Leaving the R50 world

[Pathfinder3.5]

Well the time has come. The Pathfinder has lots of life left in it but I can't keep putting money into it anymore. It only gets driven in the city and gets 11-14MPG at best. I managed to get a killer deal on a 2011 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD. It ain't no R50 thats forsure, but it gets the job done. Hyundai/Kia haters can hate away. They have come a long way and thats the truth.

Its a EX model so its got Leather, Heated seats, Bluetooth, Backup camera, Dual zone/digital climate control, 18" Alloys, AWD, an awesome 3.5L V6 boasting 276HP and 258Lb-Ft of torque mated to a 6-Speed transmission.

Anyways, I won't be leaving these forums. I'll still lurk and post often. You guys have helped me out alot over the few years I have been here! Thanks for all the help!

[kerrton]

We also purchased a 2011 Sorento last year for my wife, she got the manual 6-speed with 2.4 L engine and it is one awesome powertrain, and just a great all-around vehicle. It's one sturdy truck with high build quality and great efficiency, at a reasonable price. It looks like Kia/Hyundai are the new quality standard and that's good because it forces all competitors to pick up there game to remain competitive and all car buyers benefit from that regardless of what brand you like. And the fact that they were one of the only manufacturers to offer a good manual trans in a mid-size crossover AND load it up with bluetooth, sat radio etc. was what closed the deal for us. I like my Nissan Rogue but if it had the option to pass on the CVT and go with a 6-spd manual it might get as high marks as the Kia....

[Pathfinder3.5]

We also purchased a 2011 Sorento last year for my wife, she got the manual 6-speed with 2.4 L engine and it is one awesome powertrain, and just a great all-around vehicle. It's one sturdy truck with high build quality and great efficiency, at a reasonable price. It looks like Kia/Hyundai are the new quality standard and that's good because it forces all competitors to pick up there game to remain competitive and all car buyers benefit from that regardless of what brand you like. And the fact that they were one of the only manufacturers to offer a good manual trans in a mid-size crossover AND load it up with bluetooth, sat radio etc. was what closed the deal for us. I like my Nissan Rogue but if it had the option to pass on the CVT and go with a 6-spd manual it might get as high marks as the Kia....

That must be a fun little combination! I give Kudos to Hyundai/Kia for actually making manual transmissions still available on the majority of their cars. I look forward to owning this Sorento! i pick it up tomorrow at 10AM!

There is a family looking at my Pathfinder as we speak. I would rather it go to a family who would enjoy it rather than my work just auction it off!

[Qxxx4]

If you had a spare set of wheels id buy those se ones off u and fix them up ah well! Enjoy the kia its a nice ride

[Pathfinder3.5]

If you had a spare set of wheels id buy those se ones off u and fix them up ah well! Enjoy the kia its a nice ride

I was seriously thinking about this tonight. Too bad! Thanks!

[miamiheat3332]

Does it chirp tires with ESC off?

And you should start the mod list early

3000k/6k hids, wrap the foglights in yellow tint, not sure if you like that or not but it will protect the lens and in the future you take it off and it will look like new with no rock chips and stuff, if thats not your cup of tea, i think you can get clear also off ebay for $10 a spool and do both headlights and fogs.

Red calipers would give it a sporty look too and make it stand out.

I dont know if other people are this way about their cars, but if a cars in good/new condition, i try to keep it that way forever lol.

Ride looks nice though, let us know how it treats ya.

Edit: Also are front plates required where you live? If not id take the ugly plate off up front.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Does it chirp tires with ESC off?

And you should start the mod list early

3000k/6k hids, wrap the foglights in yellow tint, not sure if you like that or not but it will protect the lens and in the future you take it off and it will look like new with no rock chips and stuff, if thats not your cup of tea, i think you can get clear also off ebay for $10 a spool and do both headlights and fogs.

Red calipers would give it a sporty look too and make it stand out.

I dont know if other people are this way about their cars, but if a cars in good/new condition, i try to keep it that way forever lol.

Ride looks nice though, let us know how it treats ya.

Edit: Also are front plates required where you live? If not id take the ugly plate off up front.

Unfortunately with the AWD system it won't let me chirp the tires but I can almost guarantee that it will if it was the 2WD model.

HID's will definitely come in the future. Unfortuntely my dad ain't to mod happy so I realllllyy gotta talk him into doing stuff. Since we are just getting it there won't be any serious mods for a while. I'm planning on wrapping the headlights in clear wrap, getting the factory 'Spoiler' for the rear. I'm not sure why this one doesn't have the stock lip spoiler...oh well.

Red calipers would look pretty sweet with the white. My boss actually looked at this truck for me cause its an hour away and he just happened to be in the area. Depending on how corroded/crusty the calipers are already, the will be seeing a coat of caliper paint forsure.

Since this is the newest SUV we've ever had (second to the Sonata), we are going to try and keep this thing in as good of condition as we can. So far so good with the sonata. Although since my dad puts 150k kms on it a day, the front bumper is pretty much ready for a re-spray.

I will be doing an in-depth video review once I get it. Unfortunately yes, plates are required where I live. It really screws up the look on some cars. I have black license plate frames that should help make it look a little bit better.

This is what the factory spoiler looks like:

[Pathfinder3.5]

oh yeah....the family that was looking at my Pathfinder backed out because it needed a rear wiper motor and the seat needed to be un-jammed....like wtf. I went down to $5500 and they still backed out. Oh well, off to auction it goes. I really wanted to see this thing go to a good family too.

[miamiheat3332]

To be honest for some reason this popped the idea in my head of getting rid of my r50.

Im just not sure i would get what i want for it with what it has now, and i dont know if i feel like removing the sound system, putting it back to stock etc, and not sure if people would like the suspension lol. In reality im planning on keeping it and eventually do a turbo setup like alfredo, but right now if i did sell it, i would look to replace it with either of these:

Infiniti FX45 - V8, but ill still get probably better gas mileage and a 5spd.

2001-2004 - Audi Allroad 2.7TT 6Spd manual.

If you dont mind me asking how much are you selling yours for at the moment?

Edit: You literally posted that a min before i did mine, but you said you went down to 5.5, how much did you ask original?

[Qxxx4]

I also try to keep my cars looking brand new i got a 3m clear bra installed on my muatangs hood and fenders...protects from stone chips. Its about $300 but itll save your front wnd, if the kia has no chips yet id consider this, if it does have chips then forget it, the bra just magnifies them and causes air pockets.

[Pathfinder3.5]

To be honest for some reason this popped the idea in my head of getting rid of my r50.

Im just not sure i would get what i want for it with what it has now, and i dont know if i feel like removing the sound system, putting it back to stock etc, and not sure if people would like the suspension lol. In reality im planning on keeping it and eventually do a turbo setup like alfredo, but right now if i did sell it, i would look to replace it with either of these:

Infiniti FX45 - V8, but ill still get probably better gas mileage and a 5spd.

2001-2004 - Audi Allroad 2.7TT 6Spd manual.

If you dont mind me asking how much are you selling yours for at the moment?

Edit: You literally posted that a min before i did mine, but you said you went down to 5.5, how much did you ask original?

I wanted to do a Turbo Setup too just like alfredo. Unfortunately the ride quality of the pathfinder just went downhill really fast. Rust also started appearing underneath the fender flares in the rear. Too bad it's so hard to keep a car in good shape here in canada. We undercoated this thing annually!

I was originally asking 6k. Not too bad. Oh well, I'm getting 4.6k on trade. Atleast I don't have to deal with the hassle of selling it now. Me and my dad took it for its last drive. We took it to an open road and did a few WOT runs. Figured it was appropriate since it was our last time driving it. Made it even harder for us to drive it to the dealership and say bye. Are we the only one's who get...emotionally attached to a car like this? I mean it is our second pathfinder afterall. We've been repping LE's since 2004.

I guess you will be the youngest Pathfinder owner on Nico now...I'm just shy of 17

Only if you could see the look on his face

[Pathfinder3.5]

I also try to keep my cars looking brand new i got a 3m clear bra installed on my muatangs hood and fenders...protects from stone chips. Its about $300 but itll save your front wnd, if the kia has no chips yet id consider this, if it does have chips then forget it, the bra just magnifies them and causes air pockets.

I was also thinking about this. I will have to see what it's like. Believe it or not, This thing hasn't even seen a real owner yet. It's still in the Dealerships name. It was pretty much a demo. It was the Used car managers personal vehicle.

[miamiheat3332]

Reppin the R50 since 02' haha.

Damn i cant believe this car is over 10.5 years old now if you look at the manufacture date.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Reppin the R50 since 02' haha.

Damn i cant believe this car is over 10.5 years old now if you look at the manufacture date.

Yeah me and my dad had to look at the door sticker to see when it was built cause we weren't 100% sure how old it really was. Mine is in nearly excellent condition except for the rims. They're just knackered with curb rash...not me! My mom and some of it might have to do with my dad sideswiping a curb last winter...

[Chris.m]

To be honest for some reason this popped the idea in my head of getting rid of my r50.

There must be some telePathy going on .... pun intended

For the last two weeks I've been thinking of getting rid of the Pathfinder and picking up a 2003 BMW 530i,

Then I did a bunch of research and found that the gas mileage was only 30% better, and the cooling system is basically a wear item... also not terribly reliable....

So I'm sticking with the Pathfinder!

[Pathfinder3.5]

To be honest for some reason this popped the idea in my head of getting rid of my r50.

There must be some telePathy going on .... pun intended

For the last two weeks I've been thinking of getting rid of the Pathfinder and picking up a 2003 BMW 530i,

Then I did a bunch of research and found that the gas mileage was only 30% better, and the cooling system is basically a wear item... also not terribly reliable....

So I'm sticking with the Pathfinder!

Damn! Must be something in the water. Good choice on keeping yours! If im not mistaken you have quite a few miles on yours?

[Chris.m]

That's putting it lightly,

I've just rolled over to 278,000 kms = 173,750 miles

The transmission was rebuilt last year and I have no problems at all, so I'm sure its good for quite a few more km's.

[Pathfinder3.5]

That's putting it lightly,

I've just rolled over to 278,000 kms = 173,750 miles

The transmission was rebuilt last year and I have no problems at all, so I'm sure its good for quite a few more km's.

Christ! And I thought mine was tired at 187k!

[miamiheat3332]

Well i just rotated my 20"s, ( yeah i always have extreme motivation to do work on cars at like 11pm and later for some reason ), but i havent drove it in like 2 weeks, it was just parked in the garage cause i was driving my audi around, but i dont know, i think im gonna keep it haha.

To me im anal about my work, so after doing anything mechanical on a car, or removing wheels etc, i always put everything back together and go rip it real hard on my backroads, at first i go slow the first mile just to make sure, but my view on it is, its better if something goes wrong at night and close to my house, then on a highway with people around during the day, or getting stuck somewhere.


Edit: And yeah i guess this now leaves me as the youngest? I'm 18 at the moment.

@ChrisM - That's what always gets me too, you look at other cars and the stuff that can go wrong, even if they have maintenance records, s*** still goes bad for some reason. Thats one of the main reasons i love the my r50, i know i can hop in and drive from here to Florida and back, and not think twice, always reliable, and only thing that EVER went bad on mine (knock on wood) that is not maintenance is the fan control module where it gets stuck on high, my audi on the other hand i wouldn't do it, but thats cause i have to fix 2 minor leaks, but you get my drift. And i guess Pathfinder3.5 just had some bad luck with his, but with every car, you have people really praising them, and there's a few that always have issues.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Well i just rotated my 20"s, ( yeah i always have extreme motivation to do work on cars at like 11pm and later for some reason ), but i havent drove it in like 2 weeks, it was just parked in the garage cause i was driving my audi around, but i dont know, i think im gonna keep it haha.

To me im anal about my work, so after doing anything mechanical on a car, or removing wheels etc, i always put everything back together and go rip it real hard on my backroads, at first i go slow the first mile just to make sure, but my view on it is, its better if something goes wrong at night and close to my house, then on a highway with people around during the day, or getting stuck somewhere.


Edit: And yeah i guess this now leaves me as the youngest? I'm 18 at the moment.

You sound alot like me Rip something apart at night cause you aint got nothing better to do.

I could try to drive the pathfinder hard but it just has too much body roll to even feel safe. She needed struts and shocks all around forsure. Even when accelerating hard it felt like there was some sort of vibration every 2000 RPM all the way to 6k. It was strange...Oh well. I'm sure this new thing will be alot more fun to drive! Im sure yours is cause it's lowered and stuff.

Just saw Zack7865's post. Looks like he is taking my spot for the 16 year old pathy owner here

[miamiheat3332]

Yeah stock suspension isnt the same, those coils are about 2x as long as mine if i remember right and i dont think i have anything stock suspension wise except for the rear axle bushing which i will switch for polys soon, and everything else is aftermarket, and extra stuff that didnt come with the car like frame braces etc.

But ill keep it at - The Audi sits about 3 inches off the ground at the lowest point, pathy about 6.8 or more, thats cause everything is tucked under real far like a true suv, the audi has the s4 sport suspension and 20mm wheel spacers all around for a wider stance, and you cant take it the same speed on turns as the r50, or feel as stable.

[Qxxx4]

I hear you about the fender rust...both my front fenders had rust popping up under the flares, i ended up fixing it myself though. The passenger side was really bad so the bondo work didnt turn out 100 percent but i found a no rust fender at a junkyard for my qx4, just gotta paint it.

I decided to keep my qx4 when ford only wanted to give me $1000 for trade in in my mustang...so i said f it, its my first car and only has 186k, so ive replaced 99 percent of the missing and broken pieces, my paint is almost mint and all the rust spots are fixed. Im redoing my sound system and considering a 2" lift with bigger more off road tires/wheels. I found out that you cant do much to a 2012 mustang when its under warranty! So i have a blast messing around with my qx4 and its amazing to have a winter car and a car to use on day to day things where usually end up in your new car getting dinged or rainsoaked. Thanks to my qx4 my stang stays mint in the garage for when i just want to cruise and my qx4 is my reliable day to day car (except it eats double the gas! Good thing my work is 3 mins away)

Im glad i kept my qx4, these things are bulletproof and maintaining them is a heck of a lot cheaper than car payments! But if you can only have 1 car i can understand you need something newer.

[DAiNiUS]

That's putting it lightly,

I've just rolled over to 278,000 kms = 173,750 miles

The transmission was rebuilt last year and I have no problems at all, so I'm sure its good for quite a few more km's.

A bit OT, but what happened to your transmission and at what millage?

[zach7685]

Just saw Zack7865's post. Looks like he is taking my spot for the 16 year old pathy owner here

As far as any one else knows i'm 19. Adults tell me I act like im 35 used to hate it Now i take it as a compliment

[Pathfinder3.5]

Quick update. I picked it up this morning and I must say this thing is way too much fun to drive. PLENTY of power whenever needed. The ride is a little stiff but i'm used to it so I don't mind. I definitely recommend this thing to anyone in the market for a fair size SUV! I'm getting around 20 city and 26 hwy (Stop and go for %50 of my trip). I will post fuel mileage updates this weekend as I will be going up north (135kms each way)

[Chris.m]

That's putting it lightly,

I've just rolled over to 278,000 kms = 173,750 miles

The transmission was rebuilt last year and I have no problems at all, so I'm sure its good for quite a few more km's.

A bit OT, but what happened to your transmission and at what millage?

At about 260,000km my torque converter broke and sent pieces of metal into the rest of the transmission. The weird part was that I was having no problems previous to this. One day, I was driving home and went over a pothole. Then my "cruizing" rpms just shot up from about 1700 (normal for 60km/hr) to 3200.


So I got it fixed

3 grand later...

[DAiNiUS]

Oh man... I'm at 250 right now and I'm hoping that it'll last me another 3 years/up to 300k. If something major breaks then I'm screwed.

So there were no signs that something was wrong with it before it happened? I wonder if we have the same torque converter/transmission as mine is a 99 and yours is an 01. Did you get rebuilt parts or used from a scrap yard?

[Chris.m]

Oh man... I'm at 250 right now and I'm hoping that it'll last me another 3 years/up to 300k. If something major breaks then I'm screwed.

So there were no signs that something was wrong with it before it happened? I wonder if we have the same torque converter/transmission as mine is a 99 and yours is an 01. Did you get rebuilt parts or used from a scrap yard?

Nothing was wrong before, it shifted up/down perfect.

IIRC the 3.5 (mine) has a slighty more heavy duty version of the 3.3's transmission (yours)

[Towncivilian]

Yes, 2001 - 2004 R50s have a heavy duty version of the RE4R01A transmission to back the VQ35DE engine. There is some in-depth information about internal parts changes in this thread on NPORA.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Just wanted to give a 2 week update on the new ride. Everything is great!

I noticed a small wet spot along the timing cover while it was up on the lift at my work. Brought it into Kia and got that fixed. They sent me home with it, parked it at my work and came out to a pool of fresh oil underneath it an hour later. Not cool. Got it towed back, waited 2 hours and they sent me on my way. This time it leaked just as bad. NOT COOL. Third time is a charm I guess. So far so good now!\

It pulled to the right since we got it. Brought it back to my dealership for the alignment and all is good. The service advisors know me by name by now and they gave me a discount off the alignment for my troubles with the oil leak. Pretty happy about that.

Im averaging 20 city and 27 ish highway. Not terrible for a mid size SUV IMO. It has alot of power to make up for it.

I suggest this thing to anyone who is looking at a new vehicle. The build quality of the interior is amazing. The plastics are hard but very well put together.

Here is a lil review I put together. Mind my voice, had a cold at the time. I dont normally sound like a 10 year old kid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojuk4VgsjMA