I cant even drive down the street over 40 without the vehcle doing a death shake from hell to top that off due to the recall for the strut placement error causing my strut tower wall directly behind my passenger side front wheel to almost be completly gone from rusting out. This is total bullshit. Something gotta give. Im calling corporate in the morning. Hopefully they dont try to beat around bush with me like they do to all there customers they do wrong.
1998 Nissan Pathfinder steering problems
11 complaints (7% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 158,101. 3 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 11
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- typical mileage
- 158,101
- crashes
- 3
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Column2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Nissan Pathfinder steering problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Frame/Body Structure Corrosion
In their Defect Information Report (DIR) of April 20, 2011, Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified the federal safety agency that it would conduct a safety recall of certain 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 1997-2003 Infinity QX4 vehicles to repair corrosion damage to the driver's side front strut tower.The vehicles included in the recall are those that were originally sold, or are currently registered in salt belt states including Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.The DIR states in part, ...the strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly.This could lead to the strut housing panel separating and contacting the steering column lower shaft.Contact with the steering column lower shaft can cause steering difficulties and may require an increase in steering effort by the driver.If the steering column lower shaft completely fractured it would result in a total loss of steering control.In some cases, the strut housing panel can contact or affect adjacent brake system components.Complainants reported experiencing either steering or brake system issues, and in some cases, both.Nissan dealer's will inspect the strut housing and, based on the level of corrosion found, make an assessment as to how to remedy the vehicle (see defect information report for additional details). Brake system components adjacent to, and in the area of, the strut tower (i.e., brake master cylinder, left front brake line, ABS wire harness, etc.) will also be inspected.
PE11004
What 1998 Nissan Pathfinder owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 1998 nissan pathfinder. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. In addition, the power steering malfunctioned on several occasions. The contact stated that the steering wheel became very difficult to steer left or right. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the crash or the power steering failure. The failure mileage was 176,548.
Driving down the hwy and SUV started rocking back and forth side to side severely..I had to brake fast ..then when I accelerated it wobbled worse...I thought I was going to roll...could not go over 30...very dangerous and scary...I looked it up on forums to see if anyone else has had this problem....everybody that owns them has had this experience at all different mileages..they refer to it as the "death wobble" online...millions of vehicles have this problem from faulty bushings and trailing arms....yet they "nissan" refuse to recall or pay to fix it...here is "nissans" bulletin I found after researching online....they should be paying for this and there should be a recall...I hope that this gets some attention before someone gets killed service bulletin classification: ra97-002 reference: ntb98-001 date: april 1, 1998 pathfinder vehicle pull and front/rear suspension excessive play applied vehicle: 1996-98 pathfinder (r50) applied VIN: vehicles built before jn8ar05y*ww256932 service information if a 1996-98 pathfinder exhibits the following conditions, the cause may be from worn bushing(s) in the rear suspension upper and/or lower links. * excessive play in the rear axle especially during moderate acceleration or deceleration. * vehicle pulling at a constant speed * excessive sway and rocking motion in the front suspension when coming to a stop.
This complaint is regarding morley vehicle services (hereinafter "mvs") & nissan north america, inc. (hereinafter "nnai") improperly handling a recent recall on his 1998 nisan pathfinder (hereinafter "vehicle"). 1998 nissan pathfinder, we delivered the vehicle to autonation nissan arapahoe (hereinafter "an") on march 7, 2014 for inspection due to safety recalls, at least 1 of which affects steering & breaks, & could result in a crash. Concerned about this issue we made sure an was aware of all the publicly reported recalls on the vehicle & abnormal performance related to the breaks & steering. [xxx], an employee at an that "he did not have any idea how to repair the vehicle in its condition; however, the vehicle has been submitted for inspection." [xxx] of mvs on march 21, 2014. Stated, "the 1998 nissan pathfinder had been submitted for inspection for the nissan corrosion recall." after this call, neither her, nor mvs gave proactive updates on the status of his vehicle. When contacting an about his vehicle, they informed that mvs has instructed them to "keep their hands off the vehicle. " after weeks of not hearing back from mvs, we reached out to an & was advised by [xxx], of an on april 14, 2014 that "his team was not convinced the vehicle could be restored to its safe condition & he has advised mvs of their concern, however, mvs disregarded their concern & insisted autonation fix the vehicle." on april 15, 2014, an stated their intent to deliver the vehicle to an auto body shop for repairs. We're very alarmed that mvs & nnai chose to send the vehicle to a body-shop. Body shops do not specialize in structural integrity & safety of vehicles. We're concerned his vehicle will be returned in an unsafe condition. This is our family vehicle & our children's safety is top priority. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Vehicle strut housing and strut had to be replaced on driver side and passenger side ,front driver side tire also had to be replaced due to it. All services was done by a mechanic and charged for labor and parts. Please email me about this @[xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
My vehicle has two recalls on it - first one is the gas neck recall and the second is the strut housing causing steering problems. I took my vehicle in on may 2nd, 2011 to bergstrom/nissan in oshkosh. They checked out my vehicle and said that my vehicle has the problems regarding both recalls. It is september 8th, 2011 and they still have my vehicle. They called me this morning and told me that they braced up the front. Things should be good but that they took it for a drive and it is still all over the road. They also said that the part for the gas neck recall is on back order. They told me to come and pick up the vehicle. If they took it for a drive and it still is all over the road and there is still a problem with the steering - then I don't think it is safe and that they must not have done a good enough job fixing the problem. I don't want to drive an unsafe vehicle until they have corrected the problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the strut towers separated from the body of the vehicle. In addition the ABS system malfunctioned as a result of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who did not diagnose the problem and was awaiting for the manufacturers approval to repair it. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in recall the federal safety agency campaign id number: 11v244000 ( steering:column) . The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 189,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 nissan pathfinder. While driving approximately 5 MPH the contact heard a cracking noise in the steering wheel while turning in either direction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the front strut towers were replaced. The failure continued after the repairs. The manufacturer was contacted and stated the federal safety agency recall campaign id number: 11v244000 (steering:column) was related; yet, the vehicle was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.
I made a turn and I heard a pop sound and totally lost my steering. Thank god I was going fast and didn't hit the cars parked on the side. My 1998 nissan pathfinder se had to be towed to my mechanic which made me aware that the steering column upper joint had broken.
As I was approaching the end of an exit ' I put my foot on the brakes to slow down but instead the car took off at an excessive speed while I watched in horror and fearing for my life. It kept going until it hit a free . The car was totaled. I escaped with minor injuries. The problem I have is that I had dropped collision a few months before so now I'm out of a car and about $6,000.00 for which the car was more or less worth.
Questions about the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder steering
Does the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder have steering problems?
Owners have filed 11 complaints about the steering of the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder, 7% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1998 Nissan Pathfinder steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 158,101 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder steering?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Nissan Pathfinder have bad steering?
The Nissan Pathfinder model years with the most steering complaints are 2006 (41 complaints), 2001 (35 complaints) and 2000 (27 complaints).
Other 1998 Nissan Pathfinder problems
Suspension 47Transmission 20Acceleration 16Brakes 15Body 14Fuel system 12Airbags 10Tires 9Engine 6Electrical 5Seat belts 3Visibility 2Wheels 2
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