Intro & a couple of questions

[MOTO-X]

I'm in the process of buying an '03 Pathfinder LE 4x4 (it would be my 1st Nissan & SUV for me) & I was wondering what should I bee looking for? (known issues, etc). I do a lot of the work on my own cars myself (mostly older BMW's) & this one seems pretty straight forward. I'm also running a Carfax on it tomorrow.

It comes w/leather interior, 89K miles, what looks like to be an OEM entertainment system for the rear seats w/a VCR in the trunk area (I'll try to install a DVD player instead of it). It seems to be in good mechanical condition, it needs a passenger side mirror assembly, it has a dent in the fron bumper & a few minor things.

It only comes w/a key & I saw that key fobs for the factory alarm be purchased on Amazon & E-bay (assuming those work).

Thanks in advance for your help.
Modified by MOTO-X at 12:14 PM 1/13/2009

[MOTO-X]

A small mechanical issue w/it is that the truck will start but will die immediately as if the idle is set too low. If you blip the throttle once while you are starting it, it'll stay running fine. My 1st thought was idle control valve but I've been reading about intake Cam sensors, rear o2 sensors, Air Flow Meter & turbine revolution sensor problems. Any ideas?

[SixGuns]

...Why are you going to buy a vehicle with known mechanical problems....Yes, it may be something as simple as a sensor...Or fuel pump, or clogged injectors, or a bad coil. Until you get elbow deep into it, you won't know, unless it's throwing codes at you, then you can kinda track it down...But, unless the dealership will take care of that problem, I would not buy that Pathfinder. Don't get me wrong here - I love my R50..but I would not have bought it if it had any problems like the one you're mentioning. Think about it....Go somewhere else and buy a Pathy with fewer miles.

[MOTO-X]

...Why are you going to buy a vehicle with known mechanical problems....Yes, it may be something as simple as a sensor...Or fuel pump, or clogged injectors, or a bad coil. Until you get elbow deep into it, you won't know, unless it's throwing codes at you, then you can kinda track it down...But, unless the dealership will take care of that problem, I would not buy that Pathfinder. Don't get me wrong here - I love my R50..but I would not have bought it if it had any problems like the one you're mentioning. Think about it....Go somewhere else and buy a Pathy with fewer miles.

I was asking because the truck seems to be running fine aside from that small problem at startup. The 1st thing I need to do is to take it to a mechanic to see if it's giving any codes & go from there.

[screwinitupagain]

If it's throwing codes the SES light will be on. Trust me mine hasn't been off in like 5 or so years now... makes it a bit tough to get my inspection

[MOTO-X]

Don't most cars flash the Check Engine light when throwing codes?

[Densetsu]

For most codes, the SES light will come on. This would absolutely be true of any code that's relevant to a stalling engine.

A few codes don't trigger the SES light. If the chip in the ignition key isn't recognized by the security system, for example, that will throw a code but won't turn on the SES light. I just found that code when I was bored one day in the garage a few weeks after one of my keys had trouble sending the security code to the Pathy.

[screwinitupagain]

Yeah but like you said that doesn't have to do with the engine

[MOTO-X]

The previous owner fixed all the issues it had (new bumper, mirror, starting issue, tires, etc) so I bought it. I just downloaded the owners & service manuals. It runs well but I'm planning to do a tune up on it (oil & filter, air filter, plugs). Any recommendations for online part retailers?

I'd like to replace the transmission & diff oils as preventive maintenance, any suggestions as of which oils to use? For spark plugs just buy the factory recommended ones?

Thank you.