cvearl

I have a major service due at 144,000kms. So basically what I did was call the local Nissan garage to book the appointment. I meantioned the light and they said I should remove and re-seat the gascap and turn till I get at lest 8 clicks and then drive as usual. The light should go out in the next 2 or 3 ignition starts and stops. It worked. They said it was a vacumm error code or somehting like that concerning the gas cap not being tight enough and said it was the most common reason the light comes on. I remember I ran over one of those roadside washboards that are there to wake you up by vibrating your vehicle. That's pretty much precisely when it came on. I think that the cap might have lost it's seal when I ran over that. So as XPLORx4 said... """The "Service Engine Soon" light may be totally unrelated to your camping trip. Get it checked out. It could be as simple as an improperly tightened gas cap.""" Thanks everyone!

That sounds like a pretty meaty load! :o

Ya as was said... The GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) 5,280 lbs for my pathy is set by the engineers as the max safe mechanical weight the frame, drive train, axles, suspension and wheels can handle during regular driving. It is a very bad idea to exceed the limit as I understand it. In the case of a pathfinder 01 to 05, you are not supposed to be more than 5280 lbs when loaded. This includes passengers and cargo and roof rack load combined. Only way to know what you weigh is one of those big vehicle scales on the side of the highway usually. With these pathfinders that would be roughly 4 adults (about 180 lbs each) and about 300 lbs of miscellaneos load (boat, bikes and gear or whatever). And then apparently as long as you are under that GVWR you can still pull close to the towing capacity of the vehicle. The engine can do it. It's a matter of how much weight is on each axle. That includes the trailers axle bearing some of the load. My guess is a Pathy headed into the mountains is comfortable with 4 passengers, 3000 - 3500 pound trailer in tow and roughly 250 lbs in cargo area and roof rack junk? Anyone know that answer or have experience under that kind of load when climbing or desending semi-steep grades?? C.

Next year my config will change. I am getting a tent trailer. About 2000 lbs I suppose. There is a bike rack system for them. I will load the 3 or 4 bikes on top of the trailer. Then half the gear will be in the trailer storage. So ya. The trailer axle takes alot of the load. All the light stuff like sleeping bags and clothes and such will be in cargo which will not be much over 100 lbs in there. The boat stays on the roof. So I guess it will make things easier when I do that. Thanks again for all the replys! C.

Thanks guys. Interresting kit by the way. I will have to look into that as I will often put 250lbs worth of gear into the cargo area at a minimum with at least 2 passengers when going on short trips. C.

A little history. I came from a 1996 Dodge Caravan with a 3.0 Litre engine and auto transmission. We drove it in and out of the mountains several times a year with a heavy load (4 people and luggage and a coupla bikes on a rack). Subsequently, after 8 years, 200,000 kms and a dozen runs into and out of the moutains per year, that van went through 2 trannies, untold number of belts, brakes, tires and so on. Within 5 years of owning it, it developed horrible creaking in the front suspension and terribly loud ticking from under the head that never could be solved. In the end it cost me nearly $8,000 over the purchase price of $14,000 when I bought it as an already 2 year old vehicle to keep it on the road the 8 years I had it. On top of that, it never could really tow anything. It was kinda useless. Every time we went to the mountains the Engine light came on resulting in some minor repair to the engine or whatever. It was like clockwork. Mountains = repairs. So I decided this time I would research the hell out of my next vehicle. I chose the 2002 Pathfinder. A nice tough truck? Well I have driven it 3000 kms (now has 143,000 on it). This last weekend we went on a typical camping trip. We loaded it with 3 bikes, 3 adults, camping gear and a canoe (see pic). The back end dropped 3 or 4 inches and the handling got noticably sluggish and sloppy. The GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is 2,400 kilograms (5,280 lbs) both on the door sticker and on Nissans spec sheet. Well half way to the mountains I pulled over and weighed it as it felt like it was driving funny. We had it loaded to 2380 Kilograms (5,236 lbs). Right on the limit. See the pictures at the end of this to see the vehicle loaded. Take note of the dip of the rear end compared to the front end. I did not think I loaded it that much. Typical camping loadout. A few coolers. A coupla suit cases. Sleeping bags. Airbeds. 3 Mountain Bikes and a Canoe. The usual. Really I even weighed it with just me in the truck a few days ago. 2100 Kilograms with a full tank and my 190 lbs ass in the drivers seat. That means I loaded it with an additional 300 kilograms (everything including the 2 passengers). Which is only about 650 pounds. Really not that much as far as I can tell. What's 650 lbs worth of stuff? Typical is it not? Take off the 2 female passengers and it's about 400 lbs worth of canoe, bikes and gear. This drive we do into the rocky mountains (From Calgary Alberta to Cranbrook BC) contains about 1 and a half hours of semi-steep climbing and decents and can be a decent work out for a vehicle when under load or towing. On the way back from this trip we had just come out of the mountains and were gently coasting on level ground in cruise at 100 km/h and the unthinkable... The dreaded engine light came on and has been on for 2 days and I am taking it in next week to see what it is. My wife gave me a look that burned my very soul. Now driving it in the City last few days it seems ok but over 90 km/h there is a bit of a gentle shake in the steering wheel that I do not remember from the first 3 weeks I drive it and of course the light is still on. Have I ruined this truck by loading it that heavy? I thought this was about as tough a mid sized SUV as you could get. Pic for you to see what I mean in the rear end...

OK here is the finnished result using the Safari Bar from Westin. The bar was easy as heck to install and about $200 Canadian to buy but still some rubbing of the straps on the bug deflector. In the future I will put a piece of shammy cloth to prevent scratching the Bug Deflector as they cost about $100 Canadian.

Very good point! Mainyl I always looked at front and back tie downs as a means of making sure the wind sheers do not wobble the front or back of the boat to much which might loosen the main tiedowns on the body of the boat to the roof. Did that make sense? But it's still ok to pull down really tight at the roof sides across the underbelly of the boat right? At least till it feels very safe up there? That hood tie down is briliant!!! Where were you yesterday??? Damn. Too late. The safari bar is non refundable even if I have not mounted it. C.

OK I am getting an el-cheapo Black Powdered Finnish Safari Bar for the front of the Pathfinder. It mounts just under the bumber and only comes as high as the top of the bumper. I can then use it to protect the front of the vehicle and give me something to tie down the front of the canoe with. Ill just use the mounting holes for the lamps to run the ropes through. With the canoe far enough forward I should be able to miss the front of her with the ropes. Eventually a brush gaurd might be nice but this will do for now. Best part is it was only $270 new. A friend with an impact socket driver will help me install it and I can go camping wihtout worrying about the bunper and bug deflector getting bunged up from ropes. If I like the look I could get the lamps that mount on it and Nissan lamp covers. Otherwise next year I will sell and upgrade the front exterier kit to something else. The other alternative was easily breaching the $500 mark. It was either a full 3" Tube bushgaurd and mounting kit or a complete Thule roofrack base kit with Canoe mounts. But that would have breeched $500 plus tax. Wife would not have liked that either. Thanks for all the suggestions. I will still use that pipe insulation trick to protect the Safari bar. C.

Will do. Thx.

Very nice!

Oh for sure I have as well with my 96 Dodge Caravan and it survived several trips. I just wanted to preserve the front bumper as best as I can. Ah. It'll be fine I guess. But not sure about the bug deflector I just installed. It might get borked. I pull down on that canoe pretty hard. Not sure why but this one like to try and take off alot. Still in the honey moon phase with my new ride I guess. Sounds like alot of people go ahead and haul it regardless of having a Bush Gaurd or not. C.

Pool noodles. I never woulda thought of that. That's why yall are mechanically inclined and I am a computer nerd. And what are you all doing answering threads about 4x4 at this hour. Um wait a sec. I am here as well. Never mind. C.

I have a 2002 Pathy with the stock roof rack and a large Coleman Canoe. With my van before this vehicle I used those pull down locking straps with hooks at each end of the straps. The Canoe has metal loop hooks at each end of the boat on the very tips. That and some rope in the middle of the boat in case the front or back fail. Anyway... REAR tie down - Two straps from the rear hook on the boat down to the holes in the hitch frame avoid the rear bumper and the vehicle alltogether as the boat overhangs the rear of the pathy and the hitch sticks out enough to miss the bumper. But... Front tie down - What is the best way to secure the Canoe front without scratching up the Hood and front bumper? And or wrecking the bug deflector I just payed 80 bucks for? I do not have a bush gaurd yet and wont for a little while so that option is out. Under the bumper there are no hooks. There are holes where you can bolt loops or hooks but nothing mounted to the frame at the moment. Any ideas? Cheaper than a bushgaurd install would be nice. But if that's the only way then I will just have to deal with it I guess. C.

That info on gears is interresting. On the highway I find my pathfinder is hapiest running between 80 and 110 km/h Over 110 km/h (as I was saying before) requires alot more pedal for every bit more over that. So the QX4's handle higher highway speeds better? And lastly... please excuse my nOObness... What are manual hubs? C.

This mean my 2002 Chilkoot already has the tranny cooler from factory? It did look like a few extra pipes and a silver cylinder were in there against the fins but it had no hitch installed when I bought it so I assumed it was not a cooler setup. C.

You're welcome. HEre's the site that MADE me buy a pathfinder... http://www.carsurvey.org/ Take a look at Jimmies, BLazers, Durangos and such. Then compare to Pathfinders and 4 Runners. WOW. I will never go back to N. American again. C.

OK EDIT.... I just did my 3rd fill of Premium. New Premium grade 5/30 oil change with air filter done a week ago. My mileage seems to be climbing slightly. Nice. It's now getting (this week anyway) 17.54 MPG. Pretty damn good! Basically this is how I come to that... Tripometer reading was 430km's since last fill. I filled to full letting the pump kick out when it felt it was time and it took 58.556 Litres. 430 divided by 58.556 = 7.34 km's per litre. This site.... http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/c...eters_per_liter converts it to MPG. = 17.54 MPG. 17.54 MPG was better than I expect from this unit. Kinda happy with that. .... I am comming to understand that tire size, tread aggressivness, fuel type, oil wieght and type and lastly driving habits can all have dramatic effects on milaege. Moreso on SUV's than on Vans and cars. With gas prices as stupid high as they are, I am currently just obeying the book and using premium gas and 5/30 oil and driving a little less spirited than I usually do. Or I am just getting old. Hahahaha. C.

Hey thanks

I am getting 16.5 mpg on my VQ 3.5L auto trans equipped 02 Chilkoot (generally the same without all the leather and sunroof ect..). This is only based on the 2 weeks I have owned it and I have used the last 2 fills as reference. I drive 65/35 city/highway as part of my ride to work is on a fast 3 lane road. I also drive with a light foot but not slow if you know what I mean. I don't punch the gas every time I take off is all I mean. I drive in 2W mode as it is summer. My milage should go down though in the fall and winter as I will be in AWD(AUTO) mode (not 4X4). Here's a really good web site about this stuff... http://www.fueleconomy.org/feg/findacar.htm I just looked and an 02 Pathy like mine in 2W mode should get a combined average hwy/city rating of about 17 mpg. I guess it's pretty accurate. Also I know it was bang on for my Dodge Caravan as well (22mpg). So I trust that site alot. As for the Jeep I don't know what you had. Basically the newer Pathys seem to be about the same as a 4.0L Auto trans Grand Cherokee in 2W mode based on that site. If it was the 5.9L it woulda been a little worse by a few MPG in the city. In which case you were getting about 15 you will see about 17 as I indicated. I find on the highway though. If I go over 110 km/h I burn gas noticably faster. At 110 km/h my rpm is just under 2500. But goes up crazy after about 115 km/h and milage takes a HUGE dive! So as long as you are not a lead foot on the Highway, it should do about 20 mpg. C.

Yes it seems that way. Heh. Most active Nissan Forum I have been able to find. I have already spent alot of time just reading through other threads here. Alot of really good conversations on the subject of Pathfinders.

Well just an FYI here... The last 8 weeks or so it has been 20 - 30C here (75 - 80F?). Will be like this another 6 - 8 weeks if not more but will begin to cool down in September or October. Snow will not actually arrive until December usually. Not as snowy as some would think in Canada. But then yes. It will be brutal January - April. To be more difficult to keep up with, in Calgary where I live, one day it will be -25C. Next day + 10C and slushy. We get something called chinooks. So we get spring conditions a dozens time for a few days at a time all winter. It's wierd. So are Bridgestone Dueler AT REVOs fine all summer as well? I have been told I need a good all season for half of the year and a good aggressive winter tire if I want to stay out of the ditch for the other half. We do drive into the Rockies several times in the Winter as they are only about 1 hour away. Do most pathy owners have 2 sets? C.

Hey thanks so much AGAIN!

I own a 2002 Chilkoot with the 3.5L and auto transmission. I do 45% city, 45% highway, 5% gravel, 5% beginner offroad 4x4... What do you think? which size and brand is the best in my case? Currently I find the truck rides fine until about 110 km/h and then I start to feel the tread in the wheel. Or a gentle shake/vibration. So whatever that might be. Could need a wheel balancing. Thanks! C.

Calgary Alberta