Hi,
I am looking for a 7 seat SUV for ~15K. Pathfinder and QX60 from 2014-2016 seem to be available in this price range.
There are two specific options - a 2015 Pathfinder (AWD) with ~55K miles and a 2015 QX60 (2WD) with ~75K miles. Both are single owner that took care of the car (at least changed the oil every 5K and did all the recalls). Almost similar price. Which one should I choose?
Another question - aren't these the same car with different cosmetics?! If so, should I expect the maintenance cost and general reliability to be the same?
Thanks!
Not a good idea. Those are unibody vehicles, with front wheel drive or all-wheel--drive. Jatco front wheel drive transmissions are notoriously unreliable.
Pass on both since they have the horrid JATCO CVT transmission.
To answer your last question first - yep, they are both from the same platform. The Inifiniti just has more luxury to it - nicer interior and sheet metal, probably a few upgrades here and there in the conveniences, etc.
You did mention that the owners of each vehicle did all the recalls. Did that include the transmission? I share the concern other posters have about the Jatco CVT used in the Pathfinder/QX60. The 2015-2018 models of both vehicles were part of a $300 million class action suit Nissan settled recently, because the CVT's were failing as early as 30k miles.
They are basically the same car underneath. The thing that sucks about them is the CVT transmission. Jatco transmissions are the weakest part of the car and any Nissan/Infiniti.
If you do decide to get either, make sure to change the transmission fluid ASAP.
Thanks, everyone!
The infamous transmission is of course the main issue with these cars. Obviously, the lower price reflects the risk of expensive problems with it.
Any ideas on how to spot a problematic CVT? YouTube is full of extreme cases but how do I recognize the easy ones? Is there an early sign that something is wrong? Any way to trigger the problems intentionally?
Another question - besides the transmission, many things can go wrong in a 9 year old car - normal wear and tear... Any other vulnerabilities in these two modes? Intuitively my main general concerns are the AWD in the Pathfinder and all the fancy electronics on the QX60, but does anyone know of specific common problems?
I am not too familiar with the nuances of those vehicles. The transmission is the biggest one.
It seems to me that spotting trouble in a CVT is difficult, because it is an entirely closed system. One way to check would be to do an oil analysis of the CVT fluid itself.