Skimmed 10 pages of topics here and really not seeing anything for Gen 4 and 5. Am I in the right place? crazy the earliest threads are from 2002!

I'm looking for 2012-2015 ish mainly because of price point. I'm interested to know of your experience, knowledge, known issues, etc on Gen 4.

we like our Rogue but we're looking for something to fit one more and my wife has suggested a minivan (she's always hated minivans) but I've been looking at a few different models and these look pretty good for options and price points used. thank you for your time and help!

https://www.thenissanpath.com/
The Nissan Path forum has the Pathfinder topics grouped by generation. You might find the insight you are looking for there.

Thank you! I will check them out!

I had found some insight on avoiding around 2012-1018 ish for transmission issues but a different article seems more positive with basically just 2013.

I like the price points on the gen 4's but we're also weighing the cost of a local dealer that offers "million mile warranty" on new and some used vehicles that are like 5 years or less and certain mileage. 10k and a trans vs 30k-35k and a long term warranty. We tend to keep our vehicles for a long time.

The '12's are the last year of the R51 design, so the '12 and '13 are completely different animals. The R52's have a brute of a CVT transmission, but it's like any CVT, if you just run it without doing any maintenance it will eventually let you down. Change the fluid every 30K and they can just about run forever. The '13's did have some bugs that the '14-ups didn't have, and stay away from the '14 hybrids, nobody but me (the dealer) can fix them.

I have read numerous horror stories regarding soul destroying sludge issues with model years 2017, +/- a couple years, on Pathfinder R51 engines that have had good routine oil changes. The sludge build up was so heavy and happened within a short couple of years or so that the engines were wrecked. I have always suspected a poor PCV system was to blame but haven't read anything that actually defined the cause. Look at the underside of the oil fill cap. If there is sludge there, walk away. Scoping inside the valve cover, the timing chaining cover, or the oil pan to get a better look for sludge might be advised.

We think we found the prime culprit for most of those sludge R52's, Md. There's an elbow hose to the PCV at the back of the plenum, and on both of our last two sludge cases we found it collapsed. One was visible from the outside, the other was delaminated internally and the only evidence was a palpable soft spot in the middle of the elbow. Sneaky failure and hard to diagnose. I think I'd recommend replacing it out of hand on any new-to-you R52, and keep an eye on it whenever you do routine maintenance.

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:52 pm

https://www.thenissanpath.com/
The Nissan Path forum has the Pathfinder topics grouped by generation. You might find the insight you are looking for there.

Here's the forum you want. https://www.thenissanpath.com/forum49.html

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:20 am

... model years 2017, +/- a couple years, on Pathfinder R51 engines ...

Oops! Yeah...R52, not R51

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:27 am

We think we found the prime culprit for most of those sludge R52's, Md. There's an elbow hose to the PCV at the back of the plenum, and on both of our last two sludge cases we found it collapsed. I think I'd recommend replacing it out of hand on any new-to-you R52, and keep an eye on it whenever you do routine maintenance.

Nice find. Great tip for pm.

awesome info everyone! very grateful!