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2016 Nissan Pathfinder

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 97.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

65 reports with mileage · 40 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 27 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

10 crash reports0 fire reports2 injury reports

Power Train complaints

7 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 10, 2026
Power Train

Driving along and it felt as if I were driving over a rumble strip. It stopped after a while, but later that evening I felt it again, but this time the shudder was stronger and it sounded almost like a loud bird chirping. I slowed and the noise stopped, but drove home slowly through the neighborhood in case something happened.…

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Driving along and it felt as if I were driving over a rumble strip. It stopped after a while, but later that evening I felt it again, but this time the shudder was stronger and it sounded almost like a loud bird chirping. I slowed and the noise stopped, but drove home slowly through the neighborhood in case something happened. I took it to the mechanic and he suggested trading it in before it gets worse, and he mentioned transmission judder, so I researched and found I'm one of many.

NHTSA ODI #11755818

76,000 miles · Dec 12, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and sputtered while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where DTC: P17F1 (Internal CVT failure was retrieved). The contact was informed that …

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The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and sputtered while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where DTC: P17F1 (Internal CVT failure was retrieved). The contact was informed that the CVT transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed the contact that assistance could not be provided because the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA ODI #11704677

Mileage unknown · Dec 1, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

Around 160,000 miles my CVT transmission went out. I almost got into a wreck no warning lights just stopped on me. When I took it to my local dealership in waco, Texas they told me I'll be good to wait over the weekend that they first opening wasn't until Tuesday. I came by on a Thursday. The car was making noises I was concer…

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Around 160,000 miles my CVT transmission went out. I almost got into a wreck no warning lights just stopped on me. When I took it to my local dealership in waco, Texas they told me I'll be good to wait over the weekend that they first opening wasn't until Tuesday. I came by on a Thursday. The car was making noises I was concerned and it wasn't accelerating like normal. I slowly drove it to Nissan dealership in Temple tx 30 mins away. The tech there immediately drove it to see if it was apressing concern or not. He immediately stated it wasn't safe and they gave me a loaner. My vehicle was in the shop for three weeks I had to get a $14,000 loan to repair it because my extended warranty didn't cover specifically CVT transmissions because of Nissan history with the other vehicles with that transmission type. I contacted Nissan corporate they said they would give me a warranty but since the Pathfinder wasn't on their recall list they couldn't assist me in that manner. Since the CVT transmission repair I've had engine issues and now my catalytic converter isn't working properly. I've given Nissan money on repairs that normally doesn't happen until the vehicles is over 200,000 miles. I went to some Nissan Pathfinder forums and found out this is to be true that many Pathfinder owners are buying new transmissions or vehicles all together because of this defect in the Nissan CVT transmissions. I hope to get my money back since I'm a disabled Afghanistan Navy veteran on a limited income. If it's happening to me it's happening to others and should be investigated.

NHTSA ODI #11702225

Mileage unknown · May 30, 2025
Power TrainWheels

VIBRATION AND NOISE WHEN MAKING LOW SPEED TURNS ABNORMAL NOISE, VIBRATION AND BINDING FEELING FROM REAR DIFFERENTIAL

NHTSA ODI #11663891

Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2024
Electrical SystemPower Train

Car was functioning fine and then suddenly stopped one day as I was entering expressway, car just stopped and had to tow to Nissan dealer. I was told alternator is not functioning and when doing systems check CVT/transmission alert was noted and said I need new transmission. In my search I see 2016 Pathfinders were included in a…

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Car was functioning fine and then suddenly stopped one day as I was entering expressway, car just stopped and had to tow to Nissan dealer. I was told alternator is not functioning and when doing systems check CVT/transmission alert was noted and said I need new transmission. In my search I see 2016 Pathfinders were included in a lawsuit. This was not brought to my attention and I am wondering if my CVT should be replaced by Nissan at no cost to me. My care has less than 120k miles and is less than 10yrs old. Link to Nissan dealers report: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11624350

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2024
Power Train

This vehicle had a cvt transmission recall but I was never notified even though I have own this car for the past 7years please help

NHTSA ODI #11609175

Mileage unknown · Jul 14, 2021
EnginePower Train

My car hit 62,000 miles, it started having transmission issues. It shakes, makes large noises, the car tries to stall, having issues accelerating, and loss power. I am concerned that the car will turn off or broke down while driving

NHTSA ODI #11424875

Official recalls

2

22V420000 · Latches/locks/linkages:hood:latch

Jun 13, 2022

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Pathfinder vehicles. On certain Pathfinder vehicles, the secondary hood latch may malfunction and remain in the unlatched, unsecured, position when the hood is closed.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the bell crank assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 26, 2025. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are R22A2 R22A3 and R24B7.

16V244000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Apr 26, 2016

Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

PE21022 · Hood Latch/bell Crank Assembly

Opened Dec 9, 2021 · Closed Jul 8, 2022

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Latches/locks/linkages:hood:latch

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this preliminary evaluation to investigate consumer complaints alleging hood latch failures occurring on certain model year (MY) 2013-2016 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles. Complaints received indicated a sudden and unexpected opening of the hood while the vehicle was in motion, blocking the driver's visibility.During this investigation Nissan collected parts from the field to analyze for root cause of the alleged failures. On June 13, 2022, Nissan submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a hood bell crank assembly defect in certain MY2013-2016 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles produced at the Smyrna, TN plant. According to Nissan's DIR, an accumulation of dust and dirt contamination on and around the bell crank lever pivot joint, which actuates the secondary hood latch, can create a condition that can cause the lever to remain in the open position after it has been disengaged. In this condition, the secondary hood latch may not hold the hood closed as designed while the vehicle is in motion obstructing the driver's forward view and increasing the risk of a crash.A remedy plan for all affected vehicles is currently under development. See recall action 22V-420 for further details. Nissan's action resolves the issues raised by this investigation, and therefore, this investigation is closed.The VOQs cited above can be found with ID numbers: 11456378, 11448298, 11436637, 11431131, 11427702, 11423321, 11406574, 11398825, 11389741, 11387952, 11375938, 11349105,11306735, 11302647, 11190468, 11166607.