The Nissan Path

Hello,

Firstly, I'm a newbie, so I'll apologize now in case I'm doing anything wrong. Secondly, I'm a Canadian living in the UK. I'll try to use US spelling, but you may see some differences. Both Canadians and Brits spell some words differently to the US.

Finally, I've read about several Pathfinder owners changing their timing chains to duplexes because the originals are considered weak. Is this true for the 2012 model year also? I'm looking to buy a 2012 in the next few months.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

The issues with the timing chains in North America (VQ40DE petrol engine) affect the 2005-2010 model years. More specifically, it is the secondary, or "upper," timing chains that had the problems. It wasn't so much as they were "weak," but because the chains, which were made by Borg~Warner, had some issues with the making of the chain links. As the tooling wore that stamped the links, it would create sharp edges on them. The upper chain tensioners have a plastic "face" mounted on top of the plunger which pushes against the chain to take out the slack. With the sharp edges on the links, the chains would cut into the plastic, eventually creating a "whining" noise. Eventually, if not repaired, it could get to the point where the chain would make it to the steel tensioner plunger and, potentially, jump time, resulting in engine damage. The replacement of the chains and tensioner faces fixes the problem.

Thanks,

All information on the Pathfinder, especially problems and corrections is greatly appreciated. I want to get a good one to start, then fix/upgrade any known issues and keep it on the road (and off-road) for as many years as possible.

Well, the Pathfinders in the UK were mostly built in Spain. I don't believe they are known for the timing chain issues nor the radiator issues we have in the USA. Perhaps the timing chain issues you are hearing about concern the 2.5L diesel, which we don't have in the USA. I do know the European R51's have a lot of problems with the rear door handles breaking, but that's a fairly minor issue.

Thanks,

Yes, the ones that we get in the UK appear to be almost exclusively 2.5 L diesels. I have a very strong preference for diesels generally so that's fine by me.