"How reliable is the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder?"

"Based on 147 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder has a median complaint mileage of 107000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 147 total complaints filed."

2003 Nissan Pathfinder: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 147 complaints

147

Total Complaints

107,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

64,000 25th Percentile

107,000 Median Mileage

143,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM

SUSPENSION

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

STEERING

AIR BAGS

STRUCTURE:BODY

ENGINE

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED SUDDEN ACCELERATION. *JB"

"UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AT RED LIGHT AND IN PARKING LOT. LOW BRAKE PEDAL WHEN APPLIED, FOOT HITS GAS PEDAL WHILE BRAKING. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM THAT OTHER PATHFINDER OWNERS REPORTED. *NLM"

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM 18 complaints

25th: 43,050 mi Median: 57,750 mi 75th: 70,750 mi

SUSPENSION 18 complaints

25th: 113,500 mi Median: 143,000 mi 75th: 178,512 mi

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13 complaints

25th: 127,760 mi Median: 138,000 mi 75th: 150,000 mi

STEERING 13 complaints

25th: 110,750 mi Median: 143,000 mi 75th: 167,500 mi

AIR BAGS 12 complaints

25th: 102,916 mi Median: 130,000 mi 75th: 160,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NJ: 19 NY: 17 CA: 10 CT: 10 PA: 10 MA: 8 MD: 7 VA: 6 GA: 6 IL: 6

Who Files Complaints?

12.9%

Original Owners

87.1%

Second+ Owners

Nissan Pathfinder — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	44	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	1
1991	49	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	3
1992	38	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	2
1993	67	141,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE	2
1994	108	127,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE	9
1995	218	127,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE	13
1996	214	120,500	SUSPENSION	24
1997	293	118,000	SUSPENSION	20
1998	194	114,000	SUSPENSION	31
1999	144	130,000	SUSPENSION:FRONT	29
2000	166	130,000	SUSPENSION	13
2001	299	100,000	SUSPENSION	21
2002	206	96,540	SUSPENSION	19
2004	86	76,684	AIR BAGS	3
2005	1560	93,000	POWER TRAIN	21
2006	1224	96,000	POWER TRAIN	16
2007	843	101,000	POWER TRAIN	16
2008	458	107,310	POWER TRAIN	10
2009	51	90,000	AIR BAGS	2
2010	61	115,000	AIR BAGS	3
2011	59	45,500	AIR BAGS	0
2012	35	111,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	2
2013	1202	14,000	POWER TRAIN	26
2014	737	47,000	POWER TRAIN	33
2015	424	42,500	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	19
2016	125	49,000	ENGINE	14
2017	253	44,000	ENGINE	13
2018	120	17,500	SERVICE BRAKES	5
2019	116	34,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	6
2020	67	46,569	ENGINE	2
2022	181	11,500	SERVICE BRAKES	7
2023	139	14,700	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	7
2024	86	-	ENGINE	3
2025	61	5,000	UNKNOWN OR OTHER	3

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