joehurdler

Well actually, my Pathy has been plagued with Hard shifting from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd since the first year. They replaced some part in the transmission almost 2 years, can't think of the name of it right now, but it didn't really help the problem. So for the last 3 years, depending how hard I'm pushing the gas and when it decides to shift; I usually feel like a slight jerk between 1st to 2nd(Feels like someone kicked my seat), and a hesitation between 2nd and 3rd. Has been doing this for 3 years but has not gotten worse. Again, the dealer thinks it's operating normally. Got another 30k left on the warranty, so hopefully if it goes bad, it goes bad soon

Ok, so I ended up adding almost 2 quarts of transmission fluid to bring the level back to normal. I also want to add that I sometimes drive her pretty hard, especially when I take her off-road. So I don't know, maybe burning a bit of transmission fluid would be the cause? She's got 32k miles right now and is due for her 30k mile major maintainence or so the Nissan Dealer says to take my money. I'll monitor the level for the next few days.

Crap! So this morning I walk out to my drive out and noticed a puddle of fluid. Put my finger on it and found out that it was Transmission fluid! My vehicle was parked at another location 10 feet away at the time, so I decided to move my vehicle back from where it was and see if there was any fluid underneath. No fluid, so I thought "Phew, not me. Probalby the water delivery truck or something." I start my pathy and let it run...Checked the fluid, BONE dry! Haven't noticed any shifting problems or anything recently. Now I did do some light off-roading 2 days ago. Wasn't anything serious and didn't really bottom out. Could Off-roading have caused it? I still got 30k left on the Drive Train warranty. So hopefully it's a "warranty issue" and not a "OFF-roading" issue. Any ideas? Joe By the way, it's a 2003 Pathy LE. Always had hard shifting from 1st to 2nd, but the dealer said nothing was wrong 2 years ago.

Thanks for the replies guys! Yeah, my dash and stock bose system looks almost exactly like those pics. My only concern was that on the right side near the bottom, the stereo face begins to angle inward slightly at an diagonal. Not sure if it's just the look or appearance, but I was concerned that the slight inward angle towards the bottom would prevent a double-din from fitting properly. Take a look at your dash and bose system. Tell me if you see that slight inward angle? Thanks, Joe

Hello all, Ok, so from looking at my Bose stereo on my 03 Pathfinder LE, I want to say it looks like it's double din, as in it's 2x the size of regular headunits. I am looking to get the Pioneer AVIC-D1 navigation head unit put into the dash where the original bose system sits. The AVIC-D1 is said to fit only double-din dash's. You folks have any idea of it will fit or whether or not I got a double din? I want to say I do have double din, but looks could be decieving. Thanks, Joe

Ok, so I'm looking to get a set of Rancho RS 5000 or the RSX. Just a quick question. In comparison to the stock shocks/struts, what kinda difference in ride feel and performance can I expect after getting the Rancho? Thanks, Joe

So the site says its for the 98-2002 Pathfinder. I got an 2003 with the Bose System and In-Dash CD changer. Will this work? Joe Hwang

NICE! How those tires working out for ya on highway/regular roads?

Looks bad a$$! Nice work on the detailing/wax job. What's your detailing routine? I usually use Meguires wash with the NXT Wax, but don't think I get it looking that good though. Later, Joe

My OE tires for my 2003 Pathy LE are 245/65-17 . Looking to get the Bridgestone A/T Revo's, but apparently they don't offer them in my size. Or at least don't display them on the Tirerack.com site as offered for my vehicle specs. Anything I can do to get those on? Or will they just not fit? Later, Joe

My OE tires for my 2003 Pathy LE are 245/65-17 . Looking to get the Bridgestone A/T Revo's, but apparently they don't offer them in my size. Or at least don't display them on the Tirerack.com site as offered for my vehicle specs. Anything I can do to get those on? Or will they just not fit? By the way, I think my wheels are 17" inch if that helps. Later, Joe

Hey, where'd you get your revo's and what year is your pathy? I tried going to TireRack.com but the tires offered for my vehicle don't display the Bridgestone A/T Revo's as being offered for my vehicle specs.

Keyword, "light on the gas", hehe

I do experiencing some jerking or a thump when I turn off the ignition after parking while the pathy is in 4-wheel auto or 4-wheel High lock.

I have a 03 Pathfinder LE with the All-Mode 4 Wheel drive and noticed that when I have it set in Auto, the pathy fish tails when when I stomp on the accelerator in Snowy conditions. This occurs especially when making a turn and sometimes just driving straight. The vehicle is obviously fish tailing because the rear wheels are spinning out. Then when I set it to 4-Wheel High, it works fine and there is no fish-tailing. Now of course, I do have to admit that it may not be wise to briefly stomp or gas it in the snow in 4 wheel auto , but whats the use of having a pathy with 4 wheel drive if you aren't gonna play with it . Anyhow..Based on what I read, the 4-Wheel Drive "AUTO" mode is supposed to sense slipping or loss of tractiong from the rear wheels and then engage the front wheels to compensate. This is supposed to occur within mili-seconds and therefore result in no slipping or fish-tailing while driving. Anyone else experiencing this? Later, Joe

I unscrewed and removed my attenna on my 2003 Pathy LE and LOST IT! Yep, left it on the ground in some parking lot after taking it off to put on new wiper blades. Anyone know where I could get a replacement? I tried calling the local dealership and they want $42 dollars! For a freaking piece of metal to be screwed on! Though, I guess its no surprise since it is the dealer. Thanks in advance, Joe

So, I think my luggage light in the trunk is either burned out or the fuse busted. There were times that I have kept my trunk open for extended periods of time, so maybe it burned out. Anyone had any clues on how to replace these and how much the replacement bulbs cost? Or is it a simple unscrew and pop in type of job? Anyhow, my Pathy is an 2003, so it's kinda strange for it to be burned out so soon, but who knows. Later, Joe

I would suggest the Pirelli Scorpion AT (All Terrains). They are good if you do mostly highway driving with capability of some light off-road use when you need it. I'm saving up for a set of the Highway All-season version of it for my pathy. You can check them out at www.tirerack.com Later, Joe

Unfortunately, the problem has returned! After the repair 2 weeks ago, I thought the problem was fixed! Apparently not! Hard shifting continues from 1-2, then also noticeable from 2nd to 3rd. From 1-2, it feels like a slight kick in the seat, and from 2nd to 3rd it feels like it hesitates then shifts. So during that 2nd to 3rd, you feel yourself bob back and forth. I'll keep ya folks up to date on this as I plan on taking it back to the dealer. Although, if anyone has any clue as to whats going on, all info is appreciated! Later, Joe

Yep, your conclusion turned out to be correct. Took my pathy back to the NTB, and they took no more then 5 minutes to fix the problem.

Ok, so I noticed that my front tires had some uneven wear on the outside edge or shoulder of the tires. Specifically, the outside edge or shoulder of the front tires were extra worn in comparison to the other parts the tire. Easily enough, I concluded it was an alignment issue caused either from the usual pot hole or even from my dumb hiney bouncing off a curb by overcompensating for a turn. Anyhow, I took my 2003 Pathy LE to get the alignment fixed, and interestingly enough, my steering wheel is now cocked to about 10 or 11 clock when the vehicle is going straight! Mind you my steering wheel was FINE and would be at the proper 12 O'Clock position while I'm driving straight before. Now AFTER the alignment work today it now must be at 10 or 11'o clock while the vehicle is going straight! So, I'm wondering if possibly when my idiot hiney hit the curbs on turns it may have caused a hidden problem such as bending the frame and went undetected prior to the alignment work? Or is it possible the alignment people screwed up the job? Thanks in advance, Joe

If you get a Performance Intake such as a KN Air Charger, Jim Wolf intake, etc, etc; it would increase your MPG by 1-3 miles per gallon. It will also give you a few horsepower extra. HOWEVER, watch that throttle. With the extra power, you'll prob notice yourself stomping that gas harder to play with the extra power. If you do that, it dumps in more fuel which will waste even more gas. So if you end up going with the Intake route; you'll have to be more aware of not having a lead foot. Later, Joe

Ok, so I just got back my pathy on Monday from the dealer service department. They diagnosed the hard shifting problem to be the "Transmission Valve Body" or "trans valve assem". I can pull up the part number if you folks are interested. Anyhow, they replaced it and now the shifting is like butter. So yeah, if any of you folks are experiencing the hard shifts from 1-2 and maybe even a little from 2-3, get that checked out. Mine was under warranty so everything was taken care of. Later, Joe

Ok, so I originally thought my 2003 Pathy LE had sagging on one side/corner; but then found out it was cause I was parked on a hill and all the gas in the gas tank was leaning towards my driver side rear which made it sag lower then all the other sides. Then as I parked it level, everything went back to normal. So yeah, try parking your car in a level place and see if you still have that problem. Or try parking your car the reverse direction you have it at now in that same spot, and see if it leans to the opposite direction. If it is, its just a matter of your gas tank putting weight towards one side based on the angle you're parked.

Alrighty, so I took my pathy to the dealer's service department, and as usual; they plugged it into their little magic 8 ball of a code reader. Turns out the code is coming back saying that the "Transmission Valve body" is bad. Luckily it's still under warranty. They ordered the parts and it should be arriving sometime mid next week. The vehicle is still drivevable with modest hard shifting; so I decided to drive the pathy home and bring it back next week when the part arrives. Once they put that in, I'll let you folks know how that goes. Later, Joe