2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER Complaints

RUMBLING SOUND COMING FROM EXHAUST. LOCAL REPAIR SHOP SAID IT WAS A LEAKING CATALYTIC CONVERTER. TOOK IT TO NISSAN DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID IT WAS A CRACKED TUBE IN THE EXHAUST AND THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN CLASSIFICATION FE04-002. REFERENCE NTB04-092. ISSUED 9-1-2004. THEY WOULD NOT REPAIR UNDER WARRANTY. MY SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS, MOSTLY SAFETY RELATED, SEVERAL PEOPLE SUFFERED DIZZINESS WHILE IDLING. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THEIR FIX IS TO CLAMP A PATCH ON TO THE LEAKING AREA. MANY OF THE REPORTS I READ SAID THAT THIS ALSO FAILS. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THEIR SOLUTION IS A FAILURE ALSO. *TR

THE MOTOR IN DRIVERS SIDE SEAT THAT ALLOWS THE SEAT TO MOVE FORWARD AND BACK HAS FAILED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE AND OIL LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AND IT BEGAN SMOKING. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS JUST OVERHEATING AND NOT TO WORRY. A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS ON FIRE. THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE BURNED TO THE GROUND. THE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS ARRIVED AND THE FIRE MARSHALL HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A JUNK YARD. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT TOOK PICTURES OF THE DAMAGE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 102,000.

2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER WITH A SEATBELT DEFECT. CONSUMER STATES THAT HE WROTE NISSAN IN APRIL ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. HE STATES THAT HE HAS THE SAME FAILURE STILL. MECHANIC INFORMED HIM THE SEATBELT RETRACTOR DIDN'T WORK. *KB

MY 2002 PATHFINDER HAS A OVERHEATING PROBLEM. IT BEGAN APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS AGO. WHILE GOING DOWN THE INTERSTATE THE ENGINE TEMP. ROSE AND THE CRUISE CONTROL MALFUNCTIONED. A LOCAL MECHANIC NOTICED THE A/C COMPRESSOR GOING BAD, REPLACED THIS AND PROBLEM STILL CONTINUED AND BECAME MORE FREQUENT. MECHANIC PRESSURE TESTED RADIATOR, IT SEEMED FINE, FOUND TWO VERY TINY LEAKS, SEALED THEM, PUT ON A NEW RADIATOR CAP. PROBLEM STILL CONTINUED. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A NISSAN DEALER. THEY REPLACED FAN CLUTCH. STILL SAME PROBLEM. NISSAN DEALER TRIED FLUSHING RADIATOR. STILL OVERHEATING. DEALERSHIP THINKS THERE IS SOME KIND OF BLOCKAGE IN THE RADIATOR THAT THEY CANNOT FLUSH OUT. THEY CANNOT CREATE ENOUGH PRESSURE TO FLUSH IT PROPERLY. THEY RECOMMEND A NEW RADIATOR. THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO INSTALL IT IN 2 DAYS. HOPEFULLY THIS FIXES MY PROBLEM. I'VE REPLACED THE WHOLE ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM. WHAT CAUSES THIS PROBLEM? I'VE READ A SERVICE BULLETIN OF THIS HAPPENING TO ANOTHER PERSON. NISSAN CAN'T EXPLAIN CAUSE. CHECK OUT CONSUMER COMPLAINT: ODI CASE NUMBER: 10191259. MILEAGE ON VEHICLE WHEN PROBLEMS AROSE: 85,000 MILES. *TR

2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER - SPLIT SEAMS IN RESONATORS / CATALYTIC CONVERTER THE EXHAUST ON THIS VEHICLE HAD BEEN A BIT NOISY SINCE IT WAS ABOUT A YEAR OLD. RECENTLY WHEN IT WENT TO A SHOP FOR SOME UNDERCAR WORK, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WERE BOTH SPLIT AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I BROUGHT THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER AND REQUESTED REPLACEMENT UNDER THE 8 YEAR 80,000 MILE WARRANTY MANDATED ON EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THOSE PARTS WERE INDEED LEAKING BADLY, AND THAT NISSAN HAD SO MANY FAILURES THAT THEY HAD DEVELOPED A SPECIAL PATCH KIT FOR THEM. I DECLINED THE PATCH DUE TO AN EXCESSIVE COST FOR A FEW LARGE CLAMPS AND SOME EXHAUST CEMENT. SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH INDICATES THAT NUMEROUS OTHER PATHFINDERS OF SIMILAR VINTAGE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, THUS THERE IS A MANUFACTURING ISSUE IN THE WELDING OF THE SEAMS OF THIS PART WHICH ACCORDING TO MIDAS IS A CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND ACCORDING TO NISSAN IS A RESONATOR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS CARBON MONOXIDE IS BEING RELEASED DIRECTLY UNDER THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. A COMPLAINT WAS FILED WITH NISSAN AND THEY CLAIM IT IS PART OF STANDARD WARRANTY AND THUS NOT COVERED, AND THEY HAVE NOT ISSUED A RECALL. I INFORMED THEM OF MY INTENT TO PROCEED WITH COMPLAINTS TO NHTSA AND A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IF NECESSARY TO FORCE A RECALL OF THIS DEFECT THAT IS CAUSING SAFETY ISSUES FOR ALL OWNERS OF NISSAN PATHFINDERS OF SIMILAR VINTAGE. *TR

1. DRIVING IN WET SNOWY WEATHER WITH WIPER BLADES ENGAGED IN CONTINUOUS SLOW OPERATION, 40 KMPH. 2. WIPER LINKAGE TO MOTOR DISENGAGED, WIPERS CEASED TO FUNCTION, VISIBILITY WAS IMMEDIATELY BLOCKED. 3. LINKAGE WAS REPLACED. *TR

I HAVE TAKEN MY 2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER TO THE GREENVILLE, NC NISSAN DEALER ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS FOR AN EXHAUST LEAK. AFTER BOTH VISITS, THEY HAVE DIAGNOSED THE LEAK AS "FRONT TUBES". THE NISSAN DEALER STATES THESE ARE NOT CONSIDERED CATALYSTS. THEY STATE THE "FRONT TUBES" ARE CRACKING DOWN THE SIDES AND CAUSING AN EXHAUST LEAK ON BOTH OF THEM DIRECTLY UNDER THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEATS OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER ATTEMPTED TO CHARGE ME $1400 TO FIX THE ISSUE. I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO RESOLVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE WITH THEM. I HAVE TAKEN THE PATHFINDER TO AN INDEPENDENT EXHAUST SHOP AND THEY DIAGNOSED BOTH "FRONT TUBES" AS CATALYTIC CONVERTERS BEING FAULTY. THE NISSAN DEALER STILL REFUSED TO ASSIST WITH THE MATTER. THIS IS A MAJOR EXHAUST LEAK HAPPENING DUE TO A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. I RESEARCHED THE NISSAN SERVICE MANUAL FOR THE 2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER AND LOCATED THE EXHAUST DIAGRAM. ACCORDING TO THE DIAGRAM, THE PART THAT IS FAULTY IS CONSIDERED A TWC(UNDERFLOOR) WHICH IS A THREE WAY CATALYST. NISSAN IS REFUSING TO CORRECT THIS DEFECT. THEY OFFER A PATCH WHICH UTILIZES AN EPOXY AND ROUND CLAMPS TO FIT OVER A RECTANGULAR CATALYST. THIS IS NOT A PROPER FIX. THEY STILL WANT TO CHARGE FOR THIS EVEN THOUGH THEIR PARTS MANUAL STATES THIS IS A CATALYST. THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION HAD 63K MILES ON THE FIRST VISIT AND NOW ONLY HAS 70K MILES ON THE MOST RECENT VISIT. THIS IS A VERY WIDESPREAD ISSUE AMONG THE 2002 AND 2003 NISSAN PATHFINDERS. *TR

RECURRING EXHAUST LEAK, EVEN AFTER HAVING THE MANUFACTURER INSTALL THEIR OWN REPAIR KIT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT PURCHASED A NEW CHILD SEAT AND INSTALLED IT WITH THE LAP AND SHOULDER HARNESS. AS A RESULT, SHE DISCOVERED THAT THE SEAT BELT WOULD NOT TIGHTEN AND/OR LOOSEN. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE ORIGINAL SEAT BELTS IN THE VEHICLE WERE NOT MADE FOR A MAJORITY OF CHILD SEATS. THE DEALER FURTHER STATED THAT THE SHOULDER HARNESS WAS DEFECTIVE AND WAS A COMMON FAILURE WITH THIS YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL. THE SEAT BELTS FAILED TO ENGAGE BECAUSE THEY WERE BEING OVER-EXTENDED. THE CONTACT MOVED THE CENTER SEAT BELT TO THE PASSENGER SIDE; HOWEVER, SHE NO LONGER HAS A CENTER SEAT BELT AND THE MOVEMENT OF THE SEAT BELTS DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 88,000.