Took a left hand turn into alley, driver side strut tower broke free from inner fender, busted steering shaft. Had to have the vehicle towed, to auto body shop. Inner fender needed to be replace. Steering arm also needed replacing. An alignment was also needed after the repair. Corrosion was the cause auto body shop applied coating to the inner fender so that this would not happen again. Total cost of everything was around 2500 dollars.
2000 Nissan Pathfinder body complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 29 of 29, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I believe there is a design flaw in the steps on the side of the SUV. They are in the shape of tubes, and have rusted out. I had them removed, as the rusted steps could no longer support a person's weight. I have noticed that all 2000 pathfinders with the step tubes are either rusted out, or have been replaced with a different design that does not allow for water to get into the tubes and create rust.
I just found action number pe11004 and would like to report that a similar problem has just happened to my 2000 pathfinder (117,000 miles). I heard a noise coming from the left front strut area and when I and a mechanic looked there was a visible, large horizontal crack extending in both directions in what they described as the side member behind the strut tower. In the course of about a week the crack got noticeably larger and the car is now not safe to drive. This car has never been in an accident and there is no reason that this should have happened. The steering road is now resting against the frame as described in the noted action. Two mechanics have now said that this is hazardous and the car is neither safe to drive nor repairable in their opinion, given the age of the vehicle.
Strut tower completely rusted on driver side, causing loss of steering-just looking to review recalls from nissan and noticed I wasn't the only on with this issue-sounds like this should be a recall! Some of as do not have money to repair or replace our vehicles at this time.
2000 nissan pathfinder major front drivers strut tower corrosion, caused steering column to snap.
2000 nissan pathfinder left front wheel well rusting apart by the strut. Mechanic says it could completely fail causing strut to shoot up through the hood. Pathfinder has 153,000 miles on it.
Drivers side frame / wheel housing rusted thru to total deterioration.
We brought our 2000 nissan pathfinder in for the yearly inspection. We were told that the car was unsafe to drive due to an extremely large crack through the front left wheel well and along the whole length of the inner fender were the strut mount is located. They attempted to weld it together but were unsuccessful due to the rot and thinness of the frame. We are now left without a car. We brought the car to our local dealer, quirk nissan, for examination. They told us it was safe to drive. We then brought it to a third mechanic and they told us it was completely unsafe and to avoid all potholes. If we hit a pothole we would probably loose all control of the car because the steering column is located next to the strut. This was exactly what the first mechanic told us as well. Nissan is the only one to say it is safe. This has been our primary car for the last year. All other aspects of the car are in good shape. We bought this car new, brought it to the dealer for the first 100,000 miles for all maintance and work. We never took it off roading or on to the beach. It has not been exposed to salt water. We are appalled that nissan has not conducted a safety recall. It is just a matter of time before someone is killed. From what we have read online and from speaking with several mechanics this appears to be a common problem. The mechanic at the nissan dealership told us what we were reading was for previous models not our model. This is not true! I am grateful that we, my husband, 5 month old baby, and I were not injured or killed. Nissan needs to stand behind its product and conduct a recall.
Gas pedal sticking/brakes not working. Emergency brake failed to stop the car. Had to shut the car off while still in motion. Car was towed. At the time that I was attempting to stop the car, the speed read 45 MPH. However, when the tow driver arrived he stated that the RPM's read as if someone was pressing down at at rate of 135 MPH - no one was in the car at the time. Diagnostic service for not stopping when applying brake pedal. Broken cable accelerator. Mechanic also informed that the entire interior body of the car had completley rusted; to the point that it is not driveable.
I own a 2000 pathfinder. The front strut tower has separated from the car's frame due to rust. This represents a serious safety issue. As near as I can tell it occurred after I hit a pothole. I was fortunate that I was not on the highway.
My 2000 nissan pathfinder seemed excessively bumpy and the steering seemed very stiff at times after hitting a pothole. I took it into a nissan dealership and was told that the frame has rusted through where the wheelwell is attached to a strut mount. The strut is loose (causing the bumpy ride) and the strut is pressing against the steering system causing the steering to be stiff. The nissan shop told me they could not fix it and referred me to a body shop for an estimate. The body shop told me that they have seen this same problem with several nissan and/or lexuses (lexus pathfinder model - I think it is the rx330). I was told that if I continued to drive it and went over a bump, the strut could plunge through the hood. I feel that this is a safety issue that could cause a serious or fatal accident if I were to hit a pothole at on a highway at a high rate of speed. I contacted my insurance company (state farm) and was told that if a pothole caused the damage they would pay for it. However, after investigating the incident, they informed me that this is a structural defect issue with pathfinders and the lexus rx330 and the cause was that the frame rusted through and the pothole would not have caused this damage to a non-defective frame. I have never driven the pathfinder "off-road." I contacted nissan and they told me that they would not assist with any repairs due to the age of the car. The estimate for repairs is about $1,800. I am having it repaired at my own expense.
My 2000 nissan pathfinder se started making strange noises in the front end about a week ago. Upon inspection, I found that the strut tower had totally rusted out and completely separated from the vehicle. When I tapped it with a hammer, it created a huge hole, and the frame just disintegrated. The vehicle is no longer safe to drive and must be taken off the road. Having it repaired is not feasible. As a mechanic, I take very good care of my vehicle. It's maintained and washed regularly. This is clearly a defect in the pathfinder, and should warrant a product recall. Driving the vehicle like this would be risking the safety of my family and myself.
I own a 2000 nissan pathfinder le, with 149,000 miles, which is now out of warranty. Tues 7/27/10, while pulling out of a parking space, I lost steering control. Find steering column is snapped. Tow to mechanic, who discovers the shock tower, which is part of the frame (uni-body design), has sheared away from the rest of the wheel-well. The shock tower has pushed up into the steering column, causing it to break. Mechanic gave estimate of $640.00 for steering, and at least $1700.00 for the wheel-well, which is a body shop repair. Also suggested to call nissan to see if there a recall on wheel-wells as this is a safety issue, and is not the first time he has heard of this problem. This is not normal wear and tear, it is a design flaw. Control arms just below tearing in frame, if tearing continued, wheel could also become dislodged, in addition to loss of steering. Nissan was called, and wants vehicle towed to dealership for verification at my expense, and in addition pay for diagnostic service. Apparently, I am at their mercy, however how can they give me an unbiased diagnostic, as I am sure the results will be in their favor. I am now at a standstill as the repairs will apparently outweigh the value of the vehicle, which is $4125 trade-in value. However, if this happened on one side, it is reasonable to believe that will occur on the other, doubling cost of repairs.
I have had 2001 nissan pathfinder for 18months . My 18 yr old daughter complained of a problem with front drivers side wheel feeling very funny and ABS light on. I took car to service stating and was told chassis was completely rotted away leaving shock to go up into motor and pulling away the ABS cord. Nothing was on the bottom of car. You could see clearly into the motor from the wheel well. I immediately called nissan consumer affairs as truck only has 62,000 miles and chassis should not have rotted off making it dangerous to drive. Service station said do not drive unless a chassis can be welded. Brought truck to siny nissan srv. Center as directed by nissan consumer affairs and nissan themselves said do not drive this vehicle for safety. Ie wheel could lock up as frame pulled away and pulled ABS and shock was going up toward motor as frame rotted away and nothing to hold shock. I reported findings to nissan customer srv and they needed some time to research. I emailed nissan pictures of the frame that no longer was there and they were in touch with nissan in siny to see what the finding were. I had the car welded as nissan does not do welding and sent the bill along with the pictures to nadia claims specialist file no 6834802. I was told that since vehicle was past warranty they were no longer responsible for repair. My daughter could have been killed on a highway as there was no frame to a vehicle with 62,000 miles on it. I was told by nissan themselves not to drive as it was dangerous. Who would purchase a vehicle with 52000 miles for 6800 and after 10,000 pose a risk to theirselves or family members if they knew this could happen. Not only are they responsible for the repairs but I no longer want this vehicle. I should have been reimbursed as this was a manufacturers defect and the ABS and shock repaired (which was not. Nissan and their group feels this is not warranted. I feel they are very responsible as does their own specialists in siny.
The steering in my 2000 pathfinder seemed to be rubbing. I took it to a trusted mechanic who said that there was rusted metal rubbing against the steering column and that I needed to have a body shop look at it. I took it to the body shop and he said he'd never seen anything like it before but my frame was rusted out and would cost more to fix it than the truck is worth. He advised me not to drive it because my wheels could literally fall in causing a bad accident. I just paid the truck off last year and now unless nissan does something I just own it but will not be able to drive it.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 nissan pathfinder. While driving 50 MPH, the contact heard a knocking noise underneath the passenger side of the engine. A few days later, the noise worsened. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the vehicle was not salvageable. The frame was built insufficiently and was rotted out. The dealer stated that they could mold the frame back together, but it would only last temporarily. The contact found numerous complaints on his vehicle for this exact failure. He believes a recall should be issued since it was a manufacturer defect. The current and failure mileages were 135,000.
A rusting of the lower area on the side running boards. I received a recall notice that the salt in the northern states (I used to live in pittsburgh pa) caused a recall of insufficient coating in the gas tube area. I believe this same reason for this recall (salt used during the winter months) is the same reason for the rusting that has shown up in only two spots on my vehicle (same exact spot on both sides).
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 nissan pathfinder. The muffler and undercarriage of the vehicle is rusted from the front end to the rear. The dealer confirmed that there was no undercarriage coating. The failure is related to the federal safety agency campaign id number 07v435000 (fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly:filler pipe and cap). The current and failure mileages were 25,000.
Ibought my 2000 nissan pathfinder last sept. 11, 2003 with a odometer reading of 59,000 miles.I did rearch on this carand chose the pathfinder for its reputation and dependability. I even bought an extended warranty(gold powertrain)to be on the safe side. In june of this year I had to have a shifter assembly at a cost of $670.83, then in july I had to have my bolt-wheel hub replaced at a cost of $52.52. Now this month I having to replace the door lock assembly at a cost of $212.32 that's a total of $935.67 in less than 9 months since I bought the car.three months in a row on repairs.and to top it off my warranty covers nothing.this car has not proven to me to be reliable.I'm a single mom with a son in college and I bought this car for my son because of its reputation.I would appreciate if nissan would refund me some of my expenses.I can provide receipts.thank you.
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