Hello everyone - I have been lurking this forum for a few weeks as I consider purchasing a 2012 pathfinder silver edition 4x4.
I test drove it and it was ... ok. Considering I am switching from an 09 G37s, its a bit of a change in interior comfort, ride quality, etc.
I suspect i'll be able to improve the ride quality and upgrade to navigation, etc later on down the road.

The real concern I had was the 4x4. Its a CarMax car with 74k on it, overpriced, blah blah... when I took the pathy into a gravel driveway to the dealer's chagrin, I engaged the 4x4 ... I got indication on the dash but I never really heard or felt anything different with the driveline.
Are these pretty quiet when engaging 4x4? is there a noticeable difference in the feel of the animal while engaged? Am I being overly paranoid?

thanks in advance for your feedback. If this issue is set to rest in my mind I'll probably go give them thousands more dollars than its actually worth this weekend... cause I need a real vehicle for leaving the asphalt here pretty quickly.

Let me clarify the dash indication. I saw the front wheels blink and then go solid on the drive wheel indicator. I never saw the 4wd light do anything.

If you turned it to Auto, then the 4 wheel drive won't engage until the vehicle detects the wheels slipping. If you put it in 4 Hi, then the 4 wheel drive will engage. You should not hear or feel anything really. You should feel the difference once you start driving that you have more traction and you notice you can't turn as sharp.

In Auto, the rear and front wheels on the indicator should be filled black. The center box (transfer case) should be empty.
In 4 Hi, the rear wheels, front wheels, and center box (transfer case) should be filled black.

Didn't have the auto option and I couldn't drive for any real distance.
Seems like the indicator showing black says it's operating correctly then.

You'd feel a bigger difference if you put it in 4 low. Put it in N first, then push and turn the dial. You will hear a distinct click from the transfer case and the change in range will be obvious. The shift into 4 high is pretty seamless until you need the traction or try to take a turn at full lock.

Are you looking at the black one in South Austin?

dmchan wrote:Didn't have the auto option and I couldn't drive for any real distance.
Seems like the indicator showing black says it's operating correctly then.

If the indicator shows front wheels "black" its working correctly.
Despite the luxurious nature ( relative to other SUVs of its day) of this vehicle the generous ground clearance and good front and back angles make for a substantial offroad vehicle especially if u remove any side step rails (which are uneeded IMHO)

Never got notified of replies.
Have confirmed this one has working 4x4. Yes it was the black one in south Austin. It's now the black one in my driveway.

Congrats on the new ride! It looks really clean from the pics I saw on Carmax. Got any plans to mod it? We can compare notes if so. I'm on the north side of town

I love Carmax. They charge top of the value range, but they also gave me 30 days to make a list of everything that needed fixing. I made a list of about 20-some things and they fixed every single one. They even made sure I had an owner's manual.

Compare that to my buddy who got a deal on his Pathfinder at a local Ford dealership's used lot. Sold as-is with all of the typical issues and they didn't even give him floor mats.

I'd say you made a good decision. Congrats!

triplesnake wrote:Congrats on the new ride! It looks really clean from the pics I saw on Carmax. Got any plans to mod it? We can compare notes if so. I'm on the north side of town

Thanks! I had it less than 24 hours before I started cutting on it. I have an inability to leave a vehicle stock.
I do a lot of car camping and couldn't deal with not being able to open the liftgate or rear glass from the interior. Wired in a switch for the gate which required some minor steel adjustment. Cut a hole for the window mechanism which still needs some caterpillar grommet.

When I get the bank balance back up I'll be lifting it and sizing up the tires. Those rear springs suck, especially when I have it loaded down with 1200lbs of gear like she sits currently.

Still trying to figure out where to put a permanent, locking tool box. I'm thinking there may be a way to custom build a box in place of the 2nd row and maintain the flat cargo area.
Im up that way pretty often but I currently live in corpus.

DanJetta wrote:I love Carmax. They charge top of the value range, but they also gave me 30 days to make a list of everything that needed fixing. I made a list of about 20-some things and they fixed every single one. They even made sure I had an owner's manual.

Compare that to my buddy who got a deal on his Pathfinder at a local Ford dealership's used lot. Sold as-is with all of the typical issues and they didn't even give him floor mats.

I'd say you made a good decision. Congrats!

I pretty happy with the decision over all, although CarMax is not my favorite by any means. thankfully this one is clean and well taken care of from what I can tell.

Changed plugs and found rear most driver side had some ash fouling. Hoping its from the leaking valve cover gasket and not something more serious.

I wonder if I could get them to fix the leaking gasket....

I would definitely try - especially if you're still within the 30 day warranty period. I'm in Maryland and every dealer-sold vehicle has to pass a rigorous inspection where nothing is allowed to leak or seep.

DanJetta wrote:I would definitely try - especially if you're still within the 30 day warranty period. I'm in Maryland and every dealer-sold vehicle has to pass a rigorous inspection where nothing is allowed to leak or seep.

the nearest one to me is about 4 hours away so I'll get on the phone with them first. I wasn't all that impressed with them but perhaps that was just my particular transaction.
I'll see about having them replace the roof rack cross rails as well since they're not on the vehicle.

thanks for the info!

dmchan wrote:

DanJetta wrote:I would definitely try - especially if you're still within the 30 day warranty period. I'm in Maryland and every dealer-sold vehicle has to pass a rigorous inspection where nothing is allowed to leak or seep.

the nearest one to me is about 4 hours away so I'll get on the phone with them first. I wasn't all that impressed with them but perhaps that was just my particular transaction.
I'll see about having them replace the roof rack cross rails as well since they're not on the vehicle.

thanks for the info!

2008-2012 don't come with the roof rack cross bars standard. You can get a set from eBay for around $50.

I had it less than 24 hours before I started cutting on it. I have an inability to leave a vehicle stock.

I can relate to that!!

Congrats on your new BLACK 4x4!
When I got mine, I put some 33" All Terrains on it and took it to my local OHV park. It did better than great just stock!

Let the mods begin!!