2009 Nissan Pathfinder problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (8) · Air Bags (8) · Service Brakes (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Nissan Pathfinder model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
29 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal 2023-02-10 · campaign 23V067000 · 404,690 vehicles
Defect: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2008-2011 Titan, Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada, and 2008-2009 Quest vehicles. The resin emblem on the driver's air bag cover may develop cracks and detach during air bag deployment.
Risk: A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will replace the drivers airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed December 8, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are PC944, PC945, and PC946.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2010-09-10 · campaign 10V401000 · 7,948 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH A GARMIN NUVI MODEL 750 NAVIGATION SYSTEM. THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT.
Risk: OVERHEATED BATTERIES COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY GARMIN TECHNICIANS BY REPLACING THE BATTERY AND INSERTING A SPACER ON TOP OF THE BATTERY FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GARMIN DIRECTLY AT 1-866-957-1981 OR NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2010-05-20 · campaign 10E019000 · 1,873 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONT AND REAR LOWER LINKS, P/NOS. 54501ZQ00A, 54500ZQ00A, 551A1ZQ00A, 551A0ZQ00A , 54501EA00A, 54500EA00A, 551A1EA500, 551A0EA500, 54501ZR00A, AND 54500ZR00A, SOLD BETWEEN NOVEMBER 25, 2009 AND MAY 14, 2010 AS REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR MODEL YEAR 2004 THROUGH 2010 TITAN, ARMADA, AND QX56, AND MODEL YEARS 2005 THROUGH 2010 FRONTIER, XTERRA, AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES. THE LOWER CONTROL LINK ASSEMBLY HAS TWO CYLINDRICAL COLLARS FORMING THE INBOARD ATTACHMENT POINTS TO THE CH
Risk: IF THE COLLAR WELD SEPARATES, THE VEHICLE HANDLING WILL DETERIORATE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Fix: NISSAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY AFFECTED LOWER LINK FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 12, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Service bulletins (87)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · ITB09-063C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Structure:body 2026-04-13 · NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
certification label and vin plate replacement service information because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “certification label” or “vin plate/label” may be needed. hint: certification label = fmvss (federal motor vehicle safety standards) label. these items may be availabl
Air Bags 2024-07-08 · NTB23-081C · Service Campaign
voluntary safety recall campaign 2005-2013 frontier, pathfinder, and xterra; driver air bag cover campaign id #: pc945 and pc948 applied vehicles: 2005-2013 frontier (d40) 2005-2012 pathfinder (r51) 2005-2013 xterra (n50) check service comm or dealer business systems (dbs) national service history t
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
vehicle key not detected / authenticated, engine will not start this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Electrical System 2024-05-21 · NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
can communication – network diagnostic flow chart this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
Showing the 6 most recent of 87 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2021-05-07 · Fuel/Propulsion System“vehicle stalls intermittently at low to moderate speeds or in park. camshaft position sensor was replaced which was the diagnosed issue.…”
2021-04-30 · Air Bags · 92,000 mi“my dashboard has a logo of a red flashing passenger with a airbag red ball. it flashes non stop when ever i turn on the ignition. however when i checked for air bag recall it's not coming up on the list. any suggestions?…”
2020-12-28 · Power Train · 87,000 mi“the vehicle just stop. had tow to the mechanic diagnosed with coolent in that damaged the transmission…”
2020-12-02 · Power Train · 107,000 mi“i was driving to work when my transmission failed. there was no warning. i was driving about 60mph, and had to merge to the side of the road. i had to get it towed, and it was determined the radiator failed, causing radiator fluid to get into the transmission. this ruined the transmission. cost is about $4,000 to replace, and third party warranty i…”
2020-08-15 · Fuel/Propulsion System“this truck is very well cared for,,all of a sudden its stalling at any time,,some hard starts,,runs perfect ,than stalls,while driving,no steering,very scarry,i thought it was bad gas i filled 2 more time from good gas station 89 and 91 octan, …”
2020-07-30 · Power Train · 92,000 mi“my 2009 nissan pathfinder (after the warranty ran out), started having issues with the transmission and overheating. lo and behold we have an issue where the radiator and transmission fluid is mixing. this appears to be the same problem others have reported as a failed transmission fluid cooler integrated in the radiator that allowed engine coola…”
2020-06-15 · Power Train · 11,300 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that the vehicle was at stand still at a parking lot, when entering the vehicle, it began to move forward while the gear was in park. the contact stated she depressed the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. the contact stated she injured her leg while entering the vehicle. the contact d…”
2020-02-13 · Power Train · 100,000 mi“when driving uphill on long mountain roads and shifting the automatic transmission down to 2, 3 or 4, the car won't stay in gear. after a few minutes of driving it will shift by itself into 5 without allowing you to shift down again. you can only go into d or stop and shut down the engine. the transmission shop already replaced the shifting assembl…”
2020-02-12 · Air Bags · 1 mi“the airbag light is flashing. we line in nm so we're not part of the recall but we drive frequently on snowy salty mountain roads so we might be affected by the same issue.…”
2020-01-21 · Steering · 184,148 mi“i turn on the heated steering wheel because it was cold and it started burning and smoking, leaving a burn mark in the steering. i was driving in brentwood new york me and family visiting family.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.