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2018 Nissan Pathfinder

Gas Compact SUV

2026202520242023202220202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
D
Safety Signal
67 / 100
DSafety Signal · 67 / 100
3Recalls · 2 critical
77Complaints · owner reports
5★Crash rating · NHTSA overall
23 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2018 Nissan Pathfinder is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 3 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Pathfinder 2WD, is EPA-rated at 23 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, 2 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 77 complaints, most often about service brakes. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Pathfinder 2WDGasFWD3.5L 6-cyl202723$2,700
Pathfinder 4WDGas4WD3.5L 6-cyl192622$2,850
Pathfinder 4WD PlatinumGas4WD3.5L 6-cyl192621$2,950

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

Out of factory warranty soon?

The 2018 Nissan Pathfinder is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (3)

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

critical
Park outside391,479 vehicles

Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, and 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. These vehicles were previously recalled and unrepaired, or inspected and determined to not need a repair, under recall number 18V-601. In addition, this recall expands the previous population. The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.

Risk: A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ABS actuator, free of charge. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available, currently expected to be during summer 2020. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: If the ABS warning light remains illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not drive the vehicle.

NHTSA campaign 19V807000 · reported Nov 8, 2019 · Nissan North America, Inc.

Back Over Prevention

minor
1,228,830 vehicles

Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport, Sentra, Titan, Titan Diesel, Versa Note and Versa Sedan vehicles, as well as Infiniti Q50, Q60, QX30 and QX80 vehicles. Additionally included are 2019 Nissan GT-R and Taxi and Infiniti QX50, QX60, Q70, Q70L vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) num

Risk: The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.

Fix: Nissan will notify owners in phases, having dealers update the back-up camera settings software, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2019 and all affected VINs should be activated. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669 or INFINITI customer service at 1-800-662-6200.

NHTSA campaign 19V654000 · reported Sep 12, 2019 · Nissan North America, Inc.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

critical
Park outside215,124 vehicles

Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Nissan Murano, 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2017-2018 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2017 Infiniti QX60 vehicles. The Anti-Lock Brake (ABS) actuator pumps may allow brake fluid to leak onto an internal circuit board.

Risk: A brake fluid leak on the circuit board may result in an electrical short, increasing the risk of a fire.

Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the serial number on the ABS actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 29, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Note: When brake fluid has leaked onto the circuit board, the ABS warning lamp will remain illuminated for more than 10 seconds after engine start up. If this occurs, owners are advised to park the vehicle outdoors away from other vehicles or structures and to not

NHTSA campaign 18V601000 · reported Sep 7, 2018 · Nissan North America, Inc.

Owner complaints

77 complaints filed

3 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 2 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2018: 3 · 2019: 27 · 2020: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

  • Service Brakes — 19
  • Unknown Or Other — 17
  • Engine — 13
  • Electrical System — 13
  • Power Train — 12
“THE FRONT RADAR SAFETY FEATURE DEACTIVATES AND THE AMBER FRONT COLLISION WARNING LIGHT COMES ON. THE SPEED CONTROL FEATURE IS DISABLED WHEN THE RADAR IS NOT ACTIVE. WHEN THE SYSTEM FINALLY KICKS IN THE SPEED CONTROL SUDDENLY ACCELERATES WITHOUT WARNING. THE SUDDEN ON/OFF SCENARIO IS DANGEROUS AND WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO B…”Jul 5, 2019 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report
“I PURCHASED MY 2018 PATHFINDER IN MARCH 2018 AND BEFORE I DROVE IT OFF THE LOT THE MIL LIGHT CAME ON. THEY TOOK IT TO THE SERVICE DEPT, SAID THEY FIXED IT. I DROVE IT HOME AND ON THE WAY HOME YOU COULD FEEL THE CAR STUTTER AND WHEN OUTSIDE OF THE CAR YOU COULD HEAR THE ENGINE MISFIRE. THE AEB LIGHT, SLIP INDICATOR LIGH…”Jul 1, 2019 · Electronic Stability Control (Esc) · NHTSA owner report
“FAULTY RADAR ON MY NISSAN PATHFINDER IS COMPROMISING MY EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM. IT FREQUENTLY DEACTIVATES ITSELF THEREBY DISABLING MY CRUISE CONTROL AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM. A WARNING FLASHES ON THE DASHBOARD TO INDICATE THE PROBLEM: FRONT RADAR UNAVAILABLE. IN MY VIEW THE EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEM IS UNRELIA…”Jun 28, 2019 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆18%
SUV FWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★☆17%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning.

Other Pathfinder model years

A

2026 Pathfinder

0 recalls · 9 complaints

A

2025 Pathfinder

1 recalls · 49 complaints

B

2024 Pathfinder

2 recalls · 75 complaints

A

2023 Pathfinder

1 recalls · 103 complaints

D

2022 Pathfinder

5 recalls · 135 complaints

A

2020 Pathfinder

0 recalls · 47 complaints

B

2019 Pathfinder

2 recalls · 75 complaints

C

2017 Pathfinder

2 recalls · 186 complaints

B

2016 Pathfinder

2 recalls · 107 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 39517, 39519, 39520). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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