2013 Nissan Pathfinder Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,209 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, alongside 11 recall campaigns and 4 defect investigations. It scores 79/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 7,100 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 1990–1995, 1999–2000, 2002–2004, 2009–2012, 2016–2020, 2022.
Avoid
Where 2013 sits among all Pathfinder years
What owners report
“When accelerating you can feel it vibrate or hesitation . This is the second time i have had this issue with it. The cvt transmission has been replaced once at 15, 000 miles. Now that it is not under warranty, nissan will not fix or replace, even though i have had this problem before.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
“Airbag light shows that there is no passenger in the seat when a adult sits in the seat”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
“Sun visor does not stay up on both driver and passenger side. It falls during driving, suddenly reducing visibility and may cause a crash. Also falls when vehicle is stationary. Several similar complaints on 2013-2016 models.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
“Vehicle transmission is not functioning as it should causing the vehicle to stop accelerating while driving.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
“Inside passengers front door handle broke making it impossible to open the passengers front door from inside the vehicle”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
“Brake lights staying on even when brake pedal not depressed and also causing car to not accelerate sometimes and causing the shift interlock to not automatically work to be able to shift out of park.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2013 Pathfinder
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 828 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 21,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 4,000 and 58,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (11)
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.
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…
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…
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…
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to June 13, 2013. The brake light switch may have been installed incorrectly causing the relay to make intermittent contact and…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake light switch and, as necessary, replace the relay, free of charge. The recall began on July 25, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan…
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…
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…
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…
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.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured June 20, 2012, to November 18, 2013, 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid vehicles manufactured July 18, 2013, to November 18, 2013, 2013 Infiniti…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will modify the angle of the hood release mechanism to provide additional length to the release cable, free of charge. The recall began on March 9, 2015.…
Nissan North America (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, and equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In the affected vehicles, the internal oil cooler…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will install an oil hose repair kit, free of charge. The recall began on May 12, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through September 20, 2013; model year 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles manufactured September 15, 2011, through January 16, 2013; and model year 2014 Infiniti…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the ABS, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Pathfinder and Infiniti JX vehicles manufactured December 3, 2012, through January 29, 2013. The front brake torque member was improperly cast resulting in structural weakness. This can lead to premature failure…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the manufacturing date of the torque members and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 20, 2013. Owners may contact…
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction…
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at…
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 22V420000.
Led to recall campaign 15V681000.
Led to recall campaign 14V142000.
Technical service bulletins
267 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on transmission & drivetrain and electrical — are on file for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2013 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 2013 Nissan Pathfinder reliable?
The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder drew 1,209 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 79/100, scored against the model's worst year (2005).
What are the most common 2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems?
The top reported problems for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder are transmission & drivetrain (371 complaints), airbags (178), and other (123).
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems show up?
Owners most often report 2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems around 21,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 4,000 and 58,000 miles.
Does the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder have recalls?
11 recall campaigns apply to the 2013 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.