I thought I'd post some hints and tips for the first generation Pathfinders, that people might find useful and/or fairly easy to do.
Front End Alignment - frequently done improperly
The torsion bars have a slow memory. If the vehicle has been on a hoist prior to an alignment, the front end alignment will be incorrect because the front end will be sitting higher than normal. The only place we've been able to get the front end alignment done correctly is a Nissan dealer.
Front End Clunking Noise - when turned to lock
Steering stops keep the front wheels from being turned past a certain point. The steering stops are built with plastic caps. How long would anyone expect those to last? Anyway, they fall off, and you have metal-to-metal contact between moving parts. The result is when going over bumps, with the steering turned to lock, such as when turning across curbs, you get a nasty sounding and feeling clunking. The solution is to grease the stops and contact areas. There are four of them, and they are easy to find and grease without raising the vehicle.
Power Door Lock Actuator - factory defect
We found one of ours was defective when manufactured. I suppose I could have tried to get a free repair or replacement, but it was less hassle to fix it myself. It involved reseating a piece of circuit board, and repairing the traces on the board that had been worn through.
Hood Bug Deflectors - affects wipers
The front hood deflector will protect the paint on the front of the hood from chipping, and helps deflect bugs and debris higher on the windshield. But it will also cause the wipers to float off the glass at higher speeds. You can get springs to put on the wiper arms to correct this, but they're hard to install, and a hassle.
Roof Rack Noise
If you have the factory sun roof and roof rack, Nissan advises to move the front bar of the rack rearward to reduce wind noise inside the car. If you have no reason to keep them on, the crosspieces that protect the roof can also be removed. That makes washing/waxing easier.
Spare Tire Carrier - bushings and rattling
The hinges for the spare tire carrier tend to become tighter as they rust inside. The carrier becomes more difficult to swing, and puts enough stress on the body seams to crack them open and expose them to rust. Nissan dealers will lubricate the hinges for free if you ask them. If you get to the point of replacing the bushings because the carrier is loose and rattles, it's a good idea to also replace the plastic bumper pad on the latch end. Otherwise the new bushings will hold the carrier off the pad, resulting in more rattling when you thought you'd fixed it.
Rust Areas & undercoating
The Pathfinders tend to rust under the back seat. This is caused by an exposed seam on the underbody which fills with water/salt and does not dry out. I used to think it was from condensation in the interior under the seat, but no longer believe this. Frequently check under the back seat for tell-tale rust bulges. One possible solution is to drill a little hole in the bulge and inject oil regularly. I haven't tried that. Otherwise, it is a fairly easy dyi job on the passenger's side to replace the rusted metal. More difficult on the drivers side.
The other rust problem is on the 4-door models, between the rear wheel opening and the bottom rear corner of the back door opening. The solution is to have anti-rust oil compound sprayed inside the back ends of the rocker panels.
Wheel Balance - dirt on chromed wheels
The chrome steel wheels have a pronounced lip where the weights mount. In dirty conditions, these lips quickly collect lots of sand\mud etc. As they do, they cancel out the effect of balancing weights, and the wheels go out of balance. Nice piece of design work, Nissan.
Noise Insulation
By today's standards, the first generation Pathfinders are pretty noisy. This can be reduced by installing sound deadener in the doors, and especially up against the firewall. More ambitious people can remove the seats and console and line the floor with another layer. It's easy to do under the back seat, more difficult to do in the cargo area. Another trick is to use self-stick automotive weatherstripping and add a second line of rubber around all the door openings.
Parking Brake Cable - seized
The early symptom of this is that the parking brake lever rattles on rough roads. Eventually it won't release all the way. Replacing the cable requires removing the console, which is not terribly difficult. The biggest problem is that the cable has a housing that bolts to the floor, under the carpets, and behind the console. Since the carpet is so laborious to remove, I cut some slits in the carpet to access the bolt heads. The slits are pretty well invisible, and are covered by the floor mats anyway.
Rear Seat Hinges - space for sleeping
You can drill out the hinge pins securing the rear seat bottoms, and replace them with bolts and wingnuts. Although it's a bit fiddly, you then can remove the rear seat bottoms, leaving either space for more cargo, or for sleeping. The seat bottoms can be arranged to fill the remaining gaps.
Front Door Hinge Pins - not dyi
If the doors have begun to sag too much, the hinge pins can be replaced. This is better left to the pros, since it's so difficult I'd never do it again.
Radio Buttons - fall off
The radio buttons are prone to falling off, since for some functions, you have to pull on them. (Good thinking!) Replacements are ridiculously expensive. You can prevent this annoyance by glueing them on.
Rear Bumper Protection - trailer hitch
The rear bumper has a brittle plastic insert around the license plate, which itself hangs below the bumper. All this gets damaged when running out of rear end clearance. The bumper itself is so flimsy you can almost bend it with your hands. What were they thinking? The solution is to mount a cheap trailer hitch which will protect the fragile bits.
Power Window Motors
Now and then, operate all the power windows. This keeps the mechanisms exercised and less likely to seize. Once in a while, lubricate the glass channels with spray silicone lubricant, to reduce the strain on the window motors.
Problems Awaiting Solutions:
- drivers door mirror glass shakes at higher speeds
- rust under side window lower sill black trim
- complete lack of cupholders (again, what were they thinking?)
- economical replacement of shrouds on exhaust system.