The Nissan Path

I have a 2008 Pathfinder with 96,000 miles on it & trying to decide if I should keep it, and if I do, what next to expect will go wrong with it. So far, I have replaced the radiator (before it was able to leak into the tranny cooler), rear coil springs, wheel bearings, and had to repair the Bose system a few times. The SUV is terrible (I mean terrible even with new tires) in the winter. My wife likes the look and versatility of it, but I am not sold on its reliability.

5k more and I will be doing the spark plugs if I keep it. Any thoughts from those with over 100k on these cars? Worth keeping or dump now?

Dan

Lebesd wrote:I have a 2008 Pathfinder with 96,000 miles on it & trying to decide if I should keep it, and if I do, what next to expect will go wrong with it. So far, I have replaced the radiator (before it was able to leak into the tranny cooler), rear coil springs, wheel bearings, and had to repair the Bose system a few times. The SUV is terrible (I mean terrible even with new tires) in the winter. My wife likes the look and versatility of it, but I am not sold on its reliability.

5k more and I will be doing the spark plugs if I keep it. Any thoughts from those with over 100k on these cars? Worth keeping or dump now?

Dan

Who makes the decisions? If you, then get something else as it doesn't sound like you are too happy with it. However, at 100k, to not have the usual maintenance issues pop up would be odd. I'm over 100k with mine & literally had the plugs done today. I also need to replace one of the cats. But, aside from routine parts replacements, no problems at all.

What exactly do you mean by "terrible" in the winter? Just curious as I drive through quite a lot of snow each year, but none of that winter-long compacted ice baselayer you have on all your roads in the winter.

Haha tough call on the decision making part.....ultimately cars stuff in my court.

I cant speak for others in the northern states but I can break out the back end of this SUV hardly moving. Last winter I put on new all season + 400 lbs extra weight just to keep it on the road. My other car is a Subaru, every time it snows we now switch vehicles because she is too afraid it drive it. Realizing it is rear wheel I do expect it to a point, but this SUV by far is the worst I have ever driven.

I find it amazing that your Pathy is so bad in the snow mine is a tank in the snow! The best SUV I have had in the snow and I have owned five others over the years.

That's a tough call to keep or dump?

mine has been great in the snow. When everyone else is sliding, I'm still going straight . paired with good snow tires, it has been very reliable.

Also you might not get much as a trade in VS keeping it and use it.

I had a RWD Chrysler 300 for 5 years up here in northeast Iowa. Let me tell you, that thing was a potato in the snow. I only got stuck once but every time I stopped, I felt like Fred Flintstone trying to get it moving. After getting my Pathy, I felt like I was MC Hammering my way around people like Tom Cruise shouting "I'm in love with Katie Holmes." I felt like I used the Konami code and felt invincible. It should have been illegal on how happy I was for just driving around a SUV with 4WD in the snow.

As for the issues, Nissan is at fault for the radiator, which is fixable for $100-200 if caught before the strawberry milkshake of death occurs. At almost 100k, wheel bearings will go out on most vehicles this size. The coils and shocks will also need replaced on most SUVs as well depending on how the vehicle was used the past 9 years (ie off-roading, towing, carrying heavy loads, or living in my city where the roads resemble a golf ball). The Bose issue has plagued a few other members on here as well so that is an issue that may be in consideration. Sparks plugs should be replaced at 75-100k on any vehicle. But once you do them you have another 75-100k till the next time.

Ultimately, it is up to you if you want something else for your wife. There are other options out there like Jeep or Toyota. Every car model will have their fair share of issues. For me, I am very satisfied with my 06 Path LE with 160k. It will need its maintenance but that goes for all automobiles, some just may need more than others depending on use and how there owners maintained them.

Mine is pretty much solid like a tank in the snow. And we do get a decent amount of snow up here in Canada. Snow, slush, muck, ice... mix of everything at the same time.

Mine's a 4WD tough, with proper all season mud and snow rated tires.

That being said, if I'm being stupid, I can still break it loose. Lots of torque + wide tires. The system catches it quick though. Rarely does the actual traction control have to step in. Again ... unless I want to be stupid.

Admittedly, I've driven several Rubies in winter. Impreza, Forester, and they were all a little less sensitive under certain icy conditions. I'm going to contribute that entirely to the skinnier, full-snow/ice tires and lighter weight of the car. But as soon as there's more than a few inches on the ground Pathfinder all the way.

Granted, I don't get nearly as much snow as they do in northern states and Canada here in Virginia, but, I've had mine in over 8" of unplowed snowfall and on slick, sleet-covered roads with nothing more than passenger rated, all-season tires and my two Pathfinders have both done great.

As far as whether to keep your Pathfinder or not, it's really up to you. If you are not happy with the vehicle, then maybe it is time to move on. As far as what problems you will encounter in the future, it's impossible to say. If you still have your original fuel sending unit, that may be a future repair, but even that's not the end of the world. The upper timing chains issues that affect a good number of the 05-10 V6 Pathfinders doesn't occur on all of those Pathfinders and not any specific mileage. If there is no whining noise now, you should be in good shape for a while. Since the radiator was replaced, the trans fluid contamination issue should not occur and ruin the transmission.

I have 175K miles on my truck now and it actually hasn't been terrible in terms of reliability. As one would expect, I've replaced a few suspension components, bushings, and have had a few portions of the muffler replaced. I've replaced the exhaust manifolds twice but that's a V8 thing. I also have a flashing airbag light that, I'm guessing, will cost about $1K to fix if I wanted to fix it.

Around 150K miles I did notice little signs of age. For example, the heated seats only work on the hottest setting and the heated steering wheel doesn't work at all. The power window motors struggle a bit when it's cold and the front power seat motor takes a second to get up to speed.

I'm hard on my truck and, though it handles rough roads like a lowered Honda Civic, it's held up extremely well.

I have over 135k on my V8. Bought it brand new and haven't done any major work to it. It's been solid for me.

DanJetta wrote:I have 175K miles on my truck now and it actually hasn't been terrible in terms of reliability. As one would expect, I've replaced a few suspension components, bushings, and have had a few portions of the muffler replaced. I've replaced the exhaust manifolds twice but that's a V8 thing. I also have a flashing airbag light that, I'm guessing, will cost about $1K to fix if I wanted to fix it.

Around 150K miles I did notice little signs of age. For example, the heated seats only work on the hottest setting and the heated steering wheel doesn't work at all. The power window motors struggle a bit when it's cold and the front power seat motor takes a second to get up to speed.

I'm hard on my truck and, though it handles rough roads like a lowered Honda Civic, it's held up extremely well.

I had the flashing airbag light as well and fixed it for free! It took me like 20 attempts but eventually worked. I recommend removing the negative battery cable first and letting it reset. Then reconnect and proceed with these steps:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/2005-pathfin ... 01173.html

Good luck!


To OP: As to the Pathfinder being bad in winter... well your problem is in your tire selection. You have all season tires on the vehicle. All season = No season . I drove around in a 2004 Mustang GT with Blizzaks for years when I lived in PA. No issues at all.