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EnginePart report

2020 Nissan Pathfinder Engine Problems

Complaints
17about this part
Share
32%of 53 total for the year
Median mileage
13,350miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 17 complaints about the engine of the 2020 Nissan Pathfinder, 32% of the 53 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 13,350 miles.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“When driving or idling you get a smell of antifreeze inside the drivers compartment. Dealer said the only way to fix was to get the heating and cooling system on recirculating and not fresh air. This is constant problem no matter the twhat the temp at urge isoutside.”

NHTSA complaint #11385020, filed 2020-12, 7,000 miles

“My 202 pathfinder started misfiring with sever knocking, Nissan said there is metal saving in my oil which is caused because of the long block engine failure and timing chain loosening. I had my oil changes done every 4K, and I also had the fluids flushed twice in 5 years because of excessive build up. How does this happen.”

NHTSA complaint #11702786, filed 2025-12

“There's been a loss of power when accelerating, engine has made an odd noise during startup and occasionally a knocking noise when driven longer than a 10 mins. Dealership said there's metal in the oil pan. I saw an article today that said only nissan three and four cylinder vehicles have these issues but my pathfinder has the same problems.”

NHTSA complaint #11560432, filed 2023-12

“I drove from Pine Bluff, AR to Memphis, TENN in pouring rain. There were many tractor trailers on the highway throwing water back on my vehicle. When I got into Memphis, my vehicle shut down and would not re-start for several hours. I believe this to be a safety issue because if I had driven a little farther and it suddenly shut down in traffic, this would have caused a terrible accident.”

NHTSA complaint #11516912, filed 2023-04

“Back in nov 2022 my car had to go in the shop due to its jerking, shuddering, shaking while accelerating. Then suddenly just stopped wouldn’t let me accelerate turn break nothing locked up luckily I was able to pull over and shut off the car because it was still on during this time. I had just picked my young kids up from elementary school. The dealer ship had us pay the deductible and told us it was the ecm they replaced it and we were 0 dollars out of pocket due to warranty. …”

NHTSA complaint #11534241, filed 2023-07

Related service bulletins

Engine: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2025916%
20241922%
20231514%
20221813%
20201732%
20191520%
20181317%
20178344%
20162726%
20157423%
20146211%
201310512%
2012522%
20111022%
2010615%
2009719%
20086119%
200711420%
200614718%
200514414%
200446%
200365%
200253%
200110%
200011%
199911%
199521%

Other parts of the 2020 Nissan Pathfinder

Electrical system
12 complaints
Other or unknown
9 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
9 complaints
Brakes
8 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
4 complaints
Fuel system
4 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
3 complaints
Suspension
3 complaints
Exterior lighting
2 complaints
Body and structure
2 complaints
Vehicle speed control
2 complaints
Air bags
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2020 Nissan Pathfinder

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology