Hey Chili442,
My suggestion is
not to bring it back to Nissan and have it patched. I had the same problem on my Pathfinder and I've moved from NYC to Los Angeles a dry weather salt free climate. No rust that was visually apparent. I'm sure rust was hiding just under the coating. Long story short the noticed a penny size rust hole and 10-14 months later it became a 18 inch crack on the passenger side and huge orange size rust on the driver side. They bought the car and it was the right decision to get the SUV off the road.
Read this posting by PathfinderRecalled:
Re: 1996-2004 Pathfinder / QX4 Strut Housing Corrosion Recall
Postby PathfinderRecalled » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:28 am
Recalled Pathfinder Resolved and the common complaints against Morley and Nissan Corp regarding the buyback program...
1st Everyone should know Pathfinders/QX4 from 1996-2004 anywhere in the US or Canada are part of Nissan's Buyback program even in California because you’re SUV can still have strut tower rust issues.
2nd If you're car has rust issues in the wheel well on your Pathfinder you're entitle to take in to any Nissan Dealership for inspection free of charge.(The inspection process can take up to 1 day or 1 month in some cases depending on the dealership in your area.)
IF YOU suspect your car will be consider “un-repairable” because of the rusty strut tower issue, be prepared for a long battle. Morley will not compensation for any upgrades such as Premiums Stereo, Bigger Tires, Rims, Alarm, Low Jack, or Car Maintenance done in the last few years, such as new shocks, engine, tranny replacement or upgrades, these will be negotiated by Morley. Morley doesn’t handle any claims if you have repaired the strut tower and Nissan will only address this matter if you have an accident cause by strut tower failure. Nissan has full liability for the strut tower rust problem. They will only refund with receipt of new tires in the last years, battery replacement last year and few other wearable items with only receipt with in the last year. Example I took out my stereo, new tires, jacks, jumper cables, floor mats, trunk cover, car tools and trailer hitch parts before turning in my vehicle. All my personal items were taken out before turned in my car. I had the old tires and I put those on before I turned in the SUV.
VERY IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOUR SUV LOOKS THE BEST POSSIBLE, SINCE MORLEYS WILL TAKE PICTURES WHEN NEGOTIATING THE VALUE OF YOUR CAR. THEY WILL USE KELLEY BLUE BOOK PRIVATE PARTY VALUES ONLY!!!! NO NADA, NO Dealership values, Nothing but
KKB Private Party: Excellent, GOOD and FAIR.
Nissan Corp will only issue a free car rental after inspection and the dealership must determine the car is unsafe or deemed repairable.
During this time you are entitled to a car or SUV of same value as part of your rental. So if you need 4x4 SUV as rental then dealership must provide an equivalent rental only people who turned in 4x4 of course. They usually will give you a compact car to save money but you can demand a SUV rental. Also you must contact Nissan Corp to help with the car rental if the dealership is refusing or delaying compensation. Nissan Corp (800-647-7261). If your SUV has been chosen for repair this process can usually take up to a few weeks but should only take about 1 week depending on the dealership workload of course.
3rd Once they have determine your vehicle is part of the buyback program a 3rd party company (Morley's) will contact you. At this point this company will send auditor to inspect your car. They will take pictures and send them back to Morley’s representative who will determine the value of your car. It’s best to make sure your SUV looks the best possible way since this will be your argument on the value. I left the factory hitch on my car but you might pull any of your aftermarket parts that have more value such as wench hitch or plows, expensive Mud tires. They will give you bottom rock for these parts and most case nothing for any add on's. So make sure to take everything out of the car. Once they determine the value of your car, it’s up to you to negotiate a better rate. (I’ve been reading about people needing their car’s and wasn’t in the position to give up their daily drive because of financial circumstance. With that said it’s up to you to make sure you get the most money to offset the headaches. My SUV was really important to me and finding another car was a huge undertaking. I wasted over a month finding the right replacement and it cost more money than I could afford.)
So make sure you negotiate the most money possible! I know for a fact the first offer from Morley’s was there lowest offer. My car was $6000 high blue book and not accepting the first offer I was able negotiate another $2000 in haggling. Once I told them the hardships in finding another car and all the work done in the last two years totaled over $3000 in repairs they came back with additional $1000. The last $1000 was total in receipts on new tires, a new battery and it included labor cost too. So I settle with $8000 for my Pathfinder on the buyback. The negotiating process from the time I dropped my car to the payoff was close to 4 months. I had a new rental car for 4 months paid by Nissan Corp on the dealership's car rental account and $8000 check from Morley’s.(Do not rent a car and expect Nissan to pay you back for the rental, I've read on this forum it was headache getting your money back from Nissan Corp, so make sure it's the dealership's car or car rental account.) I knew months before turning my car that I will have a problem regarding the strut tower so I made all the arrangements beforehand. I had small rust holes on both sides of the wheel well which could easily been repaired according to Nissan Recall notice and I decided to wait until the holes became un-repairable thinking it would take 2+ years. Interesting enough the penny size holes became a huge 18” crack and basketball size rust spot in 12 months. The car was unsafe and I knew then it was the right decision to take this car off the street. It was the right move me to hold on to the car so it couldn't be repaired. Unfortunately that isn't the case for all Pathfinder/QX4 owners. Here is story title under TamiW (
http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/20 ... anger.html) she had MA DMV state inspected and failed inspection and took it Nissan dealership for the recall which they did a crappy repaired job only to have it fail state inspection the second time. According to her headache she can't sell it back to Nissan for the buyback because it's been repaired and she can't drive her car because DMV won't aloud it on the streets because it's unsafe. Hopefully you can learn from these stories and be prepare when setting up your next move on the Nissan Rust Recall. I hope my experience will help the next Pathfinder/QX4 owner.
Good luck!
CHILI442 wrote:Well, here's my story. I got the recall notice sometime last year. I inspected my vehicle ('02) and didn't see anything alarming. One small area in the fenderwell looked a little flakey, but nothing major. Two weeks ago I was surfing this board and came across this thread. I looked at everyone's pictures in horror, and I was blown away that some peoples vehicles were so bad they had to be put down. So, I went out and looked at my Path and noticed it was getting worse. I made an appointment with the dealership and had it inspected. Their plan right now is to do the plate thing. I don't know how that's going to do much good since mine is rotting out behind (rearward to) that area. I don't know if they plan to cut out the rust and put a patch across that area. Again, I don't know if it would do any good because the thing is rusting from the inside out. The service manager is a young kid, and doesn't seem to know much. He said they've only had one other that was a problem, but didn't know how bad is was. He said they had one in recently for inspection, and that it had 200,000 miles on it, and looked fine. I've looked at a couple others around town, and they are all fine. The sad thing is, mine only has 78,000 miles on it. I'm the second own and it has always been garage kept. I am meticulous with my maintenance, and every year after the last snow/salt I go to the carwash and pressure wash the bottom side and fenderwells. Anyway, I have an appointment for next week for them to do the plate. Not sure what I should do.
My 78,000 mile baby
before I started poking at it:
afterward:
What the dealer did: