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2015 Nissan Pathfinder Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 321 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder, most often about the other or unspecified (25% of complaints, typically around 45,000 miles). It is 7th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2015 Nissan Pathfinder problems
Other or unspecified
79 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 45,000 miles.
The radiator cooling fan assembly became inoperable. The vehicle was stationary. Cooling fan began to make weird noises, had to replace complete fan assembly after 40k miles.
Couple of things, first the front passenger air bag is set to off when there is an adult sitting there, and I have a blinking airbag light, at all times no matter what. Second, there is a loud noise coming from the engine when I turn my heater on. I can also feel the vibration when I'm still. The SUV only has about…
Transmission
77 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 42,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
While driving my Pathfinder on major highways and roads, I would be merging into traffic, turning onto a road and just trying to accelerate. The vehicle often loses all power and decelerates. I have placed the gas pedal all the way to the floor, and yet have no power. It takes at least 10-15 seconds to regain power…
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact stated that when making a turn, the contact noticed a rumbling noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed electronic coupler. The contact was informed that the…
Engine
75 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 48,500 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system.
Motor & fan assembly with shroud- fan is inoperative since a part on fan has broken. Vehicle is only working on one fan. Vehicle started making a loud noise when fan assembly would come on while driving.
Brakes make a clicking noise almost as if the pads are bouncing around at any speed with light brake application. Engine cooling fan is making a racket bouncing off of shroud when the heat or A/C is turned on. It is the passenger side fan. Just bought the vehicle used and only has 50k. Nice vehicle, just wish I didnt…
Air bags
55 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 13,000 miles.
I had problems with my air bag sensor ever since I bought the car. Every once in a while when I had a passenger in the front seat the air bag would deactivate. Originally the service manager stated that my purse must be to heavy and is knocking out the calibration. The second time I got a lesson on how to sit in the…
The airbag sensor for the front passenger side seat does not work properly. There can be a large adult in the seat, and the sensor shows the airbag off. We bought the car new, as a demo, with approximately 5,000 miles on it. This has happened more than one time.
Electrical
27 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 48,000 miles.
At random times, when the rear, power, lift gate is opened, it reaches the point of being fully opened, and then closes on it's own. This creates a significant safety hazard because if you are reaching into the rear cargo area, the lift gate comes down on your head, neck, or back. This has been a problem since the car…
Break lights will stay on even if the car is parked. It will stay on while driving. When this happens I have to disconnect the battery for the break lights to go off. Rediculous! The other issue is loss of power. Usually when this happens the skid dummy light will turn on and stay on. When accelerating from a complete…
Speed control
27 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 48,500 miles.
Break lights will stay on even if the car is parked. It will stay on while driving. When this happens I have to disconnect the battery for the break lights to go off. Rediculous! The other issue is loss of power. Usually when this happens the skid dummy light will turn on and stay on. When accelerating from a complete…
Engine rattling, turned out to be a faulty radiator cooling fan. Needed to replace whole fan assembly after 50,000 miles. Intermittently brake lights will stay on when car is parked, draining the battery. Perhaps a brake relay switch. Also intermittently, the vehicle has severe issues accelerating. If going 40 MPH…
Brakes
26 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 48,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock.
After using brakes either at a stop light or while driving, when I reapply the gas pedal nothing happens. The rpms stay at idle and the vehicle barely moves. Problem intermittent and unpredictable. It appears that the brake lights stay on when this is happening. I have even parked the car and turned off the vehicle…
Brakes make a clicking noise almost as if the pads are bouncing around at any speed with light brake application. Engine cooling fan is making a racket bouncing off of shroud when the heat or A/C is turned on. It is the passenger side fan. Just bought the vehicle used and only has 50k. Nice vehicle, just wish I didnt…
Body and structure
12 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 33,000 miles. Parts named most often: body.
I was involved in an accident where another car clipped the back bumper of my Pathfinder going trough an intersection. It was enough to deploy my curtain airbags on the drivers side and the seat air bag in the drivers seat, but did minor damage to the back bumper on the drivers side. But, after everyone was out of my…
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the weather stripping on both the driver and passenger sides of the roof were loose and the bolts to secure the luggage bar were detached from the vehicle. D'addario Nissan(329 bridgeport ave, shelton, ct) and the manufacturer were notified of the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2015 Nissan Pathfinder recalls
Doors and locks: latch
Risk: An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Lights: switch
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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: occupant classification
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.
Fix: 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 ser
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: occupant classification
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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Brakes: service brakes
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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
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
Hood latch/bell crank assembly
Summary
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 certain my2013-2016 nissan pathfinder vehicles produced at the smyrna, tn plant. According to nissan's d
Questions about the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder
- What are the most common problems with the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: other or unspecified (79 complaints, typically around 45,000 miles); transmission (77 complaints, typically around 42,000 miles); engine (75 complaints, typically around 48,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 13, 2022 (doors and locks). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2015 a bad year for the Nissan Pathfinder?
- It is 7th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints, with 321 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.