NHTSA Complaint #10366149 — 2005 NISSAN PATHFINDER

IN MARCH 2010 WE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP FOR A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STAYING ON AND THE FUEL GAUGE MALFUNCTIONING. THE PROBLEMS DISCOVERED WERE A FUEL SENDING UNIT FAILURE AND AN EVAP AIR CONTROL VALVE FAILURE. ESTIMATED REPAIRS COST AROUND $1300. WE WERE TOLD THE FUEL SENDING ISSUE DID NOT EFFECT FUEL DELIVERY SO WE ELECTED TO WAIT AND SAVE UP FOR THE COSTLY REPAIR. ON OCT. 23, 2010 WHILE DRIVING THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES STIFFENED AND THE VEHICLE DIED WHILE CROSSING TRAFFIC LEAVING A STOP SIGN. IT STARTED ROUGH AND WE PROCEEDED TO A FUEL STATION THINKING THE BROKEN FUEL GAUGE REPORTED FUEL IN AN EMPTY TANK. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO FUEL THE VEHICLE IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT 4 GALLONS. THE TANK HAD PLENTY OF FUEL. THIS STALLING AND DIEING THEN HAPPENED MORE TIMES IN TRAFFIC CAUSING US TO BARELY MANEUVER OUT OF THE LANE TO SAFETY. EACH TIME IT DIED IT WAS ROUGH TO START, BUT STARTED. WE MADE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT FOR NOV. 12, 2010 TO HAVE THIS LOOKED AT AND GET THE FUEL SENDING UNIT REPAIRED UNDER THE NEW WARRANTY EXTENSION (THANK YOU NISSAN!). ON NOV 11, 2010 AFTER PULLING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE THE VEHICLE DIED AGAIN AND THIS TIME WOULD NOT START. AS A RESULT OF OUR LOCATION (NO LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP), WE THEN HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED (AT OUR EXPENSE) 38 MILES TO THE NEAREST DEALER TO LOOK AT IT. WE ALSO HAD TO CANCEL OUR ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE AT ANOTHER DEALERSHIP. THEY INFORMED US THAT THE NEW NON-STARTING AND STALLING PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY IGNITION POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE (IPDM). THIS IPDM IS A KNOWN RECALL ISSUE IN OTHER 2004-06 NISSANS BUT PATHFINDER WAS NOT LISTED. OUR NEW ESTIMATE TO REPLACE THE IPDM SO IT WILL START AND RUN IS APPROXIMATELY $700. THE IPDM FAILURE ALMOST CAUSED MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS, STALLING IN TRAFFIC. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT NISSAN USED A DIFFERENT IPDM IN JUST THE PATHFINDER AND WILL OWN-UP AND RECALL THEIR MISTAKE.