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2016 Nissan Pathfinder Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 105 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder, most often about the engine (27% of complaints, typically around 50,000 miles). It is 15th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2016 Nissan Pathfinder problems
Engine
28 complaints · 27%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles. Parts named most often: cooling system.
Radiator: nissian Pathfinder radiator fail after owning for less than 2 years. This is covered under extend warrantee. But base on the past radiator recall, the vechile raidator may not be up to specs.
Don't even have the car a year! Loud noise under hood like fan bang. Constant issue on other pathfinders as well. Had to pay $1100 for coolant fan replacement that was overheating engine! Should receive some type of reimbursement as this is an ongoing issue with these vehicles! Hazard as car can catch on fire from…
Other or unspecified
21 complaints · 20%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
Radiator: nissian Pathfinder radiator fail after owning for less than 2 years. This is covered under extend warrantee. But base on the past radiator recall, the vechile raidator may not be up to specs.
I was driving home from work on the interstate and my sunroof exploded. Glass was everywhere inside the vehicle and myself. It sounded like a shotgun.
Air bags
18 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 9,000 miles.
I was the person who first filed the airbag issue on NHTSA. Finally today, the issue was "patched".I say patched not fixed since now the "airbag off" light is always on in my car which does not match the manual of my vehicle.a bigger issue though is that this confuses US into thinking the similarly orange colored…
Re: recall 16v244000 Nissan Pathfinder was recalled to fix passenger airbag sensor. Within 2 months after repair problem began again intermittently. Approx 30% of starts showed pass airbag off in spite of passenger in place. This would correct by restarting vehicle. This was reported to dealer at every 5000 mile…
Brakes
14 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
While coming to a stop brake pedal will fade causing the pedal to touch the floor and forcing the driver to release and reapply brakes. Also while using cruise control on the highway, the vehicle begins to rapidly accelerate and de-accelerate causing a 'jerking' motion
Intermittent brake system issue. While stopped, the brake pedal will fade causing the car to creep and the brake pedal goes to the floor forcing driver to release and reapply brake to stop vehicle from moving. Happens mostly when car is hot and has been driven for hour or more. Nissan dealership diagnosed and found no…
Electrical
11 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 64,000 miles.
Cooling fan assembly failed on 1/26/2019 at 64, miles. New assy was purchased on 1/26/2019 from tony serra Nissan in cullman, al costing $560.29 (part and tax only). I r/r the assy myself, as I have experience in the automotive repair field, it took me just shy of 2 hours to replace them (time and care was taken). The…
Drivers side window doesn't want to go up or down when it's cold, sometimes stops working all together, have seen many similar complaints on line concerning motor in door. Happens when stationer or in motion
Transmission
7 complaints · 7%The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated and sputtered while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where dtc: p17f1 (internal CVT failure was retrieved). The contact was…
Visibility and wipers
5 complaints · 5%Parts named most often: defroster/defogger/hvac system.
The sunroof blew up from the inside out while driving at 80 MPH. Glass flew to the vehicle that was following mine. This incident occurred while traveling on columbia, sc. Highway 26.
Acid rain etching on the windshield severely impairs visibility when driving toward the sun in mornings and afternoon. The same was true for a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder I owned, but other brands I have owned, including a 2007 toyota tundra I currently own, were and are not affected by acid rain. The problem appears to be…
Wheels and tires
4 complaints · 4%
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 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.
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.
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 2016 Nissan Pathfinder
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (28 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); other or unspecified (21 complaints, typically around 50,000 miles); air bags (18 complaints, typically around 9,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder have?
- 2 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 2016 a bad year for the Nissan Pathfinder?
- It is 15th of 26 Pathfinder model years by number of complaints, with 105 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.