Nissan Pathfinder Questions & Answers (page 5 of 5)

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.

Hi,

It might be the anti-rollback or hill descent staying on for a second longer than it needs to. All it does is put your breaks on automatically to stop the car rolling before you start to take off. Take it to Nissan and they will let you know for sure or find the problem

Mine has the same issue - i asked and it is the hill descent feature. Occassionally it operates to prevent you from rolling back if you were in a 4wd situation, but activates during normal driving.

Check your steering column!! I have just had to have a part in mine replaced. Nissan are aware of it as being an issue.

Hi Andrew, I have a 2009 TI Pathfinder and the same problem. I fitted an Old Man EMU suspension (due to sagging rear while towing) and the consumption went up. Makes sense, the Pathfinder is a brick on wheels aerodynamically. The suspension lifted it by ~4cm. Also had poor milage from the original tyres and fitted Cooper AT3. The dealer claims at least double the milage but the coarser profile send the consumption through the roof. On average 1 to 1.5 l/100Km more. I am using ~13.5l/100Km in heavy town traffic and 15 to 16l/100Km towing. A poor result, but if you ask other 4x4 drivers, their consumption is similar, if not higher (provided they are honest). Even full synthetic oil did not make a difference. I guess 4x4s are dinosaurs and deemed to become extinct. I will stay away from chipping. It takes ages before the cost balance out and you are not guaranteed to save fuel. Good luck. Dirk

Many thanks Dirk,
I have also now had discussions with other Pathfinder users and am now investigating 're-mapping'. If nothing comes of that I'll be looking at chipping. Something has to change!
Cheers!
Andrew

Hi there, my 2005 R51 ST-L 2.5TDI 6-Speed Manual gets 10.4L/100km city cycle. Its still stock, travelled only 55,000Kms but we towed a 2 ton boat to Jervis Bay and averaged 13L/100 highway cruising on 100km/h. The key word is Manual.... the automatic will always use more.

Nope. My brothers is past 120,000kms with no trouble at all. $6100 seems very excessive! Was that from a Nissan Dealer? Try a local mechanic. A brand new turbo costs around $1500 - $2000 at the most, then it takes a few hours of labour to install. Is it just a blown turbo, or other issues also?

175,00 same turbo, same clutch, same injectors

Hi mate, no chip in my car, but towing obviously will diminish your fuel economy by some km's, with a fully loaded trailer, I say less 100kms a tank roughly, but if you drive fairly sensibly( no lead foot) and being that a caravan may be lighter, I think it should not be to much of a hindrance from my experience, but just take it into account when traveling I between towns and fuel stations

Hi Adrian, I'm also thinking of chipping my 2007 Pathfinder for the same reason, poor fuel economy particularly when towing a caravan. How many litres/100 do you get when towing?
I'll be very interested to see what answers you get to your chipping question!

My chip definitely does help towing my van, but doesn't improve the economy. At 2.5 ton you have a fairly large caravan and you are basically pulling a large brick and if the wind in in the wrong direction you notice it in the fuel gauge. I think I am getting about 550-600ks when I tow, but I have 175ks on my clock and think my injectors are getting tired

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.

I've got a 2012 Ti and I'm getting an average of about 8.4 with city/hwy mix. Quite a bit better than the advertised 9.0. We just did a Melb to Sydney trip and had a 7.9 average on that trip.

My pathy loves freeways and long driving stints. Short inner city driving and through the suburbs, not so much.