2013 Nissan Pathfinder Air Bags Problems
Owners have filed 177 complaints with NHTSA about air bags problems on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, 20% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 10,250 miles. The words owners use most often: “air bag” (43% of reports).
- 177air bags complaints
- 10,250median miles at failure
- 6mention a crash
- 7mention an injury
- 4related recalls
- 37%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.
- Air bag: mentioned in 76 of 177 complaints (43%)
- Passenger seat: mentioned in 72 of 177 complaints (41%)
- Airbag off: mentioned in 22 of 177 complaints (12%)
- Sitting front: mentioned in 12 of 177 complaints (7%)
At what mileage do air bags problems happen?
Based on 136 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 177 complaints, 6 mention a crash, 7 an injury.
Nissan Pathfinder air bags complaints by model year
| Model year | Air Bags complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Pathfinder | 2 | 4% | 5,000 |
| 2024 Pathfinder | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2023 Pathfinder | 2 | 2% | 10,080 |
| 2022 Pathfinder | 5 | 4% | 22,300 |
| 2020 Pathfinder | 1 | 2% | — |
| 2019 Pathfinder | 4 | 5% | 86,497 |
| 2018 Pathfinder | 4 | 5% | — |
| 2017 Pathfinder | 7 | 4% | 58,473 |
| 2016 Pathfinder | 18 | 17% | 14,500 |
| 2015 Pathfinder | 55 | 17% | 12,800 |
| 2014 Pathfinder | 92 | 16% | 10,000 |
| 2013 Pathfinder | 177 | 20% | 10,250 |
| 2012 Pathfinder | 4 | 17% | 36,000 |
| 2011 Pathfinder | 12 | 27% | 91,200 |
| 2010 Pathfinder | 11 | 28% | 136,000 |
| 2009 Pathfinder | 11 | 30% | 91,500 |
| 2008 Pathfinder | 41 | 13% | 130,000 |
| 2007 Pathfinder | 23 | 4% | 114,500 |
| 2006 Pathfinder | 14 | 2% | 70,000 |
| 2005 Pathfinder | 22 | 2% | 117,000 |
| 2004 Pathfinder | 11 | 16% | 81,693 |
| 2003 Pathfinder | 14 | 13% | 116,458 |
| 2002 Pathfinder | 9 | 6% | 135,000 |
| 2001 Pathfinder | 9 | 4% | 140,000 |
| 2000 Pathfinder | 4 | 4% | 109,000 |
| 1999 Pathfinder | 11 | 11% | 80,000 |
| 1998 Pathfinder | 10 | 7% | 68,116 |
| 1997 Pathfinder | 13 | 6% | 62,615 |
| 1996 Pathfinder | 11 | 7% | — |
| 1995 Pathfinder | 1 | 1% | — |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (4)
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.
Air bags:sensor:occupant classification; air bags:frontal
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags:frontal; electrical system:software
Problem: Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags
Problem: Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Brought our 2013 Nissan Pathfinder to Naples Nissan because of a flashing airbag warning light and a Warning light that passenger airbag was not working . Dealer fixed other recalls and charged us $179 to tell us we needed 2 new OCS sensors for $1050. We provided copy of OCS sensor recall for 2013…
The front passenger air bag turned off when an adult or teen sits in the seat. The air bag has remained turned off. The warning light also started to flash periodically and now continuously flashes.
Hi, in 2018, Nissan replaced the passenger occupancy module as part of a recall. That module has now gone bad again (~5 years), and Nissan is charging its customers to replace. Maybe we are unlucky, but wondering if the repair with a faulty part is a pattern that is introducing risk and unnecessary…
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2013 Nissan Pathfinders have air bags problems?
No. NHTSA has 177 owner complaints about air bags for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder (20% of the 890 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 2013 Nissan Pathfinder air bags?
Yes: 4 safety recalls list air bags. Check your VIN on NHTSA.gov to see whether the fix was done on your car.
At what mileage do air bags problems start?
The median reported mileage is 10,250 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
What do owners say about air bags problems on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder?
The most frequent phrase is “air bag”, in 76 of 177 complaints, followed by “passenger seat” (72).
Other 2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems
- Power Train problems (370)
- Engine problems (105)
- Structure problems (83)
- Service Brakes problems (62)
- Electrical System problems (50)
See all 2013 Nissan Pathfinder problems or air bags problems across all Pathfinder years.