Many SUV's have this plastic wind deflector on the hood. My 2001 Pathfinder does not. I've heard they serve 2 purposes: protecting to front of the hood from rocks and deflecting air and bugs and other crap up over the windshield.
My question is: Are they effective on a Pathfinder? Has anybody found that when they added the deflector, they were really glad they did or did they notice no difference at all?
Thanks folks!
Gord.
I added the hood deflector after the first road trip on the '02 Pathfinder. It doesn't eliminate the bugs, but it reduces the problem enough that I think it was worth it. I don't have an opinion on whether it is keeping rocks off the hood. They seem to hit the windshield higher up now.
I also added the rear wind deflector after the first rain turned the tailgate completely dirt covered. As long as you keep moving, it keeps the rear window clear, and you can still tell what color the tailgate is after driving in the rain now.
I didn't have one on my first PF, and the front of the hood had a lot of chips in it by the time I moved on. When I bought my second PF, I put the bug shield on it to protect the paint, and did the same to the two QX4s I have had since then. The bad news is that the wipers become somewhat ineffective at 80mph in the rain, which I don't believe is the case without the deflector. Also, it still get bugs on the windshield.
Our used '91 Pathfinder had a Nissan brand bug deflector on the hood when we bought it. It reduces the downpressure on the wipers so much that I had to add extra springs on the wiper arms. It was a problem far below 80mph! End of that probem, but now the wiper arms won't stay folded away from the glass, when you need to do that.
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