Selling a dead or worn-out Nissan Pathfinder

The name has covered five different vehicles since 1987. The early ones were compact, truck-based SUVs. The 2005-2012 trucks were bigger, with a third row. From 2013 it became a unibody crossover with a CVT. Each one breaks in its own way, so find your model year below before you put money into it.

Five generations at a glance

Our own count, made on October 10, 2026 from the bulk files NHTSA publishes. A recall that straddles two generations appears in both rows.

The first two generations came from Nissan Shatai in Kanda, Japan. Smyrna, Tennessee, built the R51 and every R52. There is no 2021 Pathfinder: Nissan skipped that year.

1996-2004: salt and the strut towers

Suspension is the component owners name most on six of the nine R50 years. Of 1,304 complaints on these trucks, 248 mention a strut, and 138 of those also mention rust, corrosion or cracking. Recall 11V244 explains why. In states that use heavy road salt, salty water can get into a hole in the upper strut housing and collect there until the housing cracks and pulls away from the inner hood ledge. It covers 195,991 vehicles, some of them Infiniti QX4s.

A second salt-state recall, 07V435, covers 1997-2001 fuel filler tubes that were short on coating and can rust through.

2005-2010: coolant in the transmission

This is the Pathfinder's worst stretch. The 2005 tops every year with 1,050 complaints, and the 2006 adds 837. Of the 1,887 on those two years, 967 bring up the transmission and also the radiator, its cooler or coolant. Owners who listed a mileage put the middle figure at 90,048 on the 2005 and 93,000 on the 2006.

Nissan named the cause in a 2012 bulletin. On a small share of 2005-2010 Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra automatics, the oil cooler tube inside the radiator can crack, and coolant leaks into the transmission. Nissan extended radiator coverage to a decade or 100,000 miles and paid for transmission damage from the leak, but owners paid $2,500 after year 8 and $3,000 after year 9. That coverage has expired on every truck.

Two recalls also hit these years. Recall 10V517 says an engine-control relay on 2005-2006 trucks can cut out and stall them. Recall 08V690 applies to 2005-2009 trucks from road-salt states, where salty slush can get into the front crash sensor and keep the front air bags from firing.

2013-2014: the first CVT trucks

Complaints went from 23 on the 2012 to 890 on the 2013, the year of the unibody and the CVT. Of 1,474 complaints on the 2013 and 2014, 489 mention the CVT or the transmission.

Nissan responded in three steps. Recall 14V142 fixed a CVT oil cooler hose that could detach on 3,065 early 2013 trucks; with the fluid gone, the truck could stop accelerating. Campaign PC500, dated December 7, 2016, reprogrammed the transmission computer on 173,576 2013-2014 trucks and stretched the CVT warranty from five years to seven, with the mileage cap rising to 84,000. A June 1, 2022 bulletin gave 2015-2018 Pathfinders the same longer CVT warranty, 84 months or 84,000 miles.

The 2013-2014 trucks carry 15 recalls in all. Among them: a secondary hood latch that can stay open (22V420, 2013-2016, 322,671 trucks), a badly cast front brake part on some 2013s (13V139), and brake light relays that can stick on (16V380 and 21V020). Hybrids from 2014-2015 also have 21V774, for control-module software that can shut the hybrid system and engine off.

2017-2019: keep it outside

Recalls 18V601 and 19V807 say the anti-lock brake pump on 2017-2019 Pathfinders can leak brake fluid onto a circuit board, short and start a fire. Both carry NHTSA's park-outside advice. If yours sits in a garage with the recall open, move it out.

2022 and newer

The R53 dropped the CVT for a nine-speed automatic. Brakes lead its complaints. Its first year drew five recalls, among them weak welds in the second-row seat backs (21V743) and third-row headrests that can move or come off (21V742).

Complaints and recalls by model year

One row per model year, or per run of quiet years. Complaints are what owners sent NHTSA about that year's trucks, and a single recall campaign shows up in every row it names. "Component named most" skips NHTSA's "unknown or other" label.

One complaint is filed under a 1986 model year, a year before the first US Pathfinder; it sits in the first row. NHTSA files five more 2020 complaints under a mislabeled model name, so the true 2020 count is 53.

Fix it or sell it?

Start with two numbers: the written repair quote, and what the truck sells for once it runs. When the first number gets close to the second, selling it as it sits is usually the better call. Then check these.

1. Coolant in the transmission on a 2005-2010 automatic. That is a radiator and, often, a transmission. Nissan's own co-pays show it was never a small job. Our bad transmission guide covers the signs and the usual repair choices.
2. A slipping CVT on a 2013-2018. Before paying for anything, ask a Nissan dealer whether the extended coverage still applies to your VIN.
3. Rust on a 1996-2004. Look at the strut towers under the hood. Ask a dealer whether recall 11V244 was ever done on your truck.
4. Any year. Enter your VIN at NHTSA's recall search, and park a 2017-2019 outside while the ABS recall is open.

Selling your Pathfinder whole

1. Write down the VIN and mileage. You can read the VIN through the glass where the dash meets the windshield on the driver's side.
2. Get an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Describe it plainly: what failed, if it starts, if it rolls, 2WD or 4WD. Say where it sits, such as a driveway, a shop lot or the side of a field.
4. Leave it complete. Keep the third-row seat, the wheels and the catalytic converters on it. Tell us about anything that's missing; the offer depends on it.
5. When the truck arrives, hand over the signed title and show your ID. Plate rules depend on your state; after you sell lists them. Lost the title? Start with selling without a title.

Looking at another Nissan? The Xterra shares the 2005-2010 radiator bulletin, the Frontier is the pickup on the same platform, and Nissan lists every model.