The Nissan Path

Hey everybody, I have a 2012 pathfinder silver edition with 28,000 miles on it which I believe is not disengaging from four wheel drive as it should. It goes in just fine. I can drive over twenty miles on straight highway at a variety of different speeds, sometimes even coming to a complete stop and taking off again and it still won't let go. Even throwing it into neutral doesn't do anything. The only time that seems fairly consistent is when going really slow and making sharp turns. I took it to the dealership and they claimed it was functioning normally and it it has a self preservation thing which I get that it doesn't want to go in and out all willy nilly but this seems a little drastic. I get the feeling that the dealership just checked the actuators and drove it around the parking lot which involve slow speeds and sharp turns and didn't want to look into it any further than that. I've only owned my pathfinder for a few months so I don't know if this is normal. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I tried out the 4wd system a week ago with the same results. Coming from a manual shift truck it was a bit unnerving. I had forgotten to do any research on the subject...

So, I guess you're not alone...or at least, we're alone in this together.

I tried to get it back down to 2wd while driving under 10 mph and it flashed but wouldnt go. Tried stopping in park, no go. Tried stopped in neutral, no go. Shut the car off, on again, park and neutral no go. Then I put it in drive and let it slowly take off, took my eyes off the display for a few seconds, look back down...2wd! I have no idea, maybe I should read the manual lol

I have found over the years of owning 4x4's that if the 4wd is not used on a regular basis over time they will have issues. I'm not saying this is the case here but I make it a point to put my Pathy in 4x4 once a month at a minimum even in the summer I just pick a straight road even if it's dry pavement and put it in 4x4 for a few miles as long as you are going straight on dry pavement it does not harm anything. Since me and some friends started doing this several years ago we have never had any 4x4 issues. Your situation really does not sound right if it only took a mile to come out of 4x4 I could see that but any more then that just does not seem right.

Mine has done this since new as well. It goes into 4x4 at any speed but coming out is very hit/miss. It will NEVER come out at any speeds above 20-30mph....so if you're in 4x4 on the highway or other roads and get to a cleared section you pretty much have to stop. When it's really being difficult, it requires turning from a stop. Over 125k miles now and it still works the same as when new....and I use 4x4 fairly often off road for work (couple times a week) but have less problems there because I usually just click it on to go through a muddy section at low speeds and then right back off. On-road is where it seems to give me more problems so perhaps it's a speed related issue.

I'm pretty sure this has to do with the wheel locking mechanism, as I've found that as long as you can get one of the front tires to spin at a different speed than the other, it always disengages. For instance, at lower speeds, making a left or right sharp turn would allow the 4wd to disengage. At higher speeds, its hard to make sharp turns without killing yourself, but I've been able to do it with the brakes and on a slippery road. Apply the brakes on a slippery surface, and the 4wd will almost always disengage, as long as one of the tires is spinning at a different speed than the other.

I noticed mine does too, I haven't had it long so I was unclear if this was normal or not. Also my 2000 blazer likes to take it's sweet time going back to 2wd. Usually with it, putting it into reverse does the trick. The Pathfinder not so much. I just ride around for about 20 seconds and the front eventually disengages. If I remembering correct, my friends Xterra went to 2wd fast.

My 08 SE does the same thing. Sometimes if I stop, put it in neutral, put it into 4-LO and let it engage, and then put it back into 2WD it'll go back in.

Totally normal. If I shift into 4x4 and try to disengage it while driving straight, it won't. As soon as I turn, it will disengage. Highways are a little trickier since they are mostly straight, but it's never been a concern off road.

I think it fair to say that when the 4wd indicator is blinking, the 4wd is not engaged. I'm pretty sure at this point the wet clutch in the t-case is disengaged, and the only component left to disengage is the hub locks.

Maybe SMJ could shed more light on that, but i do know that when the ligt is flashing, i don't have the issue with low speed maneuverability that i do when the 4wd is fully engaged.

smj999smj wrote:My 08 SE does the same thing. Sometimes if I stop, put it in neutral, put it into 4-LO and let it engage, and then put it back into 2WD it'll go back in.

My 08 S does this as well. However, it depends on the mood it's in that day if it wants to come out of 4WD. Generally it won't just disengage, I either have to be stopped or turn off the Pathfinder then back on.

I shutter to call the dealership and pick the brains of the brain trust at my local dealer. They told me that when I was having the radiator/transmission shuttering problem that it was probably the 4WD system

Went down my offroad hill this weekend and got SMJ's trick to work with no issue.

Stopped on flat surface in 4LO, shifted to neutral. Switched to 2wd, blinky but no shutoff. Rotated wheels about 25% left and then right, blinky off 2wd engaged!

Didnt require much crank at all, took about 2 seconds. Way easier than locking the hubs of my old explorer...or trying to find 4wd in the manual case.

PM sent

Disallow- can you peek at your pms if you have a couple minutes

[quote="disallow"]I think it fair to say that when the 4wd indicator is blinking, the 4wd is not engaged. I'm pretty sure at this point the wet clutch in the t-case is disengaged, and the only component left to disengage is the hub locks.

Maybe SMJ could shed more light on that, but i do know that when the ligt is flashing, i don't have the issue with low speed maneuverability that i do when the 4wd is fully engaged.[
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