The Nissan Path

I am looking at buying a used pathfinder from a Toyota dealer. The dealer wants 4K for it and it has 160k miles on it. It seems like the dealer put some money in it to fix whatever issues it had to pass inspection. The Carfax of the car shows that the tranny was flushed about 130k miles. This got me concerned and I ended in this sub since the tranny contamination issue was such a big deal for this year. Should I be concerned about this car or should I buy it and have the radiator replaced to avoid any further issues. It feels like a good deal however I am afraid that it would be a potential money pit. I am only going to use the car as a second car and for potential getaways. Please advise

Well, a transmission can certainly be flushed just for service and not necessarily because of a failed radiator/cross-contamination issue. I understand your concern, however. If the radiator is original, it should have a Calsonic sticker on the top tank and will likely have the part # 21460-EA215 or 21460-EA265. A different number than that would likely mean it's been replaced...and no sticker would likely mean it's been replaced with an aftermarket radiator. The other thing to do is listen for any "whining" that may be coming from the front timing cover, which could indicated that it'll need timing chains in the near future, which is another costly repair. While Carfax is perfect, if it had the radiator or transmission replaced previously at a Nissan dealer or a professional shop, it should be listed on the report. Of course, when in doubt, you could have an independent shop or Nissan dealer of your choosing to inspect the vehicle prior to purchasing it.

Dega112 wrote:I am looking at buying a used pathfinder from a Toyota dealer. The dealer wants 4K for it and it has 160k miles on it. It seems like the dealer put some money in it to fix whatever issues it had to pass inspection. The Carfax of the car shows that the tranny was flushed about 130k miles. This got me concerned and I ended in this sub since the tranny contamination issue was such a big deal for this year. Should I be concerned about this car or should I buy it and have the radiator replaced to avoid any further issues. It feels like a good deal however I am afraid that it would be a potential money pit. I am only going to use the car as a second car and for potential getaways. Please advise

Yeah, what SMJ said..
If that tranny flush had been due to SMOD the truck would likely have had a new tranny by now.
Other than SMOD these trannies are actually quite good.
Check the part numbers like SMJ said... and if this a replacement rad you're in the clear.
At that price if the SUV is in even moderately decent shape its a good buy (not having seen it of course)

smj999smj wrote:Well, a transmission can certainly be flushed just for service and not necessarily because of a failed radiator/cross-contamination issue. I understand your concern, however. If the radiator is original, it should have a Calsonic sticker on the top tank and will likely have the part # 21460-EA215 or 21460-EA265. A different number than that would likely mean it's been replaced...and no sticker would likely mean it's been replaced with an aftermarket radiator. The other thing to do is listen for any "whining" that may be coming from the front timing cover, which could indicated that it'll need timing chains in the near future, which is another costly repair. While Carfax is perfect, if it had the radiator or transmission replaced previously at a Nissan dealer or a professional shop, it should be listed on the report. Of course, when in doubt, you could have an independent shop or Nissan dealer of your choosing to inspect the vehicle prior to purchasing it.

Thank you for this information. The Carfax is actually not that perfect. There is only a couple of oil changes at Valvoline and an airbag sensor changed at Nissan. The rest is the Toyota dealer that fixed up the car to pass inspection. What tells me is probably the owner went to a independent mechanic who does not report to Carfax or did the fixes himself. This is a two owner car, the second owner owned it for most of its life.I will go check out exactly what you said today and give it a thorough check. How much is the timing chain and the radiator including labor if i have to change it in the future. I will make sure I bargain for that and the radiator if it needs to be changed.

Is there anything else that I should be concerned about? Thanks yo7 in advance for the help

The rads are more labor to change than most.
Maybe u can get the dealer ( who may not realize this) throw in the labor on a radiator change if u buy the part.
You will not be able to get them to "throw in" the chain tnesioner/guides/chains job.. they will know its lots of labor.

Plus unless the car sounds bad it will not have an issue.. at this age it should have shown up already.
Just listen if the engine sounds notably weird with a noticable whine

You can get a radiator from Rockauto.com for $100 or less. Plus, you'll need about 2-gallons of coolant. If I remember correctly, the labor guide time was around 3 hours? It's a little harder on the 2006 than the later R51's (i.e. 2008) because the condenser lines are rigid. I believe there was some flexible hose in the lines on my 2008 which made it easier, or at least as much as I can remember from that far back.

The timing chain job...to do just the bare minimum as per the Nissan TSB...typically runs about $1200-$1600 depending on what the shop labor rate is and whether they use Nissan or aftermarket parts. That includes replacing the two upper chains, the two upper tensioner faces, necessary seals, coolant, oil, filter, etc. From there, though, there can be a lot of add-ons that can jack up the price significantly. Things such as also replacing the primary chain and tensioner, all of the chain guides, water pump and thermostat, oil gallery cover gaskets, serpentine belt/tensioner/idler pulley and hoses. Some of those items will also add to the labor time, but many will argue it's a good time to replace them while you are already in there.

i finally got to see and test drive the car. It rides quite well and is very clean with stock matts! however there is rust building under the door frames right above the tires. i also noticed that the exhaust was rusty and leaking water un der the car. i think it is punctured and needs to be patched up. the radiator wasnot stock it didnt have the calsonic sticker. so its a good sign. the tranny is smooth and there was no sign of the timing chain problem. the engine was pretty quite. i made an offer of 3500 just because of the rust and the possible exhaust repairs. the dealer also charges 500 dollars doc fees for a 4k car!

Thanks for the information.