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Nissan · NHTSA safety record

2025 Nissan Pathfinder

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

Owners have filed 51 safety complaints about the 2025 Nissan Pathfinder with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash, 3 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the hydraulic brakes.

The most complained-about system is the brakes, named in 9 complaints, 18% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 9,000 miles, the median across the 7 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

51 complaints on file

51

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

3

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
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 15 · 29%
SERVICE BRAKES 9 · 18%
ENGINE 7 · 14%
POWER TRAIN 7 · 14%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 · 12%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 10%
STRUCTURE 5 · 10%
SEAT BELTS 4 · 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 · 6%
VISIBILITY 3 · 6%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 · 6%
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 51.

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 2026 at 31.

36 27 18 9
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 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 2025 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 15.5% 16.9%
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

1 on file

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

25V173000 · March 19, 2025

The defect
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2025 Murano, Pathfinder, and INFINITI QX60 vehicles. One or both front brake caliper assemblies may have reduced strength and could break. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
The risk
A broken front brake caliper can cause a loss of front brake function, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the front brake caliper assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 9, 2025. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 800-647-7261 or INFINITI's customer service at 1-800-662-6200. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PD137 and PD138.

Nissan North America, Inc. · up to 1,430 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.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 5,000 miles

The contact owned a 2025 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the ABS warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ABS system needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact believed that the ABS system was not calibrated due to the ABS warning light re-illuminated. On another occasion, the contact stated that while driving approximately 70 - 75 MPH, a vehicle in the middle lane switched to the last left lane, and the contact maneuvered the vehicle to the middle lane due to the collision avoidance alarm activating. The tires spun out of control, and the front brakes failed and locked. The vehicle skidded and

NHTSA complaint 11689221, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash

I was involved in a multi-car accident on Oct. 7, 2025. During the accident, I slammed on my brakes because the car in front of me was slamming on its brakes. The car behind me pummeled into my Pathfinder, sending me careening into the car in front of me. There was a huge impact on both ends of my vehicle. My face crashed into the steering wheel. The airbags did not deploy. My nose gushed blood for about 1 hour. I have included photos of my swollen and bruised face to show the after effects of the wreck day of and the next day.

NHTSA complaint 11692205. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

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

NHTSA complaint 11745429, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed · 250 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving uphill at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart after the first attempt. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted; however, the transmission failed to shift into gear properly. The contact stated that while attempting to shift gear, the vehicle lost motive power. Due to the failure, the contact required assistance from the local Police Department to move the vehicle out of traffic. The contact was later able to restart the vehicle and drive for several miles; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle

NHTSA complaint 11713004, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
At approximately 10,444 miles, while driving under normal operating conditions, the vehicle began emitting an unexpected, severe friction sound while braking, which rapidly escalated to a harsh metal-on-metal grinding noise. A physical safety inspection by an authorized dealer service center revealed that the rear brake pads had completely failed, wearing entirely down to the bare metal backing plates. This catastrophic wear occurred at an unacceptably low mileage, bypassing standard wear indicator warnings, and caused deep, structural scoring to the rear rotors. Both the rear pads and rear rotors required immediate replacement to restore safe vehicle braking operation. The front brake

NHTSA complaint 11765592, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My Nissan Pathfinder has a recurring water intrusion problem through the sunroof area whenever it rains. The problem first occurred in June and has happened again this month during the rainy season. Water enters the vehicle cabin during rainfall, creating a significant concern about the safety and reliability of the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by a Nissan dealer, and I was informed that the sunroof drain tubes need to be replaced. The dealer also informed me that the required drain tubes are currently on nationwide backorder and are not available. As a result, the vehicle has not been permanently repaired and continues to leak whenever it rains. The problem has been reproduced during

NHTSA complaint 11765415, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The hydraulic braking system failed, causing a complete loss of brake pedal resistance and a severe brake fluid leak. The vehicle is currently located at an authorized Nissan dealership and is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle suffered a sudden braking failure while traveling at highway speeds with my family inside. The brake pedal lost all resistance, requiring me to slam the pedal completely to the floor just to slow the vehicle down from 30 mph to 10 mph. The vehicle would not come to a complete stop normally, forcing me to rely on the forward collision sensor triggering and extreme floor-pression to avoid a collision, putting my family and other drivers at risk of

NHTSA complaint 11759683, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Back glass blew out Shattered on its own

NHTSA complaint 11757594. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR

12,000 miles

The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rear glass fractured. The contact inspected the vehicle and determined that there was no impact to the glass to cause the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the failure was a known failure with similar vehicles. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

NHTSA complaint 11756032. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Component/system failure. Engine shut off while driving @ 70 mph. The car first shifted into neutral all on its own, system shows AT MALFUNCTION. Vehicle was towed to nearest dealership so it is available for inspection. Safety concern is that the vehicle died in 2nd left hand side of road my had my husband not been able to essentially coast and cross 2 lanes of traffic to get to shoulder the vehicle could have potential been sitting in the 2nd left hand lane where traffic was going 70 plus mph. The dealership has not been able to reproduce issue other than seeing the AT Malfunction code, the vehicle is not starting as it did on side of highway. No other inspections have been done to my

NHTSA complaint 11755598, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Nissan Pathfinder

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 81 2 —
2023 104 1 —
2022 135 5 —
2020 48 0 —
2019 76 2 —
2018 77 3 —
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 2025 Nissan models

Rogue 185 Kicks 38 Sentra 30 Murano 22 Armada 21 Frontier 8 Altima 7

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