Nissan Pathfinder WX (1996-2004) Questions & Answers

Mine is a 2018 R52 petrol model. Tank is 73litres. I get approx 650-675 kms from a tank city driving and approx 700-750 for country driving. This isn't towing though. Hope that helps

Don't !! That is too many kms to buy any car at !! You will have nothing but trouble !

Mine has done 295k and is faultless. If it has been off road then be weary as that is what wears things out. So that would be a question. Usual questions would be around service history.

Hi.
I'm looking at doing the same and the only thing that seems to be a concern on this model is pretty poor fuel consumption. 13l/100ks highway driving, up to 18l/100ks 4wd heavy offroad conditions. Reading up further, they say it depends on the fuel. Don't use 91 and only 95 (upwards of 50-100ks extra a tank) but if you can afford it use 98 because the consumption is much less. Nobody has quoted amounts though but it makes sense.
One thing I can tell you is DO NOT USE E10 AT ALL. Apparently this will rot your engine seals away. I've heard this on a lot of older vehicles though.
I'm really keen to get my hands on one of these but the fuel consumption is a worry because at best I'd be doing 50/50 4wd/highway use with most use being daily round town. That's my only concern.
Cheers,
Paul

Hello John, This does not sound good. I have never had a problem selecting Auto 4x4 or permanently engaged 4x4. The higher modes engage/disengage on the move (in a straight line) and low range when stationary. You might in due course post a note on the solution. Best of luck. John

That's 1500 kms a year - not much, why? If you want a capable mid-sized 4WD and don't plan to use it as day to day/commuter transport, this should be a good solution, depending on price. I would want to know if it is an Australian compliance vehicle (or a grey import) - I think they are different vehicles. Make sure everything works, there are no oil leaks (including shock absorbers) and the tyres are good and you should have a cheap, capable 4WD that will give many years and kms of service. Let us know how you go.

Hi, I think that 18l/100kms is excessive unless you are in 4WD all the time, or driving in heavy traffic with lots of stopping and starting - even so your fuel consumption is high. In normal highway use I get 13l/100kms and it's about the same around town in Canberra - off road 4WD increases consumption markedly. I keep the tyres at 35-36 psi on roads. Was the air filter changed in the recent service? It should have been, but if not and it's dirty fuel consumption will increase. How many kms do you get from a full tank? Regards John H

Hi John, filters were changed at service, I do mostly country driving eg sitting on 90-100 into town for work. I only get about 450km per tank. My husband drove it to Sydney a couple of days ago and only averaged 17.5km/100l. Also he said he felt headaches and fluey in the car so now I'm thinking an exhaust leak eg CO in the car :(

Hi, Sorry I missed this post. There is something dramatically wrong with your Pathfinder, you should get the same economy I do. It's probably fixed by now and it would be interesting to know what was wrong. Regards John

Hello Nelly. I don't think this is a good modification for this model Pathfinder. The space behind the back seats is usefully high and wide, but not very deep. Only tiny people would fit and they need special seats and mountings - I can't see how that would get DMV or whatever agency approval. Access to a third row of seats wouldn't be pretty either. The next model Pathfinder can have three rows of seats, or you might think about a Ford Territory. Regards John

Hi jennifer. There's no reason your Pathfinder can't use E10, but if you have a choice avoid it. It's not a nice fuel and you need more of it to do equivalent work as it has less energy than ULP. I find that my fuel consumption increases by around 10% running on E10. To make it worthwhile using E10 in lieu of ULP it should be 12-15% less per litre - I've never seen that and seldom seen it more than 4 cents/L cheaper (around 3%). It's interesting that Woolworths announced that ULP would be phased out around 2010, but it still sells ULP at my local. Shell did phase ULP out, but it''s back - good thing too. Regards John

Go see a mechanic if you think it is stuffed,this is not a trchnical blog,just a basic review site!

Hi, There was no diesel available in 2003 when we bought our Pathfinder, had there been I would have chosen it. The Pathfinder uses 13l/100km of ULP in normal on-road/highway driving and upto 18l/100km of hard 4x4 work (low range, difficult terrain). I've little experience of caravanning, but friends tell me that their fuel consumption can double with a medium sized van and is quite sensitive to wind direction (2-3l/100km more or less driving against or ahead of the wind). All that aside, what the Pathfinder does best is soft or hard 4x4 and easy highway at moderate speeds (cruise control at 100k/h - comfortable and car-like, quiet and delivers 500+kms per tank). If you just want a tow vehicle, I'd choose something like a Ford Territory. If you want to tow and go onto beaches and up fire trails and the like, the Pathfinder is a good choice, but will suck down liquids like a sailor on shore leave, as will any other 4x4 that weighs 2+ tons and uses ULP. Hope this helps. John

I occasionally tow a large, single axle box trailer which the Pathfinder has no trouble with - I wouldn't tow a caravan as I think the impact in fuel consumption with be a fright. Otherwise, fuel consumption doesn't seem to vary much at around 13/100kms around town and with three people and a lot of camping gear and big roof rack on the highway. Full time 4x4 and low range chew through fuel, maybe 50% increase, but that's in really heavy going. If you are thinking of buying one of these vehicles, I didn't mention in my review, but the head lights are weak and you definitely need auxiliary lamps. Otherwise, this is an excellent and capable mid-size 4x4.

TX / Ri is the model designation (like ST and TI as later models were called. It should be on your compliance plate under the bonnet. If not, I am pretty sure the TX was the base model (wind up windows) and Ri had the Electric jobbies.I know in Aus, there were two models the ST and TI and the difference wasn't much, colour coded bars and maybe electric sunroof velour seats. All models in Aus had the 3.3Litre V6 Auto

Thankyou! Got it!

Was it a good car Annabella24?

Sorry Lin - I haven't encountered this one.