1995 Nissan Pathfinder SE from North America - Comments

Ya, here's another ticked off "never again Nissan" owner...

Gee, guess what, another NO REVERSE pathfinder... only 140,000 kms on it, thing was babied, and the good ol auto tranny just decided to stop working in... HOLD YOUR BREATH... REVERSE... out of the blue... same story..all other gears smooth as a babies bottom.. quiet as can be... and no reverse... never again...

It's basically a parts vehicle now, it only cost 3800.. so only a moron would fix the tranny.

Signed...P'o'd, in Pitt Meadows, BC.

I just lost my reverse last night.. and have had to fix broken studs on both manifolds this truck won't stop breaking.

1994 Pathfinder - No reverse. Just like everyone else car is running fine one day and the next no reverse. No warning, no strange noises. The car has 179,000kms not worth fixing bummer because like so many others comments I really like the car.

Thought this would be a good work truck to tool around in and put some high miles on. Bought it for about 5K a year ago from a guy who said he totally rebuilt everything. It was very very clean. Was working great then just like the others... no reverse!!! Now I don't know what to do with it as I can't get what I need to out of it and no way in heck am I going to put 3k more into it. CRAP!

Hey All, I am having the SAME issue as everyone here regarding REVERSE not working.

I have a 94 XE Pathfinder, and this week I tried putting it in Reverse and it didn't move. It has 184,000 miles on it so I got some good use. KBB says its worth about 3,400$.

I took it to two tranny shops one guy said to rebuild the tranny would cost about 2500$. I then took it to AAMCO, he said he would not give me a price to fix it. Instead he said it would cost 700$ just to take it out and do an "internal inspection". What a joke. How much is it costing to fix this problem in your area?

I don't even think its worth fixing at this point if its going to cost me 2,000$ to fix it and KBB says its worth 3,000$.

I have a 95 pathfinder. I smell gas, but no signs of leaking. It also has a cracked manifold, kinda sounds like a lifter tick. The calipers froze up and needed to be replaced, also the starter went out. Great little truck. I bought it for $3000 4 years ago with 70,00 miles; it now has 107,000.

I bought my 95 Pathfinder in 1997 with 45,000 miles on it. I've had fan belts break on me a couple of times, so I just had them replaced. The speedometer went out on me in 1998. I've replaced the calipers and rotors front and back, and I've replaced the battery twice, all in the course of 11 years. So far so good, hope the reverse doesn't go out on me like it did with the others, that would be a bummer. The tranny is not in the greatest shape, but she runs when I need it to.

I have a 95 xe pathfinder. here are my problems. l. transmission o/d does not work. I have tried the on/off button and the rpm'x never change. 2. engine light goes on and off as I drive. 3. speedometer goes nuts. it will work fine when all of a sudden it will bounce to the left then the right and quit. when this happens the odometer and trip meter both quit until the speedo decides to start working again. I just bought this vehicle and when I checked the oil and transmission levels they both had clean oil and fluid, but both are about an inch above the full marks. could this have something to do with the engine light and transmission problems?

I have a 1995 4x4 Pathfinder LE-V6. I (knock on wood) have not had the reverse issue and have over 140,000k on the vehicle. The problems I've had are as follows:

1) My odometer and trip odometer quit working as the odometer was turning over to 140k. I fixed it by taking it apart and replacing worn part. Took all of 20 minutes.

2) The manifold problem. It cracked. For $75 and an hour or two of my time, fixed.

3) My windshield washer pump quit. $8 and about 20-30 minutes of my time.

4) The fog lights quit working. Bad relay, $28 and no more than 5 minutes, fixed.

5) One of the heated seat switches quit working, never use them so I really don't care.

6) Power antenna motor quit working. $9 and about 30 min., fixed.

Other than that I've had no problems out of what has so far been an ultra reliable vehicle. Considering that these cars are thirteen years old, you have to expect things to break. If my transmission goes, I'll invest 2k into a car I paid 5k for years ago. It's cheaper than a car payment, unless you want a 2,500 car... I love my Pathfinder and will drive it till the wheels fall off.

I have a 1995 black se, stick, love it.

Done the tbelt, maniflod, brake work.

Got 226000 kms and the exhaust is shot.

95 paths have 2 cats, (california emissions), and the cost

of replacement causes me to black out. does anyone now where there is a reasonable replacement without straight piping it?

those of who complain of power, wait untill the roads are 5 inches deep and you will pass cars like they are standing still. those of you who have chipped their ecu, what do you think?

Bought my 95 XE auto 6 months ago with 222,000kms on it for 400 dollars. 1500 worth of work to safety it. A couple weeks after, reverse would occasionally not engage, a tranny flush solved that problem. I believe the moron who had it before me either couldn't afford to maintain it, or was too ignorant.

I've fixed little things on it that aren't crucial (rear wiper seized, cruise control switch, rear hatch glass hinge) but I can't complain. It doesn't burn any oil or leak any fluids. Oh yeah, I had to have a rear wheel cylinder in the drum brake on the passenger side replaced, 145 dollars.

The A/C even still works great in this thing. Something I wouldn't expect in a domestic piece of crap. I know it isn't the most powerful, but it isn't a race car either, I do fine in traffic everyday (yes it's my daily driver to college). The VG30 is also in the 300zx, it can take being revved to 4200 rpm every now and then.

I also have a 93 SE (leather, all options) pathfinder that I am restoring. I will always if I can, have another Pathfinder. I learned to drive on one, one was my first vehicle, most reliable SUV ever.

Those who complain about your tranny losing reverse, FLUSH YOUR TRANS ACCORDING TO THE MANUAL'S MILEAGE RECOMMENDATION. You will not have any problems.

Only thing that will kill these is a broken timing belt or rust. Take care of it and you will either crash it, get bored of it, or get married and your wife will make you buy a van before it dies on you.

I had a problem 2 yrs ago w/my 95 pathfinder Xe. it just shut down on my way home from work. the problem was the alarm system at the battery had cut the fuel. some wires had burnt out. my dad took the fuse apart and combined it with an old part he found at a junk yard and put it back in the pathfinder hadn't had any random shut downs since. the real problem was that some battery acid corroded the strap the hold the battery down and the battery was moving around and caused the fuse to burn out but that all fixed now.

I do have a problem with the front end when ever I go over and bumps or dips my car makes a really bad screeching sound.I took it to a mechanic and he said it was the right tie rod end but nothing changed when I got it replaced. when the car is parked if I bounce the passenger side I can hear a clunking sound but on the drivers side it's a screeching sound. I think the drivers side is the torn boot on the the lower ball joint but the passenger side isn't torn. what could the clunk sound be?

I have a 1995 Pathfinder since new (XE manual transmission) and I've had virtually no major problems. They are great reliable cars if maintained. Problem is most used ones have not been maintained and the owners are looking to give their problems to someone else - sorry, it happens.

I wonder if all of you out there complaining about paying a small amount for a used car and then wonder why you have to shell out for big repairs - duh! USED car anyone? You never know how many idiots owned the car before you and if they ever did any maintenance. I still see a lot of '95 pathys on the road, and quite frankly they are all beat up and most driven by pimply-face teenagers - would you buy a car from one of them? They don't have the money for proper maintenance!

And all you guys complaining about the transmission, it is quite common for automatic transmissions from all manufacturers to develop issues if they are not regularly maintained. My Dad had an Audi transmission almost go on him due to the same type of radiator issue. I've had a Pontiac Sunfire that was crap due to cooling and transmission problems (we ditched it because a heater core would cost $1200 to replace - A HEATER CORE for gods sake!) and I know people with Dodge Caravans, where whole gears have shattered - this isn't anything unique to Nissan.

If the Pathfinder is properly maintained it will last almost forever. My mechanic sees them come in with over 300,00 km and still going strong.

Besides, $2500 on repairs for a 13 year old car is nothing compared to the five grand per year you'll spend on a brand new car - an at least in most cases, its already paid for itself many times over.

The last thing about my pathy - I love the winter when everyone else is sliding and getting stuck. Put a good set of tires on it and you can go virtually anywhere.

Stop bad-mouthing Pathfinders they are awesome vehicles - at least they were up to 1995!

I bought my 95 Pathfinder five years ago after looking at many reviews (also had a 91). The most important piece of information was stay away from the automatic transmission!! The manual is much more suited for this vehicle anyway. While it is somewhat underpowered we haul a 1500 lb tent trailer as well as a horse trailer with it without any problems.

As with any 13 year old vehicle we have to keep up the service and have replaced (or soon will be) many parts in the front end due to cracked boots. There are some quirky electrical problems and the power locks lock automatically in the cold (Alberta Canada) but again what vehicles doesn't have some issues after 13 years and 250k. We are hoping to get two more years out of it. Someone mentioned earlier about putting a chip in theirs to get better gas mileage - does anyone have any information on this?