Trainman

As my truck is used in my business, I have to keep pretty good records for the tax man (and to make sure I charge my clients enough!). So here are my averages from Dec 2004 when I bough the truck (they have been converted to US gallons, Canadian gallons are bigger, as are all things Canadian ): Bush: 14-16 (AUTO and 4wd mix) Town: 16-19 (2wd) Highway: 19-23 (2wd and AUTO mix) I have noted that keeping it in 2wd rather than AUTO helps by about 10% on the highway. The lowest I have got is 12 MPG, this in the woods at -36 Celsius, it idled a lot that day! Best is 25, highway at 90-100 km/hr 2wd. Oh, the Sienna gets mid 30's on the highway, so we use it a lot for longer travels.

Welcome to the board. Lots of good info here.

I have a similar but not so sever problem right now, only occurs at 110 km/hr which just happens to be the speed limit on our freeway system here. I suspect a tire balancing issue as it is something I have noted on other vehicles as well. Next service it gets its tires re-balanced/rotated anyways, so I will wait till then. In my experience other issues like the suspension worn out or bad struts usually occur at most speeds, not just one or two. Good luck.

My shop recommends for me in how I use my Pathy (daily worker in the woods but not hard core off roading like Pezzy ) re-packing at 100,000 km (62,000 miles) or with a break job that involves machining or replacing the rotors. 1-1½ hours per side plus new seals. Sounds like you are being taken for a ride :contract: unless you are a hard core offroader, in which case you would probably do the bearings yourself. I had a bearing fail on my Mercury Mystique that the Pathy replaced but it gave lots of warning, no catastrophic wheel falling off or anything like that so I would run your Pathy until you think it needs the work. If you let it go too long, you will have to replace the bearing at extra cost :sniff: . Did you buy the truck new or used? What kind of use and maintenance has it had? When in doubt, get a second opinion and read all these responses :gossip: .

Not sure if this helps but here is my story. Bought my 02 in December 2004 as a lease return with 63,000 km (39,000 miles) on it. The light has come on twice since then, once at 71,000 km (44,000 miles) for a timing sensor and again a few hundred km after that. That was after fueling up and driving 36 km up a steep hill. No one has a code reader in my town, so I left it, figured it was the gas cap problem. Then, after a couple of weeks, it went out by its self. When I get it to a dealer, I will get it read and see what the problem was. So, twice in less than 8,000 km (5,000 miles).

Thanks Pezzy , are those hexagonal with a pin in the middle? If so, looks like I need to go to the dealer to get the tool. As for removing the factory bars, my front one was just about ready to come off on its own! Looks like it would be easy to remove the front stop on each rail, only one star type bolt holding it in, then slide the bars off. Your garage should be able to do it quick. Again, thanks.

On an 02, how do you lock the factory roof rack cross bars to keep them from moving? I have a Thule cargo carrier (the coffin as the kids call it) mounted on my roof rack cross bars. So it can clear the rear hatch when it is opened, the front bar has to be as far forward on the track as it can go. But when I get onto rougher roads, the bar will work its way past the front stop and would eventually come off, although this has not happened yet, only half out of the track. I can not see any way of clamping down the cross bars, no knobs, screws etc. The owners manual shows knobs for tightening these down but there are none on mine, not even a hole for them. Ideas? (They are Nissan cross bars, not aftermarket) Thanks

Welcome from Lotus Land!

How about for 2001-2004, with the 3.5 L? Or are we out of luck and need to purchase a scan tool? If so, any ideas on a reasonable scan tool for us not so mechanically inclined? I have the check engine light on, came on 36 km after fueling up, so everyone guesses it is the gas cap but no one here has a tool that will read the code. They want me to go to the dealer. Of course I have to go to the dealer for the gas cap anyway, that's the way it works in a small town! Thanks.

Hey Pezzy, don’t know if this helps but I put on LT245/75R16 on those same wheels, without any suspension mods, and yes there is very tight clearance on the front strut (tighter than what your picture shows) BUT no rubbing, even off road. I know the width on my tire is less, but you have greater height from your lift and as I say, I have tighter clearances than you without any rubbing problems. My tire shop (Tirecraft in Merritt) also said that if I did have problems, they would change them over at no charge to something that would fit. See if your tire place will do that for you in case you are still concerned.

I agree with 88. That is a lot of mileage for no trannie service. Are you sure it has never been done? May want to check on service records before doing what the garage suggest, especially if they are not the garage that has done the regular maintenance work. :type:

Thanks Pezzy!

Weclome aboard!. I have found lots of good info here, sure you will too.

As I work in the woods and have had to use chains on a regular basis I can offer the following thoughts (I live in Canada eh, it always snows here ): With chains on the front, you could get the chains caught on suspension parts, brake lines, etc as the wheels turn from side to side, especially as they reach their limits (not to mention body damage :sniff: ). Also, on braking, more likely to swap ends (or have the rear swing around a lot) as the fronts will have the way superior traction. Only good thing with chains on the front is the traction to pull instead of push, like a front drive car. I know quite few guys who will put chains on, then run the vehicle in 2WD and only put in 4WD when they need the extra traction for steering. Helps to keep the transfer case form binding up. Do not forget that putting chains on makes the actual tire circumference larger at that end then the other. Of course, we are talking about driving long distances with chains on (10-20 km) to get to our work sites, not using them for short distances to get unstuck. Then sometimes the front is the only option . Goes without saying, just use care and common sense. Try the chains dry, in your driveway and see what clearance issues you may have. Oh, chains work well in mud too!

On my 02, the manual says to use chains only on the rear (this is in bold). I have used chains on full sized 3/4 ton 4WD p/u's and always on the rear. I need to get the Type S chains for the 02 as my ice chains will rip out brake lines and assorted body parts .

Hi Trapper I picked up my 2002 in Victoria BC in December 2004 as a lease return for $22,500 so you should be able to get a 2000 or maybe a 01 for your budget out here on the left coast. My research showed that eastern Canada Pathfinders were asking about $2,000 less than out west. Except for the 6 CD changer it has been trouble free, even at -36 on the original battery. Here are the towing specs from the 2002 Owners Manual (no difference for 3.3 or 3.5 L motor, only for manual or auto transmission) (sorry I can not get the columns to line up ): TOWING LOAD/SPECIFICATION CHART Unit: lb (kg) MODEL: Pathfinder VQ35DE/VG33E (6-Cyl.) WEIGHT M/T A/T MAXIMUM TRAILER WEIGHT* 1 3,500 (1,588) 5,000 (2,268) MAXIMUM TONGUE LOAD 350 (159) 500 (227) GROSS COMBINED WEIGHT RATING 8,000 (3,628) 9,500 (4,308) RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT* 2 Sway Control Device (SCD) Notes *1: All towing above 1,000 lb (454 kg) requires the use of trailer brakes. Nissan recommends the use of a tandem axle trailer whenever towing above 3,000 lb (1,361 kg). *2: A sway control device is recommended for all towing above 2,000 lb (907 kg). Sway control devices are not offered by Nissan. See a professional trailer/hitch outlet for a properly designed sway control device for your trailer.

That rack, at CT eh? My local CT has been searching for a week for a rack, wait till I show them the link! Thanks Pezzy!

This is from my 2002 Pathfinder Manual (my Pathy does it as well, so I looked into it), USING ALL-MODE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE (4WD) 5-26 Starting and driving : "If the 4WD shift switch is operated while making a turn, accelerating or decelerating or if the key switch is turned off while in the AUTO, 4H or 4LO, you may feel a jerk. This is not abnormal. When the vehicle is stopped after making a turn, you may feel a slight jolt after the selector lever is shifted to N or P. This occurs because the transfer clutch is released and not because of a malfunction." So sounds like it is normal.

In my neck of Canada, we have 87, 89 and 91 octane gas. The difference between 87 and 91 is $0.10/liter or $0.38/ US gallon (or about $8.00 for a full tank). Can add up quick. I have not noticed any pinging, even when pushing it hard at 110 km/hr up a 6% grade. So, is there potential for long term damage? (Our Sienna is supposed to take premium as well but again we do not notice any difference). Thanks for all the input. Will PS our elevation is 600 m (2,000 ft) with highway passes up to 1,700 m (5,600 ft).

Just wondering what the thoughts were about the use of premium gas on the 01-04 Pathfinders. I use regular but am I risking any damage to the motor or emission system? I figure I will have reduced power but what else? Thanks, Will

Hi there, on my 02 I put on Hankook Dynamic RF04 LT245/75R16. I work in the woods (in forestry) and need a tough, all purpose tire. These are a 5 ply (10 ply rating) tire with a fairly soft tread, good on winter snow/ice and on summer gravel. Not good in sticky mud :sniff: . This is the biggest size that will fit with out mods, it is the front that has the clearance problems. Stock was P245/70R16, so not a lot of choice for tire up-sizing. Hope this help, good luck.

This is a quick Hi from a new (to me) 2002 Pathfinder Chilkoot owner in BC, Canada. I bought my Pathfinder in Mid-December 2004 with 63,000 km after much review of 4Runners and others. Pathfinders in my neck of the woods are about $4,000-$5,000 less than 4runners of same age/condition. Due to a change from being an employee to being self employed, I need a truck that I can use in the woods (I work in forestry) but that my wife and family can also use on a regular basis (takes pressure off the 2004 Sienna we also have). I have added a two way radio and Hankook Dynamic RF04 LT245/75R16 tires, plus all the other stuff the BC forest service makes me pack (first aid kit, fire fighting tools, etc). I will be putting in a separate post about tire chains. So far, the truck has been great with the exception of the 6 CD changer but I have found if I do not put a CD in tray 1, it works OK, so it is really a 5 CD changer. I look forward to much useful correspondence on this site.