gcjazz12 wrote:If it were the drivers side I'd be more concerned about the steering column or master cylinder issues associatrd with the strut tower corrosion.

Actually you're correct. The car will still drive fine since the important structural mechanic of the car will still be sound( fingers cross). Also I found out Nissan Corp is totally liable if anything does happen after the repair. So it would be interesting to know how long these patch jobs last and if Nissan will pay for damages or buyback after the recall repairs has been done. FYI my pathfinder had a donut shape size rust hole on passenger side and light rust on the driver side. I went on a off-roading trip and hit a light bump and that donut rust hole open up to 18" crack! That was the end of my Pathy. My friend was driving a 4x4 Toyota with no rust and his 4runner was fine on the same bump. It would be interesting to know how well your car would hold up on light 4x4 trip. I'm guessing the patch will not hold up very well and the frame would crack or rip too. Please stay on the post and let everyone know the long term conditions of your Pathy.

Good luck!

it really makes me wonder with the style change from `95 to the new `96 what they did to create this critical problem.

I went out and looked at my `95 today which originally came from a salt state but has lived it's life in a sand state, but my towers and inside the fender wells looks like new, no rust at all,

no rust around the steering box either..

anyone have an idea

I think I remember reading there was a coating problem on the fuel filler neck which would cause them to leak, maybe the same thing happened to the strut tower housings. Just a guess. Everything on the underside of my QX4 rusted terribly here in Ohio. The muffler fell off due to rust about 50k ago, and the running boards also disentegrated and were in the process of falling off before I replaced them. I see Q's all over town without the boards now.

Hi all! Just joined the forum the other day and I thought I'd post some pictures of my wheel well. I passed this inspection in the Summer of 2011 but I really didn't take notice to see what kind of shape the wheel well was in. I've got a little bit of rust so I hope it hasn't gotten any worse since then. I've taken my vehicle into the dealer for nearly all of its service so I would think it would be something that they'd check every visit...but after the shady work they did this past weekend I'm not so sure.

Vehicle is from a salt state but I've had it in the South since 2004 (it's a 2002). Running boards are nearly rusted through and I had some rust on my exhaust/muffler that I got a local muffler place to weld when the dealer wanted me to shell out $1.5k for a new unit. Other than that car is in great shape and I'd hate to lose it after being meticulous about the service schedule.

That looks like just surface rust, which would qualify for a Level 1 repair (remove the surface rust, clean area, apply self-etching primer, apply rubberized undercoating). This would be done even if you had no rust as a preemptive measure. However, since you are now in a non-salt state, the dealership does not apply the preventative undercoating if there is no rust or just surface rust; I didn't receive an undercoating myself, although I have no rust since my Pathfinder has been in Florida its whole life. A different TSB/recall campaign applies to non-salt states. I don't have a copy of it, but from what I've experienced it seems that only Level 2 repairs are done in non-salt states. You may wish to call 1-800-NISSAN1 to try to get some clarification on this matter.

Just spent 15 minutes on hold with Nissan and then I hung after it was obvious that I didn't speak the same language as the associate who came on the line. Anyhow, looking back at my service records it appears that it was checked twice:

Once in 5/2011: "Possible Rust on Strut Tower/Wheel Well--Completed Inspection Per ITB--All Checked OK"
QX4 Strut Inspect ITB11-0R1102 OK

and in 12/2011 "Performed Strut Tower Campain Inspection Only"
QX4 Corros Nonsalt ITB11--R111---OK.

If it starts to gets worse over the course of the next few months I'll take it to the Nissan dealership and not the Infiniti. Not that my car is an antique by any means, but I highly doubt the Infiniti dealership has seen as many QX4's as the local Nissan has seen Pathfinders regarding this issue. If anything happens 'til then and I survive, well....I'll be owning an Infiniti Dealership or two.

Thanks for the advice, Town!

Do you guys know if they take the struts out for the inspection and or repair. I'm taking mine into the dealer on monday and I just finished putting in new struts/mounts and links. There is a little rust on the passenger side, hope they don't have to rip it all out.

They don't remove anything except the air box for inspection.

Hi, first post. I bought a 96 Pathfinder today with only 90k miles. Then I read this post. There's definitely a level 2 issue on my driver's side. How do they determine if it's fix-able or not?

I just dropped it off at the dealership, they seemed optimistic, saying there's only been a few they couldn't fix. I dont share their sentiment. I think I'm screwed.

Can I vent already? I've had the vehicle for less than 24 hrs. The place I bought if from is apparently oblivious to the issue. Granted, I should've done research on things like this before buying. I'm pretty upset at the place I bought it from. What bothers me more is how much will Nissan give me for it if they buy it back? I bought it for 3850 plus title, tax & doc fees. KBB value for private party is only like 2200. IMO, they need to give me what I owe on it at least. Very frustrating. i haven't even had it one day.

deseipel, I feel your pain... I too should have done my research before I bought my 01 le a few months ago. I took it to a local dealer a few days after I bought it, and as with your case, they were pretty optimistic. They performed a level 1 repair and that was that. Yesterday I noticed that the rust is starting to bubble up and poke through Nissan's repair/patch, which is completely unacceptable. So now I have to bring it to dealer again for inspection, and to be honest I hope they just buy it back. Driving my wife and kids around in it scares the crap out of me.

Check out this link for more info on the recall campaign:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/do ... ocType=RCL

Dropped mine off yesterday. Hope all goes well.

well, mine is garbage. Dealer said it was the worst he's seen. Next step is to wait for the Morley rep to look at it. Mine only had 90k and looked really good. It was an SE. The private dealer I bought it from has so far been anything but empathetic. I looked more closely at the strut tower before dropping it off at the dealer, and I'm lucky that it didn't collapse. I bought the vehicle 2.5 hrs from my home. the strut was pushing up on the brake master cylinder, bending it; and rubbing the steering column. I'm lucky I didn't die on I-55 on the way home.

OT: its one thing to have to repair a used car a few months after driving it, but its a completely different thing to possess the vehicle for 24 hrs and then discover its undriveable and unsafe and being recalled. I feel like the private dealer should do something. It's bull. I bought the vehicle to own it one day. 1 day. Drove it 150 miles (mostly the 2.5 hrs home). I mean, the cost of the plate transfer should at least be refunded?

Morley rep called today to get info. I'll be working with Kelly F.

Since I just bought the vehicle, I don't have the title yet. I've called the dealership where I bought it to expedite that process. If no one minds, I'm going to use this forum as a way to chronicle this process. Again, I just bought this vehicle Monday, Dec 3rd, possessed it for aproximately 24 hrs and then the Nissan dealership deemed it unrepairable.

waiting on the rental car to show up (dealership is paying for it).
Morley rep advised the process could take 3-4 weeks, and that private party resale is usually what they provide in terms of buy back. All I'm looking for is what I paid for it. I paid about 4500 (includes tax, tag, title, plate transfer) for a 96 Pathfinder with 90k, in excellent shape (aside from the defect that could've killed me and others). Am I out of line to expect to get what I paid for it? Any tips on negotiating?







there was a lot of pressure on the master brake cylinder and steering column. I'm lucky it didn't bust loose. Very lucky.

Oh wow, that looks awful! You're indeed lucky that didn't fail catastrophically...

That's a really crappy situation you're in, hopefully Morley will negotiate and you'll get your desired amount or at least close to it. Previous pages of this thread have other members' experiences with negotiating with Morley, so you may wish to read them.

Morley has called requesting DL, registration & title. Emailed what I had, don't have the title yet. Hopefully this week it comes in the mail. The dealership set me up a rental, an Altima (nice car). Again, every time I think about it, I'm lucky I didn't die from this thing collapsing on I-55 on the way home (a 2.5 hr drive). I just want what I paid for it, nothing more, nothing less. They owe me that, at least.

Again, good luck with the process. Makes you wonder if the seller was just getting it off his hands since he knew how bad the rust was.

Morely called asking for copy of title (just got it in the mail) AND a copy of the bill of sale. maybe they will just give me what i paid for it.

got a call today, Nissan agreed to pay me what I paid for the Pathfinder. I'm amazed and grateful. just have to sign & resend some paperwork, then schedule a 'closing'. do I look for another Nissan?

Good to hear they are still taking care of this recall. I only recently found out about it after rotating tires on my wife's 97 QX4. I was inspecting the suspension on this otherwise rust free (aside from the exhaust) QX4, when I saw a little bubble behind the undercoating. I poked it with a screwdriver and it went right through, so I started poking around with a screwdriver, and before I knew it I had revealed about a 8"x2" hole. The tower hasn't started separating yet though. I googled rust problems and found a few threads on the subject along with the TSB. It would appear my wife's QX4 is still in the repairable stage, as the hole stops about 1/2" above the ridge that deems it unrepairable.

But honestly after looking through the repair procedure, as an engineer, and having worked on cars all my life, I would not be satisfied to let my wife drive around with that repair. As a winter beater, or for use around the farm, maybe, but not as my wife's daily especially since we are looking to start a family soon. The repair brace is only as good as the metal it is bolted to, and if the area behind the brace is already prone to holding moisture and rusting out, I can only imagine adding another layer of steel above that to trap moisture and contaminants would expedite that, once the material is compromised there will be nothing for the brace to hold onto.

The car has about 220,000 miles on it, we have owned it since 150k, and it has given us no major problems, overall I have been impressed. We weren't ready to get rid of it quite yet as we are buying a house and don't want the loan of a new car before our mortgage is finalized, although we had been looking since we plan to expand our family, and a 220k mi car will only last so much longer.

I don't want to do anything to particularly "speed up" the process, but I did not take care to re undercoat the area after I removed the offending rust. I'm kind of hoping it will hold out for another 3-4 months until winter is over and our house is completed, but possibly during that time it will rust just far enough to be considered for buyback. My wife is still driving it currently, and I am keeping a close eye on the tower for any separation, although I am feeling uneasy about that.

I'm also unsure about the state policy part of the recall, as we are in NC, not part of the northern states included in the campaign, I never received anything in the mail as far as the recall goes. I haven't checked to see where it was previously, but it was bought here in NC as well. We do get a considerable amount of snow here in the mountain area of the state.

Hello everyone. My name is Yazir and I'm a Chilean student currently living in Reno, NV. First of all, I would like to thank you all for the information that I just read during the last hour. This is literally my first post and I will introduce myself more in depth in the proper topic. And sorry if my English isn't perfect.

I just bought my 1998 Pathfinder LE with 172,000 miles here in Reno a couple of days ago from a private party. It's in very good condition. I also have a 1992 Mercedes 190E that I love (the ride quality is superb, even for more "modern" standards), but I had to get a 4-wheel drive because I began an Internship and need to drive quite a lot (1 hour), even during snow/ice conditions. This winter has proven to be more intense than the previous one, which was my first one here, so here I am, happy with my Pathy and its heated seats. I also love the outdoors and I want to take good care of the truck so that it can last me for 2 or 3 years, and maybe many more.

Now that I just read this topic about the corrosion issue I got off my bed and had to go check out the wheel wells. I was pretty scared, but fortunately, things look good. I can't see any rust mark. I checked the detailed recall info and Nevada isn't even there. Weird. It snows here, especially in the Tahoe area, and the DOT utilizes salt, so I wonder why Nissan wouldn't consider, at least, Northern/Western Nevada as a target area.

I decided I'm going to call Nissan of Reno anyways tomorrow morning and see if I can get the truck inspected, just to make sure. I guess you guys would agree that that would be wise. I wonder if this recalls have any "expiration dates" or if it matters that I don't have the title yet. If I'm missing any important consideration, any advice would be appreciated. I'm sorry for all of you that had problems, especially for "deseipel".

Hope to learn many DIY maintenances and also share whatever can be useful with you guys. Thanks a lot.

Yazir.

Welcome to NICO, Yazir! Your English is very good, I have no trouble understanding you.

Certainly, the recall applies to all states. If there is significant rust to warrant repair, it will still be performed. If there is little to no rust however, there will not be a free undercoating as the TSB on the first page states. The free undercoating does not apply to states deemed as non-salt, unfortunately.

Is there some way to check if my pathfinder, which was purchased recently, has been inspected or serviced for this recall? is there a placard or anything? Maybe check with the dealer with my VIN?

You can call your local dealership and give them your VIN, they can check whether it has been performed.

Thanks a lot! I have an appointment on Monday at 09:30. Nissan of Reno is going to take care of my seat belts (lifetime warranty) and perform an inspection on the corrosion issue.

Hopefully everything will be OK.

WOW!!! I don't really know where to begin....
I have owned my 2002 Pathfinder for 9 years; and love it!! I heard about the "recall" in April 2011, contacted my dealer and had to wait until June when I received the paperwork. I brought it back to the dealership and they "repaired" it.

Here it is almost 2 years later, and I am just finding out about this recall being extended through my mechanic. If this is as bad as I am hearing why are they taking so long to contact people? There was only 1 other owner of this vehicle 11 years ago and it was a Lease.

Three weeks ago I hit black ice and crashed into some large boulders and a VERY STURDY mailbox that was not moving. The direct impact was mainly against the front passenger tire. The "majority" of the damage was on the passenger side. The insurance adjuster did not see any damage to the frame and they deemed it fixable. Approximately 9 days ago, when the insurance company FINALLY towed my truck to my mechanics I received some very disturbing news. Once he brought my truck up on the lift he noticed a "large hole" through my wheel well into the engine compartment. When he brought it down from the lift my whole engine "dropped" about 5 inches on the drivers side. He told me this was part of a recall and he needed to contact the dealership.

NOW....if this is the same recall, I ALREADY had my vehicle "fixed" about 18 months ago! This corrosion did not cause my accident, black ice did, BUT the HOLE was not there prior to! I have two young children ( 4y and 2y) and can't even imagine if this collapsed while I was driving with them in the vehicle!!!

IF NISSAN WAS AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF THE ISSUE TWO YEARS AGO WHY WAS I NOT CONTACTED AGAIN?!!!
Anybody have any input??

You should call 1-800-NISSAN1 and explain your situation to see if you are eligible for any reimbursement or repairs.

Got mine back today from being repaired. It was a "stage 2" repair (bracket and fiberglass patch with undercoat) on the Driver's side and a Stage 1 repair (undercoat) on the passenger side. The patch job looks great for the wheel well, but the rusty fiberglass/metal in the engine bay is still there. How is this supposed to fix anything if they leave rusty metal/fiberglass?

I am satisfied with the repair, but just not sure if it was completed correctly.

I'm going to call Infiniti tomorrow to try and sort things out, and maybe get a more thorough repair.

EDIT:

Well, I compared the TSB to the repair done on my Infiniti and everything was done correctly. Nothing about engine bay rust/corrosion is mentioned, and everything else was completed as it should have. Kudos to Infiniti of Columbus for saving my QX4.

On that note, good luck to everyone else, and enjoy the above where I made an a** of myself.

Just called Pan Pacific Nissan in Richmond, BC and as per their records my 99.5 Pathfinder needs to get inspected. I have very little details in regards to what to expect from the work being done, hence can someone clarify what to check when I receive the truck back.
Thanks