2010 Nissan Pathfinder - Lifespan

I seen a Nissan pathfinder SE for sale really cheap I’m not sure of the year I’m guessing 2010 2012 but has 209,000 miles, was wondering what was the average lifespan on a pathfinder for miles? And what are other problems you might expect at home I also like that. I appreciate your info


Scroll down and click on a year to see complaints. It looks like 2013 was a relatively bad year. For that specific vehicle you’ll need to have a mechanic inspect it.

Last Pathfinder I owned was 1998. We sold it with over 400k miles. Great and extremely reliable vehicle.

The biggest problem in answering that question is the maintenance history of the car. If the owner can supply you with a stack of service receipts and your mechanic gives you a thumbs up on the Pathfinder, go for it.

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+1 to Mustangman’s comment.
Asking if a particular used vehicle is going to last for another X number of years–without finding out its maintenance history and/or without having it inspected by one’s own mechanic–is simply not the way to find the best vehicle for purchase.

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Why is the current owner selling it? It might be because too many things are going wrong with it. Historical reliability for this truck doesn’t mean anything now. It’s all about how well it was maintained. Even then, anything that goes wrong is no longer a repair, it’s maintenance. If they haven’t failed already, expect to replace brake calipers, suspension parts, and maybe get the transmission rebuilt. If you are still interested, pay a mechanic you trust about $125 to do a prepurchase inspection and find out what it needs now and what it will need soon.

My take on this is that its really up to you. At the age and price point I doubt anyone sane is going to pay a mechanic to do the kinds of things that will come up. If you know your way around a vehicle, already own tools and a place to work and have at least a minor interest in doing these maintenance jobs, it could be a good deal. Or a terrible bust. Look over the owner, the owners situation, and the owner’s garage.

I agree to all comments above that at this age/mileage it is about vehicle prior maintenance and if potential buyer is apt for the DIY solutions, otherwise it may be quite a money pit

deep vehicle inspection is must before making purchase decision

2010 is “older” R51 platform, which was known to easily tick well over 300K miles with proper maintenance

the “birthmark” trouble areas of R51 are:

#1: the most painful/known/discussed - the OEM radiator in R51 had transmission fluid cooling loop which was prone to rupture and let coolant to enter transmission, resulting almost immediate failure. the first sign was vehicle having problems with reverse gear, then condition progressed rapidly. AFAIK this problem was addressed in 2009 or so, but it makes sense to search Nissan-specific forums (like nissanhelp.com) for exact info and/or preemptively replace raditor

#2: V6 engine had secondary timing chains with manufacturing defect, where manufacturer dies were worn. It results in chains “eating away” two tiny plastic tensioner shoes, $1 part, $1000 in labor to replace if paid to mechanic, long weekend if you do that yourself (plus ~$250 in other parts it makes sense to replace since you already opened the engine front).

other than that, R51 ages gracefully, other than wear items like brakes, somewhere past 150K miles it will need struts and most likely stabilizer bar bushings and links

I own one with 169K miles on it as of now and after addressing items I mentioned above, it drives like new

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As you can probably figure out… the “proper” way to buy any vehicle that has made it into the 200K realm… is directly from the prior owner.

You must have the history of the vehicle…

For all we know … nothing… or nearly everything has been replaced by this time… we need the info and without it… you are in the land of no guarantees and or warranties…

Those lands are best handled by mechanics and the like… who dont mind or care much what is or will go wrong…up to a point of course

I think you get the idea tho…

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A 10 year old anything with 200k+ miles is a flip of the coin. Another plus to Mustangman’s comments and even with a foot thick stack of service records and an inspection report that does not mean there will never be some issues from minor to major.

Wonder if this is another one of those Craigslist deals…

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I’ve had great luck with my pathfinders . They were extremely reliable vehicles.

I also agree…any vehicle this old with this many miles - you just don’t know. Maybe if I knew the previous owner personally and knew that they took proper maintenance…then maybe.