general problems of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder - part 1

The continuously variable transmission (cvt) assembly failed completely, rendering the vehicle inoperable. The transmission is currently available for inspection at the independent service center where repairs are being performed. The vehicle was purchased in September 2025 with approximately [unknown/low] mileage. Within the first week of ownership, the driver experienced violent shuddering and juddering when attempting to accelerate. This symptom worsened over a few days, eventually progressing to complete transmission failure — the vehicle could no longer accelerate or move under its own power. An independent transmission specialist identified a faulty casting in the cvt torque converter that caused internal belt/chain slippage. Once slippage began, the entire cvt assembly was damaged beyond repair. The specialist confirmed this is a known manufacturing defect in 2013 Nissan Pathfinders, not a result of owner misuse or maintenance neglect. A full cvt replacement was required. The sudden loss of transmission function while the vehicle was in operation created an immediate safety hazard. The vehicle could not accelerate when needed and could not be safely operated on roadways. This defect creates an unreasonably dangerous situation and increases the risk of crash or collision, particularly in traffic situations where acceleration is needed to avoid hazards. Yes — the failure was confirmed and diagnosed by an independent transmission service center. The specialist identified the faulty torque converter casting as the root cause and confirmed this is a known defect pattern in 2013 Pathfinder cvt transmissions. The transmission is available for inspection. The vehicle was not inspected by a Nissan dealership prior to repair. The owner contacted Nissan consumer affairs multiple times (via phone and written correspondence) before taking the vehicle to the independent service center, but did not receive assistance or an inspection appointment.

The transmission appears to be failing. When accelerating, the rpm increases but the vehicle speed does not respond immediately, creating a slipping and jerking effect. The vehicle is available for inspection if requested. The vehicle hesitates and jerks when accelerating, especially when merging into traffic or driving at highway speeds, which creates a risk of collision due to the loss of proper acceleration. The front tires also shake unexpectedly, making it difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. The issue is known and widely reported for this model year. Similar symptoms have been documented as transmission failures in 2013 Nissan Pathfinders. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Nissan for this issue. No warning lights appeared. The symptoms started gradually with hesitation when accelerating and have worsened over time to frequent slipping, jerking, and tire shaking while driving.

When I push on break it doesn’t engage to release car from park.

My 2013 Pathfinder keeps shuddering and jerking and swerving while driving.

There is a recall on the make, model and year of my vehicle but the VIN says that my vehicle is not affected yet that is the only thing wrong with my vehicle. It leaks all of its transmission fluid within 10 mins of driving it. I have contacted the dealer but the dealer is over an hour away and they said that since my vehicle isn't apart of the recall they will not fix the problem even though they said that is exactly what is wrong with my vehicle and I would have to buy an entirely new transmission from them if I was to take it in to get it fixed. This is the recall information that they say is the problem in my vehicle but the VIN states it is not apart of. Nhtsa campaign 14v142000 report date: Mar 26, 2014 Nissan north America (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013 Pathfinder vehicles manufactured April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, and equipped with a continuously variable transmission (cvt). In the affected vehicles, the internal oil cooler (itoc) hose may detach from the cooler due to inadequate clamping force, allowing transmission fluid to leak.

Vehicle does not accelerates properly after a left turn it starts jerking violently and it correct itself after a few minutes or it can jerk repeatedly before correcting. After awhile the brake-shift interlock started not working properly by getting stock in the parking position making it shift to the drive position.

In January I took my car to the dealership to repair my recalls and I complained about my car juddering jerking and stalling they told me I need a new transmission. I paid for transmission and install the car is still serving and stalling and juddeing I looked up transmission problems it shows all Nissan Pathfinder has a recall on cvt . Is mine included in this recall or am I needing yet another transmission.

Interior door handle failure. The handle component of the interior door handle which retains the actuator cable frequently breaks resulting in an inability to open the door from inside the vehicle. I have replaced four of these on my vehicle in the 5 years I have owned it. The drivers door has been repaired twice. The component is plastic and obviously not made sturdy enough or made of appropriate material to withstand normal use. Failure of this component results in the inability to open the door from inside the vehicle, posing a safety concern should a passenger need to exit the vehicle in an emergency situation. Had I only experienced this issue once, I would not be gravely concerned, but this component is failing too frequently to just ignore. Numerous online forums also show this to be a frequent problem in all Nissan vehicles with this type door handle. At this point, I feel nisan should redesign the door handle with a more sturdy and structurally sound design that can hold up to normal use. And should recall and replace the door handles of all Nissan vehicles that use this particular door handle.

Both the front and back cradles are bad. The back ones snapped in pieces. They should not have gone bad there is no rust on my car.

The front subframe is almost rusted through and could break. This is similar to the 2002-2005 altima, for which Nissan issued an extended warranty. If the subframe fails, it will cause a massive risk.

Front subframe rusted through. This is a similar issue across a wide range of Nissan Pathfinders. This is a major safety issue.

The subframe on 2013 Nissan Pathfinder was completely broken from rot. I brought it to a shop because it was pulling to the left and making a clanking noise. I was told this is a common problem with 2013 Nissan’s. Car started pulling to the left about a month ago. Car was inspected about 2 weeks ago. After doing research it was learned that the 2013 Pathfinders were never sprayed properly with some kind of rust protection. The Pathfinder made a newly designed model for 2013 and never properly sprayed it. There are multiple places you can find others with 2013 Pathfinder’s that have rusted out in the same area once the car get to about 140000 miles. Mine is just over 140000 miles.

The sunroof exploded while the car was in motion. There was a loud boom distracting me while I was driving, in addition to glass falling on me and around my car putting me in danger. Glass also landed in the street, putting the safety of others at risk. There are remnants of shattered glass in my car and where the sunroof used to be. There were no warning lights or messages prior to the issue. The problem has not yet been confirmed or inspected by any of the above. Most of the glass flew out of the car, meaning that the sunroof was not hit by a foreign object.

When accelerating from a stop, or increasing speed from a turn, the car sputters, power fluctuates, and sometimes it vibrates and feels like I am driving over a grid. The car sometimes feels like it's going to stall. I have owned this car for 10 years and this problem has been ongoing. It has been happening alot more recently. I have not been in an accident but I feel very unsafe when this happens and afraid it could cause an accident. I have been told it could be a known cvt issue but in the past, Nissan dealers always dismissed my complaints about the issue. No warning lamps or messages have ever appeared regarding this.

My daugther and myself were sitting at a stop light and the car would not move forward or backward. All of the transmission fluid was on the ground. I had to call the police for safety from being hit. I had the truck towed home.

The gas pedel is not responding. It goes down to the floor and nothing happens. I experienced this pulling out into traffic. I hit it several times to get it going. I made it to the turning lane. It kicked in. I turned out of the turning lane onto my street and it stopped working again. I made it home where it sits. I am terrified. This is danger to everyone around me.

Hood latch failed. Yes, available for inspection upon request. Hood opened, hit and then shattered windshield while driving on busy road. Received recall notice from Nissan about faulty hood latch. Service tech at window repair company noted good safety latch looked very loose. Was looked at by the window repair/replacement company. No warning at all.

My hatch want go up took it to andy mohr dealer ship and diagnostic were perform and they still couldn't come up a solution to get my hatch to work properly.

Shifter will not move from park. I have to use the hidden bypass push button just above park indicator to move vehicle in & out of gear. I bought this vehicle with about 141,000 miles. I noticed the under carriage was wet at time I bought it on September 16th 2021. Very slow leak. Had mechanic test transmission fluid temp and add Nissan cvt fluid. Didnt need much. Both rear interior doors have boken handles. Cables broke free of internal handle. Transmission starting to hesitate or lose power on mostly heavy acceleration. Acceleration pause for moment. Sometimes a few times within 5-7 seconds when attempt to excelerate at full throttle when heavy acceleration. Getting worse. Happening at slower speeds. Hood shakes on highway. Needs reinforced. So far caused no accidents.

Sun visor problem. Sun visor made within poor quality plastic. Plastic retainer broken now sun visor will not stay up. This is causing a vision problem when visor just drops into line of vision.

Brake lights will not turn off when engine is off. Sometimes car starts without depressing brake pedal.

Vehicle gets stuck in park. The gear will not shift into drive, reverse, or neutral. Will not move from park even though the car is on. Brake lights deploy when brake pedal is pushed but car will not move from park position.

In the course of 1. 5 yrs I have had issues with my transmission. I had to replace my transmission last June, only for the transmission to go out again in the beginning of Aug. Now it’s been less than a year and my car transmission gave out again in July. This will be transmission number 4 with in 1. 5 years. This last time I was turning into my friends house and the car would not go into the driveway, instead it lost power and rolled back down the street. Luckily my friend lives on a not so busy road and I avoided getting hit. I had the car towed to a Nissan dealership and they confirmed once again that it was indeed the transmission once again. This can not be normal in any way for a transmission to give out in a car that quickly. This is very dangerous.

My hood has popped opened while driving.

Transmission problem transmission shakes badly when pick up.

The transmission causes my car to stutter when accelerating or decelerating at low speeds. It's dangerous as you are trying to merge into traffic or pass other cars. I've taken it to my dealer who said that they see this all the time with Nissans. I have also taken it to a transmission repair shop who said it's a common problem with Nissans and that it will have to be replaced for $5500 to correct it.

The Pathfinder was recalled due to transmission problems. When I heard about the settlement had been settled. So I called the company directly and found out that the Pathfinder had not ever been changed from the previous owner. So no one wanted to help me. So we had taken the Pathfinder in before I knew of the recall due to transmission leaking. Had purchased extended warranty they refused to repair the transmission. So last month I had to come up with money to have a transmission put in. Because it was stuck in park and drive. No take in consideration I had contacted Nissan directly and they refused to do anything and knew this year had just settled a civil lawsuit. So I need help with being reimbursed by Nissan. There was as if, it was stuck in low gear, high pitch sound when started, hesitated when leaving a stop light, difficult time picking up speed, constantly leaking transmission liquid, high pitch noice when was put in reverse and jerking as when it was on the high way trying to shift gears. Had a particular smell at times. Even called cvt about the problem. Everyone refused to replace the transmission. Was unable to attach the second page of the document. I can provide documentation when we first took in the Pathfinder with this problem.

When accelerating the car it shudders and shakes until around 50 mph.

My car was on a city street, when I stopped by my mailbox, and couldn't shift into gear, because it was stuck in park. I went on the internet to find out how to temporarily get it out of park, so I could drive my car to the Nissan repair shop. The whole shift assembly was changed for $900.

2013 Nissan Pathfinder passenger sun visor won't stay up. Is there a recall on this or could this be a safety complaint?.

Rear tailgate will not open due to malfunction in outside switch when parked.

Sun visor does not stay in place and droops and obstructs view when vehicle is in motion. This obstructs view and may cause a crash. The same happens to both driver and passenger side sun visors. A quick internet search shows the problem to be prevalent.

Defects shifter assembly, cvt transmission, brakes, kraft Nissan invoice 317628 12-13-2019. Aamco blu steel automotive repair order j004629 transmission cvt, dtc p1 cvt judder, b2603 shift position, hvac sun load sensor.

Both sun visors on the drivers side and passenger side will not go up and hang down due to a defect. This blocks the visibility of the road and poses a safety hazard as if you were in an accident the person would get injured by the visor hanging down. This problem has been mentioned online by many Nissan owners and Nissan refuses to cover. I received an estimate of $430. 84 to get them replaced. When I noticed that my visors were like this was when. I picked my car up from the Nissan garage as they were fixing a mechanical problem. I tried to push up and they would just fall down again. Nothing I did to cause this.

The transmission is juddering.