# 2003 Pathfinder Towing Capacity?



## bordin34 (Jan 29, 2010)

Does anybody know the towing capacity of a 2003 Pathfinder with a 3.5 and an auto trans. I looked in the manual and it says 5000#, to me that seems about 1000# too high. I am thinking of towing my 73 Charger with it on a tow dolly. The Charger only weighs about 3800# but the Pathfinder seems like a small truck to tow that much. I have an aftermarket hitch on it but it is rated above 5000#. Was there a tow package available on it?
Thanks


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## 98 patty (Jun 9, 2007)

it should be alright, my 98 does fine towing a 1 axle trailer hauling wood. i have seen them with the towing option. i put mine on(hitch) with a trailer brake(yours even has the wiring under the dash for it(trailer brake) for my small travel trailer with electric brakes


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## bordin34 (Jan 29, 2010)

Thanks, has anybody actually towed 4000# with a pathfinder. I towed my 21ft boat with it about a 1/2 mile to launch it but never went above 15mph. It seemed to tow and stop pretty well considering the boat and trailer weigh about 4500#, but I am not so sure how it would handle at highway speeds.


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## vqman (Jan 17, 2003)

i used to have one (ex-wife's car) and I wouldn't trust it towing 5000 lbs on a regular basis.. maybe once in a while..


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## Platinum_Racing (Jul 6, 2008)

I think you should be fine. The truck has a separate transmission cooler. I'd say just leave O/D off for the tow and stay either at, or 5 below the speed limit.


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## MattyDK23 (Nov 30, 2007)

Your (and my) '03 Pathy has 5000 lbs towing capacity, with 500 lbs max tongue weight. By comparison, the same Pathy with a stick shift only has 3500 lbs capacity.

Why does it seem high to you? The Pathy has a decently strong engine for it's class (240 HP, 265 lb-ft) and a good auto tranny. 

Assuming your tow dolly is 1000 lbs, you're approaching the high end of the limit. How far and on what kind of terrain are you towing it? If you're going more than a few hours, or you're going over hills/mountains, then I'd definitely consider installing a tranny cooler. The ATF already runs through the radiator to be cooled down, but a second unit is nice insurance to have.

I usually tow around 2000 - 3000 lbs no problem in the mountains. On the other side of extremes, I've towed 7500 lbs for a short trip (20 km or so) and, while it taxed the engine, it was OK (though for my tranny's sake, I was really slow and probably wouldn't do this again). I've towed 4000 - 5000 lbs loads to the dump a few times and wouldn't hesitate to do it again (edit: and these were hour-long trips on the highway). If you're doing a very long trip or taking a lot of hills, just keep an eye out for the A/T temp idiot light.


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## bordin34 (Jan 29, 2010)

I was thinking the capacity was high because of its relatively short wheelbase. I wouldn't think it would really be stable at highway speeds. I would be towing it about 3.5 hours through some mountains.


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## Platinum_Racing (Jul 6, 2008)

Oh, I thought these trucks came with a separate transmission cooler. I noticed I have an extra one on my 97, but now that I think about it I bet it's an oil cooler. Just to clarify, I'm not mistaking the AC condensor for a separate cooler, I actually have a small oil cooler mounted to the bottom right of the AC condensor.


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## MattyDK23 (Nov 30, 2007)

Platinum_Racing said:


> Oh, I thought these trucks came with a separate transmission cooler. I noticed I have an extra one on my 97, but now that I think about it I bet it's an oil cooler. Just to clarify, I'm not mistaking the AC condensor for a separate cooler, I actually have a small oil cooler mounted to the bottom right of the AC condensor.


Don't know about the '97, but with the 2003 it's quite clear in the factory service manual that the ATF travels through the radiator to cool down.


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## Boodles (Jul 11, 2016)

*2003 Nissan Pathfinder Towing Capability at 4 Thousand Pounds Cross Country*

I have a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I recently towed a 6X12 enclosed uhaul trailer from New York to Oklahoma. The trailer and car were loaded down. Total weight including the trailer was around 4 thousand pounds. The car handled it great. I don't have a transmission cooler, engine temperature remained steady around 35% of the way up or so. Hills presented a bit of a challenge, one down shift in advance handled it nicely, no issues going up most hills maintaining 55-60mph. The flats, 65-70MPH with the overdrive on. Pathfinders don't handle tongue weight well so make sure to keep the forward most part of the trailer light, and stack heavy just before and over the trailer wheels. Average MPG around 12. I have also towed with the 5X8 enclosed trailer, car handles that no problem. AVG MPG with that trailer is around 15-16. I feel like the pathfinder could comfortably up to 5000 pounds but I would be very hesitant to tow more especially over any type of long distance. The pathfinder is not that heavy of a car, with trailer sway and braking ability it would be pushing it.

If I had one piece of advice to give, it's to listen to the car. Don't even consider using cruise control. It's okay to loose speed going up hills, just take it easy and let the car do it's thing. I tried to avoid as many down shifts as possible.


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