I just found action number PE11004 and would like to report that a similar problem has just happened to my 2000 Pathfinder (117,000 miles). I heard a noise coming from the left front strut area and when I and a mechanic looked there was a visible, large horizontal crack extending in both directions in what they described as the side member behind the strut tower. In the course of about a week the crack got noticeably larger and the car is now not safe to drive. This car has never been in an accident and there is no reason that this should have happened. The steering road is now resting against the frame as described in the noted action. Two mechanics have now said that this is hazardous and the car is neither safe to drive nor repairable in their opinion, given the age of the vehicle.

- Ardmore, PA, USA

2000 Nissan Pathfinder left front wheel well rusting apart by the strut. Mechanic says it could completely fail causing strut to shoot up through the hood. Pathfinder has 153,000 miles on it.

- Waukesha, WI, USA

Drivers side frame / wheel housing rusted thru to total deterioration.

- Loves Park, IL, USA

I own a 2000 Pathfinder. The front strut tower has separated from the car's frame due to rust. This represents a serious safety issue. As near as I can tell it occurred after I hit a pothole. I was fortunate that I was not on the highway.

- Vineyard Haven, MA, USA

My 2000 Nissan Pathfinder seemed excessively bumpy and the steering seemed very stiff at times after hitting a pothole. I took it into a Nissan dealership and was told that the frame has rusted through where the wheelwell is attached to a strut mount. The strut is loose (causing the bumpy ride) and the strut is pressing against the steering system causing the steering to be stiff. The Nissan shop told me they could not fix it and referred me to a body shop for an estimate. The body shop told me that they have seen this same problem with several Nissan and/or lexuses (Lexus Pathfinder model - I think it is the RX330). I was told that if I continued to drive it and went over a bump, the strut could plunge through the hood. I feel that this is a safety issue that could cause a serious or fatal accident if I were to hit a pothole at on a highway at a high rate of speed. I contacted my insurance company (state farm) and was told that if a pothole caused the damage they would pay for it. However, after investigating the incident, they informed me that this is a structural defect issue with Pathfinders and the Lexus RX330 and the cause was that the frame rusted through and the pothole would not have caused this damage to a non-defective frame. I have never driven the Pathfinder "off-road." I contacted Nissan and they told me that they would not assist with any repairs due to the age of the car. The estimate for repairs is about $1,800. I am having it repaired at my own expense.

- Maineville, OH, USA

I own a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder le, with 149,000 miles, which is now out of warranty. Tues 7/27/10, while pulling out of a parking space, I lost steering control. Find steering column is snapped. Tow to mechanic, who discovers the shock tower, which is part of the frame (uni-body design), has sheared away from the rest of the wheel-well. The shock tower has pushed up into the steering column, causing it to break. Mechanic gave estimate of $640 for steering, and at least $1700 for the wheel-well, which is a body shop repair. Also suggested to call Nissan to see if there a recall on wheel-wells as this is a safety issue, and is not the first time he has heard of this problem. This is not normal wear and tear, it is a design flaw. Control arms just below tearing in frame, if tearing continued, wheel could also become dislodged, in addition to loss of steering. Nissan was called, and wants vehicle towed to dealership for verification at my expense, and in addition pay for diagnostic service. Apparently, I am at their mercy, however how can they give me an unbiased diagnostic, as I am sure the results will be in their favor. I am now at a standstill as the repairs will apparently outweigh the value of the vehicle, which is $4125 trade-in value. However, if this happened on one side, it is reasonable to believe that will occur on the other, doubling cost of repairs.

- Stony Point, NY, USA

I have had 2001 Nissan Pathfinder for 18months. My 18 yr old daughter complained of a problem with front drivers side wheel feeling very funny and ABS light on. I took car to service stating and was told chassis was completely rotted away leaving shock to go up into motor and pulling away the ABS cord. Nothing was on the bottom of car. You could see clearly into the motor from the wheel well. I immediately called Nissan Consumer Affairs as truck only has 62,000 miles and chassis should not have rotted off making it dangerous to drive. Service station said do not drive unless a chassis can be welded. Brought truck to siny Nissan srv. Center as directed by Nissan Consumer Affairs and Nissan themselves said do not drive this vehicle for safety. Ie wheel could lock up as frame pulled away and pulled ABS and shock was going up toward motor as frame rotted away and nothing to hold shock. I reported findings to Nissan customer srv and they needed some time to research. I emailed Nissan pictures of the frame that no longer was there and they were in touch with Nissan in siny to see what the finding were. I had the car welded as Nissan does not do welding and sent the bill along with the pictures to nadia claims specialist file no 6834802. I was told that since vehicle was past warranty they were no longer responsible for repair. My daughter could have been killed on a highway as there was no frame to a vehicle with 62,000 miles on it. I was told by Nissan themselves not to drive as it was dangerous. Who would purchase a vehicle with 52000 miles for 6800 and after 10,000 pose a risk to theirselves or family members if they knew this could happen. Not only are they responsible for the repairs but I no longer want this vehicle. I should have been reimbursed as this was a manufacturers defect and the ABS and shock repaired (which was not. Nissan and their group feels this is not warranted. I feel they are very responsible as does their own specialists in siny.

- Newyork, NY, USA

The steering in my 2000 Pathfinder seemed to be rubbing. I took it to a trusted mechanic who said that there was rusted metal rubbing against the steering column and that I needed to have a body shop look at it. I took it to the body shop and he said he'd never seen anything like it before but my frame was rusted out and would cost more to fix it than the truck is worth. He advised me not to drive it because my wheels could literally fall in causing a bad accident. I just paid the truck off last year and now unless Nissan does something I just own it but will not be able to drive it.

- Harrodsburg, KY, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 50 mph, the contact heard a knocking noise underneath the passenger side of the engine. A few days later, the noise worsened. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the vehicle was not salvageable. The frame was built insufficiently and was rotted out. The dealer stated that they could mold the frame back together, but it would only last temporarily. The contact found numerous complaints on his vehicle for this exact failure. He believes a recall should be issued since it was a manufacturer defect. The current and failure mileages were 135,000.

- Auburn, NY, USA