2016 Nissan Pathfinder
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 107 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 14th highest complaint count among 25 Pathfinder model years with reports.
Of the 2016 reports, 10 involved a crash. 5 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Latches/locks/linkages, hood, latchJun 13, 2022
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2013-2016 Pathfinder vehicles. On certain Pathfinder vehicles, the secondary hood latch may malfunction and remain in the unlatched, unsecured, position when the hood is closed.
An unsecured hood could unexpectedly open while driving, obstructing the driver's view, and increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 22V420000 on NHTSA.gov
Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationApr 26, 2016
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. 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.
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.
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.
Campaign 16V244000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: air bags
19 reports, newest first. Show all
Air bags, Apr 13, 2024
Occupant Air bag sensor is on constantly and Air bag light on dashboard. My vehicle has never been in an accident. There was a recall issued for my vehicle in 2016. I purchased my car in 2017 new and it was overstock vehicle. The recall was cleared in August 2016 by dealer and I just found this out when vehicle was taken to Nissan dealership for different recall on 4/6/24. Since the vehicle is out of warranty now dealership will not clear recall again but state it is the exact same code. Advised me to contact Nissan USA but they denied my claim for repair. This is an extreme safety hazard and Nissan should honor there safety recall repairs in and out of warranty. Please review my claim because I have seen more complaints online.
Air bags, Mar 11, 2023
Passenger Airbag sensor not showing that airbag is on for front passenger seat even though passenger sitting there. Recall issued in 2016 and Nissan still does not have a fix for this yet.
Air bags, Jan 12, 2023
The passenger airbag doesn’t activate at all. The OCS sensor is faulty. When someone sits in the front passenger seat, the airbag remains off. This is a known defect with Nissan Pathfinders. We were told ours will not be fixed as our VIN is not included in the recall. However, this exact defect is known and has been recalled in hundreds of thousands Nissan Pathfinders, including the 2016 model year. Not fixing this can result in death or dismemberment in the case of a collision in which the airbags should deploy and do not. After much correspondence with Nissan, they refuse to pay to fix this know defect because our specific VIN was not included. We are asking to include our VIN in this know defect recall.
Air bags, Seats, Jul 23, 2022
When I purchased this vehicle I quickly noticed a feature or standard that this vehicle has concerning passenger safety vs airbag ON/OFF There is a lamp beside the display area that indicates if the pass bags are on (lamp is off) or if they are off (lamp is on) If the passenger is under a certain amount the airbag turns itself off...At least that was my observation for at least 4 months after purchase. This standard/feature isn't working anymore I guess? Because the lamp is always ON stating that the passenger airbags are OFF. I notified the dealership, they said they could not inspect the issue unless I paid for their time and then service (fix of the issue)
Air bags, Jun 29, 2022
The passenger side air bag light will light up thaymt it is disables when a passenger is occupying the seat. It will not go off to indicate that the airbag is turned on foe the seat occupant until I turn the car off and restart. May have to repeat a couple times or have passenger step out of car, sit back on seat and reconnect lap belt.
Air bags, Seats, Jun 20, 2022
When you move front seats forward or back the airbag sensor under the seats breaks. The air bag off light is always lit up for passenger seat even when adult sits there, and the drivers airbag light is blinking on dashboard all the time. A week after buying vehicle I took it back to dealer and they said it was a recall and it was fixed. A week later it was back on I went back and they said nothing they can do it was already fixed. Nissan dealership told me same thing. It is not fixed and now I am paying car payments for a car I can't get an inspection sticker on, so I can't drive it. If it was a recall and they claim to have fixed it and the same problem happens again it should be fixed with an improved part so it don't happen again. The dealership also told me with those lights on there is a possibility of the airbags going off for no reason or they may not go off when in an accident. This is a serious problem and needs to be taken seriously but instead I am being told I need to pay for the recalled problem because they fixed it once already. Clearly they didn't fix it properly or at all but my vin number says it was done.
Air bags, Nov 11, 2021
Passenger side air bag indicator is off all the time even with an adult in the seat. The red blinking indicator light flashes for the air bag on the control panel. The air bag cannot be manually turned on or off. If in a crash I do not know if the air bag will deploy. Your site shows 0 recalls other sites show a sensor recall. What do I do?
Air bags, Dec 23, 2020, crash
ON 21 DEC 2020 WE WERE IN A ACCIDENT WITH A DEER WE WEAR GOING ABOUT 80MPH WHEN THE DEAR CAME OUT OF NO WEAR AND WE HIT IT HEAD ON AND NEITHER ONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED MY HUSBAND HIT HIS HEAD ON STEERING WHEEL AND NEITHER ONE THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED I WAS SITTING IN PASSENGER SEAT AND NOTHING EITHER THIS WAS ON THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT TIME
Air bags, Other or unspecified, Nov 12, 2019
I PURCHASED A USED NISSAN PATHFINDER IN JULY 2019. WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE I ALSO PURCHASED A FULL-COVERAGE WARRANTY THROUGH THE DEALERSHIP, HOWEVER, THE DEALERSHIP CLAIMS THAT THEY HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP ME. THEIR REASONING IS THAT THEY ARE NOT A NISSAN DEALER YET, THEY SOLD ME A VEHICLE THAT IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FOR MY CHILDREN TO BE IN AND REFUSE TO HONOR THE WARRANTY OR HELP OTHERWISE. THE AIRBAG OFF LIGHT WILL TURN ON WHILE ADULTS ARE SITTING IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. IT ALSO COMES ON EVEN WHEN MY 160 LB SON IS IN THE FRONT SEAT. ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH THE WAS A RECALL ON THE AIRBAGS ON THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE A FEW YEARS AGO THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY PREVIOUSLY ADDRESSED, HOWEVER THIS CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE. ADDITIONALLY I WAS SOLD A VEHICLE WITH NO INSULATION IN THE DOORS AND NO SEALS ON THE BOTTOMS OF THE DOORS. THE INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE (ESPECIALLY NOW THAR IT'S VERGING ON WINTER) GETS FRIGID AND YOU CAN EVEN FEEL THE WIND COMING THROUGH THE WINDOW CONTROLS AND BUTTONS ON THE DOORS.
Air bags, Aug 6, 2019
RE: RECALL 16V244000 NISSAN PATHFINDER WAS RECALLED TO FIX PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR. WITHIN 2 MONTHS AFTER REPAIR PROBLEM BEGAN AGAIN INTERMITTENTLY. APPROX 30% OF STARTS SHOWED PASS AIRBAG OFF IN SPITE OF PASSENGER IN PLACE. THIS WOULD CORRECT BY RESTARTING VEHICLE. THIS WAS REPORTED TO DEALER AT EVERY 5000 MILE SERVICE AND HAD ADJUSTMENTS MADE A FEW TIMES. AIRBAG SENSOR WOULD BE FINE FOR A FEW WEEKS, THEN START ACTING UP AGAIN. THE LAST DEALER VISIT (55000 MILES) NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND. THIS NOW HAPPENS ON 75 % OF VEHICLE STARTS, AND SIMPLY RESTARTING IS NOT ALWAYS EFFECTIVE. REPEATED RESTARTS (3-4) USUALLY CORRECTS PROBLEM, OR AT LEAST TURNS OFF THE "AIRBAG DISABLED" LIGHT ALTHOUGH WE SOMETIME NEED TO TAKE SHORT TRIP WITHOUT AIRBAG PROTECTION FOR MY WIFE. I THINK ANOTHER RECALL IS IN ORDER FOR THIS VEHICLE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE AFTER BEING REPAIRED, THE AIRBAG FAILED 4 DAYS LATER. *JS THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER DETERMINED THE AIRBAG WAS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. THE CONSUMER'S WIFE WAS CONSIDERED A SMALL ADULT SO, THE AIRBAG DID NOT ACTIVATE. *JS
Air bags, Apr 6, 2019
AIRBAG LIGHTS STARTED BLINKING , WHEN CALLING THE DEALERSHIP MY NISSAN PATHFINDER WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. NO ACCIDENT ON THE CAR AND THE CAR WAS PURCHASE NEW AUGUST 2016 .
Air bags, Jan 10, 2019
WHEN A PASSENGER IS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT THE SENSOR FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WILL NOT GO OFF. MEANING IT DOES NOT DETECT ANYONE SITTING IN THE SEAT.
Air bags, Dec 6, 2018
UPON STARTING THE IGNITION, AIR BAG OCS INDICATOR SHOWS BOTH FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS NOT WORKING. INDICATION LIGHT REMAINS ON WHILE VEHICLE IS BOTH STATIONARY AND WHILE IN MOTION.
Air bags, Nov 13, 2017
RECALL
Air bags, Oct 23, 2017
NHTSA RECALL 16V-244 HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF CORRECTIVE PARTS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. THE RECALL DATES FROM 24MAY2016. ABOUT 15-20% OF THE TIME ADULT PASSENGERS ARE PRESENT IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, THE WARNING LIGHT INDICATES THAT THE OCS SYSTEM HAS DEACTIVATED THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG. HOW MUCH LONGER WILL NISSAN BE ALLOWED TO AVOID CORRECTIVE ACTION WHILE PASSENGERS IN THE AFFECTED VEHICLES ARE EXPOSED TO GREATER THAN NECESSARY RISK OF INJURY?
Air bags, Feb 27, 2017
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 162440000 (AIR BAGS). THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.
Air bags, Dec 12, 2016
I WAS THE PERSON WHO FIRST FILED THE AIRBAG ISSUE ON NHTSA. FINALLY TODAY, THE ISSUE WAS "PATCHED".I SAY PATCHED NOT FIXED SINCE NOW THE "AIRBAG OFF" LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON IN MY CAR WHICH DOES NOT MATCH THE MANUAL OF MY VEHICLE.A BIGGER ISSUE THOUGH IS THAT THIS CONFUSES US INTO THINKING THE SIMILARLY ORANGE COLORED CROSS TRAFFIC LIGHT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IS ON AND TWICE OUT OF TWO TIMES WE ALMOST HAD A CRASH DUE TO THAT. THIS PATCH IS NOT SAFE OR ACCEPTABLE AND I HOPE THAT NHTSA ACTS TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS WHO PAID A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO ACQUIRE A SUPPOSEDLY SAFE VEHICLE.
Air bags, Sep 9, 2016
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V244000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.
Air bags, Apr 7, 2016
NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V681000 COMPONENT(S): AIR BAGS THE ABOVE ISSUE WAS ALSO SEEN ON MY 2016 PATHFINDER SL TECH PURCHASED LESS THAN 1 MONTH AGO. THE ISSUE HAPPENS ABOUT 10% OF THE TIME. TO RESOLVE I HAVE TO POWER CYCLE THE CAR...