Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Nissan Pathfinder owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of the purchase, the mileage was 93,653. It was later discovered that the mileage was approximately 209,000. The contact reported the fraud to the Secretary of State and had since found other vehicles to have been included in an odometer fraud ring.
Shifter will not move from park. I have to use the hidden bypass push button just above park indicator to move vehicle in & out of gear. I bought this vehicle with about 141,000 miles. I noticed the under carriage was wet at time i bought it on september 16th 2021. Very slow leak. Had mechanic test transmission fluid temp and add Nissan cvt fluid. Didnt need much. Both rear interior doors have boken handles. Cables broke free of internal handle. Transmission starting to hesitate or lose power on mostly heavy acceleration. Acceleration pause for moment. Sometimes a few times within 5-7 seconds when attempt to excelerate at full throttle when heavy acceleration. Getting worse. Happening at slower speeds. Hood shakes on highway. Needs reinforced. So far caused no accidents.
My car powers off as I am driving it. The brakes work but nothing else. The dials go crazy and all the warning lights on my car turn on with all the other lights remaining off. I'm not sure what component stopped working when it shuts off but I would be okay with it being inspected. My safety was put at risk because I could no longer drive the car and the gas pedal doesn't work so I don't gain any speed leaving me stranded on the street having to pull over which could lead to an accident. The problem has been confirmed by an independent service dealer. The first sign I know the problem is gonna happen when driving is when I turn on the car and the emergency brake light turns on and the battery light.
Reverse camera is so blurry, reset factory setting on radio and now says infinity and air went to 90f won't go down I reset it and nothing can't update radio at all. Can't even drive long without almost overheating inside car temp fine but inside hot even if windows down airbag lights blinking no crash or accident no passager airbag with passenger in it light indicates off
Both of my rear passenger door lock actuators stop working. The doors will not unlock from the inside when a passenger tries to unlock the door to exit the car. My break lights stay on . The ABS light turned on then it stopped turning on. The light bulbs inside the car in the second row stopped turning on .
Vehicle gets stuck in park. The gear will not shift into drive, reverse, or neutral. Will not move from park even though the car is on. Brake lights deploy when brake pedal is pushed but car will not move from park position.
Three times our battery has ruptured. Two separate batteries, the second and third being a Nissan dealership battery because I thought maybe the aftermarket battery was the cause. I have purchased four batteries over the two years I have owned the pathfinder. The first battery that came with the car I did not see the battery condition as the car was towed in after it lost power while driving up hill. They assumed alternator however concluded it was the battery. When looking at the new battery the dealership installed I noticed corrosion from the splash of battery acid all over the engine bay. It wasn't until I was in the car when the new battery once again ruptured, separating the whole top and bottom casing. That left acid dripping in my engine bay. So battery number three I made sure was an OEM Nissan battery that could handle the Platnium OEM options. …
While driving on September 219th, 2016, the airbag indicator light started flashing for under a minute, and then the entire dashboard cluster panel went out. The tachometer, speedometer, gas gauge, driver safety information, lighting and breaks , gear mode, seat belt indicator, engine temperature gauge all went blank as the car was driving straight down a street approximately 45 miles an hour. I pulled the car off of the road to a safe place. Shut it down, and started it again normally. The entire instrument panel has yet to come back on. I was able to get the SUV home, and called some local dealerships to get it in to service. While waiting for a call back, I was able to research, and found that the vehicle is under two recalls, 16v-244 for occs system, and 16v-380 for stop lamp switch.. …
I bought a brand new 2013 Nissan Pathfinder in March of 2013. Within 6 months I noticed there was jerking with the transmission. I took it back to preston Nissan in maryland and was told they had received a bulletin and the transmission needed to be reprogrammed. They reprogrammed the transmission and it helped a little but a few months later it was doing the same thing. I took it back to preston Nissan. There I was told that they could not duplicate the problem and that they would reprogram it again. It did not help. I could not afford to keep taking it back, because they charge me every time to keep telling me there was nothing wrong. My car began to not accelerate when I was making a turn or when I was accelerating in traffic. We took it back to preston and we were told that they had put a device in to monitor the transmission as well as reprogrammed it again. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. While the vehicle was stationary and while driving various speeds, the vehicle experienced several failures since March of 2017. The contact stated that the rear brake light failed to illuminate properly when the brakes were applied, the vehicle vibrated and shook violently on several occasions, the passenger side air bag occupant detection indicator failed to illuminate. Furthermore, the contact reported that the increased stopping distance related sensor and the ABS wheel sensor failed. In addition, the contact expressed concern that the power windows independently rolled up and down, the back-up camera disabled and rotated in the reverse position, and the key fob sensor intermittently failed to perform as intended. An independent mechanic replaced the throttle body position sensor, but the failure recurred. …
Related recalls
Electrical system › Software
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.
Remedy: 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.
Electrical system › Software
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 QX60 vehicles manufactured January 17, 2013, through September 20,…
Remedy: 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.
Electrical complaints in other Pathfinder years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder?
NHTSA has 50 complaints about the electrical system of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, 6% of the model year's 890 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Nissan Pathfinder electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 14V-138 (software, Mar 25, 2014); NHTSA recall 13V-445 (software, Oct 17, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Pathfinder electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 32,000 miles, and 44% 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.