# 2004 Nissan Titan - Was this a bad investment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** nissan\ **Created:** [June 7, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784 "2019-06-07T16:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParnellHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@ParnellHunter](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ParnellHunter)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/1 "2019-06-07T16:07:57Z")
I just bought a used 2004 Nissan Titan 2WD 5.6L SE crew cab. The 2nd day as I was checking it over for maintenance, I discovered that the transmission was not working in reverse. I thought maybe it needed more fluid, so I drove 60 mi. to purchase Nissan fluid to add. That didn’t change things, so now I’m wondering if there are other reasons reverse may not work before I have to consider that I have a bad transmission and need to replace it. For once I didn’t do any research before the purchase and now I’m almost convinced that I made a bad investment. Please help! ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/2 "2019-06-07T20:03:33Z")
So it didn’t do this when you test drove it? Did you have a mechanic look it over before you bought it? How many miles on this Titan? The linkage might not be getting the selector into reverse. Do all the positions on the shift indicator do what they should except reverse? If they do, you probably need a transmission. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/3 "2019-06-07T23:31:52Z")
You thought it needed more fluid or did you know that it needed fluid? IF it was low then you made a mistake driving it 60 miles to get fluid as that can damage an automatic transmission. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/4 "2019-06-08T13:05:45Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > So it didn’t do this when you test drove it? Did you have a mechanic look it over before you bought it? Why test drive or get it checked out, the guy selling it said is was a good truck. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/5 "2019-06-08T13:08:21Z")
> [@ParnellHunter](#): > > I’m almost convinced that I made a bad investment A 2004 Nissan Titan is not an investment , it is a purchase of a used vehicle that will decrease in value daily. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/6 "2019-06-08T13:37:42Z")
a purchase is an investment. you buy something. did you pay retail for a truck that needs a 4000 trans? i would say thats not a good investment ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/7 "2019-06-08T13:38:27Z")
There are lots of depreciating assets that are investments. If it lets him get to work and generate income, it’s an investment. Now, if it’s got a busted transmission that somehow only became apparent after purchase, it may have been a _bad_ investment, but it’s an investment nonetheless. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/8 "2019-06-08T13:51:37Z")
I do not have info on Titan of that vintage in particular, but for V6 Pathfinder of the similar model years non-working reverse gear was quite common tell-tell sign that the dreaded coolant leakage into transmission fluid is happening, the full transmission failure was very close to follow. ---
**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/9 "2019-06-08T14:44:01Z")
A 2004 truck should be fully depreciated by now, and not lose much value from here on out. Without knowing the purchase price, mileage, and overall condition, we cannot say if the amount paid was reasonable or not. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/10 "2019-06-08T15:12:56Z")
Well, if it has a bad tranny the amount was too much. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/11 "2019-06-10T01:10:48Z")
I doubt this is the cause of this particular problem, but on this vehicle there’s a couple of recalls on the transmission shift lever. Make sure those have been done. Beyond that, if in doubt about what’s in there now, might make sense to replace the transmission fluid, using the correct fluid that you buy at a dealership. These transmission are sensitive to the fluid specs. It may take several drains and fills. ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/12 "2019-06-10T01:19:12Z")
> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#): > > might make sense to replace the transmission fluid, using the correct fluid that you buy at a dealership. These transmission are sensitive to the fluid specs. It may take several drains and fills. IMHO it is very unlikely to fix the non-working reverse gear If transmission shuddered or hesitated or was slow to shift, maybe, but fluid change is unlikely to bring rear gear back from the other side ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2004-nissan-titan-was-this-a-bad-investment/141784/13 "2019-06-10T03:09:21Z")
A car is not an investment, it is a declining asset.