2008 Nissan Pathfinder
Complaints about this year name fuel gauge far more often than the other years of this generation — 16% of them, about 41× the usual rate of 0.4%.
Generation 1 of the Nissan Pathfinder, which began in 2005 and ran to 2012. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 328 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 101 |
| Involving a crash | 9 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 15.5 mpg |
Also unusual this year
- tank — 15% of complaints, 37× usual
- empty — 11% of complaints, 28× usual
- needed — 15% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT WITH A QUARTER OF TANK OF FUEL. THE CONTACT NOTICED THE FUEL TANK GAUGE READ EMPTY. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE GAS STATION, REFILLED THE TANK, AND THE FUEL GAUGE READ FULL. THE FAILURE RECURRED AT THE QUARTER TANK LEVE…
THE FUEL SENDING UNIT FAILED TO WORK. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATED THAT THE FUEL TANK WAS FULL WHEN IT WAS EMPTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 10E019000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 10V075000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 08V690000 AIR BAGS
- 10V401000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 23V067000 AIR BAGS
How this was worked out
Every year of the Nissan Pathfinder was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder? What happened to yours?
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