The best Pathfinder years to buy are 2018 and 2020. Avoid the 2013 and 2014: the first CVT Pathfinders have the most transmission and air bag sensor complaints.
Best years: 20182020 Years to avoid: 20132014
Every Pathfinder year compared
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold. Lower is better. The newest years have had less time to collect complaints, so they are marked too new to judge.
Known Pathfinder problems
Year by year
| Year | Complaints | Per 100k sold | Recalls | Top issue | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 87 | - | 2 | Brakes | Too new to judge |
| 2023 | 107 | - | 1 | Other | Too new to judge |
| 2022 | 137 | 237 | 5 | Brakes | Average |
| 2020 | 53 | 109 | 0 | Engine | Good buy |
| 2019 | 76 | 116 | 2 | Other | Good year |
| 2018 | 78 | 115 | 3 | Brakes | Good buy |
| 2017 | 188 | 232 | 2 | Engine | Good year |
| 2016 | 107 | 131 | 2 | Engine | Good year |
| 2015 | 321 | 391 | 5 | Other | Average |
| 2014 | 585 | 739 | 12 | Transmission and drivetrain | Skip this year |
| 2013 | 891 | 1,005 | 11 | Transmission and drivetrain | Skip this year |
| 2012 | 23 | 54 | 2 | Suspension | Few reports |
About the Pathfinder
The Pathfinder became a car-based three-row SUV in 2013 with a CVT automatic. The first two years were troubled, with CVT judder and failure and a passenger air bag sensor that switched the air bag off. Nissan extended the CVT warranty on many of these cars. From 2016 the complaint rate is well below average.
- 2012: Last body-on-frame year. Few complaints.
- 2013-2020: Car-based three-row SUV with a CVT. 2013-2014 are the worst; 2016-2020 much better.
- 2022 on: New generation with a nine-speed automatic; early years have more complaints.
Pathfinder warranty extensions and special coverage
Carmakers sometimes extend the warranty on a part that fails too often, or pay for a fix outside a recall. These notices come from the dealer bulletins Nissan files with NHTSA. 579 Pathfinder bulletins are on file in total.
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) Class Action Owner Notification On March 23, 2022, the Court presiding over a class action lawsuit gave final approval to a proposed settlement under which the CVT warranty will be exten...
CVT Warranty Extension In an effort to assure customer satisfaction, demonstrate our confidence in continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), and to address customer concerns including those expressed by customers in the class...
CVT Warranty Extension UPDATE August 30, 2022 Please discard earlier versions of this bulletin.
OBD II EVAP Tube Warranty Enhancement The update below was sent out to Regions and Dealers in August of this year.
CVT Software Update/Warranty Extension Voluntary Service Campaign ***** Campaign Summary***** Nissan is conducting a Voluntary Service Campaign to reprogram the Transmission Control Module (TCM) to improve CVT service diagnostics.
CVT Software Update/Warranty Extension Parts Update ***** Parts Update***** Nissan has temporarily placed remanufactured CVT assemblies on parts restriction.
Ask a dealer to check a specific car by VIN. Extensions usually have a time or mileage limit.
Government investigations into the Pathfinder
NHTSA opens an investigation when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Some end in a recall and some close without one.
Defect petition DP22005 · 2014 · opened Jan 2023, closed Aug 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States.
Preliminary evaluation PE21022 · 2013–2016 · opened Dec 2021, closed Jul 2022 · led to recall 22V420000
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this preliminary evaluation to investigate consumer complaints alleging hood latch failures occurring on certain model year (MY) 2013-2016 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles.
Engineering analysis EA15004 · 2013, 2014 · opened Aug 2015, closed May 2017 · led to recall 15V681000
In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as sh...
Recall query RQ15001 · 2013, 2014 · opened Mar 2015, closed Sep 2015
In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 2...
Preliminary evaluation PE13029 · 2013 · opened Aug 2013, closed Mar 2014 · led to recall 14V142000
On March 25, 2014, Nissan North America (Nissan) submitted a Defect Information Report to NHTSA describing a defect of inadequate hose clamping force that may result in the internal transmission oil cooler (ITOC) hose detaching from the cooler.According to Nissan, transmission fluid leakage from a detached ITOC hose...
Pathfinder vs rivals
Questions
What is the best year for the Nissan Pathfinder?
2018 and 2020. The best Pathfinder years to buy are 2018 and 2020. Avoid the 2013 and 2014: the first CVT Pathfinders have the most transmission and air bag sensor complaints.
Which Nissan Pathfinder years should I avoid?
2013, 2014. These drew far more owner complaints per car sold than the Nissan Pathfinder average.
Did Nissan extend the Pathfinder CVT warranty?
Yes. Nissan extended CVT coverage on many 2013-2014 Pathfinders after judder complaints. Most of those extensions have now expired by age, so a car without a replaced or reprogrammed CVT is a risk.
Based on 2,653 complaints filed by owners with U.S. safety regulators for model years 2012 to 2024, and U.S. sales by calendar year. How we score.