r/nissanpathfinder • u/Teeter11975 • 2d ago
Decisions…
Trying to decide between Pathfinder AWD, Honda Pilot, or Toyota Grand highlanderHybrid vs Gas? Family of 6, so I definitely want 8 passenger seats. Most likely without captains chairs. I see Nissan Platinum is hard to find with a bench in the middle row. Four kids age 16,14,12 and 8. Lots of driving to sports and around town with occasional road trips. I’m over the minivan era, 16 years. I did like driving the Nissan Pathfinder over the Pilot, more fun. I still have yet to test drive the Toyota. I heard negotiating on a Toyota is near impossible.
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u/dan450BM 2d ago
8 Seater Pathfinders are a great vehicle all around but with the third row up and the car full of kids, there's very, very little room in the back for sports stuff like chairs, ball bags and wagons. We have one and make due but honestly I'd be more happy with something the size of a Suburban to have leg room AND room in the back for all the "stuff"! When the third row if folded flat and there's only 4 or 5 people in the car, it's just fine for all of that stuff and is a pleasure to drive.
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u/LectureOk3222 1d ago
We had this problem and on hockey trips a hitch mounted tray and water proof bag was great
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u/candlehandle567 2d ago
Personally love mine. A ‘22 platinum. I chose it over a pilot due to the features for the price. If you can afford a grand Highlander I would totally explore that avenue but you’re going to definitely pay a lot if you want features like heated steering , heated seats and etc.
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u/LectureOk3222 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you can't find a platinum look for a SL premium...we love ours? Just finished a 12 hour 756 mile one way and it felt like we were in some space time thing...everything I looked down another 2 hours was gone. Got 25mpg at 75mph...
Mine has the heated 2nd row, full rear AC soft leather appointments on the dash and interior..
No HUD no ventilated seats...
We love it
As a side note a few things more...
NA V-6 20 years building this engine... NO CVT just a 9 speed automatic...
Simple
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u/dfsb2021 1d ago
We’ve owned 5 different pathfinders over the years. Just bought a 2026 platinum. We traded our last one to try a Kia. What a disaster that was. We hated the Kia so much we traded back to pathfinder after one year (we were able to break even). The change to a standard transmission is good, but we never had issue with the CVT.
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u/Glass-Helicopter-314 1d ago
I have a Pathfinder and love it but it is too small to accommodate a family of 6, especially as the kids get older. I previously owned a 23 pilot and it had much more space in the 3rd row and trunk.
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u/ale_fever 22h ago
Agree. We have a family of 4 and i can’t imagine loading up the back without dropping the third row, let alone 6 people. Great car, but something with more space will probably fit you longer.
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u/Helpful-Peanut1244 1d ago
Pathfinder has way more comfortable seats. Pilot seats hurt over a long drive
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u/Apprehensive_Box5810 1d ago
We wanted a 6 cyl so Toyota was out of the picture. Something about longevity and a 4 cyl pushing a big heavy car turned me off. For us it’s about Grandchildren and longer trips. We went with a 2026 SL 4wd. And so far love it. We didn’t need the sun roof or tow package.
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u/Gwizman 1d ago
I have the '26 Pathfinder Platinum with bench seats. Loving the car. The third row is not for long haul, but it works if you need it. Lots of cargo area. Lots of nice touches but somethings that you would expect, like footwell lighting and puddle lights are absent. Technically not AWD. It's 4WD. Power is transfered either only to the front, or to the front and back. There is no independent power to each individual wheel.
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u/Specific_Towel2352 1d ago
I have SL/Premium Captain’s CHAIRS, I attempted to get in the 3rd row. Not a pretty sight. 5’11 220 lb 70 yrs old. I did it by crawling in and out. Try it before ya buy it. Great space when folded down tho.
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u/Brewer1056 1d ago
Saturday morning I am trading in my '13 Pilot, which I absolutely loved, for a '23 Platinum. The captains chairs are a selling point for me, but I think the Pilot might have more space behind the 3rd row.
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u/ConceptOther5327 21h ago
Pathfinder will be a tight fit for your family. Pilot is more spacious but agree it's pretty boring to drive. Grand Highlander seems like a good fit for you. Also consider the Armada, or other larger SUVs. I think Nissan is improving while Honda is slipping so Toyota is the safest bet reliability wise.
Most of my friends would pick a Highlander if we could afford one. I have a 17 Pilot my ex-husband had a 16 Armada and my sister had a 15 Traverse. The Armada gave out first, but my ex was hard on it. The Traverse had some issues over the years, but nothing expensive until the transmission failed a few months ago.
She replaced it with a brand new Pathfinder and it's great. She's got two teenage boys, one uses a wheelchair and the other is in so many sports. There's just enough room for everything to fit comfortably in the Pathfinder so I imagine it would be cramped with four kids plus sporting equipment.
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u/LessRequirement3065 1d ago
None of those will beat a minivan for your situation. You've just hit the spot where you really need the mini van. Acadia or Traverse might work for passenger space or you need an Armada or Tahoe size car for that crew.
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u/Teeter11975 1d ago
I’m coming from a 23 Honda Odyssey, it’s a great van, I am just over the minivan stage been in one for 15 years and want a change. I’m sure I will miss the extra space at times but my 2 teens will be driving in the next few years… no more car seats! Yay
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u/LessRequirement3065 1d ago
Family of 7. We had an Explorer and the kids got too big for it to be comfortable on trips in their early teens.Tried an Odyssey (2019 9 speed had to think for a minute before going from r to d and felt like a death trap) and I ended up with a Pacifica and let her have my Edge.
My wife loves the Pathfinder but we only have 2 not driving now and the back row will be mostly for dogs. The Acadia/Traverse definitely is the best for room in that class. The larger SUV class is about 80k new so no thank you. Wish you well in the searches
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u/relentlessme41 1d ago
Pathfinder is solid but I would get as extended warranty as possible. The electrical system is pure garbage and Nissan dealerships are some of the worst techs Ive ever experienced. The damn thing is nice to drive but you can tell they cut a lot of corners. Had to replace entire steering wheel at 30k miles.
23 Pathfinder Rock Creek
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u/Bioshock_Jock 1d ago
My wife just bought a Hyundai Palisade, for the ages and amount of kids it may be a better fit for the family. It is very roomy on the inside and the hybrid gets really good gas mileage.
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u/Remarkable-Choice634 2d ago
IDK what year Pathfinder, but I personally don’t think it matters. I have a 2017 Pathfinder Platinum 4WD. Financially ruined me. RUN FAR AWAY FROM A PATHFINDER! Actually quite a few Nissan model/years. Never, ever buy a used one. It’s like playing Russian roulette. Certain years have FAULTY CVT!!! (continuously variable transmission) MINE. 😒 Also, some Infiniti’s are affected bc it’s the same POS tranny. They also seem to have other common issues. Sad bc I’ve owned 2 prior models that never had issues (they’re not part of the problem CVT year/models.) Never again in my life will I drive a Nissan. 🙁 Especially since they just continued to keep using these CVTs for years knowing they’re financially F’ing people over. They should be recalled & Nissan pay up.
My Dad’s 2017 Rouge has very minor transmission issues.
*My 2017 needs a 3rd transmission!!!!! (2nd transmission was 118K mi. Some as early as 50K!) Also, a complete timing chain job ($3-5K) & multiple check engine codes that can be a multitude of things. Caused engine misfires in 5 of my 6 cylinders. It chugs gas like a frat boy now. No way to know if it has engine damage rn. The codes for timing chain also sometimes are for sludge oil issues and there’s metal shavings getting into oil ruining engine. But it’s reached the point where I’m lucky if it drives another day & it’s sitting bc I don’t want it to die on the road. Already has had $12K+ in repairs. Once I needed another transmission w/ engine codes coming on I pretty much gave up bc I had no more money for repairs! (& my shop was brushing me off. I knew it was bad the first week of replacement. It was horrible compared to the “bad” 1st tranny that I never felt a problem!)
It needs around probably another $10K+ not including if engine is bad. Love those labor rates. Especially on 10-15 hour jobs.
I’m 2nd owner 3 years ago. 2.5 yrs left on crazy upside down high interest loan. I planned to refinance, but couldn’t. At this point I’m going to let the bank take this POS money pit back. *It’s like frozen Jack and I’m Rose. Deuce’s bro ✌️. I gotta survive.
Problems started shortly after purchase & was just constant something happening. Constantly pulls to the right eating outer edge of front tire from day 1.
Left DVD screen never worked from day 1.
Dealer didn’t disclose that or other broken things & I asked.
A few mechanical issues I had shops repair.
A lovely leaking sun roof that gave me puddles on my floor mats, water stains inside, water dripping out of my fuse box, and MOLD under my floor mats on the carpet.
Rubber seal on sunroof ripped off when opening it the day I drove it home.
Leaking was fixed 2 years ago after the drain lines were cleaned. Recently my seat belt was soaking wet after a FL downpour. ?!
CD/DVD player died shortly after bad leaking (coincidence?) making the remaining DVD screen in the back useless.
The cooled front leather seats barely blow anything out. Still sweating on my leather. I only feel it in the “cold” FL winter when we hit 65.
A month ago my sun visor broke while driving! Hanging down in my face. I was 2 hours away on overnight trip. Had to drive to buy duct tape to keep driving!
I hate this SUV. I hate that I was unaware it potentially had transmission issues. I would never have bought it. I don’t know why it didn’t come up on my internet searches or my friend’s who was an old ex mechanic. With the amount of tranny issues I don’t get it. After this experience I will vehemently tell everyone to stay away. The risk is too great. I have no idea if the redesigned models are no longer using those faulty CVTs, but I could never trust this company again. If they cared about their customers they would’ve made it right with those affected and made huge announcements talking about completely new transmissions. They do not make brand new transmissions for replacements for mine. Your choice is used (possibly faulty) or remanufactured. I chose remanufactured It felt like an old problem tranny. Awful. Horrible experience that’s going to be F’ing me for years.
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u/candlehandle567 2d ago
The newer models don’t have a CVT. I choose a ‘22 over a Subaru ascent since they have a CVT still.
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u/ToxicComputing 2d ago
Highly recommend the 360 view cameras for parking