9 July 2013 Pathfinder in the shop

Cassi Creek:  Busy morning compared to others.  Morning hike with Mike was uneventful.  He presented more of his belief that the Zimmerman trial will result in riots in urban areas when Zimmerman is acquitted.  Since I believe that Zimmerman is most likely guilty, we don’t delve too deeply into the matter.

          We dropped the Pathfinder off this morning to have a catalytic converter replaced and some exhaust system repairs performed.  The Nissan dealership has been investigating repairs to the AC/Nav/audio module for the Pathfinder.  Their last suggestion was to remove the module and send it off for repairs.  Today, they called to tell me that there was no guarantee that repairs could or would be completed.  So we continue with a partially operative AC for want of 3-5 plastic buttons that contain contacts, which activate the module. 

          We got a good deal on the Pathfinder in late 2001.  It has performed well and we have maintained it as recommended.  The current problem is due to plastics aging and breaking.  Honestly, if we had realized how few of this particular model had been manufactured, we’d have been able to foresee the current scarcity – read that as unavailability – of repair parts. 

          The next step is to see if we can put an AC/audio unit without the Nav system in to the vehicle.  They are available.  It remains to see if the wiring and switches are compatible.