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Nissan Pathfinder

All generations and engines together · 2,302 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 84k

Reliability verdict

Not enough recent tests to rate this SUV. Watch suspension and corrosion. Not enough recent MOT data to call this one yet.

Typical mileage at age 7
84k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Central chassis rail corrosion

Emerging

The main chassis rail behind the rear axle can rot from the inside out, the same weak spot that affects the closely related D40 Navara pickup. Owners report finding it during a service or MOT once the perforation warranty has long expired, sometimes bad enough to need a new chassis or the car written off. Nissan's UK perforation warranty is 12 years but has reportedly offered no goodwill once that runs out, and owners have been advised to log it with the DVSA as a safety defect.

Reported from 10-15 years old · sources: Honest John owner reports

EGR valve blocking up

Emerging

Carbon and soot clog the EGR valve on the dCi diesels, bringing on an engine management light and, in worse cases, the engine cutting out on the move. It is a known weak point on this generation of Nissan/Renault diesel engine rather than a one-off. Cleaning or replacing the valve runs from under £100 for a DIY clean to a few hundred pounds at a garage.

Reported across the mileage range · sources: Honest John owner reports

DPF choking and fuel dumping into the sump

Emerging

When the diesel particulate filter chokes with ash, the engine tries to force a regeneration and can end up injecting extra diesel that runs past the rings into the sump, diluting the oil. Owners have reported this leading to serious bearing or engine damage once oil pressure and lubrication suffer, in one documented case at around 91,000 miles. Watch for an overfull dipstick that smells of diesel rather than oil; a full engine rebuild or replacement is a four-figure job.

Reported from around 90k miles · sources: Honest John owner reports

Timing chain tensioner wear

Emerging

Neglected oil changes let the timing chain tensioner wear and the simplex chain stretch, which on the diesel engines is an expensive job to put right as it is buried deep in the engine. Some specialists upgrade the original simplex chain to a duplex set-up when they do the work. Listen for chain rattle on a cold start, and treat a thin or patchy service history as a red flag on this engine.

Linked to poor servicing history · sources: Honest John owner reports

Automatic gearbox and torque converter failure

EmergingAutomatics only

The 5-speed automatic can suffer torque converter failure, a repair Honest John owners have put at £2,500 or more. A related fault is the transmission fluid heat exchanger inside the radiator fracturing, letting coolant and ATF mix and contaminate the gearbox. Manual cars are not affected by either fault.

Reported on auto-only V6 dCi and auto 2.5 dCi cars · sources: Honest John owner reports

Front suspension ball joints and knocking

Partly in the MOT data

Owners regularly report the front upper and lower suspension ball joints wearing, causing wandering at speed and a knocking or clonking noise over bumps, at roughly £60 a side to replace plus labour. This lines up with the measured MOT data for this model, where suspension is the standout fault category for the segment. It fits a heavy body-on-frame SUV working its front end hard, rather than being a one-off complaint.

Reported through the mileage range, worse from 80k+ · sources: Honest John owner reports, MOT fault data

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Bushes and ball jointsRuns high on this model Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 15.4% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 2.1%
LeaksRuns high on this model Look at the ground where the car usually stands, then glance under the engine after your test drive. Fresh drips of oil or coolant are the cheapest warning you will ever get about a car.Recorded on 10.2% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 4.8%
Brake pipes underneathRuns high on this model Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 10.0% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 6.2%
Coil springsRuns high on this model Look through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 9.4% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 3.2%
Underneath, with a torchRuns high on this model Get down and look at the sills, the subframes and the rear suspension mounting points. Flaking scale and bubbling matter; light surface rust does not. On older cars this is the one check that finds the fault that scraps them.Recorded on 7.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 0.3%
Steering playRuns high on this model With the engine running and the car parked, waggle the wheel lightly about the straight-ahead. The wheels should respond almost at once. A dead zone before anything happens means wear in the rack or the track rod ends.Recorded on 6.7% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 1.3%
Rubber boots and gaitersRuns high on this model On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 6.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 1.5%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 29.4% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 20.9%
Pads and discs Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 13.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 11.4%
Windscreen and wipers Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 3.3% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 2.6%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Check underneath along the central chassis rail behind the rear axle for rust bubbling, filler, or a rail that looks like it has been patched. Rot here can mean a chassis rail replacement or a write-off once it perforates.
Look for a service history with regular oil changes, especially on the diesel. A thin history raises the odds of timing chain tensioner wear and DPF/EGR problems.
Pull the dipstick and check the oil level and smell. An overfull dipstick smelling of diesel points to fuel dumping into the sump from a DPF regeneration problem.
Start the engine from cold and listen for a minute before driving off. A rattle that fades as revs rise suggests a worn timing chain tensioner.
Watch the dash for the engine management light on start-up and during the test drive. On and off warnings, or a car that stalls unexpectedly, point to a blocked EGR valve.
On automatics, drive it hard enough to force a kickdown and check the fluid condition on the dipstick if accessible. Slipping, shunting, or dark/burnt-smelling fluid suggests torque converter wear or a contaminated gearbox.
Drive over some speed bumps and turn the wheel lock to lock at low speed listening for knocks. Clonks from the front end point to worn suspension ball joints, the fault that shows up most in this model's MOT data.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Nissan PathfinderClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 2,291 tests in this band.

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
32.3%class 4.4%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Fail
14.8%class 2.7%
Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users
Advisory
10.2%class 4.8%
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
10.0%class 6.2%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Fail
9.4%class 3.2%
Vehicle structure corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is seriously reduced
Advisory
7.6%class 0.3%
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
Fail
6.7%class 1.3%
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
Minor
6.6%class 1.5%
Exhaust system leaking or insecure
Advisory
5.9%class 2.2%
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
Fail
5.6%class 3.5%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
32.6%class 23.4%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
13.6%class 11.4%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
9.9%class 7.3%
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
Minor
6.3%class 3.3%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
4.2%class 9.7%
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Fail
4.0%class 2.6%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
3.4%class 2.8%
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
Minor
3.3%class 2.6%

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