I did one on my Wife's 2011 Nissan Quest with the same engine as the Pathfinder.
Original one lasted around 130k miles, so can't really complain.
The one on the Quest wasn't great, but I think I got it done in about 4-5 hours.
Had to pull the lower bumper splash shield, and the passenger fender liner.
Then I unbolted the ac compressor and let it drop down (was able to leave all the refrigerant hoses connected so that was a plus).
The upper bolt was a pain to get to, probably the worst part of the job!
With it unbolted there was just barely room to get it out through the wheel well. If you had it positioned just right it would slip through the opening between the subframe and the frame rail.
Nissan use to be good
The alternator quit on my 2020 Nissan Sentra, and there were NO aftermarket options for it. The dealership wanted $900, JUST for the alternator, so I can actually believe their price.
Fords can be really picky about which alternator you use! Even if it’s a remanufactured Motorcraft, it’s worth it. Had a friend with an 11 Edge 3.5 that we put a aftermarket alternator in and it complained errors etc… for months till we finally swapped it out and it worked fine with the Ford part!
I just replaced mine with a motorcraft one from rock auto. Yeah it's pricier than reman or other brands but if it lasted 20 years and 190k, I figured that this would last just as long. Get what you pay for
I also noticed that the alternator looks like a remanufactured unit. I’ve been reading about how these PCMs really don’t like reman units that are not built perfectly to spec. It’s best practice to replace these with only motorcraft units.
Been there with a Motorcraft alt. 181K miles. She stopped charging. No batter light on the dash. I laid it to rest and paid my respects.
And assuming that the alternator is the issue, hope you get an oem good part or a used one, on nissan altimas/maxima Remans are bad.
I've gone through 3 Nissan Value Advantage Alternators (through the Infiniti dealership - warranty) for my Q. All Infiniti offers for my year (2015) are Remanufactured Alternators. I'm tired of Remans.
I bought a remanufactured alternator from Autozone and it did not work. I then bought an amazon alternator. It went out 2 weeks later. I then bought the OEM Nissan alternator. I've not had a problem since (6 months)
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If choosing alternator across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare alternator across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, alternator Motorcraft were overall better than OEM Nissan.
Alternator Motorcraft and OEM Nissan were equally popular according to data in March 2026.
By vote balance, alternator Motorcraft surpassed OEM Nissan:
By number of reviews, alternator OEM Nissan surpassed Motorcraft:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, these manufacturers led the same number of car-specific ratings:
Motorcraft are chosen by owners of cars such as: Ford Mustang, and others.
OEM Nissan are chosen by owners of cars such as: Nissan Maxima, and others.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of alternator Motorcraft with: Denso, Bosch, Duralast, OEM Toyota, VALEO, OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, AC DELCO, OEM FORD, OEM Audi.
Also available: comparisons of alternator OEM Nissan with: Denso, Bosch, Duralast, OEM Toyota, VALEO, OEM Honda, OEM Volkswagen, AC DELCO, OEM FORD, OEM Audi.
You can also see who is better among other alternator manufacturers: Bosch or Denso, Denso or Duralast, OEM Toyota or Denso, Bosch or Duralast, Denso or VALEO.
