2006 Nissan Pathfinder problems & reliability
837 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
9 complaints report injuries (11 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2006 Nissan Pathfinder vehicles were involved in 41 fatal crashes with 26 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 450 | 54% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 185 | 22% |
| Engine | 147 | 18% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 135 | 16% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 71 | 8% |
| Unknown OR Other | 43 | 5% |
| Steering | 41 | 5% |
| Electrical System | 34 | 4% |
| Fuel System, Other | 29 | 3% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 16 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 94,000 miles (middle 50% between 73,305 and 120,000 miles), based on 735 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I've ran out of gas twice my indicator the gas tank gauge does not show that the vehicle is empty it shows it's full and then I run out of gas on the side of the road almost get hit by cars trying to get to gas station to get more gas in the middle of traffic very dangerous have my daughter with me trying to push my…”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Jun 24, 2025
“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…”
Fuel System, Gasoline · filed Oct 11, 2024
“The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware of transmission failure during the gear shifting. The contact stated that the gear shifter would remain in neutral. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an…”
Power Train · filed Jun 12, 2024
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Transmission Failures
Defect Petition DP12004 · opened Jun 11, 2012 · closed Oct 22, 2016
Technical service bulletins
77 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The 10 most recent:
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
ITB09-063C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
CERTIFICATION LABEL AND VIN PLATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION Because of collision damage or other vehicle repair, a replacement “Certification Label” or “VIN Plate/Label” may be needed. HINT: Certification Label =…
NTB09-131C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2026
VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN 2005-2013 FRONTIER, PATHFINDER, AND XTERRA; DRIVER AIR BAG COVER CAMPAIGN ID #: PC945 and PC948 APPLIED VEHICLES: 2005-2013 Frontier (D40) 2005-2012 Pathfinder (R51) 2005-2013 Xterra…
NTB23-081C · Service Campaign · issued Jul 8, 2024
VEHICLE KEY NOT DETECTED / AUTHENTICATED, ENGINE WILL NOT START This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-107G · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION – NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC FLOW CHART This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-027D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
CAN COMMUNICATION CODES – DIAGNOSTIC TIPS AND GUIDELINES This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB10-066C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 21, 2024
WINDOW GLASS WARRANTY INFORMATION This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB17-019H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
REMOVING FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE WINDOW GLASS This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB13-028I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
WINDSHIELD CRACKING This bulletin has been amended. See AMENDMENT HISTORY on the last page. Please discard previous versions of this bulletin.
NTB09-081K · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 30, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2006 Nissan Pathfinder has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2006 Nissan Pathfinder?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 94,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.