I can't find any You Tube videos for my model. (2004 LE Platinum) Has anyone replaced their cabin air filters? Nissan garage is no help. They don't think it HAS ONE, and the parts department says the part doesn't exist!!! Picked up the part at AutoZone. The only problem is getting the plastic housing (behind the glove box) to come off. The right side wraps around the dashboard and is connected to it?

I think this is the guide I used

https://www.nissanhelp.com/diy/pathfind ... cedure.php

04pathse wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:01 am

I think this is the guide I used

https://www.nissanhelp.com/diy/pathfind ... cedure.php

Very curious. When I purchased my '02 Pathfinder, I too went to Autozone and bought a pair of cabin air filters that were supposed to fit but then found no place available to put them. Where they should go, as indicated in the link, is permanently blocked by dummy filler panels Nissan installed and they are not removable. Thanks for the nissanhelp.com link. I can now clearly see where the filters were intended to go but for some reason the blower box where they were intended to go was made intentionally to block the filters from being installed. I can't help but wonder if this deletion of cabin filters by Nissan was intentional for the USA market only and whether of not the blower box can be retrofitted to accept the filters. Anomalies and inconsistencies like this make me crazy.

Some have them and some don't. If yours had them, there would be a black and silver sticker on the inside of the glove box stating so.

Also, there is a video on You Tube, showing how you could retrofit them, but it requires some work. Those plastic pieces have to be sawed out.

04pathse wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:01 am

I think this is the guide I used

https://www.nissanhelp.com/diy/pathfind ... cedure.php

Yeah, I have viewed this several times and believe it or not, mine is a bit different then this one. I think I am going to have to remove the trim piece above the glove box, in order to get to the screws that are holding the right side in place and not letting me get to the filters.

Benster wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 2:02 pm

Also, there is a video on You Tube, showing how you could retrofit them, but it requires some work. Those plastic pieces have to be sawed out.

Thanks for the lead. I found several videos on this retrofit but they left me a bit skeptical, wondering if there might be something internal that might be missing which would make for a poor fit-up with the filters. I went ahead and did it. It only took a few moments with a razor knife to carefully cut it open. I was very pleased to see on the inside, guide slide slots for the air filters on the top and bottom along the entire depth of the air box. This was the easiest and cheapest improvement to my Pathfinder I have ever made. It's now exactly how Nissan intended, but never intended, for it to be. Thanks again!
I wish I was able to help you with your cabin filter issue.

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:06 pm

Benster wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 2:02 pm

Also, there is a video on You Tube, showing how you could retrofit them, but it requires some work. Those plastic pieces have to be sawed out.

Thanks for the lead. I found several videos on this retrofit but they left me a bit skeptical, wondering if there might be something internal that might be missing which would make for a poor fit-up with the filters. I went ahead and did it. It only took a few moments with a razor knife to carefully cut it open. I was very pleased to see on the inside, guide slide slots for the air filters on the top and bottom along the entire depth of the air box. This was the easiest and cheapest improvement to my Pathfinder I have ever made. It's now exactly how Nissan intended, but never intended, for it to be. Thanks again!
I wish I was able to help you with your cabin filter issue.

I'm glad it worked out for you. Would you mind giving me the steps you took to get to the filters? Did you have to take off a trim piece above the glove box in order to unscrew the right side of the big plastic piece?

Now I think I know what you're referring to. Aside from first removing the glove box by sliding the two hinge pins inward and removing them as well, there are 9 screws that then have to be removed. The 9th one is hiding under the trim piece above the glove box. Using the images in the link that 04pathse provided, remove screws 3 and 6 and pull the trim piece off. It is held in place by spring clips so give it a good tug to release it after you remove those two screws. You will now see the 9th screw in the top right corner. Remove all the screws and pull back part of the passenger door insulation that is on top of the edge of the "big plastic piece". The entire piece can now be removed and the cabin filter box - or simply the air box if your's doesn't have filters like mine didn't - will now be totally exposed. I then used a razor knife to cut out the blanks where the filters go. Because of the way the blanks were molded into the box, there is a natural edge, about the width of a razor knife blade, that made for a perfect cut to be followed straight and true. At the top and bottom of the two blanks I cut out, I simply poked the tip of the blade through the plastic and made these half inch horizontal cuts up to the vertical cuts I had already made. You will be left with a thicker rib in the middle of the opened slots, which is where the two halves of the clam shell air box come together. This small thicker section is a bit tougher to cut with the razor knife but it can be done, slowly and carefully. A hacksaw blade on that piece would be quicker. At this point, you now have a stock OEM air box ready for the filters to be installed. All the form, fit, and functional features for the cabin air filters are molded into the air box on the outside and guide slide slots for the filters are on the inside, hiding all these years, waiting to be put to use. All you have to do is cut away the blanks and the center piece to make one tall slot opening for the two filters to be installed.

WOW! You nailed it my friend! With your instructions, it was an easy RR! Thanks!

Benster wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 28, 2020 9:43 am

WOW! You nailed it my friend! With your instructions, it was an easy RR! Thanks!

You are very welcome. I was surprised, and pleased, to realize how thin the plastic is on these blanks that need to be cut away. Like they were intentionally made to be cut with a razor knife. There was no need for a saw at all. The videos I viewed of this retrofit process using a saw were long, laborious, awkward, and sloppy in some cases. That made me a bit hesitant to attempt this but I then realized how easy, quick, and clean this retrofit is by using only a simple box cutter knife.

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 28, 2020 10:31 am

Benster wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 28, 2020 9:43 am

WOW! You nailed it my friend! With your instructions, it was an easy RR! Thanks!

You are very welcome. I was surprised, and pleased, to realize how thin the plastic is on these blanks that need to be cut away. Like they were intentionally made to be cut with a razor knife. There was no need for a saw at all. The videos I viewed of this retrofit process using a saw were long, laborious, awkward, and sloppy in some cases. That made me a bit hesitant to attempt this but I then realized how easy, quick, and clean this retrofit is by using only a simple box cutter knife.

On a separate note, I thought you might like to know of an issue with our beloved Pathfinders. We HAD three, an 01, 02 and 04. Thought they were all bullet proof as we had gotten years of trouble free performance from them. A few years ago, my son was driving his 02 to work and it started bucking, then it went away, and then started bucking again and eventually died and had to be towed to the Nissan dealer. After a new computer, new spark plugs, etc, and and $3,600, they got it running again, however, a short time later, we checked the oil and there was nothing on the dip stick and we figured they had forgotten to replace the oil during the oil change. No, it turned out it was BURNING a quart or so per tankful of gas! IN 2002-2004 models, Nissan added an additional "component" to INCOMPOWEX (Intake, Compression, Power, Exhaust) so that the exhaust gasses would be sucked BACK into the engine for more complete combustion. That works fine unless you have your Pre cat, catalytic converter, with, in our case 215,000 miles on it, and it breaks apart (ceramic?) and gets sucked back into the engine!!!!! It limped along for a year or so, and then we had to junk it. A used engine from Japan would have been the cheapest alternative, but we already had too much money in it. SO, my 04 is sitting here with 127K on it. Still looks and runs like a champ. I have considered replacing the pre cats on it as a preventative, but haven't pulled the trigger. You can get them on ebay for a lot less than the dealer price, but it would still be hundreds of dollars. BTW, this is all circumstantial evidence, as we never tore down the engine. Hope you find this information useful.

Everything you need is in this thread, including pics.
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