. We’ve seen quite a few locally pulling boats and pontoons. If you want more features, a bit more size, and have the $$$ to toss around the Wagoneers are a nice ride…but they do not give those away.

buckybadger wrote:

The biggest drawback to them is that they guzzle gas.

I have a Sequoia Platinum, and the gas mileage is my only complaint (I’m talking 13 around town, 18 on the highway, and maybe 10 towing a heavy trailer). That being said, it pulls my 5500 lb boat/trailer very well.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I’ve been a long-term GM guy, but I’m not going with a Tahoe/Yukon. I don’t like that cylinder shutdown crap and man there just seems to have been too many problems with the Tahoe/Yukon series, for the price GM is charging they just aren’t worth it. GM just isn’t putting out that good of a product these days IMO and I’m moving on.

I believe all of the 5.3 you can get it with AFM delete.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
The biggest drawback to them is that they guzzle gas.

I have a Sequoia Platinum, and the gas mileage is my only complaint (I’m talking 13 around town, 18 on the highway, and maybe 10 towing a heavy trailer). That being said, it pulls my 5500 lb boat/trailer very well.

Sequoias are very nice rides. My sister had a new armada and traded it after 20k. She did not care for it.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
I’ve been a long-term GM guy, but I’m not going with a Tahoe/Yukon. I don’t like that cylinder shutdown crap and man there just seems to have been too many problems with the Tahoe/Yukon series, for the price GM is charging they just aren’t worth it. GM just isn’t putting out that good of a product these days IMO and I’m moving on.

I believe all of the 5.3 you can get it with AFM delete.

Yup, delete and put in high pressure oil pump. Fixes that entire issue

Grouse,

How do you like the Acadia? I’m in the market for a new work vehicle that can still do a little towing. Need to fit 4 kids occasionally (2 car seats; 2 boosters). An Acadia seems to be a decent option, especially with a Yukon XL at home for longer trips and heavier hauling needs.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Appreciate all the info.

B-man wrote:

The mileage sucked, and I was pretty easy on it.

Fully.com shows the newer models averaging 14-15.5 mpg real world mileage.

This is the across-the-board complaint of all these “full-size plus” category SUVs. The gas mileage of all of them, Tahoe/Yukon/Sequoia, everyone hates the mileage and none of them is signifianctly better than the other. Although they are also just 2-3 MPG worse than the real world average of most of the smaller “full size SUV” vehicles.

buckybadger wrote:

At that price point and size, I’d look into the Grand Cherokee L with the 3rd row seat.

Yes, that’s the problem. If I step back into that smaller category of “full size” there are all kinds of options, but you can’t get away from the fact that they are all smaller. 6k towing is a long way from the 8k+++ capacity of the “full size plus” category vehicles.

jake47 wrote:

Grouse,
How do you like the Acadia? I’m in the market for a new work vehicle that can still do a little towing. Need to fit 4 kids occasionally (2 car seats; 2 boosters). An Acadia seems to be a decent option, especially with a Yukon XL at home for longer trips and heavier hauling needs.

It has been a good vehicle for the first 156,000 miles of its life. Nothing except routine maint and wear parts like struts, tires, etc. However…

Last week the transmission packed it in. 3rd gear started to vibrate badly. Took it in to a trans specialist and after disassembly, the transmission is shot. 3, 4, and 5th gear are all worn to the nub. Also, the front transfer case is bad, this is a known issue on GMs and the latest version is significantly revised, but mine is the OG from 2013 and all these went bad eventually due to a design flaw.

Sooooo, a $6500 rebuild and the Acadia will be back in action.

To be honest, this is not a surprise. I’ve towed everything from boats to Bobcats with this SUV and from what I read on the net, I’ve done well for any brand to get almost 10 years and 156k out of an original transmission. My uncle bought an Explorer the same week in 2013 that I got my Acadia and his tranny went out at 90-some K. I have tens of thousands of miles of towing with this SUV, more than any vehicle I’ve ever owned. Now that everything has 6-10 speeds in it, the trannys are so fragile that it is rare to get to 200k with any brand and original tranny the biggest exception is Toyota.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I believe all of the 5.3 you can get it with AFM delete.

Does this mean that it comes without the AFM? Or do you have to hack it to delete it after purchase and thus void the warranty?

Also, what about the other well-know issues with the Tahoe/Yukon series? Overblown? I see more issues with these vehicles than with any other in this size clase but that may be because there are more out there.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Does this mean that it comes without the AFM? Or do you have to hack it to delete it after purchase and thus void the warranty?

Also, what about the other well-know issues with the Tahoe/Yukon series? Overblown? I see more issues with these vehicles than with any other in this size clase but that may be because there are more out there.

If you order one, you can select No AFM or AFM Delete on the order form. I dont believe its a complete AFM delete, but rather not having the chip to control the shutdown. You could otherwise bypass it using a programmer and I dont think that affects warranty.
Im not aware of other significant issues to this series of vehicles. They are by far the most sold full size SUVs. Probably ALL of the others added together wouldnt even total what GM does.

What size skid loader did you haul with the acadia? That sounds like a safety concern on the roads lol.
And to delete afm you can do it with a programmer which does not void warranty

My wife’s 2016 Tahoe is getting 20 mpg highway real life (the dash will often read 21 or so) and her overall average is sitting around 18 which I think is great for the size of vehicle that it is. It tows the boat better than my 2016 silverado, and by that I mean it gets better mileage towing the boat and it’s comfier.

In terms of AFM, mine is disabled through a tune. I used to have a range technology device, they’re about $150 and they turn off AFM/ DFM in newer trucks simply by being plugged in. There’s no reason to worry about AFM at all if it is disabled, and I see no reason to actually go in and remove the parts physically. If it is disabled early on in the truck’s life you’ll never have any issues with it. The Tahoe we’re keeping AFM and we’ll see where that takes us.

At any rate, on all of these new DI engines I believe installing a PCV catch can is pertinent to keeping things in working order, ESPECIALLY anything with turbos. $300 for a very nice one from elite engineering is a small price for piece of mind.

Bearcat89 wrote:

What size skid loader did you haul with the acadia? That sounds like a safety concern on the roads lol.

Look, that might have been pushing the OEM’s stated capacity right up to the limit, but it’s not like I towed it from here to Kamchatka or anything. When a rental breaks down on a Saturday and the only vehicle available to tow the replacement that keeps us working is the Acadia, guess what? We tow with the damn Acadia. Ironically, with a good twin axel trailer, it towed better than some boats I’ve towed on singles. Was it great for the transmission? Probably not. Have to fight the battle with the tools you have, not the tools you wish you had.

I think the main issue with the AFM/DFM engines is people not changing the oil soon enough. My wife’s 6.2 grenaded, but we bought it used. No idea on the service history before us, but the new engine is getting changed at less than 5k miles. Those dumb dash oil life things are stupid and people hold them as gospel.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
What size skid loader did you haul with the acadia? That sounds like a safety concern on the roads lol.

Look, that might have been pushing the OEM’s stated capacity right up to the limit, but it’s not like I towed it from here to Kamchatka or anything. When a rental breaks down on a Saturday and the only vehicle available to tow the replacement that keeps us working is the Acadia, guess what? We tow with the damn Acadia. Ironically, with a good twin axel trailer, it towed better than some boats I’ve towed on singles. Was it great for the transmission? Probably not. Have to fight the battle with the tools you have, not the tools you wish you had.

I know how it goes, towing is not the issue, it’s breaking that’s the issue. I’ve towed more then I should have more times then I prefer. I’m surprised that thing was able to hold up to what I imagine is 10k in Wright adding the trailer. Pretty impressive. My last 3/4 ton didn’t like the skid loader and trailer weight

Grouse it looks like the 2021 Tahoe with the 6.2 has significantly better real-world mileage than the Armada.

Averaging 17.4 MPG with 5 different drivers and 70,000 miles tracked. I know Chevy/GMC has been going away from AFM, not sure it the 2021 6.2 had it or not.

The 2021 Armada is averaging just 13.7 with somewhat similar miles and drivers reported.

27% better mileage is something worth considering, especially with gas prices these days.

How many miles a year will you be putting on?

I drive a 3/4 ton truck, so it takes a lot for me to say mileage on something sucks lol That Armada SUCKED

Whenever looking up a vehicle, always check Fuelly.com

You can choose the engine, transmission, trim etc for a particular model, and get real-world numbers from thousands of miles driven (even millions on more popular vehicles).

Not just what one guy said he got coming home from Oklahoma on flat roads with a 50mph tail-wind one time….

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