The Nissan Path

Has anyone had problems with the VDC Off and SLIP dash lights coming on out of the blue? I started having this problem about two weeks after I took the Pathfinder home from the dealer but it only happened two or three times over an 8 month period. I would turn the car off, restart it and the problem would go away. Now it's starting to happen almost every other day. I don't notice any change in drive quality. Anyone else have this problem on the 08 V8s?

This happened to me 1 time. 08 V8 too.

Turned from a stop sign onto a dry road and the car started making crazy noises. Didn't know what it was then saw the slip light going off. Road was dry and I was accelerating slowly, so I don't think I spun the tires. Hasn't happened since but it definitely wasn't right.

My guess is it will be one of those things you take it into the dealer for and they say there's nothing wrong because they cannot replicate it...

dmasini wrote:Has anyone had problems with the VDC Off and SLIP dash lights coming on out of the blue? I started having this problem about two weeks after I took the Pathfinder home from the dealer but it only happened two or three times over an 8 month period. I would turn the car off, restart it and the problem would go away. Now it's starting to happen almost every other day. I don't notice any change in drive quality. Anyone else have this problem on the 08 V8s?

I see that fairly regularly, but most of that is because of driving style & road conditions (for me). I noticed it the day after I picked it up from the dealer, got all concerned, then took it back in to have them take a look. Let me just save you a trip-if it continues to happen with yours, take it to the dealer the next time it does. They simply can't do anything when the lights are off. Ironic since I view most of the people working at my dealership as literally having their "lights off."

I have no problems with mine, but I have a 4x4. Auto 4wd is awesome. I never leave it in 2wd anymore.

I figured if I brought it in with the lights off they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I was hoping each time they did come on and stay on it would have thrown a code and they could check it that way. But I guess that's too easy. But like I said, I haven't felt any difference in drive quality when it happens so that's a plus.

I've had the SLIP come on once "correctly" when I floored it around a corner. I get halfway around and all of a sudden it felt like the car had shut off. haha The slip blinked and then went off.

I've kept it in 4x4 auto but it feels more sluggish to me when I do that. I keep meaning to run it that way on a full tank to see what mileage difference (if any) their is.

Hopefully the next time it happens I'll be near the dealer so I can just go in and show them. Thanks for all the input guys!

just had this happen to me today. VDC Off, SLIP and ABS lights all came on at the same time and stayed on. I had been switching from 2wd to 4wd (don't have the All-Mode) due to some snow on the back roads. Stopped, turned the truck off, restarted and they came back on. Fiddled with the 4wd switch, and suddenly the lights went out and everything was back to normal.

ABLS, ABS and VDC did not work at all when this happened, and as it is very icy I came to realize how much I relied on this functionality.

If it hadn't resolved itself, my first instinct would have been to do a full reset on the truck, ie disconnect the battery.

Anyone disagree?

Any specifics on what may have happened?

t

The only way I can get it to clear is turn the car off and wait a couple minutes. That resets the VDC. Dissconnecting the battery would work by resetting the VDC but I don't think it'll solve your problem. Mine still comes on every now and again. Had it happen again yesterday but wasn't able to get to the dealer to have them check it. I will post something on here once it happens again and I can get it to the dealer.

I haven't had any issues like that. It seems as though it is with the V8 owners that this is happening to. I have the V6.

Cr@2y Gr33k wrote:I haven't had any issues like that. It seems as though it is with the V8 owners that this is happening to. I have the V6.

mines a V6

Cr@2y Gr33k wrote:I haven't had any issues like that. It seems as though it is with the V8 owners that this is happening to. I have the V6.

Mine's a V6 also. Maybe you just haven't pushed it to the VDC brink yet? I invariably hit one of the local REI stores a couple times a month. The freeway offramp swings one onto a steep downhill road posted as 45mph, with a light at the very bottom & REI just past the light. If the light is green, most people don't want to stop or slow down because of gravity, so I usually hit the brakes pretty hard and turn the car fairly sharply into the parking lot. The combination of hard braking & sharp turning always kicks in the grinding VDC. It's actually dangerous for me in that one particular example because I essentially lose control of the PF: my driver's input is not being completely translated to the vehicle because of the VDC. Of course I never remember to turn that damned thing off when I get close to the store... Back when I had my Durango (1st gen, not the ugly as an Armada 2nd gen), the stupid thing only had ABS on 2 wheels. That same light at the bottom of the hill turned red on me twice & led to a long skid partly into the middle of the intersection. Not cool & just one more reason, among many more, that I got rid of the thing.

NVSteve wrote:

Cr@2y Gr33k wrote:I haven't had any issues like that. It seems as though it is with the V8 owners that this is happening to. I have the V6.

Mine's a V6 also. Maybe you just haven't pushed it to the VDC brink yet? I invariably hit one of the local REI stores a couple times a month. The freeway offramp swings one onto a steep downhill road posted as 45mph, with a light at the very bottom & REI just past the light. If the light is green, most people don't want to stop or slow down because of gravity, so I usually hit the brakes pretty hard and turn the car fairly sharply into the parking lot. The combination of hard braking & sharp turning always kicks in the grinding VDC. It's actually dangerous for me in that one particular example because I essentially lose control of the PF: my driver's input is not being completely translated to the vehicle because of the VDC. Of course I never remember to turn that damned thing off when I get close to the store... Back when I had my Durango (1st gen, not the ugly as an Armada 2nd gen), the stupid thing only had ABS on 2 wheels. That same light at the bottom of the hill turned red on me twice & led to a long skid partly into the middle of the intersection. Not cool & just one more reason, among many more, that I got rid of the thing.

WOW! Sounds like you need to be driving a Corvette. lol But in all seriousness, i am kind of a Sunday driver when I am behind the wheel, so I haven't really pushed the Pathfinder to that point.

dmasini wrote:Has anyone had problems with the VDC Off and SLIP dash lights coming on out of the blue? I started having this problem about two weeks after I took the Pathfinder home from the dealer but it only happened two or three times over an 8 month period. I would turn the car off, restart it and the problem would go away. Now it's starting to happen almost every other day. I don't notice any change in drive quality. Anyone else have this problem on the 08 V8s?

Had a chance to talk to the resident tranny expert at my work (we are a HD bus manufacturer). He said that when the lights all come on like that its the transmission/transfer case putting itself into 'safe mode' because a sensor is not returning the correct information.

It must have an evaluation routine that allows the transmission to unlock itself once the bad signal is gone.

t

The only time I used the VDC was in the ice and snow fall this winter. I was on I80 and doing 50mph. I hit a patch of ice and the PF started to drift. The VDC kicked in and kept the PF straight

Terry, stay away from tranny experts.

Hi,

Did anyone figure out what was causing the vdc and slip lights to come on out of the blue? It just appeared on my dash for the first time yesterday and Im pretty sure im am out of warranty. Did anyone find out the exact cause of it and if there is a fix? THx so much.