Your vehicle report
2001 Nissan Pathfinder
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 230
- Received Sep 2000 to Oct 2024
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Infotainment screen ghost-touches and changes on its own31 complaints · 13% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Frame rusts and corrodes through23 complaints · 10% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly14 complaints · 6.1% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #11V244000Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 infiniti QX4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington d.c., west virginia and wisconsin. In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this snow/water and salt intrusion may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles.
- Recall #07V435000On certain vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, kentucky, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, tennessee, vermont, virginia, west virginia , wisconsin and the district of columbia, during the coating process of the fuel filler tube assembly, an insufficient amount of coating may have been applied at the lower mounting bracket. This could result in an opening in the coating which can allow water to enter and make contact with the bare metal of the tube.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 18 crashes, 2 fires, 12 people injured, 1 death.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 15 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 10 |
| 2001 | 13 |
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2003 | 6 |
| 2004 | 14 |
| 2005 | 7 |
| 2006 | 15 |
| 2007 | 18 |
| 2008 | 24 |
| 2009 | 8 |
| 2010 | 12 |
| 2011 | 29 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2014 | 14 |
| 2015 | 9 |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 0 |
| Total | 230 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infotainment screen ghost-touches and changes on its own | 31 | 13% | – | |
| Frame rusts and corrodes through | 23 | 10% | – | NHTSA recall #11V244000 |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 14 | 6.1% | – | |
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 12 | 5.2% | – | NHTSA recall #07V435000 |
| Steering wheel shakes violently at highway speed | 12 | 5.2% | – | |
| Tires blow out or tread separates | 8 | 3.5% | – | |
| Suspension struts and shocks wear out early | 8 | 3.5% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 7 | 3.0% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 6 | 2.6% | – | |
| Brake pedal sinks due to leaking lines | 6 | 2.6% | – | |
| Check engine light comes on repeatedly | 6 | 2.6% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 5 | 2.2% | – | |
| Steering wanders or pulls at highway speed | 5 | 2.2% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 4 | 1.7% | – | |
| Suspension clunking or rattling noise over bumps | 3 | 1.3% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #11V244000April 20, 2011195,991 vehicles affected
steering: column; suspension: front
Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 Pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 Infiniti QX4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington d.c., west virginia and wisconsin. In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this snow/water and salt intrusion may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles.
The strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash.
Remedy
Nissan will inspect the strut housing and repair the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. An interim notification letter was sent out in may 2011. The second notice was mailed on july 25, 2011. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA recall #07V435000September 18, 2007372,250 vehicles affected
fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly: filler pipe and cap
On certain vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, kentucky, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, tennessee, vermont, virginia, west virginia , wisconsin and the district of columbia, during the coating process of the fuel filler tube assembly, an insufficient amount of coating may have been applied at the lower mounting bracket. This could result in an opening in the coating which Can allow water to enter and make contact with the bare metal of the tube.
This may result in surface rust but not perforation of the tube. However, in those areas of the country which use heavy concentrations of road salt in the winter, if a mixture of snow/water and salt makes contact with the bare metal, corrosion may occur to a degree which results in perforation of the tube. In this case fuel leakage may occur when filling the tank. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel filler tube assembly with a new one with an improved coating process. The recall began on november 26, 2007. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA recall #01V282000August 30, 200131,000 vehicles affected
structure: body: hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Some of the brackets used to attach the two gas struts to the rear door (hatch) may have been improperly made. At high ambient temperatures, the increase in gas pressure in the strut(s) could cause one or both brackets to bend, resulting in the struts detaching from the bracket(s) when opening or closing the rear door.
If both struts detach from the brackets, the door will rapidly fall down, possibly striking someone and causing serious injury.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the strut brackets. Owner notification began september 24, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN