2023 Pathfinder SL FWD, 1st OC done at 10,000 miles, BUY OR RUN AWAY

[Vitamin Yoda]

Poor engine design and/or lack of maintenance leads to sludge buildup. Which one is it?

 

[TiGeo]

It's fine. There is no crud at 10k miles.

 

[350Rocket]

For me it would be a no. I could handle one 10k oil change, if it wasn't the first one. Also I would want to know that it wasn't made up of mostly 5 mile trips in cold weather. Not all 10k miles are the same.

 

[JTK]

In the above case, a lawyer would argue that the warranty company (likely some 3rd party shyster outfit) would have to prove that the vehicle routinely was subjected to "severe service" rather than "standard service." I don't know that Nissan Certified could deny a warranty repair once they certified this 2023 model whose factory fill wasn't changed until 10,600 miles. But then again, who wants to resort to a lawyer? I do follow the logic for 4,000 to 5,000 change intervals.

This sounds like a case of the dealership or Nissan corporate pushing back and the customer gives up. The oil change interval according to Nissan is 10k miles. This is 100% acceptable by Nissan's terms for normal usage. For "severe" service, they say


A lawyer will argue, based on Nissan's own wording, that you have to do ALL of those, not any single one of them.

In the all the cases I've read of, the owners could not produce records showing that all oil changes had been performed every 5-10K miles. They were missing some records even though oil changes may or may not have been done based on correct time/mileage. Missing some records in combination with visible sludge under the valve covers and/or oil pan leaves an easy out for Nissan.

Like said, you can hire an attorney for anything you want. It just takes time, money and the ability to be without a vehicle, assuming it's not usable at that point.

I'm not siding with Nissan. I don't think any of this is acceptable. I believe this specific engine, the VQ35DD has problems and Nissan knows about it at this point, but have yet to make it right.

 

[YZJB]

Just caught the fact you already own a DD in your 2020 QX60, so you're probably aware of the sludge thing..

In terms of the new Jatco copy of the ZF9, I don't know that I would specifically move away from your CVT to this transmission. I haven't read of any failures on the 9AT, but lots of complaints of weird shifts and issues with the dial shifter, etc.

I've got the Jatco copy of the Mercedes Benz 9G-tronic in my 2022 Frontier. So far so good.

2022+ R53 platform Pathfinder has a Jatco copy of the ZF9. The rest of their front wheel drive line still use CVTs.

The ZF 9HP in the Pathfinder isn’t a Jatco copy. It’s an actual ZF gearbox manufactured by ZF and even has ZF cast into the transmission case.

 

[JTK]

The ZF 9HP in the Pathfinder isn’t a Jatco copy. It’s an actual ZF gearbox manufactured by ZF and even has ZF cast into the transmission case.

Thank you. I'm mixing it up with the 9spds used in the Frontier and Titan.

It may be a matter of ZF not selling the rights for Jatco to build them themselves yet.

 

[NormanBuntz]

For me it would be a no. I could handle one 10k oil change, if it wasn't the first one. Also I would want to know that it wasn't made up of mostly 5 mile trips in cold weather. Not all 10k miles are the same.

This 2023 Pathfinder was driven 10,600 miles in nine months. Likely not too much short tripping.

 

[NormanBuntz]

This 2023 Pathfinder was driven 10,600 miles in nine months. Likely not too much short tripping.

After contacting Nissan USA and the dealer that delivered the SUV, the 10K oil change is the only one on record, and it was part of Nissan's Maintenance Plus program, which included three oil and filter changes in the first 30K miles. That indicates "standard" instead of "severe" service and is likely why it qualified as a Nissan Certified vehicle.

 

[KGMtech]

Go buy it, don't waste time either.

 

[350Rocket]

After contacting Nissan USA and the dealer that delivered the SUV, the 10K oil change is the only one on record, and it was part of Nissan's Maintenance Plus program, which included three oil and filter changes in the first 30K miles. That indicates "standard" instead of "severe" service and is likely why it qualified as a Nissan Certified vehicle.

What is it about that indicates standard service? I assume the free services only covers standard service and if you were severe service then you probably have to pay for the rest of the services yourself.
They wouldn't be worried about qualifying it as a certified used vehicle probably because there is really no chance that this first oil change being done late would have any implications until beyond the warranty period. It would only matter to someone who knows they're going to try to keep it for 300k miles.

 

[NormanBuntz]

What is it about that indicates standard service? I assume the free services only covers standard service and if you were severe service then you probably have to pay for the rest of the services yourself.
They wouldn't be worried about qualifying it as a certified used vehicle probably because there is really no chance that this first oil change being done late would have any implications until beyond the warranty period. It would only matter to someone who knows they're going to try to keep it for 300k miles.

I see your point. If I were to have an engine issue even under the 100K certified warranty, I guess I'd always wonder if it was because the first OC wasn't done sooner. I'm age 72. I'm not keeping any vehicle for another 100-200K miles.

 

[350Rocket]

I'm age 72. I'm not keep any vehicle for another 100-200K miles.

Then I would say go ahead. I wouldn't be worried.

 

[wemay]

I'd buy it. Those are nice and one OC at 10K isn't going to do her in.

 

[TiGeo]

What is it about that indicates standard service? I assume the free services only covers standard service and if you were severe service then you probably have to pay for the rest of the services yourself.
They wouldn't be worried about qualifying it as a certified used vehicle probably because there is really no chance that this first oil change being done late would have any implications until beyond the warranty period. It would only matter to someone who knows they're going to try to keep it for 300k miles.

That they have 3 services for 30K so 10K/service. It won't even matter if you want to keep it past 300K miles, it will be fine.

 

[350Rocket]

That they have 3 services for 30K so 10K/service. It won't even matter if you want to keep it past 300K miles, it will be fine.

So you're saying all 10k intervals are the same? Doesn't matter if you're frequently starting up in -10 or colder and driving 5 miles here, and later 5 miles there?

My truck would be at 0% oil life twice already by 10k miles and it does plenty of highway and is frequently warmed up.

 

[JTK]

@NormanBuntz Aside from all the oil change interval talk, did you get a chance to drive this 2023? I'm curious how you like this 9AT compared to your 2020 QX60. IIRC, something with the dog clutch setup this ZF9 uses for certain gear changes and the rev-matching it does to engage them had been a complaint. It just feels and behaves differently from what I understand.

One other common complaint with the R53 Pathfinders is rear brake wear is even more premature than it is on the R52 platform for some. The rear pads are just way too small. I've replaced the rears on my 2019 3-4x and the fronts twice in 102K miles. They're all due again. It became apparent to me today as I was doing an oil change on it and took it for a test drive. I rarely drive this vehicle.

 

[NormanBuntz]

@NormanBuntz Aside from all the oil change interval talk, did you get a chance to drive this 2023? I'm curious how you like this 9AT compared to your 2020 QX60. IIRC, something with the dog clutch setup this ZF9 uses for certain gear changes and the rev-matching it does to engage them had been a complaint. It just feels and behaves differently from what I understand.

One other common complaint with the R53 Pathfinders is rear brake wear is even more premature than it is on the R52 platform for some. The rear pads are just way too small. I've replaced the rears on my 2019 3-4x and the fronts twice in 102K miles. They're all due again. It became apparent to me today as I was doing an oil change on it and took it for a test drive. I rarely drive this vehicle.

JTK, I drove the 2023 Pathfinder SL today. I generally liked it. In a short drive, I noticed nothing negative with the ZF 9 speed. Even the 2WD model has five different modes to choose. The sport and standard modes seemed fine. The tech and safety features and dashboard layout is much better than in my 2020 QX60. The deal breaker was not the Nissan dealer trying to pack on some $4,000 in useless or bogus fees. I deleted them, but after I got it home for the overnight pre-purchase review, my wife (chronic bad back) did not like the front seats or the ride. I'm done SUV shopping for now and will stick with the QX60 until a few months before the new car warranty is set to expire.

Thanks for everyone's feedback, good or bad.