Differential Unit problems of the 2006 Nissan Titan - part 1

Rear differential is leaking gear oil out of both ends of my rwd truck. Contacted Nissan dealer and they referred me to Nissan consumer affairs. Filed a claim and was told that the vehicle is out of manufacturers warranty so they would not assist with repair even though this is a known issue with Nissan Titan trucks, particularly between models years 2004-2006. I have never towed with this truck and have changed the gear oil frequently. Also, I have replaced the breather periodically as well. Now the fluid is flowing out when vehicle is stationary.

I was alerted that my 2006 Nissan Titan needed to have the front differential replaced as there was "looseness" and fluid leaking. I was told that this was not repairable and needed to be replaced. Failure to do so could cause the front differential to lock up, causing possible sudden stopping and possible loss of control.

Rear differential seals leaked on brake assemblies. Gear oil was present on brake assemblies, wheels and tires. I replaced left and right side differential seals and bearings. An allignment was necessary and was performed.

Rear axel passenger and driver leaking oil, discovered during routine differential oil change.

Rear axle seals leaking differential fluid behind wheels . Can be a saftey issue fluid gets on brakes therefore making the brakes unable to stop properly . Please fix issue this is a very dangerous situation.

Rear axle seals leaking differential fluid behind wheels . Can be a saftey issue fluid gets on brakes therefore making the brakes unable to stop properly . Please fix issue this is a very dangerous situation.

I own a 2006 Nissan Titan with 47000 miles. Partial VIN "1n6ba07a0" while taking it to the local midas shop for an oil change. The mechanic pointed out a leak on left rear axle seal. They quoted me with $350. 00 to replace the seal. However they also suggested to have the dealership attempt to replace under a recall/ warranty. . . The dealership quoted $1900. 00 to replace the whole rear axle under the guidance from their technicians and it being over the manufactures warranty and/or no recall. This sounds like a ripoff. Here is a quote I found on the club Titan forum site. . Read more...

Left rear axle seal blew out and leaked differenital fluid. Differential fluid leaking on rear brake rotor which could cause brake failure. This is a major safety concern to me. The leaking differential fluid will caused the rear differential to fail. This seems to be a very common problem with the Nissan Titan, Nissan should address this issue and offer a permanent fix so Titan owners would not have to deal with this safety issue in the future.

While driving the truck in 2wd I heard a very loud clunking (metal on metal) noise coming form the front of the truck. After reaching home, I realized that the front axle was falling out of the front differential. I jacked the truck up and dropped the front diff pan. This is where I realized that the clips hold in the front axle have failed and broke in two. This is a huge safety concern, had I been traveling down the highway I could have been killed if the wheel came off. I researched online and discovered this a common problem.

I was having my vehicles front differential fluid changed and the service technician noticed 2 cracks around the axle housing. Upon further inspection the housing was damaged enough to wear it could leak and cause failure.

I noticed an exhaust leak on my truck. Took it to a reputable exhaust shop, they told me their was a crack in the converter and I needed to take it to the dealership. After checking the web I realized it was under warranty (80000 on exhaust emissions) my truck only had 65k. They replaced both manifolds as they were both cracked. This repair would have cost me 2500. 00! after seeing this was a common problem with the Titan trucks, I think this should be addressed. Also the dealership told me I had a front differential leak which was the pinion seal, this repair will cost me 300-500. 00. Of course its not covered under warranty so I will have to pay this. After seeing this is also a common problem, I feel Nissan needs to correct this issue as it is a safety problem for both me and fellow motorist. My truck has 65,000 miles and is babied! total repairs would be around 3000. 00 for the manifolds and the differential, I feel something needs to be done as this is an ongoing issue.

Rear axle seal, driver side, and soon after, the passenger side as well, failed. Differential fluid leaked out onto inner wheel surface, brake parts, and immediate area creating hazardous conditions. This is a widely known problem for Nissan Titan owners and Nissan is, and has been, well aware of this problem and has not offered a design solution to my knowledge. Nearly every Titan experiences this seal failure at some point. Some while still under warranty, (which typically get repaired by Nissan) but as for the rest of us who are beyond our warranties, we are left with this hazardous condition and a big repair bill. **this should be a recall, or at least repaired by Nissan at their expense. Its my understanding that there was a technical service bulletin outlining the issuefor Nissan mechanics. Please help**.

Rear axle seals have now failed for the 3rd time. Nissan dealers tells me Nissan will not permit them to replace seals alone. Nissan corporate headquarters fix is to replace entire axle assembly at a cost of approximately $800 each axle. Nissan is obviously aware of a design problem, but will not take the lead to fix, but put the cost of a defective design on the back of their customers. Nissan service representative told me there is a flaw in the materials used in the differential and differential is not venting properly thus causing the seals to prematurely fail. I fail to understand why a recall has not been issued since this is a common problem on Nissan Titan trucks that Nissan will not face. Sounds like Nissan is having a Toyota moment and burying their head in the sand.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Titan. The contact stated the rear differential cracked while driving 55 mph and cause differential fluid to leak from the rear driver side tire. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the dealer stated the rear differential needed to be replaced. The contact stated repairs have be done to the rear differential had repairs in the past but nothing remedied the problem. The failure mileage was 64,000. Jo.

Rear axle seal fails and causes differential oil to leak out causing a major safety issue while driving.

The rear ale bearings in my 2006 4x4 Nissan Titan have failed. No parts manufacturer except Nissan is offering the parts and only as a whole differential unit.

The front differential carrier bearing has failed causing severe backlash in the drives shaft and a failure of the pinion. Also the front left seal has failed causing a leak to progressively get bigger allowing more and more lubricant to escape.

Driver side rear axle seal leaking oil and faulty axle bearing at 50k miles. Very common failure in early mileage life of vehicle, many owner complaints. Replace seal an bearing at cost over $700. The driver side rear axle failure is most common and is not the dominant drive wheel. Now the passenger side axle showing signs of leakage. Vehicle does not tow anything and does not carry heavy loads. Dealer advised not to drive it any further or catastrophic damage may occur to rear differential assembly especially at highway speeds. Repairs have been done.

I have a 2006 Nissan Titan. I was on vacation with my wife and granddaughter this past week when I noticed the braking on my truck felt wrong. It took much further to stop than it should. It could have caused an accident. I pulled over to a rest area and noticed a burning smell coming from the rear of the vehicle. I checked the fluids and everything looked ok. I went to a garage to have it looked at. The mechanic showed me where the rear axle seals were leaking differential fluid into the brake drums on both rear wheels and spinning fluid into the wheels. They told me I need to get it over to the Nissan dealer to have them look at it. I called Nissan and they told me this is a common issue with Titans. They consider it safe. But they tell me I need to get it fixed right away. The rear brakes have differential fluid leaking into them. Which means I may even have to replace the rear brakes because they are being damaged! they also told me the rear axle could lock up causing more danger and damage. They admit this is a common issue but they will not let the owners know in writing. That is probably because they would rather the owner encure the huge expense of repairing this issue after their warranty has expired. They will not consider this a recall. I will have to spend $3000 to replace the rear axle. I am furious and disapointed that Nissan will not issue a recall on this. While researching this online I see hundreds of post. Why is this not being addressed? it hasn't even been five years yet since I purchased the vehicle. I am only at 85,000 miles. Nissan should be ashamed of their pathetic response and refusal to fix this issue at their expense. This is a saftey issue Nissan! I will never buy a Nissan again if they don't resolve this issue at their expense.

On my 2006 Nissan Titan truck, the rear pinion seal was replaced once under warranty and has failed again at 72250 miles. I am hearing some play in the rear differential, caused by lack of oil from the leaking seal. It took an excessive amount of fluid to refill the differential, telling me it had been leaking for a long time, the second time. Failure of the differential would mean a roadside breakdown or a vehicle crash. Many people have complained of this problem and Nissan needs to address it.

I currently have a 2006 Nissan Titan and have never had a problem with it and have been completely happy with it up until now. Long story short; I made an appointment with Nissan dealership close to where I live (stanley Nissan) to get a recall done on it as well as have it looked at for my abs and slip lights being on constantly as well as my service engine light which was on before. A few days before my appointment my truck started driving weird and disengaging itself out of 4wd and I would lose control at times or my truck would stop going forward and would start trying to go sideways, but the rpm's still went up, but truck would not accel forward. It also started making a banging noise in the rear, always sounded like it was the passenger side. Dropped it off at dealership and heard from them the following day. Service department told me that my rear brake shoes had broke and spun around in the brake housing and damaged my brake pads, calipers, rotors and then made it into my rear axle housing and damaged my entire rear housing and differential. I am a mechanic myself and there is no way that pieces from the brake assembly would be able to make it inside an enclosed rear housing assembly. They told me I need my entire rear axle and differential replaced along with other pieces for the brake assembly and rear shock absorbers. They tried to tell me that all of this was cause by brake shoes and my emergency brake, which I never use. They are quoting me $4,200 for the repairs and won't cover me under my powertrain warranty even though I am still under 60,000 miles and I can't be covered by my platinum package extended warranty as well which covers me up to 100,000 miles. I have been on numerous sites where there have been many Nissan Titan owners with this problem and the fact that the dealership is trying to work us all over and Nissan north America won't do anything to help honor the warranty. This should be a recall with this many rear differential problems.

Right rear axle seal blew out and leaked differential fluid. Differential fluid leaking on rear brake rotors which could cause brake failure. Also, the rear differential oil will slowly leak and cause the rear differential to lose fluid and fail. As this seemed to be a very common problem with the Nissan Titan, Nissan should address this issue and offer a permanent fix to this safety issue.

Right rear axle seal blew out and leaked differential fluid. Differential fluid leaking on rear brake rotors which could cause brake failure, which was a major safety concern to me. At time of failure at 8000 miles no suspension modifications had been done to vehicle. Also, the rear differential oil will slowly leak and cause the rear differential to lose fluid and fail. Nissan replaced spacer axle (43070-7s200), bearing (40210-7s210), and seal (43252-7s200). As this seemed to be a very common problem with the Nissan Titan, Nissan should address this issue and offer a permanent fix so would not be faced with the safety issue in the future.

The vehicles front differential failed at 34,250 miles. I have researched this on many online forums and have found that this is a very common issue that does not necessarily resolve with just being fixed. I was very upset to find out that while my wife was driving my 2 children while helping her mother move, that the axle on the vehicle may have been separating. My truck is not utilized for hauling large loads or towing of any kind.

Passenger rear axle seal failed at 37,000 miles. Nissan is repalceing under warranty, with the same part that will probably not last long either. . .

Rear differential is leaking where the axle meets the tire on both sides.

Had been hearing a 'clank' when putting vehicle into gear, similar to when a u-joint is failing. While towing my boat trailer (boat was in the water), had the vehicle in 4wd, and turned hard left to exit the parking spot. Heard a loud snap in the rear end, then heard another one. Used truck to pull the boat out, but then disconnected the trailer and had my friend tow the boat home. Took truck to dealership next morning, and they replaced the entire rear axle assembly under warranty (thank god!).

2006 Nissan Titan king cab 4wd. . Rear diff went out at 17,166. Nissan replacing at dealership . Old part is to be sent back to orlando FL warehouse.

I was changing rear differential oil found leaking form the driver side axle seal and pinion gear shaft front seal. If axle seal leak gets worse it might get on to the abs sensor and brake disk and emergency brake (little drum disk) and cause serious safety problem. Also if I did not know about this and kept driving this axle only hold about 2 quarts of gear oil, all oil can leak out and cause differential failure problem suddenly and it is a serious safety issue also. Leaking oil is also a environmental hazarded. So many people seems to have this problem, by researching on the internet.

(1) rear end starting making a high pitched whining noise at high speeds, a groaning at low speeds (3) dealer replaced entire rear end assembly.

Ever since I bought my Titan (3-3-06) I noticed a whining noise at speed when I let off of the gas. I always thought it was tire noise. Well on November 15, 2006 I noticed a real bad grinding/whining noise when I decelerated. There was only 6900 miles on the truck. I took the truck to the dealership and a mechanic rode with me up the street and back and said that my truck had problems. I left the truck at the dealership overnight and they replaced the entire rear end. The mechanic said that my truck had problems before I even bought it and that the whining noise I always heard was the rear end and not the tires.

I was driving the vehicle down a city street approximately 40 mph, when a loud, banging, clanking noise erupted from the rear end. The truck began to shake and the rear tires momentarily seized up putting the vehicle into a skid, which I was able to correct. The rear end then began to free wheel and I pulled to the side of the road. Only by temporarily putting the vehicle into 4wd was I able to get safely off the roadway. I had vehicle towed to Nissan dealership for diagnosis and repair. Truck is under warranty with Nissan. Dealer diagnosed a complete failure of the rear differential and replaced entire rear axle under warranty.

Rear end started humming at 1300 miles. I was in my yard just starting off pulling my horse trailer (about 2 miles per hour) and I heard this humming high pitched whine. I am going to call the dealership tight away.

2006 with 2000 miles; rear differential made a loud gear whine sound when in un-loaded DE-cel. Took Titan back to dealer. Dealer replaced differential under warranty (2000 miles, one month after purchase). At 115,000 miles in July of 2011, replaced rear axle seals (no warranty). Now, September 2012, at 133,000 miles. The slip and brake lights illuminate when differential gear oil is cold. Once warmed up, lights go out and stay out after Titan is shut down and restarted warm. Changed differential oil every 7500 miles with 75w 140 synthetic oil per maintenance guidelines. No additives called for or used with gear oil changes. According to the owner's manual the lights (slip and brake) indicate that the anti-lock brakes and limited slip are not operational when lights are on. Differential repair/replacement required to re-gain abs and lsd features. Not sure if the ultimate failure mode is 'graceful' or not.

Drive train-rear end making a whining sound. Complete rear end assembly was replaced in my 2006 Titan with 2000 miles on it. New rear end started to make same noise at 500 miles. Have not returned to dealer yet but plan to do so at later date.