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2008 Nissan Pathfinder Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 328 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, most often about the transmission (47% of complaints, typically around 113,000 miles). It is 6th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2008 Nissan Pathfinder problems
Transmission
155 complaints · 47%Half of these problems showed up before 113,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
Upon driving at 25mph the RPM's increased without any power. No matter how much gas I gave it o would only crawl and could barely exit the intersection. I was able to pull over and shut the car off. I tried to turn it back on and it would not. I brought it back to the dealer and was informed the radiator and…
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The vehicle was able to restart, but the gear was stuck in the park position. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the valve…
Engine
84 complaints · 26%Half of these problems showed up before 112,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system, exhaust system.
Upon driving at 25mph the RPM's increased without any power. No matter how much gas I gave it o would only crawl and could barely exit the intersection. I was able to pull over and shut the car off. I tried to turn it back on and it would not. I brought it back to the dealer and was informed the radiator and…
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The vehicle was able to restart, but the gear was stuck in the park position. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the valve…
Fuel system
81 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 90,000 miles. Parts named most often: storage, delivery.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed to display the accurate reading fuel levels. On one occasion while driving at 65 MPH, the fuel tank displayed full when the fuel tank was actually empty causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer…
The fuel sending unit on my Nissan is faulty. There is a part campaign issued for some vehicles but Nissan is not covering mine. The concern is that the fuel sensor either registers empty and I can run out of gasoline. Or as I am filling my vehicle, it may not sense the level of gasoline in the tank and cause an…
Air bags
41 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 130,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the driver's seat air bag sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was…
The contact owned a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the driver crashed into the preceding vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. A police report was filed. The driver sustained injuries to the chest, head, and neck, which required medical attention. The…
Other or unspecified
22 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 124,500 miles.
Shifts rough - Nissan dealership diagnosed as cross contamination of engine coolant, atf, and milky radiator cap. Recommed replacement of transmission, radiator, trans cooler and thermostat. Quoted $6400.00 to repair. Who has $6400 laying around for car repairs. With only 122,000 miles on car I certainly didn't think…
Radiator failure.... Causing radiator fluid to leak into the transmission. Ruining the transmission and computer board. I was driving it and it was acting weird, so I parked it turned the car off went to turn it back on and it wouldn't start.
Electrical
21 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 60,500 miles. Parts named most often: instrument cluster/panel, 12v/24v/48v battery.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired.…
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 20 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The failure occurred while driving various speeds and after being driven approximately 10-20 miles. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The contact also stated that the fuel gauge read 1/4 of a tank…
Speed control
10 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 104,500 miles.
Upon driving at 25mph the RPM's increased without any power. No matter how much gas I gave it o would only crawl and could barely exit the intersection. I was able to pull over and shut the car off. I tried to turn it back on and it would not. I brought it back to the dealer and was informed the radiator and…
While driving on the highway in the fast lane at 85 MPH the car lost power completely. Luckily there were no other cars in my vicinity. Coasted over 2 lanes to breakdown lane just barely over the line. Gas gage read 1/4 tank so figured I still had gas. Tried to restart several times but car acted like it was out of…
Brakes
8 complaints · 2%Half of these problems showed up before 95,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stalled. In addition, the fuel gauge displayed an incorrect reading. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that a fuel sensor float arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, a couple of months after the…
For several years, randomly when I would first start my car and drive the brake light would be on and when I hit the breaks a grinding noise could be heard. Since it was so random I often thought I hit the parking brake when I was previously getting out of the car because - if I pushed the parking brake down and…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Nissan Pathfinder recalls
Air bags: frontal
Risk: A detached emblem can become a projectile during air bag deployment, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driverâs airbag cover. Owner letters were mailed december 8, 2023. Owners may contact nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are pc944, pc945, and pc946.
Full defect summary
Nissan north america, inc. (nissan) is recalling certain 2008-2011 titan, frontier, xterra, pathfinder, armada, and 2008-2009 quest vehicles. The resin emblem on the driver's air bag cover may develop cracks and detach during air bag deployment.
Equipment: navigational system(global positioning system)
Risk: Overheated batteries could result in a fire.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners and the repairs will be performed by garmin technicians by replacing the battery and inserting a spacer on top of the battery free of charge. The safety recall began on september 16, 2010. Owners may contact garmin directly at 1-866-957-1981 or nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
Nissan is recalling certain vehicles that were equipped with a garmin nuvi model 750 navigation system. The batteries contained in the affected GPS units can overheat.
Fuel system: auxillary tank
Risk: This could cause the vehicle to run out of gas and stall in traffic, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel level sending unit inside the fuel tank with a new one that has a modified float arm. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before march 22, 2010. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2006 and model year 2008 frontier, xterra and pathfinder vehicles. The molded fuel tank shells can deform, causing the fuel sender float arm to contact an embossment molded into the tank shell causing the instrument panel fuel gauge to show that the vehicle has approximately one quarter tank when the fuel tank is empty.
Air bags: frontal
Risk: This issue could result in the non-deployment of the driver and passenger front air bags in a crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front czs with a redesigned sensor. The recall began on january 26, 2009. Owners in the other states will receive extended warranty coverage for the sensor to 10 years. These owners will be notified of the warranty extension by mail and will receive a sticker to place in their warranty booklet explaining the extended warranty coverage. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Full defect summary
Nissan is recalling 242,720 my 2005-2009 pathfinder, frontier and xterra vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, west virginia, wisconsin, and the district of columbia. In those areas of the country which use heavy concentrations of road salt in the winter, a mixture of snow/water and salt can enter into the front crash zone sensor (czs) housing. If this occurs, the czs may internally rust resulting in a signal interruption. If this happens, the red air bag warning light will illuminate to alert the vehicle operator.
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
Transmission failures
Summary
On february 29, 2012 the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA) received a letter petitioning the agency to conduct a defect investigation into my 2005-2010 nissan pathfinder, frontier, and xterra vehicles [the subject vehicles] for automatic transmission failures related to failed transmission coolers.NHTSA conducted a comprehensive review of data related to this subject. Our report, documenting this review, is available in the document file for this defect petition.it will also be published in the federal register. Of the 2,505 referenced complaints, 638 relate to a potential hazard (unable to maintain speed, no motive power, engine stall) and 1,867 concern customer satisfa
Questions about the 2008 Nissan Pathfinder
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Nissan Pathfinder?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (155 complaints, typically around 113,000 miles); engine (84 complaints, typically around 112,000 miles); fuel system (81 complaints, typically around 90,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Nissan Pathfinder have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 10, 2023 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Nissan Pathfinder?
- It is 6th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints, with 328 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.