The Nissan Path

My 2012 Base model S Pathfinder came with a stereo system that shall we say is quite basic and not exactly of high sound quality so I am doing an upgrade. I have an Alpine head unit picked out that includes a satellite Radio tuner and I am going to upgrade all the door speakers. The front speakers are 6x9 and the rear doors are 6.5 inch. Has anyone replaced the factory door speakers and was it an easy job? Also will most 6x9 speakers fit the front doors or do I need to find a "slim line" pair or do some cutting?

Once you remove the door panel, which isn't too bad of a job, speakers will be sitting right in front of you. Front speakers mount into a plastic bracket. I would recommend you go to Crutchfield.com. They will show what speakers will be an easy fit. If you purchase from them, they also provide any needed brackets, harness adapters so you don't have to cut the factory harness and instructions.

Kestral wrote:My 2012 Base model S Pathfinder came with a stereo system that shall we say is quite basic and not exactly of high sound quality so I am doing an upgrade. I have an Alpine head unit picked out that includes a satellite Radio tuner and I am going to upgrade all the door speakers. The front speakers are 6x9 and the rear doors are 6.5 inch. Has anyone replaced the factory door speakers and was it an easy job? Also will most 6x9 speakers fit the front doors or do I need to find a "slim line" pair or do some cutting?

I replaced all my door speakers and put in a dvd touch screen my self and one could do it in 3 hours by them selves if they know the wireing with the head unit. An adapter and a quick google search made my life a bit easier. Dash comes apart easily, almost too easily kind of scary. As for the doors I put jbl 6x9s in the front and some MTX thunders in the rear. The MTX came with a door braket that is needed. Also most door speakers now a days come with slide on clips that you will have to crimp on your self after cutting the factory plug off.. Be sure to leave enough room on the plug end to replace it if you ever want to go stock again.
Take a screw driver and pop the bottom 2/3 of the door panels all the way around the car. I did all four speakers without having to remove the door panel. Although fairly tight it wasn't hard. If you plan on running a sub run the heavy gauge power and your remote power down the passenger side underneath the plastics that run along the doors. I used the handy screw driver to pop them up as well

ok so i am about to do the same thing with my 10 pathfinder... except i am going to add a sub or two.... it was mentioned that the dash came apart scarily easy.... can u elaborate for me? i am trying to figure out how much time i need to hide away to do it.... thanks!!

The dash is so simple to take out I can do it while driving if I had to...@ first it seems a bit rough but it really isn't.that little tray on top in the center get your right hand on that little tray "lip" and push in on either side and pull with both. Pop! She's out lol. Then there are 4 screws that hold in the heady it brackets. Two on each side, be sure that when putting the dash back together you alighn the little tabs on both sides before you just push/tap into position... And that's it its that easy. A little tip to give you some more room is to take a screw driver and pry up the center consol piece.. In my car with grey interior it is a silver piece that goes around the little storage din underneath the heating and ac controls.. Give that a little pry it snaps out about a half inch, then proceed with the above

You see thats the thing... I dont have that little tray.. all of the docs I have found state the same thing... I have the trip computer and information screen with no nav system... so far all I can find is info on the dash your refferring to... I still dont think it will be that hard but I like to have my ducks in a row before I start snatching on panels.

i have the same dash your talking about in my 09 SE, to take apart the dash you need to pull out the cup holder tray, then pop off the shifter knob, then pull off the whole plastic piece around the shifter cup holder area, then youll find four screws holding in the little aux/storage cubby, pop that out, then there'll be 2 12mm screws holding brackets inside the area that the little storage/aux thing was in, take those out and thats it. after that the whole console thing will come out, be gentle youll need to unplug wire harnesses as you go along this stressful journey.

its only hard the first time, i can pull my dash apart in 2 minutes now

that is excellent information... i am going to add an amp and possibly a sub woofer or 2 because... well.... frankly... it sounds like garbage.. does anyone know if the factory head unit has rca amp outputs? i have found the "wiring scheme" for the speaker outputs and per the suggestions i plan on running my power wires down the passenger side...i dont plan on this being a huge undertaking but like i said i like to make a plan and have all of my parts ready so i dont have to make trips to the store with my dash half apart.... local law enforcement frown upon that around here...

No rca holes, youll have to cut into the speaker wire

dang..... oh well i will do it the old school way then.... do you speak from experience? have you upgraded yours? if so what did u modify?

yeah from experiance, i installed an amp and sub, just becareful with the wires, theyre close together and really brittle and if they touch you'll fry your computer and have to pay 1000+ to get it fixed (happened to me) and im experienced in radio installs so it made me a little upset lol

wow... ok awesome tips! i am planning on adding a 2 channel amp, running my front doors off one channel and my rear doors (changing speakers) and a 10' sub off the low pass channel of the amp.... in case your wondering why i dont go with a 4 channel amp, i was given the amp and the sub (bazooka tube)... so all i have to buy is speakers for the rear doors and some wire... thanks for all of the help!

Hey Kestral,

What Alpine unit did you install? I have the same base model and it's been nothing but trouble. I can do the installation as I put in one of those lame Grom USB adapters in the past. Does your Alpine have a USB capability?