3.4

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,392 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2015 Nissan Pathfinder drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2015 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 3 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #20

Jun 172018

Pathfinder

  • 37,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Ongoing issue for three years! please help! cruise control drops out while towing. We almost got hit by an 18 wheeler driving down the road! I had my grandson with me!! the problem I have is unresolved. After numerous attempts and messages to contact charlotte at 6157257808 over the course of at least three-four weeks, I have resolved the fact that Nissan does not care about my issue. Hence I will be contacting the BBB to get this matter resolved to my satisfaction. I am in the market for a new car and it will not be Nissan.

- York, PA, USA

problem #19

Jun 022018

Pathfinder

  • 28,000 miles
Transmission when pressing on the gas happens anytime at any speed, the whole car shakes and the vehicle doesn't want to speed up. Was merging onto highway and pressed on the acceleration just a little bit and the vehicle did not want to speed up. All it did for a few seconds was shake and shimmy the vehicle. Felt like the transmission was having issues. This started to happen at 30,000 miles with the vehicle that was just barely 2 years old. Brought to dealership and was told nothing is wrong with transmission but an outdated software for cvs trasnmisssion, they updated it and the vehicle has way higher rpms when you press the gas every so little and the transmission still does the same issu as before. Nissan still states nothing is wrong. I beg to differ when I'm getting on the interstate and the whole vehicle shakes and doesn't want to move and almost caused a crash by being hit when vehicle won't speed up but wants to shake and shimmy the entire vehicle for a few seconds then go is a safety issue!

- Clermont, FL, USA

problem #18

Jan 042016

Pathfinder

  • 42,000 miles
Since the purchase of the vehicle, my Nissan Pathfinder has failed to accelerate either at a stop or during normal speed. The engine would not stall, but would only accelerate almost at idle speed. The symptom of the problem would occur a couple of time then the slip indicator light would display and stay on until the car was shut down and restarted, I have several pictures demonstrating the issue as described for when the indicator slip light for the limited slip control would display in clear conditions. This would occur in ideal weather conditions and road conditions were clear and my foot was definitely not engaging the brake pedal. This presents a significant safety issue, especially when attempting to pull into oncoming traffic or attempting to pass a slower vehicle. I could depress the gas pedal to the floor with no impact on acceleration. I have had several near misses with oncoming traffic due to failure to accelerate. I took in the vehicle into D-patrick Nissan in evansville, Indiana several times and to andy mohr Nissan, indianapolis Indiana. In both cases, the dealership was unable to detect any issues with code errors or replicate the issue even after I provide photo evidence of the issue I was having. The failure to accelerate is so random and can happen several days in one week or at least once a week. When it does happen I know it will not change until I can shut down the vehicle and restart. Some instances the failure to accelerate would persist but most of the time is would correct itself after restarting. I am afraid to drive the car with my wife and three children in it. I finally decided to file a complaint after I found another Nissan Pathfinder owner who was having the exact same issue with his Nissan Pathfinder.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #17

Feb 022018

Pathfinder

  • 22,956 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2015 Nissan Pathfinder sometimes will not go when the gas pedal is pressed from a stopped position. 3 different times this has happened to me and my wife. This is an extremely dangerous situation. It happened the last time as we were trying to cross four lanes of traffic at an intersection.as the light turned green and we tried to go it only idled across the intersection we got it to the dealership asap it's been there a week so far. Vehicle was manufactured in Aug 2015. I purchased it used but certified! please investigate to see if the problems they had with the 2013-2014 models are continuing. I have heard it might be the transmission? all maintenance has been performed according to carfax, including at 9,774 an engine power train computer module reprogrammed. Certification was done by Nissan on 8/21/2018 and purchased by us.on 9/2/2017. Any help to keep me and my wife safe will be appreciated.

- Bostic, NC, USA

problem #16

Oct 272017

Pathfinder

  • 5 miles
When accelerating from a stop, at low speeds, the vehicle stutters/judders for a few seconds. It has been progressively getting worse, even starting to show up at medium speeds, to the point where we think the vehicle is going to stall. If you push on the gas it eventually goes throught the stuttering. Since no codes are indicating they will not look at the issue.

- St. Augustine, FL, USA

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problem #15

Oct 022017

Pathfinder

  • 88,461 miles
The car makes a loud shuddering noise and often will not accelerate.

- Cedar Hill, TX, USA

problem #14

May 312015

Pathfinder

  • 0 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Unsafe condition, this is the design of the vehicle! Nissan will not take any action. Disregarding complaint with the BBB. The car drops out of cruise control going down the highway and looses up to 20mph. We feel unsafe when towing a load! this has happened since the vehicle was new. Nissan made some changes and diagnostic testing but it still is unsafe.

- York, PA, USA

problem #13

Sep 012016

Pathfinder

  • 25,000 miles
While towing under the capacity of the vehicle tow specification, the vehicle dropped out of cruise control (set at 65 mph). This caused an unexpected slowdown of almost 20 mph and my family and I feared getting hit at that speed (45 in a 65 when people are driving at 75 or more). Nissan technicians witnessed this happen.

- York, PA, USA

problem #12

Sep 012015

Pathfinder

  • miles
Every time I try drive from stop car keeep jerking for few minutes

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #11

Feb 212017

Pathfinder

  • 26,000 miles
Warning light appeared - dealer indicated needed new transmission under warranty has been with dealer for seven working days and they are having difficulty repairing the issue dealer indicated other Pathfinders have same problem. Light appeared when I turned on vehicle -

- Cortlandt Manor, NY, USA

problem #10

Feb 182017

Pathfinder

  • 11,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When starting from stop ( at a stop sign or traffic light) the vehicle periodically will not accelerate. The vehicle has been in the shop two times now with no change. The first time it was in they did a software update and thought that would correct it, it did not. The second time they said it was because the vehicle was in 2wd and it was wet out. It has happened again with the vehicle in auto and the ground bone dry. I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and started a case. I was told to get a second opinion. The vehicle is unsafe because when pulling into a lane of traffic you may not move for a few seconds ans on coming traffic may not stop.

- Royersford, PA, USA

problem #9

Dec 202016

Pathfinder 4WD 6-cyl

  • 9,600 miles
Possibly related to the past year models Nissan cvt issues. 2015 Pathfinder with less than 10K miles under 2 years old transmission failure. My wife was driving on the highway with my 3 kids (4 year, 2 year, and 1 month old) when the vehicle stop accelerating. She was lucky enough to pull over to the shoulder safety. When she tried to restart the vehicle, the vehicle would not move when it was in drive mode or low gear. The vehicle however did move in reverse. My whole family was stuck on the side of a fast moving highway, without me, until I was able to leave work, an hour away, to get to their location and safety get all the kids and my wife to a safer location. Towed the vehicle to the dealership where we bought the car and they said that they have to replace the transmission. The issues may stem from the same issue in previous model Pathfinders and other vehicle models with Nissan's cvt in them. Less than 10K miles on a brand new vehicle. Under 2 years in age and the transmission fails. Makes me rethink if I want to keep the vehicle knowing my family will mainly be driving in it without me there.

- Walkersville, MD, USA

problem #8

May 022016

Pathfinder

  • 29,000 miles
While taking off from 0-20mph the car will hesitate and jerk. Took the vehicle to Nissan service dept. Back in May 2016 and they could not find nothing wrong with car. Now it has been happening more frequently and we took it back on 11/18/16 and the service dept. Said they still can't find nothing wrong with vehicle because there are not check engine code popping up, so they needed permission to have a service tech take it home to see if he can see what we are experiencing and will follow up with us tomorrow. I believe this problem started back in early 2015 when we bought the car, but it would only happen so rarely that I never thought about it until my wife who drives it every day brought it up to my attention.

- Kyle, TX, USA

problem #7

Aug 152015

Pathfinder

  • 2,015 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle jerked and sputtered without warning. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,015.

- Wyckoff, NJ, USA

problem #6

May 152016

Pathfinder

  • 1 miles
While driving our Pathfinder in stop and go traffic, I've started to notice and feel a juddering & jerking motion coming from the transmission/powertrain every time I depress or press on the gas pedal at between speeds of 15 to 40 mph. I plan to report this to Nissan along with a couple more issues like the crackling sound coming from the front suspension usually after reversing back out of a driveway then moving forward while slightly turning the wheel back to a straight position. Could be a bearing issue, racking pinion or possibly the brake issues that have been recalled. I will also report the constant announce of a crackling sound coming from the wood paneling around stereo and air condition controls. Last but not least the scary & visible shaking of the front hood while driving at speeds of over 80mph. This violently shaking from the hood will certainly let you know that if you go any faster chances are the hood will fly off or cause serious damage to the vehicle or possibly cause an accident. There is no doubt in my mind that this is issue is clearly an aero dynamic flaw. How can they not have been aware of this possible serious safety issue ?

- Pacoima, CA, USA

problem #5

Oct 012015

Pathfinder

  • 22,000 miles
Judder is found between 20-25 miles for more than 5 second when accelerating smoothly. The mechanic recorded the judder and sent it to the engineer. The engineer at corporate Nissan told us that it is a normal thing but any car shouldn't have a judder(especially 2015 newest model). A judder also shows in the high speed, but not as much as slow sleep. A judder also appears when the car slows down to a stop. I have to wait until check engine light it up for them to fix the issue. It does not make sense when there is a record of judder but wait until something happens to the car.

- Reno, NV, USA

problem #4

Oct 082015

Pathfinder

  • 1,581 miles
Vehicle was taken into shop because of shudder in transmission and hesitation from stop when applying accelerator. The Nissan dealer installed a new valve body in the transmission which seemed to stop the shudder until today when it has returned. The hesitation from stop problem was not fixed and I returned the Pathfinder a second time to fix this problem but since it did not throw a code and could not be duplicated it was not fixed. The hesitation problem is an itermittent problem but when it happens the vehicle does not move forward when the gas is first applied for a second or two. I have almost had two accident because of this problem when pulling into traffic and the car will not move when gas applied. The shudder problem as returned and can be felt at around 40mph.

- Toney, AL, USA

problem #3

Sep 102015

Pathfinder

  • 200 miles
Cvt transmission shudders at low speed (20-40 mph) with light throttle application. This problem has been experienced since we purchased the vehicle on 9/10/2015

- Zeeland, MI, USA

problem #2

Sep 012015

Pathfinder

  • 2,300 miles
After purchasing the vehicle from automation Nissan dallas the transmission, cvt, failed at 2300 miles. There was no heavy use on the transmission. We have not even towed with it. This is unacceptable and the dealer refuses to do anything beyond fix this lemon. Picked up vehicle, 9/17/15 and on the morning of 9/18/15 the fuel light came on. We did not fuel the vehicle or open the fuel cap 9/18/15 the check engine light came on again and the vehicle is back at the dealer.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

problem #1

Jul 062015

Pathfinder

  • 250 miles
Potentially faulty brake system or downshift cvt or simulated gearshift system. Details: When driving in slow moving traffic with the brakes partially applied, the vehicle tends to momentarily accelerate and speed up. Concurrently the resistance on the brake pedal tends to decrease, along with a visible down-and-then-back-up jumping of RPM needle. The brake pedal needs to be kept pressed to allow the vehicle to slow down. Took vehicle to dealership (new vehicle, with only 300 miles), the technician noticed the problem I had been explaining. The technician agreed to speak with the engineer the next day. However, next day the dealership stated that they have never encountered such as issue, and it may be simply the down-shift of the cvt transmission. This is unusual in comparison to any other car I have driven. Acceleration of the car during the braking cycle is clearly odd. Potentially dangerous situation when approaching a stop sign or slow traffic zones near schools. Please investigate.

- Irvine, CA, USA

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