New member here with a 2008 pathfinder

[dervin29]

Hello there, I just purchased a used 2008 pathfinder as we are expecting our third child this fall. It appears to be a really nice vehicle and its my first four wheel drive. What all should I be aware of with this vehicle? Any known issue? I'm also very curious about fuel millage and whether I should use premium fuel our not. Nice to be here and thanks in advance for any responses.[/b]

[Frozen]

Hello there, I just purchased a used 2008 pathfinder as we are expecting our third child this fall. It appears to be a really nice vehicle and its my first four wheel drive. What all should I be aware of with this vehicle? Any known issue? I'm also very curious about fuel millage and whether I should use premium fuel our not. Nice to be here and thanks in advance for any responses.[/b]

I just got my 2008 in Nov. The first thing i noticed is it does idle a little rough sometimes at a stop. That's "normal" besides that I am super happy with my path. As for the gas, when I tow I use premium and everything else is regular, idk if it really makes a difference. On regular highway I'm getting 18-19mpg and city is around 16mpg.

Enjoy your new truck!

[volvite]

Welcome to the forum. You will love your V8 pathfinder. I've had mine just over a year, and we've put 20k miles on it in just one year. It's been a great vehicle. As already stated, I too use premium when I tow, but for daily driving, I use regular.

It's been a great ride. I'm looking forward to doing a few modifications. However as a stock vehicle the only thing I recommend is the air bags for the rear springs. I yet to install mine, but after reading all the reviews, it's well worth it.

[skinny2]

I've never noticed a difference in mpg between premium/regular. You should probably just do some experimenting with local stations and see what happens. There are certain stations that their regular 87 octane give me some ping when lugging up hills. Other stations (BP seems to always work good) doesn't give me any pinging but I do notice a performance difference. I run pretty hard on my daily commute (two-lane state routes, passing trucks, lots of hills) and my compromise is 89 octane at a local station that only charges $.08/gallon more than 87. I can't tell much performance difference between 89 and 93, but can between 87 and 89. Not many stations around here carry 91 which is what Nissan considers premium.

[dervin29]

My first tank on regular netted 305 miles but when I filled up I only managed to get 18.5 gallons in it. I don't understand when the manual says it a tad over 21 gallon tank. Any explanation there? One other thing, the biggest issue I keep hearing its a transmission cooler leading coolant into the transmission and ruining it.what ways can I keep a check on that to prevent costly repairs?

[FLiPMaRC]

My first tank on regular netted 305 miles but when I filled up I only managed to get 18.5 gallons in it. I don't understand when the manual says it a tad over 21 gallon tank. Any explanation there?

All cars do that It gives you an early warning that you will run out of gas soon! Running out of gas is very bad on the engine.

[skinny2]

I don't think I've ever pumped more than 19 gallons and that was after running with low fuel warning for 30 miles. I never thought about it but the V8 has the same tank as V6. 320-340 is about all I can do unless it's all highway driving. My wife's van even has a bigger tank and it gets much better mpg.

[disallow]

agreed, the tank could be bigger. My 08 civic has a 50L tank, the pathy is 80L.

[dervin29]

I want to check my transmission to make sure all is good there. What all should I check for to make sure everything is fine?

[eieio]

I want to check my transmission to make sure all is good there. What all should I check for to make sure everything is fine?

check the trans fluid level & condition
level check is on page MA-22 in the service manual (service manual is in the 2nd "sticky" at the top of this forum)
a better idea of the fluid color & condition can be gotten by draining a bit into a clean container while doing the transmission cooler by-pass

[dervin29]

Is the bypass necessary? Everything is great with my 08 SE so far. Are all trannys destined to fail?

[eieio]

Is the bypass necessary? Everything is great with my 08 SE so far. Are all trannys destined to fail?

we don't exactly know
six threads down.................. (warning - it's a long one! )
http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?t=2139

[CPLTECH]

Is the bypass necessary? Everything is great with my 08 SE so far. Are all trannys destined to fail?

I replaced mine at ~70K just for the peace-of-mind factor for $350 at a local shop. The extended warranty of 8yr/80K had not been adopted at that time. My advice is to do it shortly after the 80K mark. For whatever comfort it is, I read somewhere that one trans shop always includes in a rebuild the price of a new radiator no matter what brand. Then too, a friend with an Accord had his radiator cause trans problems, so the problem exists elsewhere but not as prevalent.

The local news station did a report on 2004-08 F150 (12 valve 8cyl) owners who went to get their 100K plugs replaced and got a real surprise of a low price of $600 if all goes well to nearly $3K if the heads have to come off. Seems boo-boo’s come in all brands. Just contribute to a monthly repair kitty to cover the unexpected.

[dervin29]

Hate to sound so unknowledgable about all this but ive checked all under the hood and don't see anything or anyway to check the fluid. What am I missing?

[eieio]

Hate to sound so unknowledgable about all this but ive checked all under the hood and don't see anything or anyway to check the fluid. What am I missing?

see page MA-22 in the service manual (4 replies above )
the dip stick is beneath a small cap (about 3/4" diameter) and the cap is held down by a bolt that requires a 10mm socket to remove
it is in the right side of the engine compartment, towards the rear, below the air intake duct