The Nissan Path

I bought a used 2007 PF LE back in 2008 (with 15,000 miles) from a Nissan dealer. At the time The CarFax showed that the vehicle was first registered to the Nissan factory in Tennessee before the local Nissan dealer purchased it at auction. One thing that bothered me was that the front grill and hood had been resprayed and visible noticed, but no obvious signs of accident. Lately I had to purchase a front end camber kit to be able to align the front camber. According to what I have read you need the camber kit of you install a lift kit or the car has been in a accident.

Is there a way to find out the real history of this vehicle prior to my purchase? I am thinking that this vehicle was in an accident and the dealer that bought it did not do full disclosure of it to me.

Any suggestions will be welcomed.

You need a camber/caster kit to get a vehicle's alignment in spec when you can't get it in spec with the provisions provided on the vehicle. An accident or suspension mod could require the installation of a camber/caster kit, but normal wear and tear could also cause need for such a kit. I recently installed such a kit in my 08 Pathy, which has neither been lifted nor in an accident.
Sometimes you can get previous accident info on a vehicle by using a service such as CARFAX.

Just got back from dealer. Was told camber bolt needed in order to get front wheel aligned. Price quote was $180. No lift kit or accidents in my 2012. I bought it new. Currently has 45k miles. Waiting on reply from Nissan corporate since it seems very early (2.5 years) to be so far out of alignment that a kit is needed.

professorPath wrote:Just got back from dealer. Was told camber bolt needed in order to get front wheel aligned. Price quote was $180. No lift kit or accidents in my 2012. I bought it new. Currently has 45k miles. Waiting on reply from Nissan corporate since it seems very early (2.5 years) to be so far out of alignment that a kit is needed.

what was wrong with the truck that the alignment had to be checked?

The tires were wearing more on the insides, mostly due to the need for a rear alignment.

It's kind of annoying to think a 4x4 on a Titan truck frame used as a grocery getter is having a hard time handling the pavement.

professorPath wrote:The tires were wearing more on the insides, mostly due to the need for a rear alignment.

It's kind of annoying to think a 4x4 on a Titan truck frame used as a grocery getter is having a hard time handling the pavement.

I have 2 R51s, both 05s, about 30K miles on one & about 56K on the other.
The SE with 30K has original tires, no uneven wear.
The SE-OR 4WD has replacement Bridgestones for years now, and has never had an alignment problem at all with either set of tires.

Well, it's a smaller version of the Titan frame, not the same frame, but that really has no bearing on alignment. There are a number of things that can cause alignment to go out and once you are past the first year or 12000 miles, Nissan will do nothing for you unless you find a defect in the suspension or frame. I see a lot of R51s as well as Titans have camber issues at the left front wheel, for some reason, including my own 06 and 08 Pathfinders, neither of which is taken off-road or abused. The 08 had to have the bolts cut out of it and the lower rear control arm replaced at the left rear as the adjustment bolt was seized into the bushing. Camber bolt kits have been installed on both. I would highly recommend you get the genuine Nissan bolt kit as they are much better made than the aftermarket kits. The part numbers are listed in a sticky under this section.

It sounds like lots of people are having the same problem. I bought a new 2005 xterra s 4x4 and never needed an alignment until about 65k miles, and even then, no camber bolts were required. I guess it set my expectations pretty high. But I like the pathfinder other than this annoyance.

Sorry to have highjacked the thread! I'll post again when I hear from Nissan about my complaint.

Heard from Nissan corporate today. I was told since I'm outside of 36k miles, Nissan will not pay for anything, even though my path is 2.5 years old. I was also told that this issue will be sent to Nissan engineers so this kind of problem can be avoided on newer models. What a disgrace.

After dealing with transmission and secondary timing chain shoe defects in the Xterra I owned, and now this with the Path, I doubt I'll ever buy another Nissan.

Sorry to add to an old thread, but I thought I would update what happened after I was told my 2012 needed a new camber bolt. I took it to another stealership and had a second alignment done. Magically, no camber bolt was needed!