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2003 Nissan Pathfinder Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 110 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder, most often about the engine (28% of complaints, typically around 65,000 miles). It is 13th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2003 Nissan Pathfinder problems
Engine
31 complaints · 28%Half of these problems showed up before 65,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system.
September 2007- went to repair shop for oil change, was made aware of cracked catalytic converter november 2007- rear exhaust pipe fell off january 2008- went to muffler shop, was told that 2 catalytic converters and entire exhaust pipe need replacing. May 2008- went to Nissan dealer, was told that it is not my…
2003 Nissan Pathfinder. Cracked resonators/catalytic converters under vehicle allowing exhaust gas to enter vehicle. This is a very common problem with 2002/2003 Pathfinder owners and Nissan refuses to take action to correct this dangerous issue. No payment assistance has been offered by Nissan to help with the cost…
Suspension
21 complaints · 19%Half of these problems showed up before 143,000 miles. Parts named most often: front.
Vehicle taken to Nissan dealership for recall campaign 11v-244 inspection and repair of strut housings and steering column. Dealership confirmed corroded strut towers were pulling away from the body of the vehicle and that it was unsafe to drive. Dealership indicated that Nissan USA refused recall because vehicle was…
Takata recall when driving on highways the back-end sways off and on which can cause you to lose control. The head lights don't appear to shine bright enough. Abs light remains on even after replacing the sensors.
Fuel system
19 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 128,000 miles. Parts named most often: delivery.
Fuel gauge is not reading correctly repeatedly have to top off my tank that costs me more money than it should to get back and forth to work because I ran out of gas and it costed me $200 to figure out that I need something done about the gas gauge there's so many complaints about this why has it Nissan done something…
Strong smell of gasoline after filling tank. A leak from fuel filler neck was the issue. Repair was made, but it was over $400. Saw 2 other complains on NHTSA #s 10781139 and 10703027. There was a recall for this issue on pathfinders through 2001. Perhaps it is time this be investigated on 2003s as well.
Air bags
14 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 116,500 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
Lost control of vehicle coming off ramp due to black ice causing rear end to slide out to the left at a 90 causing front end collision to concrete on bridge. Steering wheel air bag deployed causing a bloody nose as well as a cut to the bottom lip and an inch long cut down the chin.
Takata recall hello, I received a safety recall letter from Nissan to have my airbags inspected. I went in and left with no issues and no repair was done, just an inspection. Two months later the airbag light started blinking. I called them and asked that they fix it. They said it will cost me $150 to diagnose the…
Steering
14 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 143,000 miles. Parts named most often: column.
Vehicle taken to Nissan dealership for recall campaign 11v-244 inspection and repair of strut housings and steering column. Dealership confirmed corroded strut towers were pulling away from the body of the vehicle and that it was unsafe to drive. Dealership indicated that Nissan USA refused recall because vehicle was…
The contact owns a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. While making a turn at 30 MPH, an unknown noise was heard whenever a turn was made. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the strut tower failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not included…
Brakes
13 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 87,500 miles. Parts named most often: pedals and linkages, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
While traveling at a speed of less than 30 MPH in the left turn lane I heard a loud grinding noise that felt like the gears stuck. The car then suddenly and without warning, revved up,speed forward with the steering wheel locked to the right. The steering and brakes were non responsive, and I had no control. My car…
Driving home from work on freeway with 1/4 tank of fuel - engine stalled in fast lane and would not restart. I was stuck in the traffic lane for 40 mins until the state police had a tow truck tow me away. Turns out, the fuel gauge was inaccurate because my tank was empty. My gauge goes above the f when I fill up and…
Body and structure
12 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 155,000 miles. Parts named most often: body, frame and members.
I was driving about 30 miles per hour when the rear bumper fell off. After further inspection, I notice the frames were almost completely rusted away and everything that is connected to it is in danger of falling off as well including the front bumper that is about to fall off at anytime. I am not a mechanic, but I am…
Nissan is claiming that NHTSA campaign number: 11v244000 was already addressed on my vehicle. I took my car into the dealership several years ago for a recall but they never fixed this recall because they were too busy. When I call Nissan right now they are claiming it was fixed already. This was never fixed and my…
Other or unspecified
6 complaints · 6%The strut tower repair that was made by Nissan in 09/2011 as part of NHTSA recall campaign #11v24000 (strut tower corrosion recall because of salt in new england states) failed on 8/17/2015. As a direct result of the structural failure in the passenger side strut tower, the break-line severed causing an immediate…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Nissan Pathfinder recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflators with alternate desiccated inflators, free of charge. The recall began february 12, 2020. Owners may contact nissan customer service at 888-737-9511 or infiniti customer service at 888-810-3715.
Full defect summary
Nissan north america, inc. (nissan) is recalling certain 2001-2003 maxima, 2002-2006 sentra, 2002-2004 pathfinder, 2007-2011 versa sedan and versa hatchback, 2001-2004 infiniti i30 and i35, 2002-2003 inifiniti qx4, 2003-2008 infiniti fx35 and fx45 and 2006-2010 m35 and m45 vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated, frontal passenger air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (psan) propellant that were used as interim remedy parts for previous takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on june 15, 2015. Owners may contact nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261. Note: on december 18, 2015 nissan informed NHTSA of an amendment of this recall to remove 2004-2005 infiniti fx35 and fx45 vehicles.
Full defect summary
Nissan north america, inc. (nissan) is recalling certain model year 2001-2003 nissan maxima, 2002-2004 pathfinder, 2002-2006 sentra, 2002-2003 infiniti qx4 and i35, 2003 fx35 and fx45, and 2001 i30 vehicles. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Suspension: front
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Frame/body structure corrosion
Summary
In their defect information report (dir) of april 20, 2011, nissan north america, inc. (nissan) notified NHTSA that it would conduct a safety recall of certain 1996-2004 nissan pathfinder and 1997-2003 infinity qx4 vehicles to repair corrosion damage to the driver's side front strut tower.the vehicles included in the recall are those that were originally sold, or are currently registered in salt belt states including connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia.the dir states in part, ...the st
Questions about the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (31 complaints, typically around 65,000 miles); suspension (21 complaints, typically around 143,000 miles); fuel system (19 complaints, typically around 128,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from January 9, 2020 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Nissan Pathfinder?
- It is 13th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints, with 110 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.