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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2018 Nissan Pathfinder

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

Owners have filed 77 safety complaints about the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder with the US government. Of those, 3 describe a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the hydraulic brakes and back-over prevention.

The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 19 complaints, 25% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 16,000 miles, the median across the 39 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2018 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

77 complaints on file

77

Complaints

3

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

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
SERVICE BRAKES 19 · 25%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 · 22%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 · 17%
ENGINE 13 · 17%
POWER TRAIN 12 · 16%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 12%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 6 · 8%
STEERING 6 · 8%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 5 · 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 6%
AIR BAGS 4 · 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 3%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 77.

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 2019 at 27.

32 24 16 8
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 2018 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 2018 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

3 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

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

19V654000 · September 12, 2019

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The risk
The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 1,228,830 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

1 injured · crash · towed · 40,000 miles

I WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND MY AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. I WAS STOPPED ON THE INTERSTATE AND HIT IN THE REAR AT A HIGH SPEED. THEN MY SUV HIT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. IT CAUSED CLOSE TO $9000 IN DAMAGE.

NHTSA complaint 11231977. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured

As we were driving on the highway about 70 miles per hour, no traffic relatively, the vehicle started to violently shake and then we heard a loud explosion in the front end, prompting the front drive and passenger airbags to deploy, as well as the full right side curtain airbags. This curtain airbag struck my wife in the head and prompted her apple watch to call 911. we initally thought we popped a tire or ran over something but no damaged at all visible to the car. even the state trooper was baffled by the situation as emergency personnel arrived. the car was not driven home so when the tow facility assessed the vehicle even he was baffled and assumed perhaps the explosion happened in the

NHTSA complaint 11510500, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 29,000 miles

I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF TURNING ON A BACK ROAD, THERE WAS A GUARDRAIL TO MY LEFT AND AND A TRUCK WITH A TRAILER TURNING IN FRONT OF ME ON MY RIGHT. MY SENSORS MUST HAVE THOUGHT THEY WERE TOO CLOSE BECAUSE MY CAR LOCKED UP AND I COULD NOT TURN CAUSING ME TO HIT THE GUARDRAIL.

NHTSA complaint 11271046. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

crash

The 4x4 never stays engaged. We live in an area where it snows A LOT and depend on the 4x4 for winter driving. We purchased the vehicle brand new and it had this issue. We reported it to the dealership when the vehicle had less than 500 miles on it, within the first few weeks of ownership. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. They sent someone from corporate to look at the vehicle. They found and replaced a cracked coupler. (Our vehicle was sold to us with a MAJOR broken part.) The 4x4 still wouldn't remain engaged. I kept taking it back to the dealership every few months. Nothing. Finally they sent a corporate mechanic out to look at the vehicle. He told me the 4x4 will never stay

NHTSA complaint 11472750, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The vehicle veers towards the right, even though a wheel alignment was completed on 7/1/26. On 7/28/26 when driving the vehicle, it wouldn’t accelerate properly, it felt sluggish and although the gas pedal was depressed it was struggling to pick up speed. As the vehicle was attempting to shift between 2nd and 3rd gears the car jolted forward and the traction control and collision lights came on. Both lights reset when the car is off but the vehicle jolts and beeps w/in 5 mins of driving and then the lights come back. This has been happening everyday multiple times a day since 7/28/26. On 7/30/26, the Check Engine light came on and has stayed illuminated w/ code P0101 populating on the obdii

NHTSA complaint 11755553, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

99,000 miles

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while reversing, the back over prevention camera screen display malfunctioned, and there was a black image displayed, creating a hazard for the driver. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the infotainment screen display malfunctioned, and the screen was black. During the failure, the driver was unable to view vital information related to the engine oil levels. The local dealer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the screen needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no

NHTSA complaint 11728330, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Infotainment system stopped working. Now radio, no climate control visible and NO backup camera most of the time. Very dangerous without the backup camera

NHTSA complaint 11724368. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

131,000 miles

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall that had a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.

NHTSA complaint 11709224. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

93,000 miles

The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The failure persisted, and there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the vehicle hesitated while starting the vehicle and pressing the Push to Start button. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where a diagnostic test was performed, and the contact was informed that there was sludge in the engine oil. The mechanic stated that sludge was found in the oil due to a lack of regular oil changes. The contact disputed the claim and provided receipts that all oil

NHTSA complaint 11702980, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The transmission is going bad which makes it dangerous to drive. Had it 2 days and I check my FIXD module and found code. Took to where I purchased it and the drained cvt fluid and now makes a whinning sound and garage knows. U was told they inspected it before selling it to me. No codes where on dash either.

NHTSA complaint 11696992. 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 —
2017 186 2 —
2016 105 2 —
2015 320 5 —
2014 574 11 —
2013 890 11 —
2012 23 2 —
2011 45 2 —
2010 40 4 —

Other 2018 Nissan models

Rogue 668 Altima 225 Sentra 185 Murano 113 Rogue Sport 94 Titan 90 Kicks 85 Armada 75

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