CSR

Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2016 Nissan Pathfinder

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

105

Complaints

10

Crashes

0

Fires

5

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder have filed 105 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2016 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 27 of them (26%). The typical failure was reported at 49,000 miles, the median across the 65 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH

22V420000 · June 13, 2022

The defect
Nissan 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.
The risk
An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the bell crank assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 26, 2025. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are R22A2 R22A3 and R24B7.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 322,671 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

16V244000 · April 26, 2016

The defect
Nissan 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 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
The risk
If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
The remedy
Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 3,296,947 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Hood Latch/Bell Crank Assembly

PE21022

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened December 9, 2021 · closed July 8, 2022 · led to recall 22V420000

the latches, locks and linkages

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. Complaints received indicated a sudden and unexpected opening of the hood while the vehicle was in motion, blocking the driver's visibility.During this investigation Nissan collected parts from the field to analyze for root cause of the alleged failures. On June 13, 2022, Nissan submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a hood bell crank assembly defect in certain MY2013-2016 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles produced at the Smyrna, TN plant. According to Nissan's DIR, an accumulation of dust and dirt contamination on and around the bell crank lever pivot joint, which actuates the secondary hood latch, can create a condition that can cause the lever to remain in the open position after it has been disengaged. In this condition, the secondary hood latch may not hold the hood closed as designed while the vehicle is in motion obstructing the driver's forward view and increasing the risk of a crash.A remedy plan for all affected vehicles is currently under development. See recall action 22V-420 for further details. Nissan's action resolves the issues raised by this investigation, and therefore, this investigation is closed.The VOQs cited above can be found with ID numbers: 11456378, 11448298, 11436637, 11431131, 11427702, 11423321, 11406574, 11398825, 11389741, 11387952, 11375938, 11349105,11306735, 11302647, 11190468, 11166607.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 105.

ENGINE 27 26%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21 20%
AIR BAGS 18 17%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 11 10%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 10%
POWER TRAIN 7 7%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 4 4%
WHEELS 4 4%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 3 3%
SEATS 3 3%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 3 3%
STEERING 3 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 26.

2016 2019 2026
2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

WHEELS

3 injured · crash · 12,000 miles

STEERING WHEEL GOT STUCK AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT

NHTSA complaint 11088907. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS

2 injured · crash · towed · 6,600 miles

I WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT AND WAS REAR ENDED AND MY TWO FRONT SEATS COLLAPSED. IF I WOULD HAVE HAD ANYONE IN THE BACKSEATS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN BADLY INJURED OR DIED. *TR...UPDATED 12/22/16 *BF..UPDATED 04/11/17 *BF UPDATED 09/07/2017*JS

NHTSA complaint 10910225. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 15,000 miles

ELECTRICAL PROBLEM RESULTED IN LOSS OF RPM AND BRAKES. COULD NOT SHUT OFF.

NHTSA complaint 11081831. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 25,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT CALLED ON BEHALF OF THE DRIVER. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE BRAKES FAILED WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A DITCH. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE AND LATER TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC FOR BODY REPAIRS. THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO SHEEHY NISSAN OF GLEN BURNIE (LOCATED AT 7232 RITCHIE HWY, GLEN BURNIE, MD 21061, (410) 754-1777), BUT IT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 32615475. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000.

NHTSA complaint 11140412. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Driving along and it felt as if I were driving over a rumble strip. It stopped after a while, but later that evening I felt it again, but this time the shudder was stronger and it sounded almost like a loud bird chirping. I slowed and the noise stopped, but drove home slowly through the neighborhood in case something happened. I took it to the mechanic and he suggested trading it in before it gets worse, and he mentioned transmission judder, so I researched and found I'm one of many.

NHTSA complaint 11755818. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
The crossmember aka- K frame, mfc part #55400-3JA2C. It completely rotted away where the suspension trailing arm connects from the wheel causing uneven and excessive wheel wear and poor handling while driving Yes it is available for inspection. Reproduced unknown Not inspected by authorities No warning lights

NHTSA complaint 11754372. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
My 2024 Nissan Frontier has experienced repeated complete power loss more than three times. The vehicle shuts off unexpectedly while on the street and cannot be restarted. During some incidents, even the emergency hazard lights did not work. I had to use jump cables to restart the vehicle. I first reported this issue to Nissan in January 2025. The dealer kept the truck for about one week but stated they could not find anything wrong. The problem continues, including incidents on 04/20/2026 and 04/23/2026. This creates a serious safety hazard because the vehicle can lose power in traffic and increase the risk of a crash or injury.

NHTSA complaint 11733497. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

76,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and sputtered while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where DTC: P17F1 (Internal CVT failure was retrieved). The contact was informed that the CVT transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that assistance could not be provided because the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA complaint 11704677. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Around 160,000 miles my CVT transmission went out. I almost got into a wreck no warning lights just stopped on me. When I took it to my local dealership in waco, Texas they told me I'll be good to wait over the weekend that they first opening wasn't until Tuesday. I came by on a Thursday. The car was making noises I was concerned and it wasn't accelerating like normal. I slowly drove it to Nissan dealership in Temple tx 30 mins away. The tech there immediately drove it to see if it was apressing concern or not. He immediately stated it wasn't safe and they gave me a loaner. My vehicle was in the shop for three weeks I had to get a $14,000 loan to repair it because my extended warranty

NHTSA complaint 11702225, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
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. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Pathfinder

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 47 1
2024 73 2
2023 101 1
2022 133 5
2020 47 0
2019 75 2
2018 77 3
2017 185 2
2015 319 5
2014 574 11
2013 890 11
2012 23 2
2011 45 2
2010 40 4

Other 2016 Nissan models

Every Nissan on this site — 200 vehicles, 319 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst