1997 Nissan Pathfinder: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Jul 16, 2011 · Body, Suspension · 157,000 miles · NY

Rust/corrosion in unibody at lower control arm/strut assembly on 97' nissan pathfinder passenger side. The problem/failure is equivalent in severity to the situation nissan is recalling for the driver's side. (pe11004) also (the federal safety agency campaign id number: 11v244000). If the corrosion becomes severe enough, the stresses involved in the strut assembly operation loads, compounded by the lateral loads created by steering, and handling, may cause the lower control arm, lower ball joint/strut mount to separate from the unibody. This would invariably result in a loss of steering control, and quite probably, in a highway speed failure, throw the vehicle into a skid as the passenger side wheel stuffs itself into the wheel well area.

Filed Mar 4, 2011 · PA

At this time, this has been no accident. However, there is severe frame rust that could result in an accident. The frame rust occurs along the rear axle, steering column, and various other locations along the underside of the vehicle. In addition, the rear suspension control arm was replaced due to defect which allowed to vehicle to sway uncontrollably.

Filed Sep 27, 2010 · Steering · 200,000 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle would abnormally sway back and forth when driving at least 55 MPH. When the contact would remove her foot from the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would feel as if it were hydroplaning. Also, when driving around a curve, the vehicle would drive in the opposite direction in which the steering wheel was turned. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for the failure where the sway bar and ball joints were replaced to no avail. The contact stated that the failure progressed and the vehicle was not further repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Feb 7, 2010 · Suspension · 170,000 miles · MT

Our 1997 nissan pathfinder develops a rear rocking motion (sway, wobble) at highway speeds that would clearly put the vehicle out of control if not quickly stopped, which can usually be accomplished by letting off the gas. This happens continuously and repeatedly, sometimes even at lower speeds (in the 40 MPH range.) the sensation is very unnerving to the driver and passengers especially since it is not due to anything the driver has done and it strikes without warning. In just a few seconds the car feels like 2 seconds more and it will flip or roll or crash into another lane! (take a ride with me, you'll see I'm not exaggerating.) the trick is to stop the rocking as soon as you notice it starting, usually by letting off the gas. This problem is well known to many pathfinder owners (in the 1996-200 range) and to nissan, which has produced a tsbs on it (ntb98-001, ntb98-012) but the company has not dealt with it as a recall. It is an expensive ($700-$1,400) repair apparently due to faulty control arm bushings, the smart repair is apparently to use polyurethane after-market bushings instead of oem (unless you want it to come back again in less than 100k.) *tw we have had this problem for 6 months and ours set in at about 170k but many other owners were reporting this problem 3 or 4 years ago at 100k. And many are not happy with how nissan has not handled this design problem they created.

Filed Sep 26, 2008 · Suspension · 140,000 miles · WI

Truck sways dangerously side to side in rear while driving at over 40mph replaced struts & shocks. Mechanic suspects rear upper & lower control arm bushings very expensive usually because of labor. These parts are defective because of inferior quality.

Filed Jun 26, 2008 · Suspension · 90,000 miles · WA

After desperately looking for an answer to the reason why my vehicle was acting the way it was I stumbled upon an internet site with other pathfinder owners describing same things I was experiencing. I own a nissan pathfinder xe 3.3 l 4x4. The problem I am having is violent swaying of the rear end at speeds between 50 and 65 MPH. The only way to get it to stop is to tap the breaks or speed up. It has almost caused an accident several times. I have tried to fix it at the cost of hundreds of dollars. Nothing has worked. This is a serious issue that could lead to serious injury or death! Especially considering the velocities at which it occurs. It is the consensus of the many posters on the site that the above symptoms are the result of the failure of the control arm bushings.

Filed Mar 29, 2008 · Suspension · 154,568 miles · NV

I have a 1997 nissan pathfinder. I experience very "heavy" side to side swaying of the vehicle at speeds greater than 55 MPH. I have looked on the internet at other blogs and noticed that many other owners experienced the same condition. Nissan is aware of the problem and has issued a tsb, (ntb98-001 )but has not issued a recall, no doubt due to the cost of the repair, which was just quoted to me by the local dealership at $1,400.00 (and two days in the shop). The problem, according to nissan and other consumers online, is the control arm bushing (front and rear) and other connecting parts. This is a very unsafe design error and should be recalled at the expense of nissan, not the consumer.

Filed Nov 9, 2007 · Suspension · 75,000 miles · MA

I am having problems with the performance of my 1997 nissan pathfinder se (81,000 miles); at first I thought that the front shocks were shot; then a mechanic told me that no - it was the front struts. I have since found a web site with many owners of this vintage model that tell me the problem is with the 8 rear control arm bushings. Nissan should issue a recall on this - this is dangerous. At very least, they should notify owners.

Filed Aug 13, 2007 · Suspension · 114,800 miles · MD

Car developed a side-to-side wobble, mostly in the rear, at speeds from about 50 to 65 MPH. Wobble is not induced by steering wheel; it just happens. It's worse when car has passengers in the back seat. The problem was solved by replacing the control arm bushings (or trailing arm bushings), only the lower control arm bushings. It is a simple solution to a very serious problem, and it is very common for 97 and 98 nissan pathfinders, and a lot of users replace many other parts (shock absorbers, tires, etc) that don't solve the problem and can cause a roll over accident.

Filed Jul 19, 2007 · Suspension · 89,000 miles · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 nissan pathfinder. While driving 40 MPH or greater, the rear of the vehicle sways left to right. The dealer stated that the rear struts and tires needed to be replaced. The dealer made the replacement, however, the failure persisted. The dealer inspected the vehicle, but was unable to diagnose the cause of failure. The vehicle was taken to a different dealer and they stated that the rear upper and lower control arm needed to be replaced along with a wheel alignment and front brakes. As of july 19, 2007, the vehicle has not been repaired. The current mileage is 89,500 and failure mileage was 89,000. Updated 02/01/08.

Filed Oct 14, 2006 · Suspension · 93,000 miles · PA

1997 nissan pathfinder 4wd, terrible wobble on uneven pavement, causing vehicle to sway out of control at high way speeds. Nissan did not know why. I replaced all tires..front struts, lower ball joints..finally found on internet site, that the rear upper and lower link bushings wear. This causes the rear axle to shift, in effect,,the rear axle steers the vehicle..cause of the bad bushings.

Filed May 13, 2003 · Suspension · 99,086 miles · NC

In mid 2002, my 1997 nissan pathfinder developed a severe rear sway problem. At highway speeds, the truck would sway right to left so severely and suddenly that I felt like I would lose control. When I slowed down the swaying would stop. This swaying was especially disconcerting during wet road conditions. When I contacted my local nissan dealer, they had never heard of this problem. I replaced the front struts and rear shocks without any improvement. Then I had the frame adjusted, without improvement. Between my local repair shop searching technical bulletins and my search of consumer sites they found my rear control arm and upper and lower bushings needed to be replaced at a cost of $570. Overall, I have been very pleased with my pathfinder, but nissan needs to be aware of this safety issue and also notify other pathfinder owners.