CSR
Check a VIN

Look up

About

Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2017 Nissan Pathfinder

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

Owners have filed 186 safety complaints about the 2017 Nissan Pathfinder with the US government. Of those, 8 describe a crash, 2 mention a fire, 8 people were injured and no death is recorded. 2 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the hydraulic brakes.

The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 83 complaints, 45% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 41,510 miles, the median across the 118 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers April 2017 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

186 complaints on file

186

Complaints

8

Describe a crash

2

Mention fire

8

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 83 · 45%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 41 · 22%
POWER TRAIN 34 · 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 15%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 · 6%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 8 · 4%
STEERING 8 · 4%
AIR BAGS 7 · 4%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 · 3%
STRUCTURE 5 · 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 5 · 3%
0 35 69

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 186.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2020 at 39.

44 33 22 11
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2017 Nissan PATHFINDER, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 17.9% 17.4%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

2 on file

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

19V807000 · November 8, 2019

Park outside until repaired

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, and 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and unrepaired, or inspected and determined to not need a repair, under recall number 18V-601. In addition, this recall expands the previous population. The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.
The risk
A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ABS actuator, free of charge. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available, currently expected to be during summer 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: If the ABS warning light remains illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 391,479 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

18V601000 · September 7, 2018

Park outside until repaired

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Nissan Murano, 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2017-2018 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2017 Infiniti QX60 vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.
The risk
A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number on the ABS actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 29, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: When brake fluid has leaked onto the circuit board, the ABS warning lamp will remain illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up. If this occurs, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 215,124 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

3 injured · fire

THE VEHICLE WAS RECALLED. THE RECALLED PARTS WERE SUPPOSEDLY FIXED. THE VEHICLE BLEW UP ON JANUARY 25TH 2019 THE SAME DAY IS WHAT PICKED UP FROM THE DEALERSHIP AFTER BEING "REPAIRED."

NHTSA complaint 11222842. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 58,473 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HER HUSBAND WAS CROSSING AN INTERSECTION AT 35 MPH, ANOTHER VEHICLE WAS DRIVING RECKLESS AND DROVE PAST A LEFT TURN STOP LIGHT CAUSING THAT VEHICLE TO CRASH INTO THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. ON IMPACT, THE VEHICLE'S AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY, NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED EITHER. THE DRIVER SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HIS NECK, BACK, LEFT ELBOW AND BOTH KNEES. THE FRONT PASSENGER SUSTAINED NECK, BACK AND LEFT SHOULDER INJURIES. BOTH PARTIES WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE THEY WERE TREATED FOR THEIR INJURIES. THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE OTHER DRIVER WERE UNKNOWN. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED.

NHTSA complaint 11228939, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I was involved in a collision, and despite the force of the impact, the vehicle's airbags failed to deploy.Following the accident, the main dashboard SRS airbag indicator light began flashing. Additionally, the passenger airbag light indicates that the passenger airbag remains "OFF" even when an adult is properly seated in the front passenger seat.

NHTSA complaint 11762439. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · 30,000 miles

FAULTY TRANSMISSION CAME OUT OF PARK. STATIONARY. DRIVE WAY.

NHTSA complaint 11207123. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
SLUDGE IN ENGINE- UNDER 100,000 MILES We had been keeping up with all recommended services, and it is cosmetically perfect, but the car is now a total loss. A Check Engine light came on, and we began to notice a tremor/shake and took it to Southern Team Nissan. The Nissan dealer diagnosed sludge in the engine and said it would need a total engine replacement. The Nissan dealer advised that the cost of that would be more than the car was worth. After they pulled the pan to check if there was definitely sludge, the car then shook so badly that it felt unsafe to drive. Research shows that this is a known issue, with many cases of documented VQ35DD sludge problems. We see many listed cases on

NHTSA complaint 11756766, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 2017 Nissan Pathfinder was making noise - I brought it to my mechanic and he said it is not safe to drive that the rear frame assembly has rotted and on one side was not even connected to anything. I have 110,000 miles on it. I asked Nissan to stand by there vehicle and was told it’s past warranty so they can’t do anything - this should not have happened to a 9 yo vehicle. I got my car fixed at my mechanics - I have pictures & receipts as well - in the mist of all of this is when I found out there is a recall in the ABS which I will make an appt with the dealer.

NHTSA complaint 11752982. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
Constant whine from under the vehicle while in park or idle. Even after having the rack replaced

NHTSA complaint 11724266. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

100,000 miles

The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving in a parking lot at unknown speeds, the vehicle began jerking and stalled. The battery had become inoperable. The TPMS message was displayed. The failure was linked to Technical Service Bulletin: NTB15-015h. The local dealer was called and informed the contact that the failure was related to the CVT transmission and confirmed there was no coverage for the repair of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA complaint 11709306. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The transmission is failing. The car has about 117,000 miles on it. The transmission issue is a known problem with this vehicle and is causing safety concerns while driving it due to acceleration problems.

NHTSA complaint 11705791. 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 51 1 —
2024 81 2 —
2023 104 1 —
2022 135 5 —
2020 48 0 —
2019 76 2 —
2018 77 3 —
2016 105 2 —
2015 320 5 —
2014 574 11 —
2013 890 11 —
2012 23 2 —
2011 45 2 —
2010 40 4 —

Other 2017 Nissan models

Rogue 597 Altima 391 Sentra 230 Titan 187 Murano 107 Maxima 103 Armada 81 Rogue Sport 74

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Nissan on this site — 205 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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