Nissan Pathfinder 2002-2004

Hi,

I had an R50 Pathfinder from 1999 (release date) until earlier this year. I was also a founding member of the Pathfinders’ Club of Australia, which has a forum that would be a good source of reference for you. It can be found at www.pcoa.org.au/forumtemp/index.php The Pathy is a good solid car and tows well, however…..

It is EXTREMELY thirsty. It has an old 3.3ltr V6 that chews through the juice. I used to get around 17ltrs/100kms around town and when away towing an offroad trailer it used to vary from low to mid 20ltrs/100kms. Put it in low range or sand and you get high 20’s. Combine this with a small 80 ltr fuel tank, of which only 69 ltrs is useable then you don’t have much range.

To tow you will also need to upgrade the rear suspension as the original is quite soft. ARB do a kit (as well as front struts), however the preferred option of many is King Springs and Tough Dog (35mm or 41mm) shocks. Many also fit Polyairs as well.

As for weaknesses – not many. The Pathy does have an issue with a diff whine that Nissan know about and have a fix kit for. A few have had gearbox issues – but it seems to be a rare problem, albeit expensive to fix.

Would I recommend the R50 as a medium size 4wd??? Yes, if used for moderate offroad and you don’t mind fuel costs. For towing – NEVER. There are much better options than an R50 for pulling a van around.

Hope the above helps – check out the PCoA forum – good bunch of guys with a lot of knowledge on the R50 & R51.

HI folks, we own a '99 Pathfinder - bought in early 05 with 60k on the clock and now with 100k. It was immaculate but the Pilbara soon took care of the paintwork!!! No mechanical problems at all but the left side engine pipe developed a split north of Perth and worsened on the Nullabor so we got it welded for 200 bucks in Wudinna
We tow an old Jayco Swan which is 760kg empty, about 900 loaded and a ball weight of 120kg. I had the local LPG blokes take the LPG gear off my previous vehicle and put it on the Pathy. 50 litres of LPG gets us 180 to 210km towing, 230 around town and 280 on a Sunday drive. Last week it cost $22 to fill!!!! Up on the GRR there's no gas so we had to use petrol at $1.85/litre and it went 360km on a full tank towing.
In 21 months the car has probably lost 10 grand in value ( if I were to sell it ) so you folks should be able to pick up a real bargain for $15K .Get your 2 grand rebate for LPG and we'll see you at the Cape in 07. Cheers, Warrie

I own a 2001 pathy. I get 11-12L/100km on the highway and about 16L/100km around town. Maybe 13.5 overall. It is a petrol V6 so of course it uses some fuel. But I doubt it uses significantly more than similar vehicles.

Thanks for the information.
Might have to look at a different vehicle that uses less fuel.