475 of the
10,298 complaints filed about the Nissan Pathfinder
are about the body and structure —
5% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2013.
I just bought a nissan pathfinder in novemeber 2025.the mileage is around 13100 miles.while driving on the highway a part of my exterior trim panel on the right rear passeger side door just ripped off and flew away. I was lucky i did not meet any accident. I conatcted the Nissan company and that i don’t feel safe driving in this vehicle so i want them to replace it but they would not do that. This is a safety-critical defect that could cause a crash if it happens again or if a detached part hits another vehicle. A part falling off at highway speeds poses a clear risk off collision, injury or property damage to my vehicle and others. I am concerned this is a manufacturing defect that could recur. Now i am scared every time i drive this vehicle thinking something might fall off again and i will meet with an accident. I don’t feel safe in the vehicle anymore since I’m usually travelling with my family.
NHTSA complaint #11754465 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that it had rained heavily for two days, and the contact became aware that there was a significant amount of water accumulated on the front passenger's and driver's side floorboards and underneath the seats. Additionally, the contact stated that upon removing the mats, the brake pedal was corroded and made an abnormally squeaky sound. The contact confirmed that the leak was not coming from the roof. The dealer and the manufacturer were not yet contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 139,000.
NHTSA complaint #11747185 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Rear Door / lift gate will not go all the way up or stay up without manual assistance, causing 2 head injuries and 2 arm injuries on recent occasions. We have confirmed with the dealer & one Nissan Certified Mechanic that this is a common problem. The dealer & 2 mechanics have said they do not know how to fix this without replacing the entire lifting assembly. We did not ask for estimates. We should not have to, but we can live with the problem now that we are aware of it. Transmission was replaced with new Nisson equipment by the previous owner, costing $5,000+. The problems we are having are the same they were having. The vehicle runs rough, hesitates, vibrates & shakes a lot. It is not very safe in traffic. There is a place for a dipstick to check transmission fluid. We have confirmed with 3 parts stores, 2 mechanics & finally with Nissan, they did not make a dipstick for this car or several other models. One way to check the transmission fluid is to jack up the car, remove a port on the transmission & fill it until if overflows (Cost is approximately $1,100.00, vs a dipstick costing less than $30.00 retail for comparable cars) Another way to check is to jack up the car, drain the transmission fluid, change the filter, replace the seal & cover, then pour in the exact correct amount of transmission fluid through the dipstick hole. However, the only way to know it is actually full is to leave the above-mentioned port out until the fluid overflows. (Our 3 cost estimates range from $1,400.00 to $1,850.00) Had we known of the transmission problems occurring with many if not most Nissan cars, we would not have bought the vehicle. Our research shows these are very common problems with this car & Nissan. We don't know if this applies to what you do, but this car also burns through spark plugs & ignition coils very quickly. We have had to replace all spark plugs 2 times plus 8 ignition coils in the 2-1/2 years we have owned it & driven it only 28,000 miles.
NHTSA complaint #11746091 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I bought my 2025 Pathfinder in November 2025. In early December, the automatic emergency braking symbol started flashing; I took it to the Nissan dealership in Downey, and they told me that unless there was a permanent error code, they couldn't do anything. After reading comments and forum posts, I saw that this was a common issue caused by sunlight and such, so I didn't worry too much about it, but it kept happening. Then, on June 19, 2026, while leaving a parking lot in Monterey Park, CA—just as I was pulling out of my parking space—I heard a very loud pop. It really scared me; I was with my wife and two children. The rear windshield was completely shattered—it had exploded out of nowhere. When I checked online, I realized that many vehicles of this brand—Pathfinders and Rogues—had reported this same incident: exploding spontaneously. Fortunately, my two children were in the second row, but a shard still fell onto my younger son's hand and cut him; he was terrified and crying. I got out of the car, and there was absolutely nothing there—the area was clear. I have photos of the scene and of my son's small cut. Today, June 20, 2026, I took my Pathfinder back to Nissan Downey, but got nowhere; they refuse to take responsibility and don't believe it's a factory defect. They wouldn't help me at all, even though it's a 2025 vehicle with only 6,500 miles on it. They offered to inspect the vehicle but refused to specify that the inspection would be covered under the factory warranty. So, I decided to take my vehicle back without getting a favorable response from Nissan!
NHTSA complaint #11745429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The control arm detached from the front subframe due to massive rust on a car that was well cared for and only 10 years old. This happened as we were driving: the front passenger-side wheel became loose and began flopping back and forth, forcing me to immediately pull over into a gas station. I do not want to imagine what would have happened if this had detached on the highway instead of on a town side road. There were NO warnings or symptoms before this catastrophic failure. I had it towed to my regular mechanic, not realizing the extent of the damage—they wouldn't even put it on a lift. I then had it towed to the dealership, where they confirmed the damage was so extensive that (1) both control arms and the front subframe would need to be replaced due to rust ($5,800), and (2) the rear subframe was also extensively rusted, unsafe, and in need of imminent replacement, quoted at an additional $7,000. This being an exorbitant amount for a 10-year-old Nissan Pathfinder, I was forced to sell it to a salvage yard for a pittance just to buy a vehicle I could drive to work—and I can only hope it lasts until I can afford something better. I purchased this Pathfinder about 14 months ago. It was "inspected" by the dealer as well as by my regular mechanic at that time, with no indication that rust was a concern or even worth a comment. I am horrified by how much worse this could have been. We were on a trip more than an hour from home, heading toward the highway to return, when this occurred. No one should have to worry about something like this. Especially because, when I began researching, I found that this is a KNOWN defect on this model and others like it. It is NOT okay to put people at risk of serious or deadly injury when manufacturers KNOW water pools in places that can't be seen or checked, rotting the frame and subframe from the INSIDE out.
NHTSA complaint #11742196 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Panoramic sunroof drains failed due to being pinched by headliner. Documented water leaking into vehicle at 6060 by dealership. Water coming in along the a pillar and roof. Vehicle has been in the shop 3 separate times for gurgling noise and roof leaks. Dealership had issues re-creating issue. It’s a known engineering defect by the manufacturer but no recall has been issued.
NHTSA complaint #11740883 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When it rains the sunroof leaks, took it the dealership, they replaced the drain grommets and it still does the same thing again two days later when it rain.
NHTSA complaint #11740521 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The front grille and front bumper of my 2025 Nissan Pathfinder have melted twice on their own without any accident, impact, or unusual use. The vehicle is used exclusively for personal family transportation and is parked outdoors in Florida. Nissan opened a warranty case on April 1, 2026. However, their entire investigation was conducted based on photos only — no physical inspection of the vehicle was ever performed by Nissan or their representative. Despite this, Nissan denied the warranty claim stating it was not their responsibility, without identifying the root cause of the damage. During the claims process, a Nissan call center representative provided false information stating that our vehicle had been in service for 6 months, which is completely untrue. Multiple calls went unanswered or were disconnected. Written emails were ignored. It took over 6 weeks to receive a final decision. This is a known recurring issue affecting multiple Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Armada owners dating back to 2021-2022 models. Other owners have reported identical melting of front grille plastic components under normal driving and parking conditions. In at least one documented case, Nissan sent an engineer for physical inspection and immediately confirmed warranty coverage — contradicting their standard practice of denying claims based on photos only. The melting of exterior plastic components on a brand new vehicle raises serious concerns about the quality and heat resistance of materials used by Nissan, and potential safety hazards if the root cause is internal heat rather than external factors. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this matter as it may indicate a manufacturing defect affecting multiple 2021-2025 Nissan Pathfinder and Armada vehicles.
NHTSA complaint #11737717 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, while opening the rear hatch, there was water leaking into the vehicle from the left and right sides of the hatch door. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that there were flaws with the seal, and the seal and hatch door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was partially repaired by replacing the seals, but the failure reoccurred approximately a month later. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that the rear hatch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.
NHTSA complaint #11728977 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hi as I was driving my car on a clear road no cars near my car all of a sudden my sunroof exploded as if it was shot my a military tank we panicked thankfully tried to maintain calm and it didn’t hurt my children and thankfully no car was around as the sound did put us at panick mode which could have resulted in a car crash from the cause of the incident
NHTSA complaint #11716520 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Passenger door unlock/lock does not work at all unless done manually by hand and the driver door is beginning to do the same as well. This has begun a year ago. The lift gate button broke off over a year ago as well and is only connected by cables and today (January 9, 2026) while trying to open the trunk the entire silver trim piece flew off towards me. The manual trunk (ours is not automatic) is a poor design and is not made safely to push the trunk button and pull up easily.
NHTSA complaint #11709946 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Rear subframe rusted through and unable to be repaired. Contacted Nissan and would not assist even though some VIN # of the same year were recalled and replaced. Having a hard time finding a replacement even with a family friend who is a service advisor looking. Vehicle has not been in an accident that would cause this type of fracture in the frame. Unable to drive the vehicle for obvious safety reasons.
NHTSA complaint #11687997 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The rear subframe has completely rusted out from the inside, and is broke off on the right side and almost broken off on the left side. The car is now unsafe to drive. There were no warning lights, messages or problems before this. The car is only 9 years old and is always kept in a garage.
NHTSA complaint #11677442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the vehicle failed to properly accelerate and the transmission overheated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission cooler had leaked transmission fluid and needed to be replaced. The transmission cooler was replaced but the failure persisted. Additionally, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear hatch door opened unintendedly. The contact stated that while attempting to retrieve items from the rear hatch area, the electronic hatch door closed unexpectedly. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,000.
NHTSA complaint #11675377 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
This morning at approximately 0615 I walked out to my vehicle to go to work. There was no damage to my car. When I entered my vehicle and closed my driver door, my tailgate glass crumbled leaving a massive horizontal hole in my rear windshield as well as the outer sides. There is now glass all over my trunk and driveway. Once again, the car had been sitting in my driveway for three days, there were no large pieces of debris around that could have hit it, and when I was in my car there were no loud sounds indicating something struck my tailgate. It just spontaneously shattered.
NHTSA complaint #11670165 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.