2022 Nissan Pathfinder Steering Problems

Your car pulls to one side when accelerating, and the problem has gotten worse over a couple of months—it now sways aggressively at highway speeds, even after an alignment. The dealer says the tie rods and control arms need replacement. This is a safety concern because the sway could cause you to drift into another lane.

I was driving on I-24 in my 2022 Nissan Pathfinder. I was using cruise control and I’m sure I also had steering assist engaged. I do not believe the vehicle would have reacted as it did without that. I was in the left lane, and a vehicle began to enter my lane from my right. I made a quick, evasive move to the left. On the left shoulder was a guardrail, so I corrected slightly to the right. Then the vehicle took over and we were along for the ride. It immediately turned hard to the right across the lanes, then reversed back to the left, and then back to the right. I regained control in the right lane. Fortunately, other traffic held back and we did not hit any other vehicle. We also never left the roadway or crossed over into oncoming traffic. I’m an experienced driver, so I know my control inputs were not excessive. I probably did not brake, which would have disengaged cruise and steering assist. I was simply shifting sideways, with no obstructions in front, so I did not need to brake. Things happened quickly, but I’m pretty sure I instinctively steered against the un-commanded turns. The vehicle motions reminded me of the old videos of Jeeps being rollover tested with outriggers installed. I do not recall any skidding noises or whether any wheels actually left the road surface, but my passengers said they feared we would roll. Per the Owner’s Manual, a feature called Intelligent Lane Intervention is automatically turned on when the Steering Assist system is active. The warnings say, “When the I-LI system is operating, avoid excessive or sudden steering maneuvers. Otherwise, you could lose control of the vehicle.” I can confirm that. The section on Steering Assist does not include this warning and I do not see any reference to its activating Lane Intervention. In any case, evasive steering actions are sometimes required. The system may be a little too sensitive to normal corrections or perhaps should deactivate when steering exceeds a certain amount.