The Lane Check

CarsNissan › Pathfinder › 2018

2018 Nissan Pathfinder: engine and transmission complaints

NO ELEVATED SIGNAL
32%
23 of 77 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

No elevated drivetrain complaint concentration in the available NHTSA records for the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. Engine, transmission and fuel system account for 32% of relevant complaints.

Better than 68% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
Share this car

Looking at a specific Pathfinder?Check its VIN: the full report, quotes about its own engine, and whether its recalls are still open. First report free.

Check a VIN
Drivetrain complaints
23
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
77
this model year
Fires reported
0
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
3
3 crashes · 2 injuries

Complaints by component

SERVICE BRAKES20 · 26%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER17 · 22%
ENGINE13 · 17%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM13 · 17%
POWER TRAIN12 · 16%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL9 · 12%

The years either side

2010
55%
16 of 40
2011
48%
15 of 45
2012
too few complaints
2013
59%
428 of 890
2014
54%
260 of 573
2015
54%
138 of 320
2016
40%
34 of 107
2017
65%
112 of 186
2018
32%
23 of 77
2019
34%
23 of 75
2020
49%
24 of 52
2021
no data
2022
25%
32 of 135
2023
37%
37 of 103

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

What owners reported

POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS03/06/20231 INJURED
As we were driving on the highway about 70 miles per hour, no traffic relatively, the vehicle started to violently shake and then we heard a loud explosion in the front end, prompting the front drive and passenger airbags to deploy, as well as the full right side curtain airbags. This curtain airbag struck my wife in t…
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE08/07/2026
The vehicle veers towards the right, even though a wheel alignment was completed on 7/1/26. On 7/28/26 when driving the vehicle, it wouldn’t accelerate properly, it felt sluggish and although the gas pedal was depressed it was struggling to pick up speed. As the vehicle was attempting to shift between 2nd and 3rd gears…
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE12/04/2025
The contact owns a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The failure persisted, and there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine with the check engine warning light illuminated. In addition, the vehic…

Three of 23 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (3)

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Nissan Murano, 2016-2018 Nissan Maxima, and 2017-2019 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. Th…
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Nissan Murano, 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2017-2018 Nissan Pathfinder, and 2017 Infiniti QX60 vehicles. …
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Nissan Altima, Armada, Frontier, Kicks, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, NV, NV200, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue Sport…

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder

Have the VIN?Paste it and get the full report for that car. First report free, then a 30-day pass covers a whole car search.

Check a VIN

Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle.