New here, I have questions. Just got a 04 LE Pathfinder

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Just got a 2004 white Pathy LE Platinum with only 50,000 miles on it in amazing condition. Very very clean, both the black leather wood grain interior and the white paint on the outside.

 

This patchy is fully equipped with everything offered. Also has a front grill.

 

Brief history

Carfax: Clean, no accidents, 2 owners. 1 from north jersey metro area from 04-05, then the 2nd owner bought it at Ramsey and registered in bayville nj (on the jersey coast) and seemed to drive in north jersey (ramapo college staff sticker on rear view mirror. This driver only put on 4k plus miles per year from 05-14.

 

I bought this car off a dealer in Ramsey. I paid 8,700 (listed price was 9800) but paid a lot of fees and had to finance it. They did basic service on it, oil change, cleaned, brake pads, rotors.

 

 

I wanna keep this car well.

 

Any suggestions what I should do with it? I drive a lot, roughly 4k a month sometimes less.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Only current concern is I hear a squeak type noise coming from the back going over bumps sometimes.

 

My current plans include

 

1.) another oil change. Bosch filter and penzoil reg oil not high mileage?

2.) add subwoofers, and maybe speakers? Any recommendations on speakers? I plan to keep the Bose head unit

3.) eventually get new tires. These have a few months left. Should I get a specific tire? And also would it be worth the money to get H rated tires instead of S or T? Would this increase handling or gas?

 

4.) IMPORTANT ONE

Should I get the transmission serviced? Plus new fluid? I feel like maybe it's never been done. I mean I got the car with 50 k miles and it's an 04!!!

Please give me feedback on this particular subject.

 

5.) any things I should be worried about or look at?

 

6.) I hear this is the Pathys best 2nd gen model, is this true?

 

7.) any other thoughts?

 

I will post pictures another day this one seems like a beauty and I'm sure you would all love it!!

 

Btw I recently owned a 1998 pathfinder all black with the cloth interior and I loved it! It was a beater got it with 196,000 miles for 1.5k and drove it till 231,000 with very little maintence besides distributor cap, brake caliper and a new muffler. But that car was so rusted up it was crazy, rustiest patchy I've seen but the engine and tranny were strong as a bull!!! I babied this car with oil changes but eventually sold it to a friend for 300 bucks because it needed a lot of work plus new tires.

 

Thanks everyone!!!

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Also for some reason this pathy didn't come with a tow hitch? Is that weird or basic for the 04 platinum?

[bushnut]

I'd start with all new fluids. Oil, trans, transfer case, both differentials, brake and coolant.

I might do spark plugs as well.

check the belts.

at 50,000 miles that thing is still brand new.

nice find.

I'm jealous.

[ferrariowner123]

Check the power valve screws so you can keep your non oil burning, beauty!!

 

http://forums.nicoclub.com/threadlocker-on-power-valve-screws-pics-t304263.html?sid=f8e46364c79a896bc38fae744e90ac15

 

And going down your list, i get mobil 1 full synthetic every time, with the matching filter, but its up to you, i dont see a reason for high mileage, because well, your car is still NEW!!

 

Sub and speakers, are easy, but not easy when you want to keep the factory head unit, i went for a full Alpine setup, and it works, but im so much of an audiofile, that when i get some spare cash, its get another overhaul, subs again, are easy, but not when you are trying to keep the factory head unit.

 

Tires, are kind of like the oil, its personal preference, just get what will work best with your application. If you have a discount tire (or america tire it might be called on the east coast) head there, i have NEVER had a bad experience with mine, i love that company, if you tell them what you want, they can usually point you in the right direction, and if you dont like it, you can bring it back. A friend of mine has like an 08 dodge 3500 super duty dually, he has switched out 3 sets (of 6 tires mind you) of tires, without any complaints from the guys.

 

Transmission: Id say have it looked at, since its 10 years old. If the color is good, and it feels normal (no hard shifts, stalling or taking a while to actually shift from gear to gear) id say its fine, but im NO auto expert, so maybe someone else can chime in with some wiser advice. But at the end of the day, my rule of thumb when buying a new car, IS CHANGE EVERYTHING, especially on higher mileage cars, just so you can have a reference point for when it was serviced, because there is no way to know when it was really serviced unless you did it yourself.

 

Things to worry about: Already mentioned the power valve screws, what else, uh if you have the navigation, i guess those have a tendency to break and since its hooked into the climate control, that can be a little annoying, so just be ready i guess. If my memory serves me correct, it was anywhere between 2-4 grand to replace the entire unit, or, there was a guy a while back who went to a stock head unit and wired in a normal climate control unit.

 

Best model: Oh yeah, the platinum is the model that Nissan usually send off each generation, before it gets replaced with the next gen. (not anymore as the newest pathfinder has a platinum package available right out of the gate) so you get EVERYTHING, nice leather, power, and heated seats, a special edition wood option, reworked center console, special gauge cluster (black instead of white), metal inserts in the door sill covers (have those on my 96, love the crap out of that). Thats all i have off the top of my head, but yeah, platinum is the one to have.

 

PICS NOW!!!!

 

-Kyle

[Quaintbucket]

Nice find. I'd do a full tune up on it. Spark plugs, rotor, cap, wire, air filter, and fuel filter. You shouldn't need to do a timing belt change for another 50,000 miles.

 

Your transmission SHOULD be fine. Does it feel weird? Shift hard? Stalls? If it doesn't, then you're OK.

 

 

The squeaking that you're hearing might be your bushing for the trailing arms. It should be OK considering the number of miles but I guess age would have a big impact on it.

 

And yeah, the LE typically don't have tow hitches. It's usually an add-on for owners. I don't have one on my 97 and am planning on adding one.

 

Do you got 4x4? I'm jealous, you got a sweet almost new vehicle for a steal.

[ferrariowner123]

He shouldn't have to worry about the timing CHAIN for at least another 150k,then you should worry about changing it or at least having it tensioned.

 

And I forgot about the noise. With 50k I seriously doubt it's the control arms. A common problem that causes noise is the away bar links. Those are relatively inexpensive and are very easy to change.

 

-Kyle

Edited September 25, 2014 by ferrariowner123

[Quaintbucket]

My bad, I keep forgetting they were lucky enough to get timing chains.

 

dammit.

[01Pathmaker]

01-04 have timing chains and coil-on-plug style ignition, so no timing belt, distributor cap/rotor/wires to replace. They also come with very high quality NGK Iridium plugs that are good for over 100k miles (did mine at about 120k and still looked great). Good idea to do a transmission service (fluid and filter), transfer case, front and rear differentials and fuel filter. Coolant can wait another 10k or so as long as it checks out good. Keep up on oil changes every 5k with quality oil and filter of your choice (the dino vs synthetic battle will never end, this day and age it's more of a personal preference). Also a good idea to check your engine air filter and in-cabin air filter, replace with quality filters as needed. Tires are very dependent upon how you use and what you expect to do with you Pathfinder, a good tire shop will be able to point you in the right direction. Welcome and enjoy the ride!

Edited September 25, 2014 by 01Pathmaker

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

I'd start with all new fluids. Oil, trans, transfer case, both differentials, brake and coolant.

I might do spark plugs as well.

check the belts.

at 50,000 miles that thing is still brand new.

nice find.

I'm jealous.

Great advice, I'm trying to get like $600-$800 and take it to shop for everything mentioned plus a full tune up

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Check the power valve screws so you can keep your non oil burning, beauty!!

 

http://forums.nicoclub.com/threadlocker-on-power-valve-screws-pics-t304263.html?sid=f8e46364c79a896bc38fae744e90ac15

 

And going down your list, i get mobil 1 full synthetic every time, with the matching filter, but its up to you, i dont see a reason for high mileage, because well, your car is still NEW!!

 

Sub and speakers, are easy, but not easy when you want to keep the factory head unit, i went for a full Alpine setup, and it works, but im so much of an audiofile, that when i get some spare cash, its get another overhaul, subs again, are easy, but not when you are trying to keep the factory head unit.

 

Tires, are kind of like the oil, its personal preference, just get what will work best with your application. If you have a discount tire (or america tire it might be called on the east coast) head there, i have NEVER had a bad experience with mine, i love that company, if you tell them what you want, they can usually point you in the right direction, and if you dont like it, you can bring it back. A friend of mine has like an 08 dodge 3500 super duty dually, he has switched out 3 sets (of 6 tires mind you) of tires, without any complaints from the guys.

 

Transmission: Id say have it looked at, since its 10 years old. If the color is good, and it feels normal (no hard shifts, stalling or taking a while to actually shift from gear to gear) id say its fine, but im NO auto expert, so maybe someone else can chime in with some wiser advice. But at the end of the day, my rule of thumb when buying a new car, IS CHANGE EVERYTHING, especially on higher mileage cars, just so you can have a reference point for when it was serviced, because there is no way to know when it was really serviced unless you did it yourself.

 

Things to worry about: Already mentioned the power valve screws, what else, uh if you have the navigation, i guess those have a tendency to break and since its hooked into the climate control, that can be a little annoying, so just be ready i guess. If my memory serves me correct, it was anywhere between 2-4 grand to replace the entire unit, or, there was a guy a while back who went to a stock head unit and wired in a normal climate control unit.

 

Best model: Oh yeah, the platinum is the model that Nissan usually send off each generation, before it gets replaced with the next gen. (not anymore as the newest pathfinder has a platinum package available right out of the gate) so you get EVERYTHING, nice leather, power, and heated seats, a special edition wood option, reworked center console, special gauge cluster (black instead of white), metal inserts in the door sill covers (have those on my 96, love the crap out of that). Thats all i have off the top of my head, but yeah, platinum is the one to have.

 

PICS NOW!!!!

 

-Kyle

Great post thanks. I'll mention power valve screws to the mechanic.

 

Very informative post .

 

Can I upload pics on this forum thru a mobile device (iPhone)

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Nice find. I'd do a full tune up on it. Spark plugs, rotor, cap, wire, air filter, and fuel filter. You shouldn't need to do a timing belt change for another 50,000 miles.

 

Your transmission SHOULD be fine. Does it feel weird? Shift hard? Stalls? If it doesn't, then you're OK.

 

 

The squeaking that you're hearing might be your bushing for the trailing arms. It should be OK considering the number of miles but I guess age would have a big impact on it.

 

And yeah, the LE typically don't have tow hitches. It's usually an add-on for owners. I don't have one on my 97 and am planning on adding one.

 

Do you got 4x4? I'm jealous, you got a sweet almost new vehicle for a steal.

Thank you, excellent post!!

 

Yes it's 4x4 so a bad north nj winter coming up doesn't sound so bad plus it's got the heated seats.

 

Thanks for the advice on the potential noise in the back. It sounds like something's loose, same exact noise my 98 pathy with 228,500 miles had on it but never cared to check it out as obviously a car like that I was just riding it out and giving it basic on time oil changes and brakes

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

He shouldn't have to worry about the timing CHAIN for at least another 150k,then you should worry about changing it or at least having it tensioned.

 

And I forgot about the noise. With 50k I seriously doubt it's the control arms. A common problem that causes noise is the away bar links. Those are relatively inexpensive and are very easy to change.

 

-Kyle

Sway bar links? Perfect, this is great things I can tell my mechanic to look at!!

 

This website is great!!! I really hope to contribute when I can and get pictures up soon

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

01-04 have timing chains and coil-on-plug style ignition, so no timing belt, distributor cap/rotor/wires to replace. They also come with very high quality NGK Iridium plugs that are good for over 100k miles (did mine at about 120k and still looked great). Good idea to do a transmission service (fluid and filter), transfer case, front and rear differentials and fuel filter. Coolant can wait another 10k or so as long as it checks out good. Keep up on oil changes every 5k with quality oil and filter of your choice (the dino vs synthetic battle will never end, this day and age it's more of a personal preference). Also a good idea to check your engine air filter and in-cabin air filter, replace with quality filters as needed. Tires are very dependent upon how you use and what you expect to do with you Pathfinder, a good tire shop will be able to point you in the right direction. Welcome and enjoy the ride!

Thanks for the info! I have a new air filter but idk about in cabin and fuel, I'll def add those to my list, thank you.

 

As far as tires I'm looking for a great all around tire. Something quiet and great on the highway, but also great around turns and in Inclimate weather like snow or rain or ice. Also capable in dirt roads. So I basically want an amazing all around tire that's slightly street biased.

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

I'm just debating weather I should change the factory speakers or not. They sound ok, just not great.

 

I'm adding dual 12 inch sony explod subs that I had in my 98 so I'm wondering if the subs alone will boost overall sound performance from the speakers and the loudness as well.

 

Plus if I do add speakers, will they be better thn stock? I'm looking to get speakers in the $40-$80 range per pair

Edited September 29, 2014 by 2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4

[bushnut]

for tires I'd check into Treadwright.com

I've got a set of guard dogs that I'm very happy with so far, haven't had them in the snow yet, but once I do I plan on doing a full review.

[Quaintbucket]

Michelin LTX sounds like it would fit you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ferrariowner123]

Yeah, sway bar links, stupid auto correct.

 

And as far as audio, the explodes have a tendency to live up to their name. Door speakers;replacing the factory door speakers front and rear is a great way to increase the audio quality of a car, especially if you don't want to replace the factory radio. I recommend the alpine sps-600 or 660,whatever version they are on, you can get those for like $80 a pair if I remember correctly. The only issue is getting the tweeters to fit in the factory location, it's not quite perfect.

 

-Kyle

[Karmann]

Just do exactly what ferrariowner123 said . Very nice find, post some pics when you get a chance, I've got a soft spot for pearl.

 

A good source for the trailer hitch would be amazon, autoanything, or etrailer. I don't tow all that often, but do use accessories like bike racks etc, with some frequency.

[01Pathmaker]

Tire wise, sounds like a true all terrain tire would even be to aggressive for you, Quaint made a great suggestion with the ltx's, might also look at the Yokohama ats or Cooper at3, I'm sure there are others as well, just can't think of them. These are tires that are pretty good in many areas you've mentioned, but keep in mind that there is no tire that will excel in all the areas you've named, so some comprimise will be needed.

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Finally some pics guys!!!

 

More to come in another day or two

 

http://s1381.photobucket.com/user/Nykallday1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps7cb17e3b.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

[bushnut]

I like the gold badges and the cow catcher.

[bushnut]

I like the gold badges and the cow catcher.

[ferrariowner123]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love the look of the kouki pathfinders, especially with the grill guard! I want mine to look like that, I'm collecting parts to do it! Nice looking rid sir. What sort of options does yours have? Like the awesome wood?

 

-Kyle

[2004LEPlatinumNJ4x4]

Yes it has the wood trim

 

My heated seats aren't working? Anybody have this issue? Maybe it's a fuse or something??

[01Pathmaker]

Yes, quite possibly could be as simple as the fuse. I don't have them but I do have the fuse for them. There is a smll fuse panel in the dash, near your left knee on the driver side, and another in the engine compartment.