Nissan Pathfinder anyone? Install problems

[pathfinderguy]

Has anyone tried to install this unit in a Nissan pathfinder? Despite what Crutchfield said, it is not the same size. It actually seems to be a little smaller. Anyone run into this problem? Find any dash kits? Please help, I am having a very bad night! Basically, I'm stuck with a new nav system that doesn't looks like it is going to fit cleanly.

 

Thanks.

[JLeach12]

metra makes a small trim ring that goes around the radio and makes it fit. forget the model number off top of my head but its on metraonline.com

[djhuab]

i put an avic d3 in my infiniti qx4 (same car) they said it wouldnt fit but it fit perfect

[pathfinderguy]

Thanks... I'll check that site out. I'm really pissed at Crutchfield (and Nissan for not making the cut out standard). I'm stuck with a 1/4 inch gap on the bottom of my unit, and about an 1/8 on the sides. I may have to make my own (never tried that before) I just got to figure out where I can get the plastic.

 

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm in Maryland.

[pathfinderguy]

Unfortunetly it looks like metraonline.com only has kits to convert a double din to a single. I had the Double DIN with the factory Bose system in it (which apparently measured 4 3/8" x 7 1/4"). Looks like I'm gonna have to make my own somehow.

[JLeach12]

try the 95-7417 that is the trim ring kit.if you wanna make your own kit but don't wanna bother cutting plastic then use a black carpet and fold it in half then tape it around the outside of the radio. i did this until i could fabricate trim pieces better whild i was learning to install. and it really looks ok whenits done evenly.

[pathfinderguy]

Thanks for the info JLeach. Just order the kit. It's worth a shot before I start messing with making my own! I'll let you know how it goes.

[Trancebear]

What year pathfinder? I have a 2003 and I am getting ready to make the jump to the F90BT.

[erok]

I had an Avic D3 installed in my '01 pathfinder. Fit perfectly and looks stock. I don't believe I had a special kit, just used the trim that came with it. My installer did a good job.

[pwnin o'brien]

I have a 900BT in my 2003 Pathfinder and I think it looks fine. I do have the 1/4" gap at the bottom that you're talking about (along with a 1/8" gap on the left and right sides), but it's almost impossible to notice since the protruding trim around the unit casts a shadow on the open space. I almost bought the metra trim kit, but it comes as textured plastic, which wouldn't match any of the stock trim. I would be interested to see how it looks tho, so if you do install it please post pictures!

[pathfinderguy]

My pathfinder was a 2000 LE. I used the Metra trim kit and it seems to have worked out pretty well. I will point out that the kit did not fit the stock bracket holes exactly (seemed odd) so I just used a screw driver to widen them a bit. The dash then held the rest of it in place. All in all I'm happy with the way it looks. I'll try to post a pic later.

 

Now my new big problem is FM reception. I've got virtually none. I used the OEM antenna adapter from Crutchfield but I've lost just about every station as a result. I'm in a major city, so it's not like I'm in a fringe area. Not sure how to fix that problem yet.

[djhuab]

I had an Avic D3 installed in my '01 pathfinder. Fit perfectly and looks stock. I don't believe I had a special kit, just used the trim that came with it. My installer did a good job.

 

same thing here but i have an infiniti. all i used was the trim piece that came with it.

[pathfinderguy]

I have a 900BT in my 2003 Pathfinder and I think it looks fine. I do have the 1/4" gap at the bottom that you're talking about (along with a 1/8" gap on the left and right sides), but it's almost impossible to notice since the protruding trim around the unit casts a shadow on the open space. I almost bought the metra trim kit, but it comes as textured plastic, which wouldn't match any of the stock trim. I would be interested to see how it looks tho, so if you do install it please post pictures!

 

Here's a pic of the 700BT in my 2000 pathfinder LE. Unfortunetly I'm probably going to have to pull it out again this weekend to figure out my FM reception issue. I think it is related to the way I have remote and power antenna wires connected to the wiring harnesses blue and blue/white wires.

[pwnin o'brien]

The wood trim makes the gap look much bigger. I have an SE, so my trim is black, which makes the gap less noticeable. You can see it tho if you're looking for it. In my pic below you can see that the gap at the bottom is pretty large and you can even see behind the dash trim, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying the metra trim kit only to find out that I don't like it. If anyone has the metra trim kit installed with the black dash trim, I would really like to see a pic and advice.

[pathfinderguy]

The wood trim makes the gap look much bigger. I have an SE, so my trim is black, which makes the gap less noticeable. You can see it tho if you're looking for it. In my pic below you can see that the gap at the bottom is pretty large and you can even see behind the dash trim, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying the metra trim kit only to find out that I don't like it. If anyone has the metra trim kit installed with the black dash trim, I would really like to see a pic and advice.

 

pwin,

How did you do you antenna wiring? Any problems with reception? I think I may have screwed it up. I vaguely remember initially having the same problem with my old Pathfinder SE back in the days. I know the head unit has 2 wires (1- a blue antenna relay, and 2 - a blue/white system control/power amp wire) My wire harness had 2 wires (1 - a power antenna turn on wire, and 2 an amplifier turn on wire). I think I had to do something screwy in the past to make it work properly (ie not hook them up 1 to 1). Any ideas?