Tl* the contact owns a 1998 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel began to wobble and the driver felt like she was going to lose control of the vehicle. The failure ocurred while driving at low speeds as well, but the degree of wobbling was lesser. The vehicle wobbled so much that the passengers became queasy. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis and the contact was informed that the vehicle needed new bushings, control arms, and struts. The manufacturer was notified and offered little assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 180,000.
1998 Nissan Pathfinder: ball joint or control arm failure
5 of the 149 complaints about the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 9 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
Tl*the contact owns a 1998 nissan pathfinder. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle swayed abnormally back and forth and the contact almost lost control of the vehicle. He took the vehicle to a local repair shop and a mechanic replaced one control arm. The failure recurred immediately after the repair was made. The dealer stated that he needed to repair the upper and lower control arm. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 84,000 and current mileage was 96,000.
My 98 nissan pathfinder sways uncontrollably from side to side when driving on uneven roads and freeway which could cause to loose control of the vehicle and crash. Numerous owners have reported the same problem on the internet and have been identified as a problem with the rear suspension control arm bushings and may include the control arm itself also known as upper and lower link arms. *jb updated 10/22/07
While traveling about 35mph on the highway and without prior warning upper ball joint broke on the rear passenger side.
While driving at 60 MPH the vehicle began to shimmy from the rear end from side to side. It felt like I would loose control of the vehicle. I regained control by taking my foot off of the gas. The problem came back repeatedly -- at least 20 times during my trip on interstate 80 while bringing my daughter back to college. The proplem was not related to any specifice roas surface condition. It woul happen out of the blue. The road could be flat and smooth. It did not matter. I am sure that I would have lost control of the vehicle if it had happened during the winter and there was snow or even worse ice on the road. Since I had just purchased the vehicle used, I took it that afternoon and had a wheel alignment (front and rear) and I had the tires balanced hoping that this would correct the problem. However, on the way home the next day from the college the problem was still there. This is a very dangerous problem and I can only compare it to when you see a car towing a trailer behind it and the trailer begins to sway from side to side. I also understand that this problem happens to many models of the nissan pathfinder covering at least the years 1997, 1998 and 1999 and it is not related to any specific mileage on the vehicle. It could happen at 15,000 miles or 90,000 miles. This is a very serious problem and is caused by a design failure of the bushings (there are 4 of them) that are part of the control arms.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Strut and shock absorber replacement guidelines
- Nissan service campaign: 1996-2004 pathfinder
- Service information
- Some vehicles built before JN8AR07S4XW350146 and equipped with automatic transmission may exhibit a clunk...
- Vehicle exhibiting steering shimmy while driven at speeds between 60 and 70 mph (w/o braking),due to...
- Vehicles built before JN8AR057 - WW256932 may pull at a constant speed, and may exhibit excessive play in...
- Vehicle exhibits a high pitch squeal or whistle from the front hub/brake area
- Informtion regarding uneven ride height
Related recalls
Suspension: front
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 infiniti qx4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington d.c., west virginia and wisconsin. In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this snow/water and salt intrusion may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles.
- Risk
- The strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Nissan will inspect the strut housing and repair the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. An interim notification letter was sent out in may 2011. The second notice was mailed on july 25, 2011. Owners may contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 11V244000 · Recall details
Questions about the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder?
5 of 149 owner complaints about the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder (3%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder?
There is 1 recall and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Nissan Pathfinder
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