Should I buy an 01 Pathfinder since the rust recall issue?

[fredmag]

Hi there, I am hoping to get some opinions quickly. I am supposed to travel 3 hours today to look at an 01 pathfinder xe. But then I stumbed on this forum and saw the recall issue with the corrosion with the strut towers. I currently have an 01 Frontier, but need something with a bigger back seat for a second vehicle to put our 20 month old son it and I need a 4x4. I was pumped to look at this Pathfinder but now I am nervous. Is this recall a reason to not purchase one and look for an Xterra instead? The one I was going to look at has only 174000kms and was a one owner vehicle but it is at a used car lot for $4000. How many of them are having the issue? Plus I would really think this would harm resale soon too. If I were to ever sell it. I really am looking forward to hear your comments. Thanks,

Fred

[patqx4]

look in the wheel wells for any rust holes when you look at it, and insist that its inspected by a nissan dealer for the recall. If they do the preventative repair like they did for mine, you're good to go. These really are great vehicles and at that price point hard to beat. But if you see any big rust holes under there, walk away and dont look back.

-Pat

[fredmag]

That is great. I just verified from my dealer that the vehicle has not had the recall done. So now I get to see it before it has been fixed. Which may be a good thing. Are the gas tanks an issue on this vehicle? On my Frontier they are known for it. Thanks,

Fred

[Towncivilian]

Gas tanks are fine on this vehicle. There was an earlier recall for the fuel filler tube rusting, but your dealer would have mentioned that if it hadn't been done already (or perhaps it was unaffected).

[fredmag]

Thanks for your opinions, unfortunately the one I went to look at wasn't the one for me. But on a good note the recall area on this vehicle was perfect and it wasn't fixed yet. But since I live in Canada in the martimes it had been undercoated quite a bit. So I am assuming that helps. There was just too many other things for me. For examplet it wouldn't even rev past 5000rpms. She needed a major tune up and a bad rust spot on the door where the mirror mounts and front fenders were bad. Plus the dealer was a twit. Thanks again.

Fred

[Towncivilian]

The revving issue is probably just a clogged or partially restricted fuel filter. If it didn't rev past 3k, it'd be a MAF issue. A "tune-up" involving new spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter is about $90 in parts and a few hours of your time. Rust, however, is another story.

I hope you find a better deal, though!

[fueler]

Do you live somewhere where they salt the roads during harsh winters?


Unless that's the case, these are very strong cars and the 2 recalls we've had were both trivial