IllustrationI was driving vehicle and was at light to enter freeway went to accelerate and nothing happened but car would rev normal in park pulled over in traffic and almost got in a wreck with family in side is very unsafe
2015 Nissan Pathfinder
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Pathfinder years
Owner complaints for the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder are substantially higher than the model-year median of 97.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Pathfinder years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
560–25K
6825–50K
5550–75K
2275–100K
14100–150K
6150K+
221 reports with mileage · 99 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.
- Power Train. Review the 76 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 74 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 55 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
11 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports
Fuel/propulsion System complaints
11 reports$4000 worth of work. 4 visits to a local shop. 3 visits to the Nissan dealership, who claims to have replaced cylinders every time. My engine violently shakes even worse. Has cut off midst driving with no power to crank again. 4 batteries & 4 alternator replacements. Barely press on gas pedal and it shakes the whole car, then…
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$4000 worth of work. 4 visits to a local shop. 3 visits to the Nissan dealership, who claims to have replaced cylinders every time. My engine violently shakes even worse. Has cut off midst driving with no power to crank again. 4 batteries & 4 alternator replacements. Barely press on gas pedal and it shakes the whole car, then smells like something rotting.
AFTER USING BRAKES EITHER AT A STOP LIGHT OR WHILE DRIVING, WHEN I REAPPLY THE GAS PEDAL NOTHING HAPPENS. THE RPMS STAY AT IDLE AND THE VEHICLE BARELY MOVES. PROBLEM INTERMITTENT AND UNPREDICTABLE. IT APPEARS THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING. I HAVE EVEN PARKED THE CAR AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND THE BRAKE…
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AFTER USING BRAKES EITHER AT A STOP LIGHT OR WHILE DRIVING, WHEN I REAPPLY THE GAS PEDAL NOTHING HAPPENS. THE RPMS STAY AT IDLE AND THE VEHICLE BARELY MOVES. PROBLEM INTERMITTENT AND UNPREDICTABLE. IT APPEARS THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON WHEN THIS IS HAPPENING. I HAVE EVEN PARKED THE CAR AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON. HAS HAPPENED WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE ONTO A HIGHWAY. VERY DANGEROUS! I HAVE ALMOST BEEN REAR ENDED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. *TR
AT RANDOM, LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION AT INITIAL TAKE OFF AND/OR WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ON A HIGHWAY OR STREET EVEN IF PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO FLOOR. VEHICLE WILL START WITHOUT PRESSING BRAKE. BRAKE LIGHT REMAINS ON AFTER CAR IS TURNED OFF. I'VE HAD CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND BRAKE WORK DONE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM TO NO AVAIL. AL…
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AT RANDOM, LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION AT INITIAL TAKE OFF AND/OR WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC ON A HIGHWAY OR STREET EVEN IF PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO FLOOR. VEHICLE WILL START WITHOUT PRESSING BRAKE. BRAKE LIGHT REMAINS ON AFTER CAR IS TURNED OFF. I'VE HAD CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND BRAKE WORK DONE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM TO NO AVAIL. ALSO, I WANTED TO CHECK SPEED CONTROL AS A AFFECTED PART BUT IT WOULDN'T SELECT.
LOSS OF POWER WHILE IN MOTION FROM A 35 MPH ZONE AND WENT DOWN TO 20 MPH RELEASE GAS PEDAL AND REGAINED POWER. I SEE THE SAME ISSUE REPORTED OTHER POSTS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE BEFORE THE LOSS OF LIFE.
MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL ISSUES AFTER DEALER SERVICE FOR 80,000 MILES. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS INTERMITTENT ACCELERATION ISSUES WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC OR STARTING FROM A FULL STOP. LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION IN THOSE SITUATIONS. OTHER ISSUES THAT CAME UP AT THE SAME TIME INCLUDE: A) INTERMITTENT BRAKE LIGHTS STAYING ON WITH VEHICLE PA…
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MULTIPLE ELECTRICAL ISSUES AFTER DEALER SERVICE FOR 80,000 MILES. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS INTERMITTENT ACCELERATION ISSUES WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC OR STARTING FROM A FULL STOP. LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION IN THOSE SITUATIONS. OTHER ISSUES THAT CAME UP AT THE SAME TIME INCLUDE: A) INTERMITTENT BRAKE LIGHTS STAYING ON WITH VEHICLE PARKED AND POWERED OFF AND B) INTERMITTENT SKID WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATING FOR NO REASON.
I JUST PURCHASED A USED 2015 NISSAN PATHFINDER WITH 24,000 MILES THREE MONTHS AGO. IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS ACCELERATING AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AND WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEEDS. I WOULD START TO ACCELERATE AFTER A COMPLETE STOP AND THE PATHFINDER WOULD ONLY MOVE AT A SLIGHTLY HIGHER THA…
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I JUST PURCHASED A USED 2015 NISSAN PATHFINDER WITH 24,000 MILES THREE MONTHS AGO. IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS ACCELERATING AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP AND WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEEDS. I WOULD START TO ACCELERATE AFTER A COMPLETE STOP AND THE PATHFINDER WOULD ONLY MOVE AT A SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN IDLE SPEED UNTIL I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND THEN ONCE AGAIN ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. OTHER TIMES I WILL BE DRIVING AT A SPEED ABOVE 20 MILES PER HOUR AND THE PATHFINDER WILL NO LONGER ACCELERATE PAST THE CURRENT SPEED NO MATTER HOW HARD I PRESS THE ACCELERATOR UNTIL I TAP THE BRAKE AND THEN THE ACCELERATOR. I ALSO NOTICED THAT SOME TIMES WHEN ONE OF THESE EVENTS HAPPENS, THE SLIP LIGHT INDICATOR WILL COME ON AND STAY ON UNTIL THE PATHFINDER IS TURNED OFF AND BACK ON. THIS ISSUE CAN HAPPEN SEVERAL TIMES IN ONE DAY OR NOT AT ALL FOR SEVERAL DAYS. I WAS ALMOST T-BONED TODAY WHILE CROSSING A STREET WHEN I HAD NO POWER. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHERE I BOUGHT IT AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG.
BREAK LIGHTS WILL STAY ON EVEN IF THE CAR IS PARKED. IT WILL STAY ON WHILE DRIVING. WHEN THIS HAPPENS I HAVE TO DEPRESS BRAKE PEDAL TWICE. THE OTHER ISSUE IS LOSS OF POWER. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, THE CAR WILL NOT GO WHEN I PUSH THE GAS. EVEN IF THE ACCELERATOR IS FULLY DEPRESSED THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE. THIS ALSO …
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BREAK LIGHTS WILL STAY ON EVEN IF THE CAR IS PARKED. IT WILL STAY ON WHILE DRIVING. WHEN THIS HAPPENS I HAVE TO DEPRESS BRAKE PEDAL TWICE. THE OTHER ISSUE IS LOSS OF POWER. WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A COMPLETE STOP, THE CAR WILL NOT GO WHEN I PUSH THE GAS. EVEN IF THE ACCELERATOR IS FULLY DEPRESSED THE CAR WILL NOT MOVE. THIS ALSO OCCURS WHILE IN MOTION. IT HAS HAPPENED WHILE TRYING TO ACCELERATE ONTO THE HIGHWAY AND THERE WAS LOSS OF POWER.
WHEN TURNING THE VEHICLE STALLS. UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. BREAK LIGHT SWITCH RELAY.ALREADY A PREVIOUS RECALL.
SUDDEN LOSS OF ACCELERATION WHEN FUEL LEVEL IS LOW, PARTICULARLY WHEN STARTING A TURN OR STARTING TO CROSS A STREET FROM A STOP, IF THE VEHICLE DOES NOT ACCELERATE THEN AN ACCIDENT MAY HAPPEN. THE VEHICLE COMPUTER REPORTS A PROBLEM WITH EMISSIONS YET REPLACING THE FUEL PUMP MADE IT GO AWAY.
Official recalls
522V420000 · 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.
21V020000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Jan 20, 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2015 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles. The location of the brake light switch may cause the brake light switch relay to repeatedly open and close. Overtime, this can cause the relay to stick in the "ON" position, with the brake lights remaining illuminated even when the brakes are not applied. Additionally, this may interfere with the brake-shift interlock, allowing the driver to shift the vehicle out of the "Park" position, without depressing the brake pedal.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Continual illumination of the brake lights can prevent other drivers from realizing the vehicle is actually slowing down, increasing the risk of a crash. With the brake override activated, the driver will not be able to accelerate normally, increasing the risk of a crash. The driver can shift the vehicle out of the "PARK" position without depressing the brake, allowing the vehicle to rollaway, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, either re-install the brake light switch or swap positions with the Automatic Speed Control Device (ASCD) switch; depending on the model year vehicle. In addition, the brake light relay will be replaced with a new one. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall PC786. Note: this recall supersedes 16V-380.
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.
15V681000 · Air Bags:frontal; Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Oct 20, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Consequence: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air Bags:frontal
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Consequence: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
15V012000 · Service Brakes
Jan 14, 2015
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles manufactured August 14, 2014, to November 5, 2014, and 2014-2015 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured August 12, 2014, to November 15, 2014. During the assembly process, the front wheel hub assembly fasteners may not have been properly torqued.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The under-torqued fasteners may result in a brake caliper separating from the wheel assembly causing a reduction in braking performance or reduced steering control. These conditions increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and tighten any loose bolts to the proper specification, free of charge. The recall began February 2, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
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
1PE21022 · 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.