How many Trouble free miles to expect of my 08 Pathfinder ?

[tommymonza]

Bought it with 74000 and it has 96000 now and has been trouble free other than having to do the Trans line reroute .

So how many trouble free miles are you guys getting out of your Pathfinders and if troubles what kind of ones Major mostly but minor is always helpful too.

To be honest I am kind of freaked out about owning mine anymore after fortunately discovering the radiator problem and rerouting it before it was a problem , but that could have been a major issue for me that would have left me paying on a parked vehicle for a long time.

My 4 wd le is mint inside and out .Hate to see her go but if she is going to leave me stranded or cost a ton she is going to the Kia dealer on a trade on a Soul.

The tranny scares me the most as I bought it for towing .

Has anyone had any Transmission problems non related to the Radiator failure ?

Great site by the way.

[DanJetta]

I'm wondering this, too.

You don't really hear about high-mileage Pathfinders (200K+) like you do with other cars and, having just hit 103K miles, it's got me a tad nervous.

The only real "high mileage" concerns I've noticed with mine so far are a sloppy transmission (rough shifts and torque converter slack) and annoying exterior squeaks (characteristic of any mid-90s Ford SUV or truck). The V8 runs like a clock – of course I did replace just about every part around 75K miles.

My father-in-law had an '05 Frontier with 150K miles on it (and the original radiator) but it got totaled.

Anyone have a ton of miles on theirs?

[NmexMAX]

What was replaced at 75k?

[skinny2]

I'm not much beyond you all. 112k miles and really don't have much to report beyond preventative maintenance. I've replaced the battery, front sway bar bushings, shocks, rear hatch struts, front brakes twice, rear brakes once, spark plugs, belts/tensioner, two sets of tires, and some exhaust brackets. Also swapped the radiator as a precaution. Otherwise it starts and goes like stink. I've got a testy power window switch at the moment but it's not really bothering me enough to fix it.

[JAHBLESSINGS]

im at 112k . so far i've done the bypass, fan clutch, condenser fan with aftermarket unit, fuel sender,plugs, oil cooler oring, master window switch and the tailgate struts with glass struts twice. no real issues other than the annoying rattles from the plastic panels. i do all my routine maintenance like clock work.

[DanJetta]

What was replaced at 75k?

My non-maintenance repairs are pretty much on par with JAH and Skinny's: fuel sending unit, accessory belt tensioner, radiator (just for my own peace of mind), a couple of TPM sensors, some switches (master window switch and seat heater), rear hatch cinch motor, two door seals, sunroof gasket, control arms, some bushings, rear hatch and glass struts, chipping paint on the roof. I think my cats were replaced under warranty just before I bought it.

Mostly a bunch of nickel-and-dime 'backyard mechanic' type of stuff. Oil changes every 5K miles and other suggested maintenance as manufacturer recommended.

[LessThanZero]

Not to bring up a old topic, but I have 171,XXX on my 08 Pathfinder. To date I've had the following issues:

1 Transmission/Radiator issue,
2 Fuel Sending Unit (Just changed it out today, works like new)
3 Both lower control arms are going bad,
4 Drivers side window control won't control front passenger window,
5 I had the front main bearing go out many years ago, that was interesting.
6 I'm not sure if it's going out, but last winter I had an issue with the 4WD system disengaging. It seems to work, but it seemed like it took forever to disengage.

Other than that, it's just normal wear and tear and general stuff like the battery, lift gate pistons, back glass pistons, and whatnot going out.

I keep reading about all the problems that R51 Pathfinders have and wonder why we bought them, but it's a tough SUV and goes everywhere without complaints.

[blink32]

...
6 I'm not sure if it's going out, but last winter I had an issue with the 4WD system disengaging. It seems to work, but it seemed like it took forever to disengage....

Were you able to take a moment and try reversing when this occurred? Pretty common issue when the drive train gets bound up and won't disengage 4wd a little backing up will do the trick 9 out of 10 times. Could be that.

[smj999smj]

I had an issue where I couldn't get the 4WD to engage 4L and the 4L would flash on the cluster and had some times where it took a long time to get out of 4WD. While doing an oil change, I took a hammer and tapped on the electric motor on the back of the transfer case and it's been working fine ever since!

[skinny2]

4 Drivers side window control won't control front passenger window,

I recently did this replacement and learned a lesson.... 1. Stick to an OEM part (switchdoctor.net has the oem switch for $230). The aftermarket they offer wouldn't work and they admitted they had trouble getting the aftermarkets to work properly. 2. Replace the switch before it totally shits itself. I put mine off for a long time because it was just a slight inconvenience nudging the switch a bit to get it to work, but then just out of the blue the window rolled itself down and the switch was dead. You can't roll it back up with the pax switch either once the drivers switch dies. So I had to take the door apart and get power to the motor to raise it back up. Then the next day it randomly lowered again. Repeat process to get window back up and this time I unhooked the power so it couldn't roll itself down. Then once i got new switch...I had to take door apart again to hook the power back up. So I made my life difficult by putting it off.

6 I'm not sure if it's going out, but last winter I had an issue with the 4WD system disengaging. It seems to work, but it seemed like it took forever to disengage.

Mine has sporadically done this since new. It seems to only disengage after coming to a stop and/or making a sharp turn. It's weird but not something I've ever wanted to mess around with.

[smj999smj]

I bought mine with 84000 miles on it. I've put 40,000 miles on it in 3 years. Other than PM, which included replacing the radiator to be safe, I've replaced the upper timing chains and tensioner "feet," front sway bar mount bushings, front struts, console latch, rear glass lifts and rear hatch lifts, all four TPMS sensors, serpentine belt and tensioner assy., and I had to clean all the harness grounds per a TSB to resolve a U1000 trouble code. I've also had to tape the hood latch loop to get rid of the dreaded "hood squeek" and fix a number of dash squeeks and rattles and replace the gas cap tether.
Prior to my purchase, I know the previous owner had a catalytic converter and oxygen sensor replaced and the fuel pump assy replaced.
I think the key to buying one is hoping to get one that has all the typical Pathfinder problems repaired and "bugs" fixed before you get a hold of it!

[LessThanZero]

clean all the harness grounds per a TSB to resolve a U1000 trouble code.

Explain this, I am not sure what it means

[FLiPMaRC]

I just spent the weekend with my friend with a 2009 S Pathfinder with 213,000 miles No bypass done He bought it brand new. According to him, the only time he ever had a CES light come on was for the gas cap, and he currently has the stupid TPMS light problem. But other than that, its been solid.

He plans to drive it to the ground. But he's planning on getting an Xterra and a Grand Cherokee in a few months. Like most people on the forums, he hates the R52s

[nikko7mge]

I would think by 2008 most of the quirks from the factory would be gone. I have an 05 with close to 140,000. Fuel sending unit, timing chain parts, 1 catalytic converter (under warranty) and a belt tensioner were. Are the only things that have failed on me (so far). I've probably spent less than $400 in repairs since I've had it.

[smj999smj]

I would think by 2008 most of the quirks from the factory would be gone. I have an 05 with close to 140,000. Fuel sending unit, timing chain parts, 1 catalytic converter (under warranty) and a belt tensioner were. Are the only things that have failed on me (so far). I've probably spent less than $400 in repairs since I've had it.

There were a lot of "bugs" corrected by the time the 2008 model came out, but, it wasn't until the 2011 model that they got passed the major problems: the timing chains and the radiator failures.