Troubleshooting the Pathfinder

soynuts

I have two questions:

My first regards installing a K&N air filter to get better gas milage. After installing, I disconnected the negative side of my battery to reboot my computer, but didn't notice any difference in performance. I repeated the process and left the battery disconnected for a few hours and still no change. Any tips??

Second, I recently sprayed out my engine bay at a local car wash. Now my pathfinder is hesitant when I push on the gas. It seems to react a little better at higher RPM's. I checked to make sure my spark plugs were all connected properly, and checked my distibuter cap to make sure there wasn't any water traped... I also ran some SeaFoam in my last tank of gas and a little with my enging oil... Any help?

paisan

Did you think the K&N would increase milage or performance? They only marginally help and usually only in high-hp/high performance situations coupled with other mods would they be noticeable.

As for the washing, you probably loosened something or got water somewhere, check your vaccum lines for leaks or disconnects.

-mike

soynuts

I have read a few different posts that have said installing a K&N in a pathfinder will increase from about 15mpg to 19? If this isn't the case, what would you say the advantage to haveing a K&N air filter is?

Also, I was planning on replacing my spark plugs. Would this help the sputtering acceleration if my current plugs are dirty or malfunctioning?

paisan

15->19 not happening.

15->16 maybe.

Advantages of the K&N will be better throttle response, more power, also if you increase your exhaust size the higher flow of the air filter will help it as well.

Better for the environment since you re-use it for the life of the car, rather than throwing it away ever 15k miles.

As for spark plugs, can't hurt to replace em on a 94 Pathy.

-mike

soynuts

Thanks for your help! Do you know of a repair manual that you would suggest?

opiedog

I hate to sound so stupid, but how does the MP3 player in my 2005 Pathfinder Off Road package work. I have burned my own CD's and they can't be read by the player. What can the player read? What am I doing wrong?

paisan

You need to "close" the burned CDs in order for the MP3 player to read it. Also check your manual (I don't have the MP3 player in mine) it may need to have the files in a certain name format like it can't be more than XXX characters long. Let us know if you get it working as I'm sure someone else on here will want to read it.

-mike

opiedog

Thanks for the reply. I'm traveling on business and have not been able to try your suggestions. Even so, I'm confused by what you mean by close the burned CD.

paisan

When you burn a CD on your computer you have the option of leaving it open so you can put more stuff on the CD, in that case only CD Rom drives that are also burners can read the CD. If you configure your burning software to "close" the cd then non-burner CD Roms (such as the one in your pathy) will be able to read it.

-mike

ppc2674

have a 2001 SE V6 Pathfinder. The horn, cruise control, and the volume for the stereo on the steering wheel is not working. I have checked all fuses, the relay, and both horns and they are good. While testing the #1 or the #2 position on the horn relay directly to the ground, the relay energized and the horn blew constantly. If there is anyone out there who has had this problem and can give me feedback, please comment.
Thanks,
J.P.

ckrocken

2001 pathfinder my mechanic says that the nose that i hear is coming from the egr motor. the engine light comes on occasionally and i loose a few miles per gallon. i called the dealer they want to do diognotic test for $95. the engine doesn't stall while driving.
if it is egr motor $140 they will replace and the control value $55 and clean out the metal tube that may have carbon in it they say it is a 5 hour job. it all seems a bit high
is it the said parts and can i do it myself?

87pathy

I have a 87 Nissan Pathfinder V-6
It was driven up till the exhaust went and I parked it 3 yrs ago...
I really want to get this thing back to life but I cannot get it to start now. Here is what I have done so far.

- Drained the old bad gas out really really yellow stuff

- Drained the lines

- Found the new Gas I added smelled more like bad gas the fresh stuff redrained it again.

- re drained the lines

- I cleaned the plugs they still look new as I put then in just before I put it away...

- The Fuel pump is working-----

- Truck fires up when gas is added through the carb---but wont run on its own.

- Took the carb/throttle body off cleaned it still nothing

- Added a bit of oil to the cylinders

Anyone having any suggestions feel free to help me out.... This Pathfinder was good to me so I would really like it back
Thanks

don227

Hello,
I have the same truck. You said you drained the lines but did you change the gas filter? It would be clogged if you had bad gas.

rmalinoski

My 92 pathfinder decided not to start Saturday. Recently several diag/dash lights have lit up including the Anti-lock, Brake, Alt lights. My wife claims recently it sounded as if it struggled to start a few times on first start in the morning. We credited that to it being cold now that the temp has dropped a good 30-40 degrees in the past few weeks. However last night after driving it to and from the home depot we parked the truck in front of the house and proceeded to unload our bags. After sitting for only like 10 minutes we got in the truck to find it would not start. It is definatley trying to start as the dash/diagnostic lights come on and get bright and fade get bright and fade and you can hear it trying to start. We eventually got a jump start and parked the truck. This morning however ...the same thing....any pointers? I am mechanically and electrically proficient as i am an army vet with an MOS in electrical repair and i currently fix commercial food equipment. I have always been hesitant to work on my cars though...but now it seems I have no choice. Please help.

RM

rsen

I have a 97 nissan pathfinder w 130000 miles. Cold start high idle 1500 if you engage tranny it will stall. When veh norm op temp works fine.

When veh warm enuf to not stall it will either shift thru pattern to high gear. When coning to stop will stall. trans does nt disengage. you can shift to neutral and get a high idle. when at complete stop put trans in drive. no problem. once veh op temp veh runs and ops norm

codyt

My 88 V6 pathfinder 4x4 has been driven regularly, recently it has had the problem of not starting especially when it is warm. Cold it will usually fire right up but after warming, if you cut the engine it won't start back. The engine turns but it won't start, it seems to be getting fire and gas. Sometimes it runs perfectly and then out of nowhere it will begin acting up, smoking and lugging and it acts like it wants to die. The shop replaced the rotor and distributor and also added gas treatment and injection cleaner but the problem is continuing. Any ideas would be appreciated.

jamisonn

Recently purchased 87 pathfinder for 16 year olds first car. Changed plugs ,cap&rotor, fuel filter, battery, air filters, oil &oil filter. It takes a while to start but when started it runs pretty good but there seems to be lack of power. Every time I try tostart it ,it runs a couple seconds longer each time the key is turned so it takes about 12 times to get it running. Injectors are working fine do you think the fuelpump needs replaced?

ckone0814

2005 Pathy.

How in heck do you remove/move these stinkin roof rack cross bars?! I can't get the torx screws loose - I already stripped one. :mad:

Thanks.

ckone0814

1) When going down hills in gear I often feel my AT down shift. Seems like some sort of preset transmission braking going on? I read in the manual about hill braking but the scenario it describes seems different than what I'm seeing. Is this normal or could something be wrong?

2) I've confirmed by testing that my speedo is showing too high mph. For example, when the speedo shows 65 the vehicle is only going 60. I can adapt but would prefer it be closer - I know some cars are off but this is almost 8% different. Anyone have this or know anything about it?

3) Have dual zone climate control; everytime I start the truck, I see the defrost logo come on. It goes off after a few minutes. It's winter so it's usually mid-30 degrees or below outside and I know that when defrost is on and outside temp is under 36 f the a/c is activated so I'm concerned about gas mileage. I'm not manually starting the defrost - it happens automatically. I can't find anything specific in the manual - Is this defrost thing normal?

Thanks!!!

Pandora588

recently had a ton of snow and ice which provided many opportunities to switch from 2W to 4W drive. At one point, someone put in 4W lo but after dial was turned back to 2W, it remained in 4W Lo and won't come back out. Even after many dial turns, stopping, turning off/on etc.
Any thoughts on how to get it out of 4W Lo?

ckone0814

have you tried driving it forward at slow speed for a couple of hundred feet or so?

ckone0814

btw, 4 low is for very slow speed doing things like rock crawling, pulling out at a boat ramp, ascending a steep snow-covered driveway, etc.

AndKM

I just bought a 2002 pathfinder. On the way home we noticed an exhaust smell that only seemed to be evident when the engine was warm. This smell increased when you acellerated. We took it back and they changed the exhaust resonator. Since they did this the smell is now more of a burning oil smell. The smell happens at the same point as it did before, just less of an exhaust smell. Before they changed the resonator it would came in heavily through the heater, and now it seems to be coming in from the floor boards. Apparently the shop indicates no major leaks in the exhaust system. Any suggestions?

chusted01

my odometer, tripometer and cruise control quite working. Now the O/D light flashes 16 or 17 times when the ignition is turned on. :confuse:

any info would be great

xtierra

check the color of your tranny fluid..... also you can get an idea of how its working by touching the carpet below the auto shifter... i touched mine and was abnormally warm... checked fluid and found it cooking oil color..... you should replace your tranny fluid around 80k miles.....
i did it myself... drained the quarts...then replaced nut.... filled what i removed... then i disconected hose at the bottom of radiator in front of oil filter... i placed a 4 foot hose attached to hose i removed and with a buddy i started engine for 4 to 7 seconds... when quart container filled i stopped engine and also placed 1 quart of new tranny fluid... did it quite a few times untill fluid was coming out red new..

mpuzio34

I brought my car in for a tune up @ 60,000 miles. The care has had no problems at all so far. The day I picked up my car after the tune up my Check engine light came on. I brought it back to the mechanic and he said it was an o2 sensor issue and that it had nothing to do with the tune up!!! I really dont believe him and think he should fix the problem that he created. Am I just in thinking the two are correlated??

bill24060

I'm messing with a 1996 pathfinder. The timing belt broke and it was towed in to my house. the motor is shot. The problem in the wheels are locked. It's not the brakes. I have it on jack stands and the wheels will take the slack out of the drive shaft, but will not turn. Even with the clutch engaged. don't think it could be the transfer case. I don't know what is wrong. can anybody give me clue on what to look at next.

steve_s3

i have a 2001 nissan pathfinder,and the low beams wont work the high beams do though,i have checked the fuses and wiring still the low beams dont work

99accent

My resonator snapped off at the flange connection to the muffler in the rear , I fixed it with a pipe inserted into the insides of the pipes and clamped it , its OK for now but some one said you can have a pipe installed at the shop and not even need a resonator , well I thought that the system would not pass inspection H2O) if this is done , does anyone know about this ,because I would rather just have a pipe out and remove the resonator, I have been behind other pathfinders on the highway and noticed a lot just have the rear resonator swinging in the breeze , does any one know about putting a regular pipe and will it effect the emissions passing?

joe279

I stored my 94 Pathfinder for 4 years, now that I started driving it again and had the engine replaced, the cruise no longer operates at all. Nothing happens when you push the set button. All fuses are good, the vacume things works when you put vacume on it manually. Is there a relay for it somewhere? Everything seems to be plugged in after the engine swap.

shoneyboy

:confuse: My 02 Pathfinder will not shift into gear (automatic). It cranks and runs fine, but when you try to shift it into drive, the shifter will not shift. In the owner’s manual, it shows that there is a release button that you can push to let the shifter go, but once you put back into park you have to push it again. the owner’s manual said there is a low electrical problem, but it doesn’t show were to go from there, but to a shop $$$. I have checked the battery and the fuse box is next. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks SB

snookered

2003 with only 29,000 miles, automatic with four wheel drive. Left front end noise when moving sounds like the tire is flat. When I step on brake noise abates at lower speed. Considered noise was from brake pad or brake part loose since I had installed new brake pads, within 4 mos.
Lifted front end and couldn't determine problem. Now I'm thinking the CV joint.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks

99accent

this started after your brake job so have it checked for loose pads or spring clips missing or not seated properly. even if you take it to a brake place its worth it .

twitek

We bought a used 90 pathfinder about a month ago. my boy friend put in a stereo and hard wired it when we plugged it in it started smoking. the car was not in the on position it was totally shut off and shouldn't have been getting power yet. We pulled the stereo fuse and have not messed with it. However, since then my truck will shut itself off while I am driving. The ignition disengages but the clock doesn't reset. It's like I turned the car off but the key is still turned. After a few minutes, so far, it will start back up. I have never heard of a car just shutting itself off like this. I am sure it is an electrical issue but not sure if the radio incident is the cause or where the problem is centered. I was thinking a short in the ignition and accessories but I do not know. We are a very low income family and thought we lucked out with a great deal. Hopefully this is not as big of a problem as I fear it may be.

99accent

first of all always buy a adapter plug kit for hooking up any radio ,its easy and no problems with fires and burnt wires.

it seem .s your car went into a shut down lockout mode ,which try auto zone for free to see if they can flash the computer or a dealer get a price to re flash the computer. it should not cost much for this operation.

bigobucfan

I'm having the same problem. During the "Blizzard of 2010" we had close to 2' of snow total. Drove to work in 4hi...no problems. Leaving work I was in 4lo all the way back home (blizzard conditions avg speed was around 15mph). Parked the pathfinder, next morning I get in still in 4lo, crawled out of the snowdrift shift out of 4lo and nothing happens. The indicator thing flashes instead of being solid, but you can feel it is still in 4lo. I tried stopping and starting.....slowly driving for a couple hundred feet several times, 2hi, 4hi back to 4lo and nothing happens. I thought there may be a build up of ice underneath preventing it. I parked it and let it idle while I shoveled for an hour....still no change after trying everything again. I am stumped.

bigobucfan

sounds silly, but do you have the parking brake on when you try to shift it? Try it with parking brake off and see what happens....

hstevens

I have a 95 Nissan Pathfinder 6 cyl, automatic.
It died as I pulled in to the parking spot at work. I still had power (lights, radio). I turned off the car and attempted to re-start and got nothing. no click or anything. still had power
Can anyone help??

pmp22

For a few months now, our 97 Nissan 5speed SE Pathfinder has made an intermittent screeching noise when starting it, seems to be on cold mornings. We don't always keep it parked in 1st gear. Sometimes the noise will stop after a few seconds or it will stop when changing gears (example when reversing out or driving away from the driveway) as we engage another gear. Only recently have we started to hear a very, very faint rhythmic squeak when the screeching stops. This rhythmic squeak subsides very quickly. It also seems the screeching may occur if we have not stepped on the clutch completely when starting the car, but again mostly during cold mornings. Might this noise be related to engaging and disengaging the clutch?

99accent

there is a lock out in the immobilizer system if you have that in 95 and you have to flash the computer or relearn it. LOL

99accent

this may be the throw out bearing needing lube ,in the colder months the grease is so thick and if there isn't enough in the bearing it will do this, on warm days it may never happen

vicki57

My pathfinder has about 26,000 miles on it. A few months ago I took it to the dealer because of squealing in the brakes at low speed. It has progressed to metal clanking, brakes squealing, and when they arent doing that, there is a low sounding thunk when I apply the the brakes at low speed. It is not at any particular time, like when I first start driving for the day or when it's cold, etc. It could be fine when I leave the house and then start it after visiting the store and it's doing this or visa versa. It is particularly bad when backing out of my driveway. What concerns me is the banging noises, metal to metal. I just visited the dealer today and they still say nothing wrong with my car. I played a recording of the terrible noises and still, there is nothing wrong with it. Maybe it's safe but something is not right. Anybody else had this problem or have any ideas what could cause this?