2013 Nissan Pathfinder Suspension Problems
25 owner-reported suspension complaints from NHTSA data
Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.
Owner Complaints (25)
Your car's rear sub-frame, which supports the suspension system, has severely rusted and failed. Two mechanics have determined that your vehicle is unsafe to drive because this part shouldn't have corroded to this extent or failed at all. The repair will likely involve replacing the entire rear sub-frame assembly.
Parts you may need:
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My wife's car is a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. We heard what appeared a noise coming from rear undercarriage of the car. took the vehicle to our mechanic and he told us the "cradle" was rusted thru and the car was unsafe to operate. The car has ~103000 miles, was well maintained and garage kept. I questioned this with the mechanic, I'm [XXX] and have had several vehicles, never had an issue with the degree of rust on the suspension on this car. The mechanic said this is not an unusual problem for Nissans. The cars interior and exterior is in great condition, now it's not drivable and Nissan is not offering any help. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving and making a turn, the steering wheel became significantly loose. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle. The contact noticed that the front passenger's side wheel had moved closer into the front fender, and the control arm had detached from the frame due to significant corrosion. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.
Rust only on brackets that hold the arm on the rear sway arm stabilizer
When getting a new set of tires found out that drivers side rear subframe assembly rusted away where the control arm attaches after looking at a Nissan fourn there are many with the same problem worried that due to this might be a issue for me and my children traveling to he roads
Hello, I've purchased my Nissan pathfinder 2013 2 yrs ago . And fell in love with it. But since June 2014, it has been sitting due to the transmission going out and or stopping mid traffic. Putting my life in danger. It finally wouldn't go into gear anymore. It wouldn't go forward or backwards. I had it towed to house. We're it sits. No shops want to work on it because they are difficult to work on..I'm stuck making payments on something I can't drive. I see it has recalls on my vehicle online but not for my specific vin number..makes no sense to me..why not my vin number when in fact it's my vehicle on recalls? The exact name model and year??
Rear subframe rotted out. Car is garage kept.
After a quick fish tail in the rain of the car and figuring it was just a hydroplane, I noticed rear tires were worn out to the cords on inside of rear tires, So i purchase a new set and while changing , it was obvious that the rear subframe was broken off at the stabilizer and would allow the rear end of car to shift forward and back, Thank God we were only at around 30mph, or this could of been real bad, the car is in very wonderful condition in and out, with no visible rust, I hope that this is addressed by Nissan before someone is killed , especially as these are family cars, These rear subframes should be recalled and replaced as it is a major part of the frame that can cause a car to go out of control at high and low speeds, it puts lives at risk!
After owning this vehicle from brand new, it now has a rotting rear subframe. Nissan customer support is not interested in providing good will or recall for this issue. My mechanic has reported that the same model and year vehicle showed up a week prior with the exact same issue. A core part of the frame should not crumble due to rust within a 10 year timeframe. Searching on the internet has revealed multiple other people reporting the same issue. [XXX] I believe many others will be registering this complaint in the coming months as they fail their inspections or come to their mechanics with a complaint of noise. I would be happy to provide pictures of my rotted subframe, but it looks very similar to the pictures referenced above. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Front subframe rusted through. This is a similar issue across a wide range of Nissan Pathfinders. This is a major safety issue.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 40-44 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. Additionally, the contact stated that there was play in the rear wheels and the rear wheels seemed misaligned. The contact also stated that while coming to a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the rear wheels and the trailing arm seemed to move forward, then backward. The contact stated that the failure recurred while making a left turn. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the rear subframe was corroded. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist due to the manufactured date of the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
I noticed a metal on metal noise when I would hit a bump in tge road. I had it checked thinking it was likely a tailpipe rattling. I was shocked when the technician show me the Crossmember SubFrame Assembly was rusted so badly that a hole had developed. When I researched this issue on line I discovered that this is a common issue for Nissan. Having purchased the car new and maintain the car in accordance to the manufacturer’s guidelines I feel this subframe rust-through is excessive. I wash the car routinely and always get the undercarriage option to prevent salt, or other undesirables building up underneath my vehicle. While part failure hasn't occurred am going to get the repair done before it does happen. Replacing the fore mentioned assembly at a cost of $2,300 is expensive and was preventable had Nissan only acknowledged the weakness and vulnerability in their design of subframe, and made the appropriate improvement.
The Subframe has rusted out and it’s causing my arm to move. It appears this is a common issue with Nissan vehicles in general. My mechanic stated that it should not have rusted out like that.
The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder that we own just had the subframe rust and collapse. The car only has 120,000 miles. This is not even close to the expectancy of how long a subframe should last.
Rear cross member corrosion making the vehicle unstable. not sure how can this happen on the vehicle that’s only 10 years old.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH around a curve at night, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the subframe and the vehicle unintendedly veered into another lane, and nearly crashed into the guard rail. The contact pulled to the side of the road but could not determine the cause of the failure. The contact was able to drive to his residence nearby at 40 MPH. The used car dealer where the vehicle was purchased was contacted but provided no assistance. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the corrosion warranty had expired in 2018. The failure mileage was approximately 149,620.
My daugther and myself were sitting at a stop light and the car would not move forward or backward. All of the transmission fluid was on the ground. I had to call the police for safety from being hit. I had the truck towed home.
The rear subframe of my Nissan Pathfinder had rusted through and needed to be replaced. According to the mechanic, the subframe was not properly primed by NIssan during manufacturing, which led to rusting from the top (which is not visible without removing the piece). A google search shows that THIS IS INCREASINGLY COMMON ON NISSAN PATHFINDERS around this model year. The part was on backorder due to high demand. It was explained to me that if this part were to brake off, it could pull off the brake line which could have been catastrophic. There were no lamps or messages when this part broke. The first sign of an issue was a loud noise from the rear of the car whenever we went over the slightest bump.
Rear crossmember (K-frame) rusted through where dogbone links connect to rear control arms. Rest of vehicle is in excellent condition with little to no rust (surface at best), but rear cross member is completely rusted through at front right and left. This then lets the rear wheels loose toe and adjustment and causes skipping and alignment issues, potentially leading to a crash.
VEHICLE WITH NO KNOWN MECHANICAL ISSUES/NEVER INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WAS TRAVELING 50MPH ON A MAJOR STATE ROUTE WHEN SUDDENLY THE VEHICLE SEIZED AND BEGAN VIBRATING AS IF IT HAD A FLAT TIRE. AS THE DRIVER TRIED TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND PULL OVER THERE WAS A LOUD SCRAPING SOUND. THE CONTROL ARM ON THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE HAD BROKEN FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LICENSED MECHANIC, WHERE UPON INSPECTION IT WAS FOUND THAT THE REAR SUBFRAME BROKE APART: THE BOLT HOLDING THE CONTROL ARM DID NOT BREAK OFF, A PORTION OF THE FRAME BROKE FROM THE REST OF THE SUBFRAME. THE MECHANIC FOUND NO UNUSUAL RUST OR DETERIORATION ANYWHERE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT HE HAD NEVER SEEN THIS ISSUE ON A VEHICLE AND THERE WAS NO REASONABLE EXPLANATION WHY IT SHOULD OF OCCURRED. THE MECHANIC ALSO STATED THAT THE DRIVER WAS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE THAT THE VEHICLE WASN'T INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS ISSUE.
REAR HATCH WILL NOT OPEN; DEALER INVOICE STATES "REAR HATCH STRUTS ARE FAULTY". DISCOVERED WHEN ATTEMPTED TO LOAD FURNITURE IN CAR; SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO NO AVAIL.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO JERK AND SLIP GEARS. THE FAILURE RECURRED WHENEVER THE VEHICLE WAS IN OPERATION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND REPAIRED UNDER A MANUFACTURER'S VOLUNTARY RECALL RELATED TO REPROGRAMMING THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT. IN ADDITION, THE FRONT AND REAR PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL BEARING WERE REPLACED ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE FRONT AND REAR BRAKES WERE ALSO REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIBRATE IN A JERKING MOTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE WHEEL BEARING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE WHEEL BEARING WAS REPLACED FOUR TIMES ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS. IN ADDITION, BOTH FRONT AND REAR BRAKES WERE REPLACED THREE TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE ACCELERATOR FAILED TO RESPOND TO ACCELERATION ATTEMPTS. THE CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE ERRONEOUSLY DECELERATED WHILE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE COMPUTER WOULD NEED TO BE RESET. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 11,402. UPDATED 11/26/13*CN ACCORDING TO THE INVOICE, THE CONSUMER COMPLAINED OF THE VEHICLE VIBRATING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. ALSO, THE ROOF WAS LOOSE, DUE TO THE MOLDING NOT HOLDING THE CLIP IN PLACE. UPDATED 12/02/13
WHEN U PASS 45 TO 50 MILES ONCE U PASS THE SPEED THE HANDLE ITS VERY BAD THAT'S ONE TWO AFTER U DRIVE THE CAR FOR LITTLE WILD THE NOISE FROM MUFFLER SOUNDS LIKE FIRE CRACKER AND THERE WHEN U IN THE LITTLE HILL THE CAR MOVE BACK WORDS 4 SAME TIME WHEN U PRESS ON THE BRAKES THE CAR ALMOST STOP COMPLETE AND JUST KEEP GOING IT FEEL VERY WEIRD THAT IS NOT NORMAL. *TR