2004 Nissan Pathfinder Problems, Recalls & Reliability
86 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder, alongside 7 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 6/100 on the trouble index — one of this model's quieter years. Brakes & stability leads the reports, typically around 5,196 miles.
One of the quieter years. Relative to its siblings, the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder has drawn well-below-average complaint volume with at least four years on the road.
Better year
Where 2004 sits among all Pathfinder years
What owners report
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 59 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 79,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 5,600 and 134,440 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (7)
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…
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 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…
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.…
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,…
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.…
DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY…
Fix: DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
CERTAIN HOPKINS AFTERMARKET TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL CONNECTION HARNESSES SOLD FOR USE ON CERTAIN MODELS OF NISSAN VEHICLES WHICH ARE LISTED ABOVE. THE INTERNAL PART NUMBERS WITHIN HOPKINS ARE: 1010476025, 1040376025, 1110476025, 1170376025, 1290376025,…
Fix: HOPKINS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE ORIGINAL HARNESS WITH A REVISED HARNESS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN AUGUST 17, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT HOPKINS AT 800-835-0129.
CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO…
Fix: CK MOTORSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE NONCOMPLIANT LAMPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 1, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CK MOTORSPORT AT 1-909-610-7211.
CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE…
Fix: PRO-A MOTORS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE THE LAMPS. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 3, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PRO-A MOTORS AT 323-838-2988.
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
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,…
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
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…
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Led to recall campaign 11V244000.
Technical service bulletins
56 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on electrical and wheels & tires — are on file for the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2004 Pathfinder TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder reliable?
The 2004 Nissan Pathfinder drew 86 complaints in federal safety records — one of this model's quieter years. Its trouble index is 6/100, scored against the model's worst year (2005).
What are the most common 2004 Nissan Pathfinder problems?
The top reported problems for the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder are brakes & stability (20 complaints), airbags (11), and transmission & drivetrain (9).
At what mileage do 2004 Nissan Pathfinder problems show up?
Owners most often report 2004 Nissan Pathfinder problems around 79,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 5,600 and 134,440 miles.
Does the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder have recalls?
7 recall campaigns apply to the 2004 Nissan Pathfinder. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.