Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1994 Nissan Pathfinder submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 35 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 35, in the owner's own words
AT ANY SPEED VEHICLE WAS VERY LOUD, AND THE EXHAUST SOUNDED AS IF T MARBLES WERE RATTLING AROUND. A RECALL WAS ISSUED FOR VEHICLES OF SAME MAKE/MODEL AND CERTAIN YEARS, BUT THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE BOLTS TO THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD OVERHEATED AND BROKE OFF INTO THE MANIFOLD COVER. MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.*AK
UPON TAKING IN THE VEHCILE FOR ROUTINE MAINETENCE, OIL CHANGE, TIRE ROTATION, & WINETRISE SPECIAL. WAS INFORMED THAT MY EXAUSHT MANIFOLD BOLTS WERE BROKEN AND NEEDED REPLACING, AFTER THE VEHICLE WENT THROUGH TWO MAJOR INSPECTIONS NOT OVER A YEAR AGO. 1) FOR PURCHASEING A USED VEHICLE AND 2) FOR OUT OF PROVINCE INSPECTION. NISSAN CANADA KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.*AK
AT ABOUT 100,000 MILES, A BOLT ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD FAILED DUE TO THE DEFECTIVE MANIFOLD WARPING AWAY FROM THE ENGINE. BOLT WAS REPLACED, BUT FUTURE PROBLEMS WERE PREDICTED BY THE MECHANIC.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS HAVE FAILED. RECALL NEEDED REGARDLESS OF VEHICLE AGE/MILEAGE. TSD HAS BEEN ISSUED SO COMPANY RECOGNIZES PROBLEM BUT IS NOT TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY. ALSO, MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE.*AK IN ADDITION, VEHICLE SOMETIMES "STICKS" IN 1ST GEAR (A/T). FLUID HAS BEEN CHANGED AND PROBLEM IS INTERMITTANT. SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THIS SITE AS WELL. SOLUTION WOULD BE HELPFUL.
RIGHT AND LEFT EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM THE HOOD AND THROUGH THE AIR CONDITIONER VENTS ALSO, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME. THIS RESULTED IN VEHICLE FIRE. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE DETAILS. TS
CONSUMER STATES THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO START VEHICLE,HAD VEHICLE SERVICED.THE ENGINE HAD LOCK UP. DEALERSHIP REFUSE TO SPEAK TO CONSUMER.
ENGINE CHECK LIGHT COMES ON, LOSES POWER STEERING AS A RESULT OF ENGINE FAILURE CAUSED BY A DEFECT IN ENGINE INJECTORS. HAD PART REPLACED TWICE.*AK
THIS IS THE 13TH MANIFOLD STUD THAT WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. WHEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER THEY WANT TO REPLACE ALL 6 AGAIN AT A COST OF $636.00. I HAVE ALREADY HAD THE VEHICLE IN THE SHOP OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS TWICE FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS ALSO AN EMISSIONS ISSUE AS THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD SEPAREATES FROM THE ENGINE. I HAVE ASLO LOGGED A COMPLAINT WITH THE EPA. THIS IS A CHRONIC PROBLEM ON THESE VEHICLES AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER MODEL YEARS.*AK
4 EXHAUST BOLTS HAVE SHEARED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ENGINE. DEALERSHIP SAID THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS, BUT ONLY COVERED VEHICLES FROM 1995 AND NEWER AND UNDER 100,000 MILES.*AK
IN DEC OF 1999 AN EXHAUST LEAK STARTED. COSTS $650 TO REPAIR SINCE MANIFOLDS WARP AND BREAK BOLTS OFF IN ENGINE BLOCK. THE BOLTS THEN HAVE TO BE BORED OUT AND THE HOLES IN THE ENGINE HAVE TO BE RETAPPED FOR THREADS. HE SAID IT WAS SURPRIZING THAT BOTH SIDES WEREN'T BAD BECAUSE PATHFINDERS WHERE "KNOWN" FOR THIS FAILURE AND HE SAID THAT EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKED LOOK AT THAT TIME, I SHOULD EXPECT IT TO FAIL ANYWAY SOMEDAY BECAUSE THEY ALL DO. ABOUT 1-YEAR LATER, THAT OTHER MANIFOLD DID FAIL IN THE EXACT SAME WAY AND IT COST ME $600+ AT ANOTHER SHOP TO GET THAT ONE REPLACED AND RETAPPED AFTER DRILLING OUT BROKEN BOLTS. THE MECHANIC AT THAT SHOP SAID THAT HE WAS SURPRISED BOTH SIDES WEREN'T BAD SINCE ALL PATHFINDERS HAVE THIS SAME PROBLEM AND I EXPLAINED THAT IT HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED. WHY ISN'T NISSAN BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS???*AK
ACCORDING TO THE DEAL THIS IS A " KNOWN ISSUE " FOR PATHFINDERS AND THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED TO ME. I HAVE NOTICED ON THE INTERNET ALOT OF REFERENCES TO THIS PROBLEM, INFACT I GOT THIS WEB ADDRESS FROM THE NISSAN WEBSITE. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK
HAD TO REPLACE BOTH LEFT & RIGHT SIDE EXHAUST MANIFOLD BECAUSE A DESIGN FLAW CAUSED THE STUDS TO START BREAKING OFF.
EXHAUST MANIFOLD STUDS ARE BROKEN FROM FATIGUE ON BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES OF THE ENGINE, POSSIBLE ENGINEERING/DESIGN DEFECT. *AK
EXHAUST MANIFOLD (PASSINGER SIDE) CRACKED DUE TO FATIGUE. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS.*AK BLOWER NOISE IN A/C SINCE THE BEGINING. *YH
I WOULD LIKE THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALERS TO TAKE THESE PROBLEMS SERIOUSLY. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN THE SUMMARY. *AK
EXHAUST MANIFOLD FAILED TWICE ONCE IN DECEMBER 1998 AND IN MARCH 2000 DUE TO BOLTS BREAKING OFF WHICH WERE TOO SMALL AND NARROW,AND THEN WARPED THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. *AK
ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 60 MPH. VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALER WHO INFORMED CONSUMER THAT THE ENGINE OVERHEATED AND BURNED UP. *AK
1) SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER BROKEN @ 72500 MILES. 2) EXHAUST STUDS BROKEN, TECH BULLETIN OUT (#94041) BUT DEALER WOULDN'T FIX IT.
HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. NISSAN DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE DESIGN DEFECT. NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN THE SUMMARY. *AK
RIGHT REAR EXHAUST MANIFOLD STUDS FAILED. *AK
CRACKED EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND BROKEN MANIFOLD STUDS CAUSED NOISE AND OCCASIONAL EXHAUST SMELL IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT (WHEN ON FRESH AIR VENT). BROKEN MANIFOLD STUDS ARE A KNOWN DEFECT WITH A TSB IN EFFECT (OVER 10% OF ALL COMPLAINTS REGISTERED IN THE CUSTOMER COMPLAINT DATABASE RELATE TO THIS ISSUE). ONLY BECAUSE I HAD PURCHASED A NISSAN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOUR YEARS AGO WAS MOST OF THE REPAIR COST COVERED, HOWEVER, I WAS STILL REQUIRED TO PAY THE DEDUCTABLE. I DON'T FEEL ANY OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSE SHOULD BE INCURRED FOR AN OBVIOUSLY PREVALANT DEFECT OR ENGINEERING DESIGN FLAW.
COMMON EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLT FAILURE PROBLEM/ GOV'T HELP NEEDED FOR CUSTOMERS.
WHEN DRIVING AND TURNING ON THE FRESH AIR, EXHAUST SYSTEM CAUSES FUMES AND VAPOR SMELLS TO GET INTO VEHICLE FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. EXHAUST MANIFOLD HAD TO BE REPLACED. *AK
NO SUMMARY
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .