The Nissan Path

Hi All,

New to the Pathfinder and this forum. Still I was hoping I could get a little advice regarding my 2007 Sport.

I bought it about a month ago and after finally getting a chance to read the manual and use it off road collecting firewood I have noticed some worrying issues.

Firstly when I turn on the ignition the user manual says the following lights should come on briefly before going out (if all is well) but I don't see them at all: 4WD, ABS, SRS light, APF light, ESP off, SLIP light. This has me worried I've been screwed by the dealer. Could there be a fuse or something that is missing to stop these lights from coming on to hide a problem that would have prevented me buying the truck?

Secondly I had to do an emergency stop to avoid a BMW the other day and the ABS was none existent. Basically the front wheels completely locked and I thought I was going to slide into him. This also makes me worry the dealer has something to hide...

When I press the ESP off button on the centre console nothing happens. The manual says the ESP off light on the dash should illluminate but it does not. Again worried....

The cruise control doesn't always work, and sometimes when it does work it switches off without warning. Worried...

If anyone can explain what might be happening or what could be the cause so I can at least have a go at figuring out he issues myself. I called Nissan and the service desk person said the lights should only come on when there is a problem and wouldn't listen even when I read out he user manual that said the lights should come on briefly as part the the start up before going out. That and they want to start by charging me £85 to hook it up the the diagnostic computer before they even do anything.

Please, please help. I have really gone off the poor Pathfinder and I really want to like it.

Thanks All,

Ed

The lights should illuminate when you turn the key to "ON" as a "bulb check." The fact that you have none of those lights indicates a problem. I would first check all of the fuses and fusible links to make sure none are "blown."

Took it to Nissan today. £153 for 1 1/2 hours of diagnosis before anything is even sorted.

Is anyone interested in the outcome?

lay it on us...

I vote for bulbs either pulled or burnt out.

1) The air con drain is disconnected thus causing the air con condensation to drain into passenger footwell. £136

2) The front ABS sensor and "angle sensor???" are faulty. £216 and £950

3) 4WD switches on transfer case faulty. £371

4) Needs front brakes...

5) Engine chugging down to suction control valve and fuel filter most likely. £334

6) Aux belt and power steering belts are chirping. £118

7) CAMS communication fault caused by faulty earths. £102

So all in over £2500 (£s not $s !!!). What kind of legal recourse could I have on the garage that sold me the second hand car? I feel like I've been f*cked over tbh. I am very upset and feel cheated.

If you are a solicitor and know what my legal position is please do say. I can't afford a £2500 bill but at the moment I have a Pathfinder that is about as good as a paperweight. Thing is as it stands it probably wouldn't even make a very good one of those either.

I knew I should have stuck with a Toyota Landcruiser.

Ugh, that sucks, I'm sorry. In the US we have the Lemon Law but I'm not sure what you guys have.

On a positive note, most of what's wrong with yours is relatively straightforward to fix unless you're not at all handy. The belts, brakes, switches, sensors grounds… it could be much worse. At least you don't have a bad transmission valve body or a faulty timing chain. You have a tremendous advantage by knowing exactly what's wrong. I'd say download the service manual, order some parts online, get some tools and spend a couple of weekends getting dirty.

You're lucky because the Pathfinder was designed by cavemen, which makes it easy to work on. It took me 30 minutes to change a wheel hub, rotor and pads (per wheel) and I only needed 2 tools. My wife's Jetta required a specialized tool, a guy named Otto and therapy for anyone listening to me scream profanities.

Funny that. When I was 16 I had a Ford Capri and ran it using money from a paper round. I used to fix everything and used second hand parts. I even put 3 clutches in by dropping the transmission onto my chest and rolling it off my left arm. Ha. I feel nervous now about messing with cars but I guess for the prices they are charging for labour at £95 / hour it is worth like you said losing 20 odd years and getting my hands dirty again. Reading you post has made me think I could do it again.

Still, I am annoyed that a lot of this stuff is the sort of stuff that doesn't show up during a normal test drive and the fact the warning lights weren't on is another punch to the stomach. Grrrrr.

Found some information from the office of fair traiding.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/report ... ft1241.pdf

Doesn't do much for you US owners but for any UK buyers this is very interesting reading.