general problems of the 1997 Nissan Pathfinder

The vehicle swings left to right when cruising at about any speed. When the vehicle is pulling it does not swing or sway, however once the vehicle has got up to a desired speed and you try to maintain a steady speed it starts a “death wobble” which nearly cannot hold it on correct side of the road. You have to increase speed or reduce speed dramatically to regain control of the vehicle.

Vehicle has a severe shimmy when letting off the accelerator, even at low speeds. Driving the vehicle on dry pavement on a straight stretch of highway: at around 55-60 mph, the back end of vehicle sways violently, with no warning or apparent cause. Driver feels that if speed is not immediately decreased, the vehicle would go out of control.

The trailer arms failed. This is what holds the rear axle steady and will cause the truck to sway or hula hoop the rear end. I replaced them myself $160. 00 for the parts 3hours under the car. Also replaced the shocks 5 days later. Rides like new. Looks like the frame is also rotting out. Hope they open a recall on the frame. I will check the front strut housing for rust.

The frame, including chassis, suspension and body has extensive rust. The suspension is caving into the chassis due to extensive chassis rust. The rust is not due to normal wear and tear of vehicle. It is due to inadequate coating to prevent rust. The vehicles of same model (year) of other makes have minimal rust compared to this vehicle. Even the mechanics I have approached have similar opinion that this vehicle across the board is poorly built, and more rust prone. The vehicle can be potentially catastrophic if the rust eats through and makes suspension/axles collapse, especially while driving. This vehicle had a recall for rust issues, but the recall only covered part of the problem, while there is more extensive issues with this vehicle.

The vehicle starts swaying dangerously, at a speed of 20 of mph . At a higher speed the car will starts back swaying and fish tailing and would flip specially on a wet roads, no control to it.

Vehicle sways very bad during moderate acceleration and stop if you push the brake or speed up. Feels really dangerous and found others with same vehicle and same problem.

At random. . . This Pathfinder will go into a crazy death wobble, to the point to were it wants to put your head and the heads of your children threw the windows. I have replaced the shocks in the car. But yet the problem remains. My car is at the Nissan dealership right now racking up a bill that I can not afford, for something they will most likely not be able to fix. I have read a hundred complaints on line that describe the same problem to a t. God help us!.

The contact owns a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for routine maintenance when the mechanic noticed a separation of the front driver side strut. The contact was advised that the vehicle was not drivable and could not be repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 183,000.

I bought my 1997 Nissan Pathfinder a few months ago as my second vehicle to get back and forth to work some 30 miles one way. I can't drive it more than up the street because it has developed a severe swaying defect when driving at speeds over 40 mph. It is so bad that it feels like an amusement park ride!. It is very very dangerous to drive on the highway. After looking on the internet to try to get some information about this problem, I found out that there are way too many comments from people over several years that have experienced this "death sway" that it is actually appalling that Nissan or the consumer safety department hasn't stepped in to correct this dangerous problem. The majority of the people found that it is a rear upper and lower bushing arm that seems to fix the problem but at a hefty expense of up to $1,000. A life shouldn't have to be taken for Nissan to accept responsibility for this well documented defect. Nissan not being held accountable for this defect is inexcusable.

97 Pathfinder safety problem with rear suspension links. Side to side sway. It feels like the vehicle is about to flip . Are these parts defective? are they of inferior quality? this can caused an unsafe condition on the highway. It seams like Nissan USA is well aware of the problem. Service bulletin classification: ra97-002, reference: ntb98-001, hopefully we don't have to wait until somebody gets kill for Nissan to fix the problem.

At around 120000 miles the vehicle began to sway uncontrollably. Mechanics could find nothing wrong. Only way to stop the sway is to tap the brakes or accellerate. Happens quite often and is downright scary at tines. Also the entire underbody / frame is extremely corroded. Vehicle should not corrode that quickly. All underbody parts are extremely rusted.

I had to pay to repair the strut housing sheet metal, that was grinding against the steering arm, on the left side of the vehicle. The cost of the repair was approximately--and I am waiting to get the receipt,as it was paid by credit card---$1340. 00. Baroz was the name of the repair shop, in la jara, coloraodo. The repair was done before the recall campaign began. I am very disappointed and frustrated by Nissan's lack of response, since I was informed of the recall. They state, in the document , that was sent to me, that I am eligible for reimbursement of related expense of repair. I have been trying to get a hold of Nissan at 1-800-647-7261, and have not heard back from them, after numerous messages and voice-mails. Nissan has not gotten back to me, after repeated attempts to reach them.

I was experiencing swaying in my rear end at highway speeds. I had a mechanic install new link bushings and link rods, both upper and lower. Due to rust the securing bolts and bushings had to be torched out. This is very strange and must be due to inferior parts since I live in new mexico, a very dry climate where we do not typically experience rusting on vehicles of this age. This vehicle was originally purchased in nm and I purchased it at 40 some thousand miles and do not believe this vehicle ever spent time in a damp climate. The above repair took care of the problem but now I have 139,000 miles on the vehicle and am having the same problem only worse.

Vehicle is a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder wobbles side to side at high speeds, very bumpy suspension otherwise. Replaced shocks and struts, as well as all tires, but problem remains. Nissan has posted a service bulletin about a similar problem.

(noticed problem end of 2007/ beginning 2008 and again in 2011) I have low mileage on Pathfinder and it is only driven on the freeway and in town. First noticed when driving speeds over 50 and during shifting on highway. Very sloppy steering control, Pathfinders rear swaying, skipping and jerking sometimes violently from side to side. Very dangerous driving conditions;very good chance of flipping over. Took to different auto mechanics and most could not figure out issue. It turned out that the problem was all defective - failed, broken, cracked, or /and worn bushings links both front and rear. I recently completely replaced the bushings and components and after 6500 miles they are broken/defective and the Pathfinder is unsafe to drive again. I researched the bushing issues with the 1996 -2001 Nissan Pathfinder and most all Pathfinders of this years are having this serious suspension-defective bushing issues. Their have been many unanswered consumer complaints. This should have been and is a definite recall issue. Protect the consumer. Report this. Please ck into this ASAP.

: the contact stated while driving at speeds of 60mph or more, the vehicle violently shakes as if there may be a loss of control. The vehicle was seen by an independent repair shop for the suspension, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the problem. The vehicle is scheduled for inspection at an authorized dealership.

I own a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving on the highway the suspension failed by swaying back and forth. It felt as though the car will roll over. Death, personal injury, and property damage was clearly foreseeable. In order to stop the sway, I needed to decelerate. However, as I continued to drive the suspension failed and the vehicle swayed. Due to the continuous nature of this failure I had included the number 999 below in the number of failure fields to denote that he failure was continuous. January 1, 2005 as the incident date to indicated that this was an ongoing failure of the suspension.

First noticed problem while driving on the highway when the car suddenly started to rock from side to side. This problem seemed to get worse and was noticed even at lower speeds. Replaced front and rear suspension components and problem still exists.

When driving at 50mph or higher if vehicle hit a pump or uneven patch on freeway vehicle sways and rocks, making driver unable to control steering.

Suspension causing vehicle to sway violently when going 50mph. . Consumer states the tires wore out at 20,000 miles, the shocks and struts were replaced at 42,000 miles, consumer was informed that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle after complaining about the vehicle swaying, however the vehicle was taken to another shop and the trailing arms were replaced which then corrected the problem, also the power steering fluid was leaking, the muffler was replaced due to rust and the exhaust manifold was cracked due to stress, the front differential pinion seal was leaking, the center cap that goes on the stock wheels on the front seat was installed.

At speeds above 45 mph vehicle for no reason suddenly begins to rock rapidly from side to side. First encountered when driving vehicle back to maine. When arrived in maine had front struts and rear shocks replaced. Problem continues. At highway speed if you even slighly release the accelerator pedal to slow down or coast, vehicle immediately begins to rapidly rock side to side. Called Nissan, they noted no one has reported incident. Have since downloaded service bulliten # ntb98001, date 9804, NHTSA item # sb600088- component suspension. Staes in part ". . . May exhibit excessive play in front/rear suspension. " please advise what service bulliten refers to. What rights does service bulliten provide to the consumer? how do I obtain correction from manufacturer? what became of issue following the service bulletin. Has NHTSA received similar complaints?.

Consumer took the vehicle in for a front end alignment when mechanic with national and battery discovered that front strut was blown,and that was causing misalignment. Both front struts had to be replaced at the same time. Please provide any additional information/attachments.

Vehicle vibrates & rocks side to side between 60-70mph. Warranty has expired. Consumer will contact the manufacturer.

Just notice this problem at about 66,000miles vehicles wobbles side to side at acelleration 55-70mph and continues if you hit a dip, bump in the road don't know what is causing this problem need help many people have complained but Nissan doesn't either.

The vehicle lost struts, steering rack, and has serious issues that have not been resolved. I spoke with the dealer and they said they don't need to fix. The entire front end is falling apart.

Misalignment, causing tires to wear out. Also, running board affects steering, causes poor handling of vehicle.

Consumer was driving vehicle at 65 mph and was cut off. She turned the wheel to avoid impact, and the vehicle turned over. The front passenger was in a reclining position with restraints and was ejected from the vehicle and killed . The rear passenger was injured.

When driving at approximately 25-70 mph vehicle swayed back and forth which could cause loss of vehicle control. Consumer has replaced tires/ struts/ shocks, and did wheel alignment, but defect kept occurring.

Vehicle experiences problems with suspension system which has caused premature wear of the tires, unable to be rectified after several attempts. Mjs.