Problems · NHTSA complaints

2009 Nissan Pathfinder problems

Owners filed 37 complaints about the 2009 Nissan Pathfinder with NHTSA between Jul 2009 and May 2021. The most-cited component is air bags (11).

Complaints
37
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags11
  2. Power train8
  3. Engine7
  4. Service brakes5
  5. Engine and engine cooling4
  6. Electrical system4
  7. Fuel/propulsion system2
  8. Electronic stability control (esc)1
  9. Steering1
  10. Visibility1
  11. Vehicle speed control1
  12. Equipment1
  13. Structure1
  14. Seat belts1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 5, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20092
20102
20111
20121
20130
20146
20155
20165
20171
20180
20194
20208
20212

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

11 reports1 crash2 related recalls
“MY DASHBOARD HAS A LOGO OF A RED FLASHING PASSENGER WITH A AIRBAG RED BALL. IT FLASHES NON STOP WHEN EVER I TURN ON THE IGNITION. HOWEVER WHEN I CHECKED FOR AIR BAG RECALL IT'S NOT COMING UP ON THE LIST. ANY SUGGESTIONS?”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 30, 2021Air bagsODI 11414622

Power train

8 reports
“I WAS DRIVING TO WORK WHEN MY TRANSMISSION FAILED. THERE WAS NO WARNING. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 60MPH, AND HAD TO MERGE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I HAD TO GET IT TOWED, AND IT WAS DETERMINED THE RADIATOR FAILED, CAUSING RADIATOR FLUID TO GET INTO THE TRANSMISSION. THIS RUINED THE TRANSMISSION. COST IS ABOUT $4,000 TO REPLACE, AND THIRD PARTY WARRANTY IS REFUSING TO COVER ANY OF IT.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 2, 2020Power trainODI 11377508

Engine

7 reports
“THIS TRUCK IS VERY WELL CARED FOR,,ALL OF A SUDDEN ITS STALLING AT ANY TIME,,SOME HARD STARTS,,RUNS PERFECT ,THAN STALLS,WHILE DRIVING,NO STEERING,VERY SCARRY,I THOUGHT IT WAS BAD GAS I FILLED 2 MORE TIME FROM GOOD GAS STATION 89 AND 91 OCTAN,”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 15, 2020Electronic stability control (esc), Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11349535

Service brakes

5 reports
“I WAS ENTERING A PARKING LOT AND TURNING INTO A PARKING SPOT. AS I APPLIED THE BRAKES THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR PROCEED TOWARDS A BRICK WALL AND WINDOW. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED PUMPING THE BRAKES AND GOT A "SOFT PEDAL" JUST OFF THE FLOOR AND THE CAR STOPPED JUST BEFORE CRASHING INTO A MAJOR GROCERY STORE WINDOW. BEING EXPERIENCED WITH CARS I IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE MASTER CYLINDER FOR FLUID WHICH WAS FULL. CHECKED ALL THE WHEELS FOR LEAKS AND WERE DRY AS WELL AS THE LINES. I WENT INTO THE STORE AND CALLED FOR SOMEONE TO PICK ME UP. ON RETURNING TO THE CAR ABOUT 30 MINUTES LATER I STARTED THE CAR AND APPLIED THE BRAKES AND FOUND THEM TO BE NORMAL. ON DOING SOME ONLINE RESEARCH HAVE FOUND THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY PEOPLE THAT DRIVE THE SAME PLATFORM VEHICLE NOT JUST THE PATHFINDER. UNITL THIS PROBLEM IS IDENTIFIED AND CORRECTED THERE EASILY COULD BE A MAJOR ACCIDENT INVOLVING INJURYS. I AM NOW DRIVING MY PATHFINDER WITH THE VDC BUTTON IN THE OFF POSITION AND IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT I ALSO REMOVE THE ABS FUSE AS THERE IS SOMEKIND OF CONFLICT BETWEEN THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS SOFTWARE CAUSING THE BRAKE SYSTEM TO SHUTDOWN. SOME PEOPLE HAVE SPENT $1,000 OF…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 22, 2015Service brakesODI 10758609

Engine and engine cooling

4 reports
“2009 NISSAN PATHFINDER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TRANSMISSION SLIPPING. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE ALSO EXPERIENCED RADIATOR FAILURE. ANTI-FREEZE HAS TO BE ADDED TO THE VEHICLE ALMOST DAILY AND THE WATER TEMPERATURE WOULD RISE ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS. *JS”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 31, 2019Engine and engine cooling, Power trainODI 11209851

Electrical system

4 reports1 crash
“TAKATA RECALL. 2009 NISSAN PATHFINDER SUSPENSION FRONT: CONTROL ARM: LOWER ARM NHTSA CAMPAIGN #10E019000 DATE ANNOUNCED: MAY 20, 2010 2009 NISSAN PATHFINDER AIR BAGS:FRONTAL NHTSA CAMPAIGN #08V690000 DATE ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 29, 2008 DOOR AJAR LIGHT FLASHES ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. CAR LOCKS AND UNLOCKS ON ITS OWN. ALL FOUR WINDOWS ROLL DOWN ON THEIR OWN WHEN THE CAR IS OFF WITH NO KEY IN THE IGNITION. RADIATOR LEAKS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 31, 2016Electrical system, Air bags, Unknown or otherODI 10891895
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 5, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.