The Nissan Path

The only record i have of replace my rear brake shoes is from 85k miles. I am at 213k and I pulled the drum today and the shoes look fine. Is it normal to have very little wear for over 125k miles? I wouldnt think so.

This is a 2001 LE.

The rear drum brakes are manually adjusted unlike the front discs so, unless you are under the car frequently to adjust them then they tend to get underused. Car makers tried several methods to automatically adjust drum brakes over the years. Driving slowly in reverse and pumping the brake pedal was one older method or more recently just using the parking brake lever. None were very effective. The older Pathfinders before the r-50s offered 4 wheel disc brakes which would have been the way to go. It seems like Nissan built the r-50 to see just how cheaply they could make a vehicle.

can you adjust without pulling tire and drum?

Most of the braking is done by the front brakes. I have the original rear shoes on my 2003 Frontier and it has 210,000 miles in it and they are about 70% worn. My 1997 Hardbody had 200,000 miles on it's original rear brakes and they were 50% worn when I got rid of it. There is an oval-shaped, rubber plug on the rear brake backing plates which can be removed to adjust the brakes, if needed. Be careful not to adjust it too tight.