My wife has been complaining of an odd squeak from the rear of her Pathfinder for a number of weeks (possibly months). I almost never ride in it, so I have forgotten about it until today.
I was sure it was the second or third row seats rubbing against something. First I had her ride in back while I drove, thinking since it was her car she would be able to isolate it more. She did narrow it down to behind the third row, but didn’t figure it out.
I lowered the third row and climbed in the back and let her drive (carefully) in our neighborhood. Took me less than a minute to figure out the culprit.
The spare tire was a little loose in the carrier and was moving over bumps or around corners. The tire rubbing against the underside of the car was making the squeaking noise.
Got home and had it tightened up in a few minutes, problem solved AND happy wife. Double bonus!