Common problems

Nissan Pathfinder common problems

What MOT testers find on the Nissan Pathfinder: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 23,532 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=3,652)22.4

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)20.4

Suspension advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=3,652)34.3

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)33.7

What stands out

Body and structure fails show up on 19.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Nissan Pathfinder at 16 years old (n=3,652), against 7.6 for all cars of that age (n=4,858,625).
Tyres fails are less common: 5.0 per 100 MOTs against 7.5 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: side/position light not working, on 8.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 17.1 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Nissan Pathfinder at 16 years (n=3,652) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	22.4	20.4	15.7	15.3
Suspension	22.2	17.1	34.3	33.7
Body and structure	19.4	7.6	27.5	12.6
Brakes	11.6	11.6	28.9	29.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.7	6.8	6.1	5.7
Steering	7.5	3.4	7.0	4.6
Tyres	5.0	7.5	21.0	28.4
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.8	6.2	14.3	12.0
Seat belts and airbags	3.3	2.1	1.8	1.1
Road wheels	1.2	0.6	under 0.1	1.5
Number plates and VIN	0.8	0.6	3.2	4.8

What testers fail most on the Pathfinder at 16 years

Fail items on the Nissan Pathfinder at 16 years (n=3,652), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	8.5	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Steering track rod end: ball joint play	Steering	5.9	1.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	4.9	2.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	4.8	2.9	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	4.7	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Coil spring broken	Suspension	4.5	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Anti-roll bar link worn	Suspension	4.5	1.6	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Chassis condition: corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced	Body and structure	4.3	0.2
Wheel bearings: has excessive play	Suspension	4.2	0.3	£103 to £276 per wheel (rough guide)
Exhaust system: has a major leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	4.1	1.8	£182 to £263 per section

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Nissan Pathfinder at 16 years (n=3,652), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	17.1	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	12.6	10.7
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	11.3	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Chassis condition: is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced	Body and structure	9.9	1.1
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.7	6.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Linkage ball joints: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	9.4	2.7	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	9.3	5.9
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	9.0	2.3	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	7.9	8.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	7.5	3.5

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Body and structure
10 years	1,153	17.2	18.3	9.0
11 years	1,789	18.4	17.8	9.3
12 years	1,974	20.7	19.4	10.5
13 years	2,423	23.9	20.0	14.2
14 years	2,576	22.2	22.1	17.6
15 years	3,197	21.8	22.6	19.5
16 years	3,652	22.4	22.2	19.4
17 years	3,276	21.5	20.8	20.4
18 years	2,302	21.8	21.3	20.9
19 years	1,190	20.4	20.2	19.2

What to check on a viewing

On the Nissan Pathfinder, testers most often record side/position light not working; steering track rod end: ball joint play; suspension ball joint worn. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Body and structure

Look underneath at the sills, floor, subframes and jacking points for corrosion, or for fresh underseal that may hide it.
Check that doors, bonnet and boot open, close and latch properly.
Look for loose trim, sharp edges or damage around the bumpers and wheel arches.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Nissan Pathfinder?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (3,652), the fail items testers record most often on the Nissan Pathfinder are side/position light not working (8.5 per 100 MOTs), steering track rod end: ball joint play (5.9 per 100 MOTs), suspension ball joint worn (4.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (17.1) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (12.6).

Which parts of the Nissan Pathfinder fail more often than on other cars?

At 16 years: body and structure (19.4 per 100 MOTs against 7.6 for all cars); suspension (22.2 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars); steering (7.5 per 100 MOTs against 3.4 for all cars). Compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Nissan Pathfinder problems by area

Other Nissan models

All Nissan models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Nissan Pathfinder?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources