"How reliable is the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder?"

"Based on 214 NHTSA complaints, the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder has a median complaint mileage of 120500 miles. The most common issue is SUSPENSION."

"What are common problems with the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder is SUSPENSION, accounting for a significant portion of the 214 total complaints filed."

1996 Nissan Pathfinder: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 214 complaints

214

Total Complaints

120,500mi

Median Mileage

SUSPENSION

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

95,000 25th Percentile

120,500 Median Mileage

149,649 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SUSPENSION

SUSPENSION:REAR

STEERING

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

TIRES

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

SUSPENSION:FRONT

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DASHBOARD INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AND STAYED ON, DEALER SAID THE ALTERNATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK"

"DRIVING AT SPEED OF 50MPH, WHEN CHANGING LANES, DUE THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND HWY CONDITION, VEHICLE LOST CONTROL AND TILTED OVER. *AK"

"DURING VEHICLE OPERATION, WHEN ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE FROM THE STARTING POSITION, THE VEHICLE STALLS.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28