2010 Nissan Pathfinder problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (8) · Power Train (7) · Vehicle Speed Control (4)
🧭 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
26 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (5)
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.
Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Arm 2010-05-14 · campaign 10V208000 · 41,649 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 TITAN, ARMADA, QX56, FRONTIER, XTERRA, AND PATHFINDER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 19, 2009 THROUGH MARCH 3, 2010. THE LOWER CONTROL LINK ASSEMBLY HAS TWO CYLINDRICAL COLLARS FORMING THE INBOARD ATTACHMENT POINTS TO THE CHASSIS. DUE TO AN IMPROPER WELDING PROCESS SOME COLLARS MAY CONTAIN WELDS THAT DO NOT MEET STRENGTH SPECIFICATIONS.
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 REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 20, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2010-03-24 · campaign 10V115000 · 4,038 vehicles
Defect: NISSAN HAS NOTIFIED NHTSA OF A DEFECT IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 22, 2010 TO MARCH 13, 2010. ON SOME OF THE POTENTIALLY AFFECTED VEHICLES, THE FASTENERS SECURING THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG MODULE, AND ALSO THE FASTENERS SECURING THE STEERING SHAFT POSITIONING BRACKET MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TIGHTENED TO THE PROPER TORQUE SPECIFICATION.
Risk: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT TRAJECTORY MIGHT BE AFFECTED. THE FASTENERS COULD POSSIBLY COME OUT OF THE STEERING COLUMN POSITIONING BRACKET INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG FASTENERS AND ANY MISSING FASTENERS WILL BE REPLACED AND ALL LOOSE FASTENERS WILL BE RETIGHTENED TO THE PROPER TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 19, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261.
Service bulletins (103)
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 103 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-07-03 · Air Bags“on 01/20/25, i brought my vehicle to nissan of downtown l.a , to fix a manufacturer recall of drivers side airbag. the invoice indicates "inspect driver bag module and replace driver air bag cover." "upon inspection performed recall, inspect driver air bag and replace driver air bag cover and check found vehicle ok." approximately four months …”
2024-10-15 · Unknown Or Other“ rear sub frame rusted through. vans in mansfield ohio showed us were were the frame was completely rusted out.…”
2023-05-12 · Suspension“i had a 2006 nissan pathfinder that was “bought back” by nissan after 6 years of use because of a “rusted frame” and now once again i have a 2010 nissan pathfinder, where the rear sub-frame rusted through and caused the wheel to give out and track wrong -causing a life-or-death situation. i do not need an independent or dealer to confirm, it is obv…”
2023-03-01 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2010 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light illuminated. the contact stated that the failure persisted. the dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 23v067000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall rep…”
2022-09-17 · Power Train“i was traveling at approx. 35 mph when the car shuddered violently for a second or two, all panel lights lit up and everything completely shut down while going through a very busy 6-lane intersection. all steering, brakes, and maneuverability were lost. i was lucky to coast to a safe spot and if this had happened on an interstate it may have easily…”
2022-05-25 · Power Train“coolant leaked into transmission causing transmission failure . car maker will not acknowledge the problem. car towed to repair shop. told $6000.00 for new radiator and transmission.thank god i was only going 35-40 miles an hour.…”
2022-03-09 · Service Brakes · 115,000 mi“the contact owns a 2010 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated while approaching a traffic light at approximately 35 mph, he depressed the brake pedal however, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated causing the vehicle to run the red light. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the contact was able to coast to a stop and turned off the…”
2021-08-30 · Unknown Or Other“transmission completely crapped out on me due to the radiator leaking into it. …”
2020-03-09 · Seat Belts · 150,248 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2010 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving on a bumpy road, the side curtain air bag deployed without warning. the seat belt activated as designed. the driver and passenger frontal air bags did not deploy. the manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact to take the vehicle to a nissan dealer to be d…”
2020-02-17 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 79,770 mi“service engine soon, light turned on as soon as i turned on the vehicle and have not turned off since and for no reason, until i had a diagnostic test done the code was p0181 and it appears to be an issue with fuel system. light is still on.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.