YearToAvoid

2013 Nissan Pathfinder Airbags Problems

NHTSA lists 177 airbag complaints for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, 20% of all complaints for the year, tied to 6 crashes and 13 injuries. Four related airbag recalls cover occupant detection sensors and software, with median failure mileage at 10,250 miles.

Airbags complaints
177
20% of 890
Crashes reported
6
Fires reported
0
Injuries reported
13
Median mileage
10,250 mi
Related recalls
4

Typical airbag symptoms owners report

  • Owners report the passenger-side Occupant Detection System (ODS) misreads seat weight, flashing the airbag-off light even with an adult in the seat.
  • Some drivers say the driver-side airbag failed to deploy during a rear-impact collision at highway speed.
  • Several complaints describe the airbag warning light illuminating at startup or intermittently with no diagnosis found by dealers.
  • Multiple owners state they received the 16V244000 or related recall notices but dealers had no replacement parts available for months.
  • One complaint describes an 'air bags deployed' message and passenger-side airbag-off light appearing before a later collision.

When 2013 Nissan Pathfinder airbag complaints were filed

First complaint Feb 2, 2013, latest Nov 11, 2025.

2013 Nissan Pathfinder airbags complaints: complaints filed per quarter172013 Q12014 Q22015 Q32016 Q42018 Q32020 Q32022 Q22025 Q4
177 complaints filed with NHTSA from 2013 Q1 to 2025 Q4; peak 2015 Q1 (17).

Airbags recalls for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

  1. NHTSA 16V244000Apr 26, 2016Airbags3,296,947 vehicles

    Air bags:sensor:occupant classification

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

    Risk: If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

  2. NHTSA 15V681000Oct 20, 2015Airbags919 vehicles

    Air bags:sensor:occupant classification

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

    Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

  3. NHTSA 14V138000Mar 25, 2014Airbags989,701 vehicles

    Air bags:frontal

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, and Sentra, model year 2013 NV200 (aka Taxi) and Infiniti JX35 and model year 2014 Infiniti Q50 and QX60 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the occupant classification system (OCS) software may incorrectly classify the passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.

    Risk: If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger airbag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2014. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

  4. NHTSA 13V069000Mar 1, 2013Airbags82,038 vehicles

    Air bags

    Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.

    Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.

    Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.

Airbags complaints by Pathfinder model year

Raw complaint counts per model year; newer years have had less time to accumulate complaints.

  1. 201011 (28%)
  2. 201112 (27%)
  3. 20124 (17%)
  4. 2013177 (20%)
  5. 201492 (16%)
  6. 201555 (17%)
  7. 201618 (17%)
  8. 20177 (4%)
  9. 20184 (5%)
  10. 20194 (5%)
  11. 20201 (2%)
  12. 20225 (4%)
  13. 20232 (2%)
  14. 20241 (1%)
  15. 20252 (4%)

Frequently asked questions

How many airbag complaints does the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder have?
NHTSA lists 177 airbag-related complaints for the 2013 Pathfinder, which is 20% of all 890 complaints filed for that model year.
Is there an airbag recall for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder?
Yes. Four airbag recalls apply: 13V069000, 14V138000, 15V681000, and 16V244000, mainly covering Occupant Detection System sensors and software updates.
Did the 2013 Pathfinder airbag problems cause injuries?
NHTSA data links this problem area to 6 crashes and 13 injuries for the 2013 model year.
At what mileage do airbag problems usually appear?
The median mileage at failure reported to NHTSA for airbag complaints on the 2013 Pathfinder is 10,250 miles.
How does 2013 compare to other Pathfinder years for airbag complaints?
The 2013 model year has the highest complaint count in this data at 177, with a 20% share, compared to 92 complaints (16% share) in 2014 and far fewer in years after 2016.

Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint and recall databases; U.S. EPA fuel economy data; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

Data updated Sep 24, 2026. Read the methodology and data sources. The Complaint Index is based on NHTSA owner complaints and recalls; it is not a reliability rating.