2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems and recalls

Owners have filed 890 complaints on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, and NHTSA has issued 11 recalls. The most cited component is the Power Train (370 complaints).

890
Complaints
11
Recalls
16
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
16
Injuries
26.2
Severity index

Severity index 26.2 Low. The index weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints. How it is calculated.

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 26.2p25 46p75 80cleanestworst
Severity index against the quartile range for all tracked vehicles.

Ranked 144 of 145 by severity index among 2013 vehicles with at least 40 complaints, highest first. 1% of those vehicles scored lower. Full 2013 ranking.

Components cited in complaints

Power TrainPower Train: 370 complaints (41.6%)370 42%Air BagsAir Bags: 177 complaints (19.9%)177 20%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 110 complaints (12.4%)110 12%EngineEngine: 105 complaints (11.8%)105 12%StructureStructure: 83 complaints (9.3%)83 9%Service BrakesService Brakes: 66 complaints (7.4%)66 7%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 50 complaints (5.6%)50 6%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 47 complaints (5.3%)47 5%
A single complaint can cite more than one component, so shares total over 100%.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
POWER TRAIN37041.6%
AIR BAGS17719.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER11012.4%
ENGINE10511.8%
STRUCTURE839.3%
SERVICE BRAKES667.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM505.6%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL475.3%

Complaints filed per year

01052102012: 12013: 2012014: 1432015: 832016: 862017: 612018: 572019: 592020: 392021: 372022: 272023: 312024: 282025: 292026: 8 (partial year)121320114151617181920212223242526
Complaints by the calendar year they were filed. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
YearComplaints
20121
2013201
2014143
201583
201686
201761
201857
201959
202039
202137
202227
202331
202428
202529
2026 (year to date)8
Filings in 2023 to 2025 were close to 2020 to 2022 (88 against 103).

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
14V13800025/03/2014ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARENissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system
15V68100020/10/2015AIR BAGS:FRONTALNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an
14V14200026/03/2014POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINESNissan North America (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, and equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In the affected vehicles, the internal oil cooler (ITOC) hose may detach fro
16V38000031/05/2016EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCHNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to June 13, 2013. The brake light switch may have been installed incorrectly causing the relay to make intermittent contact and repeatedly cycle. This m
16V24400026/04/2016AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATIONNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 N
15V03300026/01/2015STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTSNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to November 18, 2013, 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013, to November 18, 2013, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufact
13V06900001/03/2013AIR BAGSNissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppr
13V44500017/10/2013SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIPNissan is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through September 20, 2013; model year 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufactured September 15, 2011, through January 16, 2013; and model year 2014 Infiniti QX60 vehicles manufa
13V13900012/04/2013SERVICE BRAKESNissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Pathfinder and Infiniti JX vehicles manufactured December 3, 2012, through January 29, 2013. The front brake torque member was improperly cast resulting in structural weakness. This can lead to premature failure and cracking.
21V02000020/01/2021EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCHNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles. The location of the brake light switch may cause the brake light switch relay to repeatedly open and close. Overtime, this can cause the relay to stick in the "ON" position, with the
22V42000013/06/2022LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCHNissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Pathfinder vehicles. On certain Pathfinder vehicles, the secondary hood latch may malfunction and remain in the unlatched, unsecured, position when the hood is closed.

Other Nissan Pathfinder model years

Severity index for every other model year on file. Compare all 13 years side by side.

Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. Totals vary with units sold and years on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.