2001 Nissan Pathfinder Suspension Problems
Owners have filed 68 complaints with NHTSA about suspension problems on the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, 30% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 134,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “strut tower” (25% of reports).
- 68suspension complaints
- 134,000median miles at failure
- 2mention a crash
- 1mention an injury
- 1related recalls
- 51%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Strut tower: mentioned in 17 of 68 complaints (25%)
- Steering suspension: mentioned in 6 of 68 complaints (9%)
- Tgw consumer: mentioned in 6 of 68 complaints (9%)
- Writes regards: mentioned in 5 of 68 complaints (7%)
At what mileage do suspension problems happen?
Based on 51 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 68 complaints, 2 mention a crash, 1 an injury.
Nissan Pathfinder suspension complaints by model year
| Model year | Suspension complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Pathfinder | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2024 Pathfinder | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2022 Pathfinder | 3 | 2% | 24,000 |
| 2020 Pathfinder | 3 | 6% | — |
| 2018 Pathfinder | 1 | 1% | 19,000 |
| 2017 Pathfinder | 1 | 1% | — |
| 2016 Pathfinder | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2015 Pathfinder | 2 | 1% | 80,000 |
| 2014 Pathfinder | 14 | 2% | 7,500 |
| 2013 Pathfinder | 29 | 3% | 75,273 |
| 2012 Pathfinder | 5 | 22% | 144,500 |
| 2011 Pathfinder | 6 | 13% | 44,289 |
| 2010 Pathfinder | 4 | 10% | 52,000 |
| 2008 Pathfinder | 7 | 2% | 135,000 |
| 2007 Pathfinder | 5 | 1% | 104,000 |
| 2006 Pathfinder | 9 | 1% | 81,662 |
| 2005 Pathfinder | 9 | 1% | 27,800 |
| 2004 Pathfinder | 3 | 4% | 182,706 |
| 2003 Pathfinder | 21 | 19% | 143,000 |
| 2002 Pathfinder | 43 | 28% | 120,000 |
| 2001 Pathfinder | 68 | 30% | 134,000 |
| 2000 Pathfinder | 41 | 37% | 132,649 |
| 1999 Pathfinder | 35 | 34% | 145,000 |
| 1998 Pathfinder | 47 | 32% | 134,500 |
| 1997 Pathfinder | 105 | 48% | 114,800 |
| 1996 Pathfinder | 64 | 40% | 123,183 |
| 1995 Pathfinder | 16 | 9% | 143,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (1)
Suspension:front; steering:column
Problem: Nissan is recalling certain model year 1996-2004 pathfinder and model year 1997-2003 infiniti qx4 vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, connecticut, delaware, iowa, illinois, indiana, massachusetts, maine, maryland, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, washington d.c., west virginia and wisconsin. In areas of the country in which heavy concentrations of road salt are used, a mixture of snow/water and salt may enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this snow/water and salt intrusion may result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in some subject vehicles.
Risk: The strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which could result in a crash.
Fix: Nissan will inspect the strut housing and repair the vehicles as necessary, free of charge. An interim notification letter was sent out in may 2011. The second notice was mailed on july 25, 2011. Owners may contact nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact was attempting to use her brakes to slow for traffic and was unable to stop. The contact had to depress the brake pedal to the floorboard to get the vehicle to stop. The contact stated that…
Family car;2001 nissan pathfinder, we got in the truck and drove about 250 feet to the stop sign. I stop. As i started moving and suddenly i hear a pop loud sound from engine compartment and my steering got hard and difficult to steer and a grinding sound as you turn the steering. Drove back to the…
Driver's side strut tower has rusted to the point were the truck will pass va state safety inspection. There was a recall performed by several years ago by nissan for the rust issue on both inner wheel wells and strut tower area.
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2001 Nissan Pathfinders have suspension problems?
No. NHTSA has 68 owner complaints about suspension for the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder (30% of the 230 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder suspension?
Yes: 1 safety recall list suspension. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do suspension problems start?
The median reported mileage is 134,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about suspension problems on the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder?
The most frequent phrase is “strut tower”, in 17 of 68 complaints, followed by “steering suspension” (6).
See all 2001 Nissan Pathfinder problems or suspension problems across all Pathfinder years.