2014 Nissan Pathfinder problems, complaints & recalls

Updated from NHTSA data · How we count

Owners have filed 212 complaints with NHTSA about the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder, most often about transmission & drivetrain. There are 11 recalls for this model year.

Complaints
212
Recalls
11
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
8
Median mileage
89,873 mi
at time of problem

Key facts

  • Transmission & Drivetrain is the most-reported problem area, named in 106 of 212 complaints (50%).
  • Engine (36) and body & structure (29) follow.
  • Half of the complaints that list mileage happened before 89,873 mi.
  • Owners reported 1 crash, 1 fire and 8 injuries.
  • The 2014 Nissan Pathfinder has 11 recalls on file.
  • NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations covering this vehicle.
  • It has the most serious complaint record of all 21 Nissan Pathfinder model years we track.
  • That is 7% more complaints than the 2013 model year (199).

2014 Nissan Pathfinder problems by category

  • 106 complaints
  • Engine · 1 crash
    36 complaints
  • Other / Unknown
    34 complaints
  • 29 complaints
  • Brakes
    14 complaints
  • Electrical System
    10 complaints
  • Acceleration & Cruise Control
    10 complaints
  • Fuel, Hybrid & EV Propulsion · 1 crash
    8 complaints
  • Visibility & Wipers
    8 complaints
  • Suspension
    7 complaints
  • Airbags
    4 complaints
  • Wheels & Tires
    3 complaints
  • Lighting
    2 complaints
  • Steering
    2 complaints
  • Seats & Seat Belts
    2 complaints

A complaint can mention more than one problem area, so categories add up to more than the total.

Most-reported components

Component (as filed with NHTSA)Complaints
Power train104
Engine34
Unknown or other34
Service brakes13
Structure:body12
Vehicle speed control10
Electrical system10
Suspension7

When problems happen (mileage)

3Under 10k10k–30k830k–60k3460k–100k24100k–150k8150k+
Mileage at the time of the problem, for 2014 Nissan Pathfinder complaints that list mileage.

2014 Nissan Pathfinder recalls (11)

  • Recall 22V420000Jun 13, 2022322,671 vehicles
    LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH

    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.

    Risk: 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.

  • Recall 21V020000Jan 20, 2021264,431 vehicles
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

    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.

    Risk: 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.

  • Recall 16V380000May 31, 201679,853 vehicles
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to June 13, 2013. The brake light switch may have been installed incorrectly causing the relay to make intermittent contact and repeatedly cycle. This may result in the relay remaining in the "ON" position, causing the brake lights to remain illuminated even when the brakes are not applied. Additionally, the brake light switch may interfere with the brake-shift interlock, allowing the driver to shift the vehicle out of the "Park" position, without depressing the brake pedal.

    Risk: If the brake override is activated, the driver will not be accelerate normally, increasing the risk of a crash. If the brake lights remain illuminated, other drivers may fail to stop when the vehicle actually brakes, increasing the risk of a crash. If the driver inadvertently shift the vehicle out of the "PARK" position without depressing the brake, the vehicle may rollaway, increasing the risk of injury.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake light switch and, as necessary, replace the relay, free of charge. The recall began on July 25, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

  • Recall 16V244000Apr 26, 20163,296,947 vehicles
    AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

    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.

    Risk: 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.

  • Recall 15V681000Oct 20, 2015919 vehicles
    AIR BAGS:FRONTAL · 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.

    Risk: 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.

  • Recall 15V033000Jan 26, 2015170,665 vehicles
    STRUCTURE:BODY:HOOD:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to November 18, 2013, 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013, to November 18, 2013, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufactured November 29, 2011, to June 14, 2013, and 2014 QX60 vehicles manufactured May 16, 2013, to November 18, 2013, and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013, to November 18, 2013. In the affected vehicles the hood release cable assembly may have been installed incorrectly preventing the latching claw from fully engaging. The secondary latch may remain in the open position when the hood is closed.

    Risk: If the primary hood latch is released and the secondary latch fails during operation of the vehicle, it could cause the hood to open during vehicle operation impairing the driver's vision, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will modify the angle of the hood release mechanism to provide additional length to the release cable, free of charge. The recall began on March 9, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

  • Recall 15V012000Jan 14, 2015893 vehicles
    SERVICE BRAKES

    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.

    Risk: 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.

  • Recall 14V229000May 2, 2014334 vehicles
    WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014 Pathfinder and Rogue vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 vehicles. The right side wheels of the affected vehicles may have one lug nut each that was not properly tightened.

    Risk: If the lug nut becomes loose from not being properly tightened, it may fall off, allowing the other lug nuts to become loose, possibly resulting in a wheel separation, and increasing the risk of a crash.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and tighten any loose lug nuts to the correct specification, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin by the end of June 2014. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

  • Recall 14V138000Mar 25, 2014989,701 vehicles
    AIR BAGS:FRONTAL · ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

    Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag 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 April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

  • Recall 13V445000Oct 17, 2013151,695 vehicles
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE · SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

    Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through September 20, 2013; model year 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufactured September 15, 2011, through January 16, 2013; and model year 2014 Infiniti QX60 vehicles manufactured January 17, 2013, through September 20, 2013. In the affected vehicles, during light braking on rough roads, the antilock brake system (ABS) brake pressure output software may lead to an increase in stopping distance.

    Risk: The increased stopping distance may increase the risk of a crash.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ABS, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

  • Recall 13V456000Sep 26, 20132,310 vehicles
    AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

    Nissan North America Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2014 Pathfinders manufactured from July 25, 2013, to September 5, 2013 with Almond interiors only. The instrument panel tear seam on the passenger frontal air bag was incorrectly cut on the back side of the instrument panel which could cause the air bag to not deploy properly.

    Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the improper air bag deployment may increase the risk of personal injury.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected instrument panel assemblies, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • PE21022Opened Dec 9, 2021Closed Jul 8, 2022led to recall 22V420000

    Hood Latch/Bell Crank Assembly

    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 cert…

  • EA15004Opened Aug 31, 2015Closed May 2, 2017led to recall 15V681000

    Occupant Classification System Failure

    In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as shown below.Nissan models: certain model year 2013-2016 Altima, 2013-2016 LEAF, 2016-2017 Maxima, 2015-016 Murano and Murano Hybrid, 2013-2016 Pathfinder, 2014-2015 Pathfinder Hybrid, 2014-2017 Rogue, 2013-2016 Sentra, 2013-2016 NV200, and 2014-2016 Taxi.Infiniti models: certain model…

  • RQ15001Opened Mar 18, 2015Closed Sep 1, 2015

    Occupant Classification System Failure

    In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 200/Taxi vehicles.According to Nissan, the OCS may misclassify adult front passenger occupants and turn off the passenger's frontal air bag for an adult occupant of sufficient weight.In March 2015, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Recall Query after the agency re…

NHTSA 5-Star safety ratings

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2014 Nissan Pathfinder SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆
2014 Nissan Pathfinder SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆

Recent 2014 Nissan Pathfinder complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

  1. Filed Jul 14, 2026LAEngineSuspensionTransmission & Drivetrain
    2014 Nissan Parhfinder FWD Premium: this vehicles CVT joint failed that shirt the engine down to about 10 miles an hour immediately. Which caused me the driver to find a place to pull it off the road quickly. If a person or myself could not have a point to pull off the road or someone was behind then could have been rear ended the vehicle and major damage to the vehicle or person driving. Which there was and they were about to go around the pathfinder. The vehicle also may…
    NHTSA complaint #11750190 · source
  2. Filed Jun 29, 2026MDEngine
    I purchased the car July 2024 by November 2024 the transmission failed and had to be replaced. Replaced, not repaired. By October 2025 it failed again. The car sputtered and then would not drive. This time the dealer said other repairs had to be done first before they would officially say the transmission failed. Then I found that Nissan had a manufacturer's defect with the transmission. So they should have it replaced it in 2024 for free. Since I refused to make any more…
    NHTSA complaint #11747205 · source
  3. Filed Jun 29, 2026139,000 miILBody & Structure
    The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that it had rained heavily for two days, and the contact became aware that there was a significant amount of water accumulated on the front passenger's and driver's side floorboards and underneath the seats. Additionally, the contact stated that upon removing the mats, the brake pedal was corroded and made an abnormally squeaky sound. The contact confirmed that the leak was not coming from the roof. The dealer and…
    NHTSA complaint #11747185 · source
  4. Filed Jun 23, 2026ALBody & StructureEngineTransmission & Drivetrain
    Rear Door / lift gate will not go all the way up or stay up without manual assistance, causing 2 head injuries and 2 arm injuries on recent occasions. We have confirmed with the dealer & one Nissan Certified Mechanic that this is a common problem. The dealer & 2 mechanics have said they do not know how to fix this without replacing the entire lifting assembly. We did not ask for estimates. We should not have to, but we can live with the problem now that we are aware of it.…
    NHTSA complaint #11746091 · source
  5. Filed Jun 6, 2026NYTransmission & Drivetrain
    I bought this vehicle and it has about 5,000 miles on it, I added about 60,000 more miles on it and I have to replaced the automatic transmission paid from my pocket since the manufacturer warranty does not cover all that much miles.
    NHTSA complaint #11742510 · source
  6. Filed Jun 4, 2026TXTowedTransmission & Drivetrain
    The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated and shuddered. The contact stated that the failure persisted while driving. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was towed to a transmission specialist, where it was diagnosed with an unknown transmission failure. The vehicle was not yet repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was contacted…
    NHTSA complaint #11742047 · source
  7. Filed May 19, 2026NJTransmission & Drivetrain
    Vehicle has known CVT judder issue. Now they (Nissan) claim the only way to remedy is a complete transmission replacement. The car is my wife’s vehicle and can be very touchy often causing distracted driving in reality. Occuring nearly since purchase in Oct. 2013.
    NHTSA complaint #11738839 · source
  8. Filed Apr 23, 2026MASuspension
    Driver's side (left) rear trailing arm broke away from the rear subframe mount due to excessive rust and corrosion. In addition to the failed trailing arm mount location, the mount to the body in the same location also rusted through.
    NHTSA complaint #11733448 · source

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Other 2014 Nissan models

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 11, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology