Nissan Pathfinders

[Sarc]

A good friend of mine is considering an older Nissan Pathfinder for daily duties and has asked me my thoughts and recommendations on them before he pulls the trigger. The thing is, I know nothing about them, what year to avoid, etc. I suspect they’re overbuilt mechanically as the 4 Runners of this era were; how are they from a corrosion standpoint? A quick search brought up some issues with rust around the front perches.
He’s scaling back on a couple vehicles and wants an appliance that can haul his two youngsters, do home depot runs, return ‘decent’ gas mileage and allow him to keep his 993 for nicer days.

He wanted an FJ80 (my fault), but his better half wants something that will yield better gas mileage; not sure how he’ll accomplish much better than that with any SUV.
He’s favoring the 2000-2004 generation and wants me to join him this weekend when he plans to check a few out. Any thoughts or insight into these or what to look out for?
Thanks in advance…

[gtc]

The really old ones have parts availability problems... a friend of mine had his AFM go bad, and replacements were nonexistent. He wound up selling the truck because he couldn't pass emissions.
Probably not an issue with an '00-'04 though.

[kaisen]

They're pretty bulletproof. The 3.5L VQ motor (ala Maxima) is one of the best motors ever made, and they have timing chains. Front struts are weak and need replacement often. The strut-top rust you're talking about is a Nissan recall with free repair.

I love those years, and I think they're equally as good as similar vintage 4Runners. Unfortunately, they're almost as expensive too.

There are lots of better 'bang for the buck' options, but very few better vehicles.

[Rikao4]

had an 89 in Germany..
like Wayne said..
held it's own on the Autobahn..
great ski truck..
never a hic-ups..
now looking for another...(for the dogs )

Rika

[stomachmonkey]

Had an 87 2 door.

Great ski vehicle.

Impossible to get a speeding ticket in it unless going down hill. It got out of it's own way easy enough but top end was limited.

Buddy of mine who owned a shop suggested I unload it before transmission problems set in. He hated working on them, said it was the hardest tranny he'd ever encountered.

Gas mileage was ehh from what I remember.

[kaisen]

Well, you have first hand anecdotes on 1987, 1988, and 1989 Pathfinders which have almost nothing to do with a decade or so newer 2000-2004.

LOL, Pelican is great

[desertt5]

My neighbor has a 99 model (I think). It has over 250K miles on it and starts everyday. His brother has one with more miles on it than that.

[Aetto]

Here is a pic of my 99.5 SE. I had it for 9 years and it gave me excellent service.
It had a V6 with auto , the only thing I did was basic service, oil changes , brakes, timing belt.
I sold it last year with 100k miles. Gas mileage was around 18 city and 23 hwy.
Paint held up nice as did the leather interior. No issues with ac- pwr wdws or locks.
I would own one again.
Hope this helps good luck with your search.

[sammyg2]

I had a 93 pathfinder once. Not a bad vehicle, a few things went wrong but nothing major, it was a typical nissan in that IT WAS ALMOST AS GOOD AS A TOYOTA.

[Palum6o]

Sarc, the Pathfinder in the years your friend are looking at are really good. I had a 2003 since new that I just sold. The only change made in 2004 were the electroluminescent guages and a darker finish to the 17" rims on the LE. The main difference in the LE vs SE are the wheel design, roof rack and running board designs, I believe the SE has a slightly wider wheel stance. I had always preferred the look of the LE. The fit and finish of these cars are superb, after 9 years of ownership never had a rattle, squeek etc.. The only issue I had with mine was the exhaust pipe had rusted and broke 3 times during my ownership. The AC started to get really loud, and was replaced under warranty, and lastly the stereo's 6-disc changer had skipped a lot (also replaced under warranty). Recently there was a recall issued for the shock towers, but you'll find the later models weren't affected as the earlier ones. They didn't do much other than put some rust preventative on mine.

Overall drive quality was good, the 4 wheel drive worked well. When we had the car packed with kids and luggage, the ride quality did decrease, and larger bumps didn't ride out so well. Other than that, it's a great truck, very practical. I was really sorry to see it go, but my family is growing and we needed a larger vehicle. I was also pleased to get $11k for it after only 11 days on cars.com. A Nissan enthusiast bought it the day he saw it and said it was the nicest one he's seen since his search began in April of this year. I take good care of my vehicles and like the Porsche, I had a full service history and never hesitated to change fluids or perform any recommended service on it.

I used to frequent this site a lot for more information: Pathfinder - Nissan Forums: Nissan Forum there's a sticky on set screws on the butterfly valves coming lose over time and getting sucked into the engine causing engine failure. I'd read up on that. Also, I had read for the lots that had that issue, if the screws weren't locktite'd by now, the screws probably already came lose.

Oh, here is the post I had on here offering it to the Pelican community first before listing it on cars.com: I'm selling my Pathfinder as well

[speeder]

Wow, Mike. That was a clean used Pathfinder. Nice colors too. I've always liked the looks of that generation PF but we've been stuck on 4-runners since the early '80s in my family. I've had close friends with that SUV though, they always enjoyed them enough to buy another.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

My dad had a 93 Pathfinder. GREAT truck.

Additionally, a good friend has a 89 Pathfinder I borrow when I need to haul stuff. They are very solid trucks. He commutes between LA and San Francisco weekly and averages 20-25MPG.

[Sarc]

Wow, thanks guys. This is just the kind of information I was hoping to glean from "The Pelican" (as Mrs. Sarc likes to refer to this bbs). I know Grant wouldn't mind a first gen if he could find a clean one, so the comments related to those are welcome too.
Passing all this on to my friend.
Thanks again.