NHTSA lists 2 safety recalls and 107 owner complaints for the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder (including the hybrid).
Recalled components: latches, locks and linkages and air bags. Most-described problem: shaking, shuddering or vibration (15 complaints, 14%). Most-reported area: engine (27 complaints, 25%; median mileage when it happened: 50,000).
Fewer complaints than a typical Pathfinder year
The 2016 drew 30 owner complaints in its first three years, against 37 for a typical Pathfinder year.
Years to avoid: 2013 to 2015, 2022, and 2023. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.
On certain Pathfinder vehicles, the secondary hood latch may malfunction and remain in the unlatched, unsecured, position when the hood is closed.
Risk: An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Dealers will replace the bell crank assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed March 26, 2025. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall are R22A2 R22A3 and R24B7.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Pathfinder vehicles.
In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
The fix and full notice
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles.
NHTSA listing: PATHFINDER.
Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
NHTSA investigations
NHTSA has opened 1 investigation that names the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder; it is closed. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.
Hood latch/bell crank assembly
Preliminary evaluation PE21022Closed Jul 8, 2022 (opened Dec 9, 2021)
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this preliminary evaluation to investigate consumer complaints alleging hood latch failures occurring on certain model year (MY) 2013-2016 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles.
NHTSA ties this investigation to recall 22V-420, listed above.
A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA's first step, to gather information and decide whether to look further. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.
What owners report
Owners have filed 107 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Pathfinder. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.
Median 50,000 miles at failure, from 20 reports with mileage
Air bags19 · 18%
Brakes14 · 13%
Electrical system11 · 10%
Powertrain8 · 7%
Visibility/wiper4 · 4%
Wheels4 · 4%
Unknown or other21 · 20%
A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.
Nissan Pathfinder recalls and complaints by model year
The highlighted bars are the 2016 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2013 Pathfinder drew the most (428) and the 2016 drew 30.
Owner complaints
2016: 107 complaintsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Owner complaints by model year, Nissan Pathfinder
Model year
Complaints
2010
40
2011
45
2012
23
2013
891
2014
587
2015
321
2016
107
2017
188
2018
78
2019
76
2020
53
2022
137
2023
107
2024
87
2025
64
2026
15
Safety recalls
2016: 2 recallsTap or drag across the chart for other years.
Show as a table
Safety recalls by model year, Nissan Pathfinder
Model year
Recalls
2010
4
2011
2
2012
2
2013
11
2014
12
2015
6
2016
2
2017
2
2018
3
2019
2
2020
0
2022
5
2023
1
2024
2
2025
1
2026
0
Crash test ratings
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.
What are the most common 2016 Pathfinder problems?
In the 107 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder, the problems described most are shaking, shuddering or vibration (15), brake failure or a soft or hard pedal (5), and the airbag warning light or an airbag fault (5). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.
Is the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder safe?
In NHTSA crash tests every tested version of the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder earns 5 stars overall. The table above lists each tested version.
Is NHTSA investigating the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder?
No. NHTSA's investigations file, dated Nov 12, 2026, lists no open investigations for the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. It lists one closed investigation, which closed on Jul 8, 2022.
How do I check if my Pathfinder has an open recall?
Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Nissan dealers.
Sources and method
NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Nov 12, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Nov 11, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA investigations file, dated Nov 12, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: PATHFINDER, PATHFINDER HYBRID.
Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.