My 2004 Nissan Titan was in 4 wheel drive on flat sand. It was engaged in 4WD. Simply driving off the beach, the front left axle disconnected from the differential and leaked all the fluid. I did not notice this until I was on the street. The dealer said that Nissan created an upgrade for it but it was not warranty. Luckily I did not drive with it like this home. I do not know what could have happened. I have always maintained my vehicles and not abuse them. In no way was this a action that tested the limits of my vehicles design. The axle simply popped out.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

I have a 2004 Nissan Titan. I began having humming sound from underneath my vehicle at speeds above 20mph approximately 3 months ago. The humming has recently turned into a much louder whining noise, so I took the truck into Nissan for evaluation. They claim my rear differential is bad and the entire rear end needs to be replaced. They are unable to repair rear differentials according to the service manager. I performed a rear end fluid change and found several pieces of metal in the oil. The pieces looked like teeth from gears. Nissan claims they've never heard of any problems before. Due to the $3000+ price tag for replacing the entire rear end, Nissan recommended I get a new truck. I feel like they are aware of a problem, but do not want to admit it thus far. I believe a rear end failure could cause a fire and or cause a loss of vehicular control.

- Powell, OH, USA

Rear differential went out on my Nissan Titan 2004. Denied by Nissan for any assistance. Nissan denied any other complaints of rear differential problems.

- Galena, IL, USA

The vehicle in question is a 2004 Nissan Titan with approx. 36,000 miles of use on the vehicle. On several uses I heard 'clunking' noises from under the vehicle. On the last time before taking the vehicle to the dealer, the ABS warning light illuminated and the 'clunking' noise was like a grinding noise also. The dealer told me the differential had failed and needed to be replaced. This part is an extremely important part of the vehicles ability to operate safely. This part failed with only 36,000 miles on it. Clearly it is a defective product and action to force the manufacturer to correct the problem to prevent serious injuries to others is required. The dealer also stated that the radiator had failed and replaced it without authorization. When questioned about this the dealer stated it was a crack in the seam.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

Both rear axle seals were leaking at 51,000 miles so they needed to be replaced. This causes a safety concern because the diff oil leaks onto rear brakes. Now they are both leaking again at 76,000.

- Fairfield, CT, USA

Rear axle seals began to leak at 75000 miles. Vehicle has been driven on highway at all times. The Nissan dealer notice the leak during an inspection. Numerous forums have complaints of the axle seals failing due to improper venting. Leakage of gear oil onto rear brakes presents a safety hazard to my family. Request Nissan replace axle seals and do a recall to reengineer a new venting system for axle seals.

- Suffolk, VA, USA

Passenger rear axle seal fluid leak onto rear brakes.

- Madison, WI, USA

Nissan Titan 2004 4X4se rear differential went bad and needs repair.was repaired for axle leak about 3 years ago by dealer and replaced differential cover and fluid but am now out of warranty. This is a well known problem in just about all year Titans whether they are 2 or 4 wheel drive.

- Huntington, NY, USA

The rear axle seals (both) on my 2004 started leaking at 56,000 miles. The leak occurred at 5 years and 4 months so the dealer denied any warranty responsibility. This vehicle is used for mostly for local trips with occasional trailer towing that is well within the design limits as advertised by the manufacturer. In replacing the seals it was noted that they appear to spin in the axle housing thus wearing off the outer sealing surface. It appears that the only provision to prevent this is the clamping action of the bearing retainer that sandwiches the seal between it and the bearing which is then forced against a shoulder in the axle housing. Previous designs of this axle, as used by other manufacturers, pressed the seal into the retainer and then sealed the retainer to the housing with a gasket. Leaks such as I experienced were almost non-existent. While the leak is mostly annoying, it does have the potential to contaminate the brakes thus impairing the stopping ability of the vehicle.

- Marysville, WA, USA

2004 nissa Titan le rear axle/ differential blew.

- Millville, NJ, USA

Failure of rear differential. 2004 Titan purchased 8/04. In 8/05 while in Washington state on vacation, noticed 3-4 mpg drop in gas mileage. Crawled under truck looking for gas leak and found differential fluid had shot out of front seal and fluid was low. Added fluid per owners manual and brought to a dealer. Dealer said I used wrong fluid and should have used synthetic. At this point Nissan realized they had a heat problem and switched to synthetic and installed finned differential covers (which I noticed were on the 2005 models in their lot). I told the dealer they were covering up a heat problem on the 2004 model and wanted an inspection. They refused since they didn't see a problem. Installed mag-hytech cover myself. Periodically had oil shoot out of vent on axle tube and all over tire. Dealer said that was normal. 4/17/08 at 41000 miles right axle seal failure, dealer fixed. 10/13/09 at 52589 miles left axle seal failure, convinced Nissan corporate to fix and they did. Found fix on-line for bad axle vent design, added vent hose and filter but still had fluid coming out. 3/8/10 at 55900 lots of metal on dipstick, changed fluid and pieces of spider gear came out with fluid. 3/16/10 at 55919 brought to dealer for inspection hoping to get Nissan to repair differential. Nissan refused since "too expensive and there wasn't a recall anyway", one of the dumber comments I've ever heard. 3/22/10 at 55924 had 4X4 shop repair differential. Shop showed me Nissan had installed wrong bolts in differential. Shoulder on bolts was too short and only hit one side of spider gear assembly flange, with other side riding on the threads. Bolts eventually backed out causing spider gears to self-destruct. Cost me $2100 to repair, existing ring and pinion were in good shape inspite of issues. Replaced differential assy with detroit true trac. Shop used bolts from another dana differential and cut length to fit.

- Ventura, CA, USA

Rear differential failure on 2004 Nissan Titan. Warranty replaced by Nissan 3 times prior to this failure. Latest failure at 57,106 miles is not covered by warranty.

- Montgomery, PA, USA

The rear differential of my 2004 Nissan Titan failed today while turning into traffic. I lost all acceleration and was nearly sideswiped due to this problem. I am aware of at least 75 other cases of this same failure. My dealer wants $3300 to fix it and I only have 49,000 miles on my truck. This is unacceptable and someone needs to do something about it.

- Mountain Top, PA, USA

I own a 2004 Nissan Titan, and I noticed oil on my rear wheels, and on the floor below both of my rear brakes. The oil was leaking from the rear differential at both ends of the axle. The oil was leaking all over the brake backing plate. I took it to the dealer and they replaced both rear wheel bearings and seals. I turned this into Nissan, and they re-embersed me for the repair. I found that this problem is common on the 2004 Nissan Titan, and I feel this is a safety issue as the rear brakes do not operate well now that the oil was on the brakes. At the time, I had approximately 75000 miles on the truck, and don't tow or use for heavy use. I drive this as I would a car. Anyhow, the passenger side wheel seal has started leaking again, and I have 90,000 miles on the truck now. I feel Nissan should be forced to recall this potentially dangerous manufacturer defect.

- Albany, OH, USA

2004 Nissan 4X4 Titan rear differential. Vehicle had 60,550 miles on it and was 500 miles out of warranty. Nissan charged me $4000 to fix it.

- Burlington , NJ, USA

On the afternoon of Feb. 25th, 2010 my Nissan Titan rear differential made a loud boom noise. After wards, the whenever the vehicle rolled a loud whirling noise could be heard in the rear of the vehicle. I towed the vehicle to my mechanic where he said the rear differential is shot. As he was backing up from the tow truck the truck made a second loud pop noise. My vehicle has only 40K miles on it. I do not tow anything. I do not constantly lug heavy items on it. I don't push my truck to the limit at all. But this happens. And worst of all it happens when the warranty expires. This is ridiculous and unacceptable especially from Nissan. This should be a recall and should be fixed. I have three options from my mechanic. Used for a thousand dollar. Rebuild it for $1,200 dollars, or over 2000 for new. And this does not guarantee if it would happen again. I am very upset at this situation.

- Rosemead, CA, USA

The rear axle seals and pinion seals were blown out with no warning at all. Problem was caused by a faulty vent that Nissan has used on there Titan pick up trucks.

- Littleton, MA, USA

Front axle failed at 41,000 miles with attempting to switch into 4WD hi on snow and ice covered street driving approximately 10 miles per hour. Truck was taken to dealer where it was determined that the driver's side axle shaft snapped at a machined point on the shaft and had pulled out of the differential housing allowing the gear fluid to leak out. Dealer replaced the stub shaft and internal pinion gear. This was only the second time I've used the 4WD. Thankfully I purchased an extended warranty as it was not covered by factory warranty.

- Salisbury, MD, USA

Nissan Titan 2004, 4 door, V8, 4 wheel drive. Rear differential, also called universal joint, went out at 74,000 miles. Nissan had a seal leak issue, which previous owner did the replacement and repair of the seal but it did not work or something else went wrong. Repair cost $3,213.31. This is ridiculous. Vehicles should easily go 100,000 miles without universal joint issues.

- Dillsburg, PA, USA

Under normal driving conditions the rear axle seals began leaking and damaged the rear brakes. The axle seals and spacers need to be replaced along with parking brake and rear brake pads.

- Richmond, VA, USA