Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Nissan Pathfinder owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact stated that the company owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the fuel gauge displayed a full tank, then suddenly displayed that the fuel was empty, improperly displaying the fuel level. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the fuel level sensor was high causing the fuel pump to fail. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
I've ran out of gas twice my indicator the gas tank gauge does not show that the vehicle is empty it shows it's full and then I run out of gas on the side of the road almost get hit by cars trying to get to gas station to get more gas in the middle of traffic very dangerous have my daughter with me trying to push my vehicle out of the way so I don't get hit apparently it's a recall that says mine was done but it's not done because it's still having problems I am the third owner of mine so I think it was mislabeled as completed if that's the case then how do I know any of these recalls have been done properly
Car shuts off In the middle of driving & also when simply parked. It starts jerking like it's trying to catch up then it kills. It's happened in front of traffic and busy roadways/intersections. It has happened more than once.
My vehicle, as I had thought, had 1/4 tank of gas when all of a sudden the fuel gauge showed no gas whatsoever and my gas light turned on. While driving another 20 miles to my nearest gas station, my vehicle started to slowly de-accelerate. I had to pull over to the side of the road and my car no longer had speed and I realized it was because I had no gas when I thought I did. I was able to put gas on my car and sure enough it started running again but being that I only put about 10 gallons of gas, my gas light still stayed on and my nozzle still showed below the empty line. I was worried every day that I would run out and sure enough this incident happened two more times. Before that though, I viewed to see if there were any recalls regarding this issue and sure enough there was one. …
In 3/2017 I received NHTSA safety recall no. 10v-075 from Nissan north America. I took the vehicle in on 3/31/2017 for this work to be performed knowing this was a very important safety recall involving the gas tank float. After the work was performed the fuel gauge gives false readings: when the gauge reaches about 1/2 full it drops to empty and the "distance to empty" computer says 12 miles left until running out of gas. When filling up with with the gauge reading empty and 12 dte the tank will only accept 12 gallons and it's a 21.1 gallon capacity tank. I took the vehicle in to scott clark Nissan in charlotte, nc 4/12/2017 and 6/28/2017. I've also filed a formal case/complaint with Nissan north America: 27312766. Nissan is refusing to fix the issue even though the malfunction was a result of the safety recall work. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact mentioned that the fuel gauge displayed that there was one quarter of fuel in the vehicle, however, the fuel tank was empty. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned on another occasion that after the vehicle was refueled, the fuel gauge displayed that the fuel tank was empty. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the fuel sensor unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10V075000 (fuel system, gasoline). The failure mileage was 95,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle decelerated, vibrated, and stalled. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact noticed that the vehicle was out of fuel. The fuel gauge failed to provide the accurate reading. The vehicle was taken to fiesta Nissan (2005 st michaels dr., santa fe, nm 87505, [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the fuel sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10V075000 (fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.
I took my Pathfinder in to the local Nissan dealer for a check up--chugging at 35mph, check engine light sporadically goes on and off, gas gauge stopped functioning. Nissan ran the diagnostics and told me the check engine light is because I need to pay $500.00 to replace the fuel sensor. I believe this is a part that was previously recalled. I don't know if Nissan considers the fix once and done but vehicles driven in salt and sand winter conditions will need extra attention. The transmission trouble is something Nissan knows about but refuses to recall. I was told I needed to replace the radiator and transmission--over $5000.00. If Nissan knows about these problems, why must I, a now unhappy owner, pay for these repairs?
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the contact noticed that the fuel gauge was not working. Normally, the instrument panel would display how many miles remained until fuel was needed according to the fuel amount. Ever since the failure began approximately three months ago, the contact was refueling the vehicle more often since the fuel to mileage system failed. The dealer (dartmouth Nissan, 83 s state road, north dartmouth, massachusetts) was informed of the failure and stated that there would be a diagnostic fee. Due to the fee, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 185,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the fuel gauge indicated that the tank was empty. The contact stated that he had just filled up the fuel tank. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel gauge sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10V075000 (fuel system, gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Auxillary tank
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…
Remedy: 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.
Fuel System complaints in other Pathfinder years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder?
NHTSA has 231 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, 28% of the model year's 837 complaints. The component named most often is storage › auxillary tank (38 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Nissan Pathfinder fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-075 (auxillary tank, Mar 3, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Nissan Pathfinder fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.