Nissan Pathfinder Maintenance and Repair

potasnj · December 2004

Sure, thanks. I live in Chicago but work in Des Plaines so I am willing to travel 13 more miles for a referral garage. Send along the info....

spinbear · December 2004

I have a 2003 PF, was parallel parked, and some jack*** backed the corner of their bumper into the front right quarterpanel, leaving a lovely crater. Hit and run of course. Paint's not damaged though, and I'm short on cash this time of year -- anybody know anything about paintless dent removal? Specifically, is this nationwide "Dent Wizard" outfit reputable? Thanks much --

dny42 · December 2004

My SES light has been on for about 6 months now. I've had it looked at twice. The mechanic changed the O2 sensor and the light went out. Shortly afterwards, it came on again. The mechanic has done all testing using the computer and all readings indicate that the truck is fine. However, my SES light is still on. I've got 72,000 miles on it. I'm currently using unleaded 89 octane gas from Randall's/Tom Thumb. From reading the posts, it seems as if it could be the gas. Which fuel cleaner should I try please?

kone · December 2004

97 pathfinder Se w/ auto climate control. problem is: hvac blows all hot as soon as the temp dial is raised at least two notches above full cold (blue.) stays the same with a/c button in, ac blows cold as long as the temp dial is all the way left but as soon as i move it two notches, it goes all full-blast hot. It's never tempered.

if i use auto setting it does basically the same, all hot except for the two left/blue/cold settings. i already tried replacing the power module but that wasn't it. any ideas?

thanks in advance.

idntnvu · December 2004

Hi guys, I'm looking at a couple of pathfinders. The first one is a '99.5 LE, with 79k miles on it. It's fully loaded with leather, heated seats, bose sound, moonroof, etc. The price the dealer has on it is $14,950. The second is an '02 SE 5 speed, not as loaded up but still quite nice, 35k miles, for $17,900.

My questions are, do these sound like good prices? What are known problems to look for when trying one out? What major services have to be done to them? I have a '99 Explorer that I can't wait to get rid of, and it needed a transmission fluid change at 30k, ect. I have heard about the timing belt having to be changed, a water pump having to be put on, stuff like that.

I have a friend who has an '88 Pathfinder with, as he calls it, "over a quarter million miles," or in laymens terms about 260k. He also has a '96 Pathfinder with about 105k on it. He swears by Nissan and will not own anything other than a Nissan or Toyota, and possibly a Honda.

I'm also looking at 4Runners as well. They're a little more expensive, and most of the ones I've seen have higher mileage than the Pathfinders. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

idntnvu

kone · December 2004

The work is done and there's quite a difference. With limited testing so far, the shimmy seems to be gone and the over-all ride has improved.

winxsd · January 2005

I have recently purchased a '99 Pathfinder SE (65,000 miles) and have noticed that it has a hard time shifting when the vehicle is very cold. More specifically, it seems to take too long to shift from 2nd to 3rd. Once the vehicle warms up, it shifts just fine. I was thinking of switching to synthetic automatic transmission fluid to see if it would help the cold temperature shifting.

Does anyone have experience with synthetic ATF's? Is there a preferred brand?

Thanks,

winxsd

lbinh · January 2005

I use Mobil One Synthetic ATF on '01 LE with 54K miles. It runs smoother with no problems at all. I suspect that when you changed ATF fluids you did not fill up to proper level. Run/drive engine till it is warm and pull ATF dipstick to check with engine on and parked on level surface. Read the hot side markers on dipstick. I suspect it will be low.

Good luck!

moymch · January 2005

Not sure where you live, but look up a company called PARS out of Denver CO. My 03 PF had over $3K in hail damage. Now you can not even tell there was ever a dent in it.

moymch · January 2005

Just wonder if anyone else has this prob. I have an 03 PF/LE. The dealer here in Colorado Springs has ruined all 4 rims by scratching the crap out of the paint in the lug holes. They replaced 2 and had 2 repaired. When rotating my tires they did the same thing a second time. I'm told that I am being to picky. I wonder if that is the case or do I just expect quality work from Nissan techs.

wbay · January 2005

Has anyone with an '05 Pathfinder considered the difference in off road capability with the addition of fully independent suspension? I'm considering going to a PF, but am a little leary of the new suspension configuration.

Thanks

spinbear · January 2005

Thanks much, but I'm in CT. It's looking like a body shop's the way to go, can't get a read on these paintless operations and don't want to waste the money if I'm going to end up at a body shop anyway.

briana · January 2005

Just got an 05 Pathfinder last night after 2 1/2 hellish years with an 02 Maxima. Swore I'd never get another Nissan b/c I think Nissan's quality control has taken a turn for the worse and their service department is horrendous.

Unable to resist the looks and price of the Pathfinder, I pull off the lot with my loaded LE and the VSC and SLIP buttons come on on the dash. I think nothing of it and figure I need to read the owner's manual. Get home, check it out, and there is a reset feature. Try the reset about 5 times and it doesn't work. Try getting this taken care of since 10 am and they finally say I can come in at 4:30. An hour and a half later they can't fix it and need to hold it till tomorrow. So now my brand new, less than 24 hour old truck is in the shop and I'm driving a Sentra.

I brought it on myself for getting another Nissan, should have known better.

andy8 · January 2005

My 05 Pathfinder transmission went after 10 days and six hundard miles. Is anyone else having a problem with the 05 Pathfinder transmission.

idntnvu · January 2005

Sounds like the new Pathfinder has a few bugs in it. I know somebody has to be the guinea pig, but I've always been told, never buy a new model in it's first year. Thats when all the bugs get worked out of it.

wbay · January 2005

Ditto. The more I look into the 05 PF, the less appealing it becomes. Sounds like Nissan has lots of things to work out.

Maybe next year.

idntnvu · January 2005

Yep, I like the old ones better anyway. If you "gotta have" that third row seat, then head for a 4Runner, or one of the Domestics. Maybe even an XL7 if you adjust yourself accordingly

.

gc1975 · January 2005

I have a 2001 Pathfinder LE. I had to have the windshield replaced due to a crack. The technician called me into the shop and showed me that the factory windshield was installed missing a 6 inch strip of mastic/ caulking across the bottom in the center of the windshield. Also a 3/4 inch was missing in front of the driver position. The foam rubber linning in front of the dash was wet. I haven't noticed any water inside, but my Navigation system reception is intermittent and now non existent. The right side of the instrument pannel lights working intermittenly. Moisture related???

Good luck!

scttyrock · January 2005

Wanted to know if anyoneis familiar with this...I have a '00 PF SE, within the last 4-5 months the gas pedal periodically would stick and I would have to apply extra pressure to pedal to press it down. Any suggestions? Thanks.

winxsd · January 2005

I just dealt with a sticky gas pedal on my '99 Path SE. To fix this, I removed the air intake hose from the throttle body to allow me to get at the throttle. At this point I just sprayed the inside of the throttle with throttle body cleaner from Autozone (~$3)while openeing and closing the throttle. I put a rag under the opening to the throttle to catch all the gunk that came out. I also used a clean rag that was soaked in throttle body cleaner and carefully wiped the inside of the throttle a little. It has been a few weeks now and no more stick!!

winxsd

smokey75 · January 2005

Can somebody with a 2001 PF please look at their heated seat switches at night & tell me if the switches are lighted. I know the orange light comes on when you turn on the switch, but one day I noticed the switches aren't lighted like most of the other switches & can't remember if they ever were before. Thanks...

calgaryphil · January 2005

Mine are not (2001 LE). They only light when activated.

ljt190 · January 2005

I have an 01 SE and about a year ago the flow direction know became impeded so that you can turn it to the settings at either end of the knob. So I can't have vent's only, or whatever defrost is at the far right end. It seems like something may be stuck in trying to close one of the vents so that it will not close completely. THe know will go half-way toward that setting and bounce back a little. Dealer says will have to rip dash apart to get to it, and has never seen before. Anyone else having this problem?

ljt190 · January 2005

Have had the dreaded shimmy on and off since purchase 4.5 years ago. Current tires are Goodyear Fortera (replaced Toyo OE crap at 27k). I have had tires balanced 8-10 times and sometimes it gets better (for a while) and sometimes, despite asusrances of a good balance, the shimmy gets worse. Is it a defect in the rims that is the primary cause here, or something in the steering/suspension? I am considering getting rid of an otherwise great vehicle because I can't stand this. It is murder on a long trip. Not sure if they are using a hunter balancer, but I will ask. I've never had a problem like this with any other vehicle. Thanks,

lbinh · January 2005

My prayers have been answered. Thanks Smokey75!! Most TSBs are posted with factory detail instructions.

Great to use as leverage if within warranty period at Nissan Service or for the DIY-er who is out of warranty like me.

It validated my suspicion that the ECM O2 sensor parameter was too narrow and causes the SES light to come on when really there isn't a problem with the O2 sensor.

01 LE 54K miles

lbinh · January 2005

What year is your pathy?

Try looking into TSBs for that year in the site Smokey mentioned. WWW.nissanhelp.com

I have an 01 LE with Fortera HLs(255/70/16)with factory rims. I do not have that problem.

Good luck!

keeferb · January 2005

We had this problem with our 98 PF and 02 Sentra. Minor problem, but kind of annoying. Dealer cleaned the throttle cable(probably the same thing winxsd mentioned) and then it was fine. Both were under warranty so I don't know what the cost would have been.

05se · January 2005

Hello....I'm a first time user of this board, as well as a first time owner of a Pathfinder (2005 SE Off Road, Storm Gray). I've owned this vehicle since 12-15-04, and have enjoyed it since. I have about 2600 miles on it already.....job is 44 miles round trip, plus I moved, so I've been driving back and forth moving stuff to my new place.

Anyways to make a long story short, I've been hearing a rattling noise from my truck as it shifts from 1st to 2nd while accelerating. This occurs between 2000 & 3000 RPM. I've noticed this since day one (driving home from dealership), but didn't make much of it, thinking the noise will dissapear at some point. It hasn't, and I took it to service last week. I was told the problem was caused by the center differential plate. So the tech resecured it, but it still makes the same noise.

I brought it back a day later, left the truck at

service, and got a loaner for the day. The manager calls me at work, and tells me that they can't find anything wrong, and that his boss' 05 SE Pathfinder is making the same noise. Every imaginable test had been done to diagnose this problem, but they made it seem to me that this is normal.

My question to anyone who's listening out there is, can this be true? Is anyone else with a Pathfinder, regardless of year, having this issue?

I think it's BS that the problem can't be fixed.

Certainly, there has to be a solution to this. Can anyone help a brotha out?

Thank you guys in advance

D.R.

bimmer4me · January 2005

I have a 2001 LE, no problems you've described. If you have the time, test drive another 05 Pathfinder with a service tech. If the same symtoms appear, may be you're on to something. Me thinks, your Nissan dealer is giving you... as you said "BS" .

swassdaddy · January 2005

I have a 2002 Pathfinder SE and this weekend the open door light came on after driving to the store and the vehicle sat outside for 10 min. All the doors and tailgate are closed, but the light stays on, the power locks will not lock when the key is in the ignition and the dome lights stay on? If anybody has some clue on what might be the cause of this and a possible solution to fix this problem. It was about 4 deg F yesterday outside. The vehicle is kept in the garage normally.

Figures, the 3yr/36000 warranty is now expired (have 38K).

pathstar1 · January 2005

There were problems with the rear hatch light switch. Have that checked out first.

rgrant16 · January 2005

Sorry to hear about your Pathfinder. If it helps, I've owned six different Nissans, all of which went over 200k miles before I got another one. My 95 Maxima I still own and have in excess of 200k on it. The 05 Pathfinder I bought in November has over 4k miles and its been flawless. Hint, drive the car and keep the oil fresh and DO NOT bring it back to the dealership; thats where the problems start. There mechanics are not trained properly and the good ones are doing the big jobs and they leave the inexperienced ones to do the maintenance. I worked at a dealership as a teenager, I know. Drive it and keep the oil fresh. You don't need to service the tranny every six months etc. When the brakes go, replace the pads and have the rotors cut, that's it. Do it yourself if you have the tools its easy. DO NOT bring it to the dealership. Good luck with the Truck, I love it

Rich

jager32 · January 2005

"DO NOT bring it to the dealership"

Dealers screw up just like anybody else, but I wonder if yor advise is good for everyone. If the car is not dealer serviced, I think it would be a much bigger deal to get warranty work done if something broke. They could always say, "well you didn't have it serviced like your warranty states so that was a contributing factor to the failure"

Anybody every have this happen to them?

pathstar1 · January 2005

I bought my 2001 LE and took delivery in June 2000. Two years later it had never been back to the dealer. I change the oil myself, grease the one fitting myself, change the coolant myself, clean the K&N air filter, rotate the tires, and now change the diff and trans. oil myself - I'm not aware of any other "service" the vehicle needs re the ESM. Then the "service engine soon" light came on. Made an appointment and had the O2 sensors fixed - under warrenty - no questions asked, no arguments, and there shouldn't have been any. I keep meticulous records of when I did the service and exactly what I did, including brand and grade of oil, filter, etc.

I understand in the US they can't deny you warrenty unless they can prove the fault was lack of maintenance. Sometimes they try, but if you're insistant they will "come around" to the correct solution.

riverknoll · January 2005

My blower fan stopped working last night. Checked the fuse box under the hood, all seem to be ok, unless the fan blower is controlled by one of those larger relays? I also heard there is a resistor on the blower itself? Where is the blower located and how much would the dealer charge to repair?

pathos · January 2005

I have a similiar problems to post #970.

It started with rhythmical clanging from the engine after moderate-hard accelaration. I stayed for a couple of days and even the Nissan dealer noted it. They told me to come back after 2 months later when the regional tech would be in. The sound came back a few times before that. The regional tech noted poor acceleration, but the sound was gone and the engine checked out 'fine'. They just said 'drive it it 2WD mode' instead of AUTO (manual and original dealer said driving in AUTO in dry pavement is fine)

Now I'm left with poor acceleration at freeway speeds espcially (2WD OR AUTO), it feels like the engine is cutting back briefly. And my gas mileage has dropped about 10-20%. I always use premium gas and had proper maintenence (now at 52K miles).

Anyone have any advice? Land2206: Did you get your problem fixed?

rgrant16 · January 2005

What are you a dealer? I've never had a problem with getting warranty work done when there was a problem. As far as getting maintenance done, get it done by a reputable garage or do it yourself, which is what I do. If the car appears to have been maintained then they have nothing to say. I stand by my post

rgrant16 · January 2005

I drove the off-road and bought the LE. I'm not having the same problem but I will say this. The Truck rides real real tight and lends itself to problems. Like the 84 Corvette, the Off-Road will problably shake rattle and roll until you get rid of it. My advise would be loosen-up the suspension a bit. I've seen many sports cars shake themselves apart.

4rider · January 2005

This is an very interesting post. Can you elaborate a little more on the sympton of "really tight"? and how it leads to "shake themselves apart"?

mikec4 · February 2005

My daughter has a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. The car has a "roll axis resonance" on the highway. It happens during a lane change over uneven pavement. I have replaced front struts and rear shocks. It still does it! A Nissan tech says the rear control arms need to be replaced. This just can't be. The arms and the bushings look fine. Any suggestions?

brickyfw · February 2005

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. Great discussion!

Ibinh, did you go to the dealer to get the ECM reprogrammed? Also, could you send me info on where you found those TSB's you got from Smokey75? Thanks!

I think I'm having the same ECM problem. I just bought a 2001 PF SE. I flew from Texas up to Virginia to drive it home, and about half way home (20 hour drive), the SES light came on. I took it to my shop (the PF has 70K and is out of warranty) and they hooked it up and told me it was an 02 sensor. I'm not sure which one, and I'm not sure of the malfunction code, but they replaced the 02 sensor, and for a couple of weeks, it was fine.

Then last week, the SES light came on again. I haven't been back to the shop yet. I have a suspicion that my ECM is out of whack too.

Also, my gas cap doesn't feel like it screws on very tightly. I know forgetting to put on the gas cap can set the SES light, but would the trouble code indicate an 02 sensor in that case?

lbinh · February 2005

The site is www.nissanhelp.com. Look up your year and service bulletins. I did not have my ECM reprogrammed but heard it cost someone on this board $40 from dealer.

Go to Autozone to get the code for free and maybe they will even reset it for you. Then look up the code on the website above to see if TSB exists. Go to www.iequus.com to interpret the OBD-II codes.

Do you notice any performance issues? Less gas milage, rough/poor acceleration/idle? I did not have issues but the SES light and it went away after a week or about 3/4 a gas tank used. If safety is not an issue than give it a couple weeks to be certain.

Click the gas cap at least three times and no it would not trigger the O2 sensor code. Maybe evap cannister or vacuum code.

brickyfw · February 2005

Thanks. Excellent websites.

I haven't checked the gas mileage yet. I've only had the PF for a couple of weeks. I reset the trip-odometer and will calculate mileage at my next fill-up. It runs and idles great.

The gas cap just doesn't feel like it's getting tight before it starts clicking.

98toy · February 2005

98 Pathfinder SE/V6

During start-up there is a squeaking sound lasting for only a couple of seconds (20-40)coming from under hood. Suggestions!!!!

lbinh · February 2005

Might be loose fan belts. Initial startup would try to grip the slightly loose belt and then it is ok, hence the squeaking for the short period. Tighten them or replace them if worn or cracked.

brickyfw · February 2005

Is it a loud squealing sound? Does it make the sound more often if the air conditioning fan is on or if the a/c button is pushed? I had the same sound on my '01. I had the belts tightened and voila, no more squeal.

dheidt · February 2005

I have an 05 Frontier, which has the same 4.0 engine. I am having the same problem with the engine "noise" around 2-3k RPM. I didnt think much about it until I got on the Frontier 2005+ forum and noticed there were a handful of people experiencing the same thing.

I took my truck to the dealer 2 days ago and the service manager figured it out pretty quickly. The "noise" is coming from the power valve on the intake manifold.

If you want to see for yourself, you can stand in front of the vehicle with the hood open (or just to the side if you don't trust the person behind the wheel) while someone puts it in gear and revs the engine to 2-3k RPMs while power-braking. You will see exactly what is causing the noise.

The dealer said he has had a couple of pathfinders with the problem, but Nissan hasn't put out a fix for it yet. Hopefully it won't take them too long as its a pretty annoying sound.

rs4 · February 2005

I bought a 2005 pathfinder LE last week. I have the same problem. When the rpm is between 2 and 3 I hear a rattling sound from the hood. Once the rpm goes lower the sound goes away. It is pretty prominent if the you are driving up hill as the rpm that time stays between 2 and 3. I have a appointment with the service department this Friday. I will definitely tell them the resolution that you have suggested. Thanks for your post

rs4 · February 2005

Were you able to get this resolved ?

th3gh05t · February 2005

Hi,

I am an owner of a '98 pathfinder SE with about 104k miles on it. The car has been great, expect for a few minor annoyances. Maybe you guys can help me remedy these problems.

They are as follows;

1. Power Problem - Going up hills in this car just plain sucks. At the most I can probably go around 60-65 mph. Going at this speed is around 4000 rpms. Not only is this a drain on my fuel economy, but also probably a strain on my engine. Switching to Overdrive helps a little bit, but still lacking power. I replaced the water pump and timing belt at about 92k miles, and saw a slight increase in power, but nothing substantial. The problem still persists.

2. Unstability - Ever since I got my new Pirelli tires, I have noticed that it sways right and left more often. This is something that you can tell when you amke short turns left and right. I have read on other forums that I should replace my 'upper and lower control arm bushings'.

Thanks for your help!

th3gh05t

Nissan Pathfinder Maintenance and Repair

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