2018 Nissan Pathfinder problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (10) · Vehicle Speed Control (9) · Service Brakes (9)
🧭 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
39 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 2019-11-08 · campaign 19V807000 · 391,479 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
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.
Risk: A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2019-09-12 · campaign 19V654000 · 1,228,830 vehicles
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 an
Risk: The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 2018-09-07 · campaign 18V601000 · 215,124 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
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.
Risk: A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: 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
Service bulletins (185)
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
Electrical System 2026-03-30 · NTB15-049CC · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
telematics service information hint: this bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 4g network compatible tcu. tcus compatible with 3g network only are no longer supported. service information the applied vehicles that come equipped with a factory installed sos switch, located near the overhead m
Service Brakes 2025-02-20 · NTB19-033G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
intelligent cruise control inoperative and aeb/feb warning light on or radar obstruction message displayed with dtc c1a16 or c2582 if you confirm important: the purpose of action (on the next page) is to give you a quick idea of the work you will be performing. you must closely follow the entire ser
Air Bags 2024-09-19 · NTB19-071D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dtc b00a0-00 stored this bulletin has been amended. see amendment history on the last page. please discard previous versions of this bulletin. if you confirm dtc b00a0-00 (occupant detection sensor unit) is stored, and ocs zero point reset cannot be performed, (continued on the next page)
Showing the 6 most recent of 185 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-14 · Unknown Or Other“the dcu (display control unit) no longer works, so hands-free on steering wheel is disabled because of this. iowa law requires hands-free only in vehicles. this is a safety issue because of this. nissan wants to charge thousands of dollars to repair. this is a known defect in some nissan vehicles. …”
2026-08-07 · Unknown Or Other“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 th…”
2026-03-31 · Back Over Prevention · 99,000 mi“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 ma…”
2026-03-14 · 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…”
2026-01-06 · Back Over Prevention · 131,000 mi“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 wa…”
2025-12-04 · Engine And Engine Cooling · 93,000 mi“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 th…”
2025-11-02 · Power Train“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.…”
2025-10-20 · Insert, Padding“my nuna rava was part of the recent recall that happened. the company offered remedy kits to replace the seat fabrics as well as tools to clean where the harness straps tightened/loosened. we received the remedy kit in march after waiting 3 months for the kits to be available. i followed the instructions for cleaning of the car seat and installati…”
2025-09-16 · Back Over Prevention · 89,000 mi“the contact owns a 2018 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that occasionally, while the vehicle was in reverse(r), the digital screen displayed a nissan logo that faded away. in addition, the contact stated that the digital screen would blip or show an upside-down image of the rear-view camera display. no warning lights were illuminated. the veh…”
2025-08-31 · Engine“my 2018 nissan pathfinder started knocking at 75000 miles and it’s getting worse by the day i’ve paid my car payment down to 4000$ and now i’m told my motor is soon to go out.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.