Nissan Pathfinder owners have reported 3 parking brake related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common parking brake problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's parking brake (3 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Parking Brake problems |
If the transmission in the "n" position (neutral), the parking break can't hold the car on incline space! that problem exist in all Nissan Pathfinders year 2012 and up, we find it in the other Pathfinders on the dealership too (that means it is not the single problem just with my car), but the dealership technician told me that this is normal for this model(?!?) if the transmission in the "p" position (park) that problem does not exist (because the transmission holds the car) but the parking break itself can not hold the car on incline! I did not find the same problem on any other models/makes. . .
When I would park on a hill the parking brake would not hold the car and the car would roll backwards until the parking pawl was engaged so the transmission was holding the car on the hill. In an emergency situation the parking brake would not be able to stop the car. Took car to the dealer and parking brake was adjusted. Now, no problems holding the car on a hill. Nissan should have checked this before giving me the car.
2001 Nissan Pathfinder has experienced two events where the brakes have malfunctioned. The first event involved the emergency brake activating when the vehicle was traveling about 45 mph without the driver pulling up on the emergency handle. Immediately upon the brake locking up, the driver pulled up and down on the handle and the emergency brake thankfully released itself. The second event occurred two weeks later when all four brakes failed to activate when the driver pushed down on the brake pedal - it went to the floor without engaging any of the brakes. After pushing the brake pedal over and over, the car finally stopped just short of the car in front of him at the intersection. We took the vehicle to the Nissan dealer and they allegedly analyzed all of the braking systems and could not find any problems. This vehicle has an abs system that might be malfunctioning, but we do not know what the problem(s) could be. Since the vehicle is essential to our daily use, we are driving it with some concern and constant worry.