Pathfinder / Qx4 seat fitment question

[NateB29]

Hi all, i own a 1997 5 speed pathfinder se. It has heated leather seats with a manual slide. My friend owns a 2002 Qx4, and when I got into his car I was surprised as to how much nicer the leather seats are in his qx4. So I have been looking for a crashed 01+ qx4 (i want the black leather) and found one at a pick-n-pull. They want $500 for the entire leather interior, which isnt bad, however they are telling me the 01 seats will not only not fit in my car, but wont fit in a 97-00 Qx4 either. I was under the impression that all these vehicles were almost identical, even when the qx4 interior was changed in 01. Can anyone tell me if there is a difference in the seat tracks/rails between the qx4 and pathfinder and also from 97-00 and 01-04 models?

[NateB29]

just wanted to update this for anyone who could use this info. The seats from an 01+ qx4 or pathfinder will fit in earlier models - the bolts are in the exact same location. the only thing that is different - at least for the qx4 - is that the fuel door opener is on the door as opposed to next to the driver seat in 97-2000 pathfinders, however it does not get in the way. I was not able to get the seats, however, because my pathfinder has manual seats and did not come with a power seat cord. I found this strange because I had a 1990 300zx with manual seats that still had the power cord in case i wanted power seats installed - figured nissan would do the same for the rest of their vehicles but i guess not.

[Buzzman]

Thought I would chime in as I have gone through this scenario with my 2002 Pathfinder.
Bear with me on this.
It came originally with cloth seats, manual adjustments, and not heated. I wanted an upgrade as well.
I pulled an entire black leather interior from an '01 wrecker, and installed it in my truck last year.
The good news is that the seats bolted in no problem.
The bolt fitment is the same from '96 through '04. All the seats from any R50 will bolt in no problem.
The bad news is the electrics.
The "new" leather drivers seat I got had a different (extra) plug and cable for the power seat functions and heat.
The seat belt sensor was the same, but the rest was different.
My truck did not have the necessary harnesses under the seat.
Therefore the power seat portion did not work. Fortunately, the seat position that it was left in was good for me.
(Not so good if a shorter person ever drove it.)
The heat function is also not operable.
The passenger seat was a different matter. It plugged in no problem, and the power functions worked.
I never got around to trying to get the heaters to work though. I did install the switches in the centre console, but there is no heat.
Now, here's the interesting part and something to be aware of: The leather seats come with air bags. The cloth seats don't.
In my enthusiasm to try and get my drivers seat to function, fooling around with the harnesses and wiring, I accidentally powered up the air bag, and it exploded 12" from my head (I told this story in an earlier thread). The seat is now ruined, and sitting in my garage. I re-installed my cloth seat in the meantime.
Now here's my update:
I went back to the wrecking yard today, and found a 2000 Pathfinder with a leather interior.
I took the whole interior, entire front and back seats ($50.00 all in. excellent deal).
Turns out the 2000 seat and wiring is different than the 2001 I picked last year.
I just finished installing the drivers seat this afternoon, and it had the proper connectors that mated up with my existing harness. Go figure.
The power seat from the wrecker 2000 Pathy works in my 2002. I have full adjustments available. It works. No seized motors or anything.
I'm pretty exited about it.
Weird that the 2001 seats don't fit (electrically), but the 2000 seats do.
My next job will be to get the heaters working.
I still have to replace the other seats. The ones I picked last year are black. The ones I picked today are grey.
I actually prefer the grey, so I'm pretty stoked.
I'll be working on all of that tomorrow.

[asnorton44]

Thought I would chime in as I have gone through this scenario with my 2002 Pathfinder.
Bear with me on this.
It came originally with cloth seats, manual adjustments, and not heated. I wanted an upgrade as well.
I pulled an entire black leather interior from an '01 wrecker, and installed it in my truck last year.
The good news is that the seats bolted in no problem.
The bolt fitment is the same from '96 through '04. All the seats from any R50 will bolt in no problem.
The bad news is the electrics.
The "new" leather drivers seat I got had a different (extra) plug and cable for the power seat functions and heat.
The seat belt sensor was the same, but the rest was different.
My truck did not have the necessary harnesses under the seat.
Therefore the power seat portion did not work. Fortunately, the seat position that it was left in was good for me.
(Not so good if a shorter person ever drove it.)
The heat function is also not operable.
The passenger seat was a different matter. It plugged in no problem, and the power functions worked.
I never got around to trying to get the heaters to work though. I did install the switches in the centre console, but there is no heat.
Now, here's the interesting part and something to be aware of: The leather seats come with air bags. The cloth seats don't.
In my enthusiasm to try and get my drivers seat to function, fooling around with the harnesses and wiring, I accidentally powered up the air bag, and it exploded 12" from my head (I told this story in an earlier thread). The seat is now ruined, and sitting in my garage. I re-installed my cloth seat in the meantime.
Now here's my update:
I went back to the wrecking yard today, and found a 2000 Pathfinder with a leather interior.
I took the whole interior, entire front and back seats ($50.00 all in. excellent deal).
Turns out the 2000 seat and wiring is different than the 2001 I picked last year.
I just finished installing the drivers seat this afternoon, and it had the proper connectors that mated up with my existing harness. Go figure.
The power seat from the wrecker 2000 Pathy works in my 2002. I have full adjustments available. It works. No seized motors or anything.
I'm pretty exited about it.
Weird that the 2001 seats don't fit (electrically), but the 2000 seats do.
My next job will be to get the heaters working.
I still have to replace the other seats. The ones I picked last year are black. The ones I picked today are grey.
I actually prefer the grey, so I'm pretty stoked.
I'll be working on all of that tomorrow.

I got some heated seats from the junkyard and if I recall correctly I wired them into the 12V cigarette and they have been working great for years. There is supposed to be a harness for them to plug into but I never found it...

Check the FSM for all the wiring diagrams.

[Buzzman]

Update: Installed the leather seats today (front and back) that I picked from the 2000 wrecker.
Everything worked perfectly. They were also in really good shape and clean, given the age. No rips or tears.
Power adjustments all work, and the heaters work as well. I'm a happy camper tonight.

The seats I picked last year from a 2001 had different harnesses, and did not match up to the existing harnesses under my seat.
Still not sure why the electrics from a 2000 model match up with the harnesses in my 2002 Pathy, but they do.
Not complaining, that's for sure.

As for the original question re: mounting bolt location. They are all the same from 1996-2004.
Just check the harnesses before you pick or buy any seats.