Matthew K

Just an update- I went out to my car a few minutes ago to assess the carpet again. In my Pathfinder, I have the OEM carpet, the OEM floor mat, and an aftermarket molded rubber floor mat (made to retain water). The rubber mat was not wet on top, but it was on the bottom and both the OEM floor mat and most of the carpet in front of the driver's seat were soaked. So either the water is coming in from the door somehow and is saturating the carpet, or it's coming from the firewall somewhere. The second thought makes more sense to me because neither the door compartment bin nor the crevices in the plastic on the door had water....

That's a great thought, but no, it's never been in an accident. Thanks! Matt

Hello all, I noticed that the edge of my carpet right next to the driver's side door, the edge of my driver's seat (next to the door), and my sunvisor were damp. It rained fairly hard on New Year's Eve in Fairfax, VA, but I am certain I had my windows up. The carpet was the wettest as even the rear carpet next to the door was also wet. I'm not sure exactly what to do though as there was no water on the door itself or even in the storage compartment built into the bottom of the door. Has anyone else had this problem or know of a seal issue with the 2001 SE's? If not, I guess my next step is to perform a leak test with the garden hose. I do have a sunroof, but that was also closed and everything felt dry when I ran my hand around the inside lip of the headliner around the sunroof. I have noticed this before after a heavy rain and now I know it's a recurring issue. All of my door and window gaskets seem to be in good shape with no tears or abrasions. Thanks for your help! Matt

Hey guys, Not sure if this helps, but I had the same problem when I had my 95 Cherokee. The culprit was the yoke when it went in and out of the transfer case when I came to or accelerated from a stop. The only way to solve it was to take the driveshaft out and grease up the end with spindles that fit inside the transfer case (I used high-temp bearing grease). This only helped for about 2-3 months at a time because the grease would break down. I was going to put a grease fitting on the drive shaft, but never got around to it before I bought my '01 Pathy... Matt

Thanks guys for all your feedback. I'm going to take it into the shop either this evening or sometime tomorrow, so I'll let you know what they find as soon as I get it back. Thanks again! (By the way, I do not have a steering stabilizer) Matt

Precise1, Thanks for the feedback. I'm the only driver and I haven't hit anything hard with the wheels. They're the 2001 SE OEM rims. I actually just had the rotors machined (after this shaking issue started), so it shouldn't be those as the Pathy brakes smoothly. Also, it seems to shake between 60-70 with my both on and off the accelerator. I thought a clicking or popping noise was a tell-tale sign of a shot CV joint. The boots look good, but I'll have the mechanic check those too. Thanks again! Matt

Hello again all, Sorry to bombard the site with posts, and even though this is related to 2 posts below, I thought this might need it's own. My 01 Pathy is still shaking between 60 and 70, felt mostly through the steering wheel, even after purchasing 4 new tires and having a 4-wheel alignment done late last week. Two weeks ago, I had my previous tires rotated once and balanced 3-4 times because my Pathy was vibrating. None of the balances resolved the shaking, so then I had a 4-wheel alignment done on Friday, which it needed since it was pulling to the left. When I left the shop (Sears), it was still pulling to the left, even though I watched them balance it and it seemed they did everything correctly. Then I thought it must be a tire issue (even though they all appear to be fine). That night I swapped the front two tires with eachother and took it for a drive. This time it was pulling to the right. Saturday morning I put that tire on the back wheel which solved the pulling but the Pathy was still shaking. The tires were General Grabber AW's (pretty good tires, made by Continental) with about half the tread left. Since no one carries them anymore and no one close to me had Bridgestone's in stock, I went ahead and got the General Grabber ST's, again from Sears. I had them put four on and balance them. I also had to get them right away as I had to drive 300 miles this weekend. My Pathy is STILL shaking at the same speeds (60-70). It definitely shakes similar to when a tire is out of balance. I'm going to take it back to Sears tomorrow to have them recheck the balance, but is there anything else that sounds suspect? I have 62K miles, stock suspension, and all the mechanics I've gone to lately say all my suspension components look fine. How might a mechanic check the wheels themselves to make sure they're all true? One of the mechanics said they're fine, but something's got to give. I just find it highly coincidental that the Pathy would be shaking within the same speed range with a fresh set of balanced tires and a new alignment. Thanks again all for your help. Matt

Good point Pezzy-sorry fellas. This is my daily driver, but I also use it for camping/light trails, and want something that's aggressive in the rain and snow. My suspension is still stock. Matt

Hello all, This is related to my topic below about an alignment and tire balance/rotation. I went ahead and got the thrust alignment done which it needed. After that I found that it was still pulling to the left and shaking between 60 and 70 on the highway. I couldn't figure out what to do so I switched the front left tire with the front right tire. I then went back on the highway and the pathy pulled to the RIGHT this time, with more shaking. So I think I've narrowed it down to the tire itself. I have General Grabbers on there now, and there seems to be plenty of tread left, but I think the culprit tire may have some internal separation (you'll read in the aforementioned post below that I've already had the tires balanced numerous times) that lends to an imbalance that can't be rectified from normal wheel balancing. On the outside, the tire looks fine. I was going to just rotate the front tires to the back, but I think I'll just get shaking anyway. I may just replace the front two tires since the wear is slightly more on those. In that case I'll get two more Grabbers. But I wanted to see if anyone has any other tires that they absolutely love. One mechanic suggested Michelins, but he didn't say what type. Has anyone had any problems with their General Grabbers? Thanks, and sorry for the long post again! Matt

Dan, Thanks VERY much for the referral. I'll give them a call when I get off work! Matt

Hey guys, Thanks for the advice! The Merchants I took it to was actually in Richmond. I'll take it to one of those places you guys mentioned since they're all pretty close. Hopefully it's just misaligned and nothing more. It's hard to find a dependable mechanic around here. Man, I'd love to go wheelin' this weekend--it's been a while. Unfortunately though I have to go to another wedding down in Staunton. Maybe another time? Have a great time, and thanks again! Matt

Hi all, I have a 2001 SE with approx. 62k miles. I took it in to NTB in Arlington, VA for an oil change and tire rotation and balance last week. I usually change the oil myself, but had a coupon and figured what the heck. I've learned my lesson. It turned out that they didn't change the filter the first time, and when I took it back I got some bad attitudes and dirty looks from the mechanics. Needless to say I was pretty p*ssed with the whole situation. Anyway, I also had them balance/rotate the tires under my lifetime plan. That also was a mistake as they balanced the wheels without using the adapter on the machine. I took it back the second time and the car still shook at highway speeds and found out that they balanced the wheels without calibrating the tires. I will never go to this shop again (then also put some nice scratches in my wheels). To make a long story short, I've had the tires balanced 2 more times at Merchants (since they and NTB are part of the same company) because my car still shakes. Evidently they also checked the alignment which was okay. They also assured me they balanced the wheels with a freshly calibrated machine and with the adapter. The shaking isn't that bad, but it is noticeable. Actually what I experience is a shaky steering wheel between 60 and 70. My pathy doesn't seem to pull either way. I'm just at a loss of what I should do. Merchants also checked the wheels themselves to see if they're bent and apparently they're okay. Should I have the alignment checked again somewhere? Would a misalignment cause shaking within a 10 mph range? Oh, apparently my shocks and struts are okay, but I was also wondering what their expected life is (mostly highway/around the town driving with light 4-wheeling). Thanks for your help all. Sorry for the long post... Matt

Hello all, Well, I finally narrowed down the cause of the noise/vibration I've been feeling in the steering wheel when I go around turns and over bumps. I thought it was something loose in the suspension, but when I was cleaning out my Pathy yesterday I noticed that the airbag cover is loose as I can push/pull it vertically (towards the dashboard and down towards the floor). This causes the same vibes in the steering wheel as I've been feeling. Does anyone have any experience in removing the steering wheel on a 2001 or similar? I noticed there's a special hex bolt that I would need to remove but am not sure that I can get the tool from the dealer. Also, does anyone happen to have or know where I can get an exploded view of the airbag/cover assembly to see if it's even possible to tighten the cover up? Haynes doesn't really illustrate this very well. One more question--if I do remove the steering wheel, does anyone know if/how I can reset the airbag light myself? I'd hate to have to pay the dealer to do it--I'm sure they'd charge $50 or more. Thanks a lot! Matt

Thank you for your responses (and for checking on ebay)! I re-examined the rear glass and the struts. The struts actually work very well (glass pops right up). The rattling seems to be coming from a tolerance between the glass and the rubber seal. The latch mechanisms (and all the other parts behind the paneling of the hatch) are tight, so I guess I'll just have to put something between the glass and the seal to hold the glass tight. Thanks again. Matt

Hello all, I'm pretty sure this topic has been discussed before, although I can't find it by searching. The the gas struts for my rear lift gate are shot since the glass rattles pretty badly. It happens more when it's cold (gas is at a lower pressure) than when it's warm (40 degrees or more). I'm looking for a good replacement without paying the dealer prices...any recommendations? Thanks! Matt

Thanks a lot guys. I still haven't found it, but I hope to this weekend.... Cameron, I'm actually moving to West Springfield this weekend. Maybe you'd like to get together sometime when you're home from school. Thanks again. Matt

One of the things that drives me crazy is a rattle that I can't pinpoint in my 2001 SE automatic. Here's what I've noticed/done. For the past 3 weeks or so here in northern Virginia, I've noticed a pretty loud rattle come from what sounds like the right rear passenger door or cargo area of the vehicle. This rattle only happens for the first 15-20 minutes of driving after it's been sitting for a while, and when the temperature is 40 or below. It definitely sounds like it's coming from the inside, but rattles are weird, so it could be coming from underneath...hard to tell. I've taken the right rear passenger door off and made sure everything was tight, including the track, speaker, and all the brass screws that hold the fiber board backing onto the panel. I removed and lubricated the rear seatbelt and made sure that wasn't rattling. I also took out as much of the rear paneling as possible to make sure nothing was rattling there. I even put two screws into the little flip-up hidden compartment that's inside the hatch that's behind the rear right wheel well. I couldn't figure out how to pull this compartment out and it was sloppy, so I had to put screws into it to hold it down. I've banged on the glass (both rear and side rear windows) and couldn't get them to rattle. I made sure all the bolts holding the rear window hinges/lift shocks were tight and I put some foam rubber behind the rear license plate. All the rear seats are tight and there's nothing on the floor. The flip-up shallow compartment below the rear carpeting is empty as is the cargo area itself. I even took out the rear pull shade, but I still get the rattle. I know all vehicles are different and have different circumstances, but has anyone else had any rear rattles? This might give me some other ideas of what to try. I've tried to duplicate the rattle by banging on pretty much everything in the rear of the vehicle both inside and out. Since it only happens for the first 20 minutes or so, I'm thinking it must be temperature related, so I guess I'll look at the exhaust system next. Thanks a lot and sorry for the long post. Matt

Hey all, I've got another question about my 2001 Pathy (SE). It's only got 52K miles, but one thing I've noticed is the seats, front and rear, have some slop in them. In other words, if I'm driving around and no one is in the passenger seat or the back, they seem to wiggle some, causing some irritating rattles. I've taken the front two seats out, made sure all the screws/bolts were tight, and sprayed some lubricant on all the friction points. I also made sure all the mounting bolts for the back seats were tight. This helped a little bit, but one thing I noticed is that seats are mostly loose in the tracks and the hinges. Can anyone recommend a way to get around this, without buying new seats? The truck is very solid otherwise. I was thinking about using some sort of thick grease, but not sure what might work best. I'm thinking the thick grease won't break down as easily and will help absorb some of the vibration. Thanks. Matt

Hello all, Could someone give me the quick and dirty on removing a steering wheel off a 2001 SE? I took it to the dealer a couple of weeks ago and they successfully got rid of the creaking noise in the steering column/wheel by lubricating it. Unfortunately, I think the lubricant has worn off because it's starting to creak again....Anyone have any suggestions for the type of lubricant I should use? They said it wasn't the clock spring or the spiral cable. Thanks... Matt

Thanks guys for the response. I only actually heard it the other day when I was sitting in my car waiting for somebody and was tapping the brake out of boredom So you don't think I need to lubricate it or anything? The clicking is normal? Thanks again. Matt

Thanks guys. It doesn't seem like a track problem as the window rolls up and down smoothly. I'll take the switch assembly apart today and spray it with some contact cleaner. I'm guessing it's sticking from something... Matt

Hello again all, Here's another question about my 2001 automatic Pathfinder SE. Sometimes when I roll the driver's side window up, either by clicking the button so it goes up automatically, or by holding the switch until it goes up, it comes back down probaby a 1/5th of the way. Sometimes I can hold the switch for a few seconds after the window goes up and it'll stay, but a lot of times it just comes back down by itself (under power--it doesn't fall). Has anyone experienced this? The only solution I have found was to open the door, roll the window up, and turn the ignition on...but this isn't normal. Thanks guys! Matt

Hello all, I have a question about my automatic 2001 Pathfinder (SE). Two days ago I started hearing a new noise. When I'm parked and press the brake, I hear a click coming from what sounds like in the console near the shifter. It only clicks once/press of the brake pedal. I'm thinking it's a relay. Does anyone know what this is, and if this is something I should replace? The Pathfinder drives fine but this is kind of bugging me. Thanks! MAtt

Trialsin26, A picture would really help out a lot. That way I'll know what I should look for. I've got a good friend who used to work as a mechanic who's going to help me out hopefully this weekend. He'll be able to dedicate more time to it rather than some of the shops that just take it for a quick spin around the parking lots and look over the components briefly. Thanks again! Matt

hern, I could move the wheel (when the PF was lifted) where I couldn't move the driver's side. I also had two shops confirm it was the bearing without telling them what I thought it was first. But, I will definitely check the sway bar links again! Thanks a lot for your input and advice. Trailsin26, After starting this post, I was looking through the maintenance section of the Haynes manual and found the section you're talking about. I knew it had to be in there somewhere! Thanks a lot! Matt