2006 Nissan Pathfinder problems
The 2006 Nissan Pathfinder has 1,224 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (34%) concerns drivetrain & axles. Next are engine (24%) and fuel system (19%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,224 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 34% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 18 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 96,000 miles 1,092 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 29 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 108 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 133 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 297 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 209 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 158 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 76 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 35 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 17 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,092 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 96,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 103,000 miles (380 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 18 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 92% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Nissan Pathfinder with enough data (345 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
A few months after I purchased my vehicle in 2007, I was in a car accident. However, my front-air bags did not deploy although the air-bag light came on and is still on till this day. I took the vehicle in to a nissan dealer and they told me that the light is on because the airbag sensor wiring harness was damaged. I asked the service manager if the airbag sensor would come on even thought he air-bags never deployed.
I was driving on hwy and I went to go around a curve and my steering wheel locked up I went off the road and came to a stop looking up at the bridge. When I went off the road my truck hit a hill (it hit around by my radiator) my truck then flipped and then hit another hill (hit by my radiator again) and came to a stop. My airbag didnt not deploy until my truck stop moving. And my seat belt did not lock me in place. I was slung around my front seat.
Approximately sept of 2008, the steering wheel of our 2006 nissan pathfinder started becoming extremely hard to turn left or right, almost to the point that I could not turn. I would dread having to make a turn. Then a grinding sound started and a clicking, and has since gone away. Now, our steering wheel can move up and down while we are driving. It is very loose and is becoming a hazard. The cruise also shuts itself off while we are driving.
The contact stated that the company owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the fuel gauge displayed a full tank, then suddenly displayed that the fuel was empty, improperly displaying the fuel level. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the fuel level sensor was high causing the fuel pump to fail. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.