Vehicle
Nissan Pathfinder
Three structures under one name, and getting the right one is the first step. The WD21 is a ladder frame on the Hardbody truck. The R50 is a unibody. The R51 returns to body-on-frame on the F-Alpha platform shared with the Navara — a transfer case and a live rear axle. From 2012 the R52 is a unibody crossover with a CVT and no low range at all. A code list or a repair procedure for one is describing systems the others do not have.
Generations
-
First generation (YD21/WD21) 1985–1995
Body-on-frame on the Hardbody truck's ladder chassis, with a five-link coil rear axle — the throttle-body VG30i gives way to the multi-point VG30E for 1990, and the Z24i to the KA24E in the same year.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan WD21
- Engines
-
- 2.4 — Z24i · petrol · 79 kW (106 hp) · to 1989
- 2.4 — KA24E · petrol · 100 kW (134 hp) · 198–209 Nm (146–154 lb-ft) · replaced the Z24i for 1990
- 3.0 V6 — VG30i · petrol · 107 kW (143 hp) · throttle-body injection, 1986–1989
- 3.0 V6 — VG30E · petrol · 114 kW (153 hp) · 235–260 Nm (173–192 lb-ft) · multi-point injection, from 1990
- 2.7 — TD27 · diesel · 63 kW (84 hp)
- 2.7 turbo — TD27T · diesel · TD27T2 and TD27T4; turbocharger offered from November 1988
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 3-speed 3N71 automatic · 4-speed 4N71 automatic · 4-speed RL4R01A automatic · 4-speed RE4R01A automatic
- Drivetrain
- Rear-wheel drive · Part-time four-wheel drive with low range
-
R50 1995–2004
A unibody car, not a ladder frame — the structural break in the nameplate, and the reason a body or suspension procedure written for the WD21 does not describe it. Sold as the Infiniti QX4 and the Terrano Regulus.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan R50
- Engines
-
- 3.3 V6 — VG33E · petrol · 125 kW (168 hp) · 266–274 Nm (196–202 lb-ft)
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DE · petrol · 179 kW (240 hp) · 333–363 Nm (246–268 lb-ft) · from the 2001 model year; 250 hp with the manual
- 2.7 turbo — TD27ETi · diesel · intercooled, electronically controlled injection pump
- 3.0 turbo — ZD30DDTi · diesel · 265–380 Nm (195–280 lb-ft) · from February 1999, replacing the QD32ETi
- 3.2 turbo — QD32ETi · diesel · to February 1999
- Transmissions
- 5-speed manual · 4-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Rear-wheel drive · Part-time four-wheel drive with low range
-
R51 2004–2012
Body-on-frame on F-Alpha with the Navara — a transfer case, a low range, and the 2.5 dCi's well-known injector and turbo history.
- dCi (badge, not an engine)
- VK56 5.6 L
- VQ35 (VQ family, 2.0–3.8) 3.5 L
- VQ40 4.0 L
- YD25 (with the YS23, 2.3 and 2.5) 2.5 L
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan F-Alpha
- Engines
-
- 4.0 V6 — VQ40DE · petrol · 198–201 kW (266–270 hp) · 385–393 Nm (284–290 lb-ft)
- 5.6 V8 — VK56DE · petrol · 228–231 kW (306–310 hp) · 525–527 Nm (387–389 lb-ft)
- 2.5 dCi YD25DDTi — YD25DDT · diesel · 126–140 kW (169–188 hp) · 403–450 Nm (297–332 lb-ft)
- 3.0 V6 dCi — diesel · 170 kW (228 hp) · 550 Nm (406 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- 5-speed RE5R05A automatic · 7-speed RE7R01B automatic · 6-speed FS6R31A manual
- Drivetrain
- Rear-wheel drive · Part-time four-wheel drive with low range
-
R52 2012–2021
A unibody crossover with a CVT and no low range — the off-road hardware the earlier car had simply does not exist here.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan D
- Engines
-
- 3.5 VQ35DE V6 — VQ35DE · petrol · 170–232 kW (228–311 hp) · 333–363 Nm (246–268 lb-ft)
- 2.5 supercharged hybrid — hybrid
- 2.5 — QR25DER · mild hybrid · 2013–2014
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DD · petrol · 340–366 Nm (251–270 lb-ft) · 2017–2020
- 2.5 turbo — diesel · 140 kW (188 hp)
- Transmissions
- Xtronic CVT
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive
-
R53 2021–present
Drops the CVT for a nine-speed torque-converter automatic, which removes the fluid-temperature and ratio codes that defined the R52.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan D
- Engines
-
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DD · petrol · 340–366 Nm (251–270 lb-ft)
- 2.0 — KR20DDET · petrol · 352–388 Nm (260–286 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- 9-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive
Service information
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Posted about the Nissan Pathfinder
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
Sign in or create an account to add what you found about Nissan Pathfinder.