2013 Nissan Pathfinder: transmission slipping

Filed Sep 3, 2025 · Transmission · CA

The transmission appears to be failing. When accelerating, the RPM increases but the vehicle speed does not respond immediately, creating a slipping and jerking effect. The vehicle is available for inspection if requested. The vehicle hesitates and jerks when accelerating, especially when merging into traffic or driving at highway speeds, which creates a risk of collision due to the loss of proper acceleration. The front tires also shake unexpectedly, making it difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. The issue is known and widely reported for this model year. Similar symptoms have been documented as transmission failures in 2013 Nissan Pathfinders. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by Nissan for this issue. No warning lights appeared. The symptoms started gradually with hesitation when accelerating and have worsened over time to frequent slipping, jerking, and tire shaking while driving.

Filed May 8, 2021 · Transmission · AR

As I am in a complete stop or driving slow I press the pedal to accelerate the car shakes and it is the transmission slipping and it shakes for a good 3 minutes on the road, which is dangerous for me because I'm afraid it'll stop in the middle of the road or that I'll get hit by another car since it is slipping when I'm trying to accelerate from a complete stop or trying to accelerate from a slow speed

Filed Sep 1, 2020 · Airbags, Body · 147,000 miles · FL

Hood flutters going down the highway. Has been previously adjusted under safety recall. Not repaired completely by dealership. Cvt transmission judder. Has been reprogrammed by dealership, did not repair problem. Bands now slipping and out of mileage warranty. Occupant sensor for airbag previously repaired by dealership. Still does not work. Replaced cushion. Still not repaired. Dealership refuses to repair. Liftgate scratches roof when opening. Dealership said the liftgate has a code. Brandon nissan in brandon florida. Will not repair any of the technical service bulletins on this vehicle.

Filed May 7, 2020 · Transmission · 4 miles · NY

The transmission was slipping your car was driving sluggish wooding go into gear had to stop going 20 to 30 miles an hour pull over to the side for about 10 to 20 minutes then restart the vehicle driving gears wasn't going into place revving high engine going slow .

Filed Aug 24, 2018 · Transmission · 40,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan pathfinder. While driving unknown speeds, the transmission shuddered and slipped. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (chapman nissan, 6723 essington ave, philadelphia, pa 19153, 215‑492‑1200) where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the repairs would be at his expense. The failure mileage was 40,000.

Filed Mar 30, 2018 · Transmission · 103,000 miles · OR

Jerking motion an slipping when accelerating from stop. Also jerking will driving.

Filed Nov 16, 2015 · Body, Transmission · 15,000 miles · MN

I have had the door handle on my pathfinder break twice making you unable to get out of your car in a emergency! This car was purchased new by me. Also I have had many problems with the transmission slipping while in acceleration. Now that it is out of warranty they seem to have no interest in fixing it.

Filed Nov 14, 2015 · Airbags, Transmission · TX

Transmission slipping and sputters and airbag light comes on when anyone is I the seat.

Filed Dec 3, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 480 miles · TX

Bought this vehicle advertised as "new" however started having multiple issues within the first few days. The fuel gauge would read "0" miles regardless of how much the fuel tank was filled, and the transmission started slipping the 4th day. I would be driving along at anywhere from 30-55 MPH when this would happen. Took it back to the original dealer for repair, who refused to put it in the shop and check it out, so I took it to another dealer who said that they were unable to reproduce the defects in the shop. I took it back multiple times for the same issues and they ended up putting more mileage on the vehicle than I did in the first 3 weeks with continuous "inability to reproduce results," however, as soon as I would leave the shop to go home the transmission would slip and the car would decelerate almost to a stop and then lunge again when it would kick back in. The fuel guage continued to read zero at fill ups, very frustrating. I called nissan consumer affairs with no real progress. The dealer refused repair printoffs as well, so I really don't know what they did to the vehicle while it was in the shop.

Filed Aug 7, 2014 · Transmission · 2,200 miles · NY

Transmission slips on take off 2-10 MPH.

Filed Jun 12, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 3,500 miles · MS

I have the same problem with my pathfinder that I see several people having. The shuddering is like the transmission is slipping and it has happened in various situations. It is not a sideways shudder like a shake, it is a lack of forward motion (while the engine revs to higher rpms) so severe that it feels like being rear ended and has nearly slammed me into the steering wheel more than once. I have had two different dealerships check it and both said there was no problem because it is not throwing an error code on the computer. Finally, it did it all the way to my work one morning (30+ miles) so I took it to the dealership where I purchased it again. Same results, except they tried to pass it off as a bad wheel bearing and replaced one of my wheel bearings. They called me to tell me it was ready for pick up and I refused to pick it up until the problem is fixed (I now have 40k miles, warranty is getting close to being up). I could go on and on about how this has played out, but long story short, they are now in the process of replacing my coil packs and if that doesn't work, then they are going to try replacing the transmission. It is very disappointing since the first 2 nissans I owned were great vehicles.

Filed Feb 26, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 500 miles · CO

Shortly after purchasing the 2013 nissan pathfinder in december 2012, we noticed the vehicle shaking when accelerating or decelerating. This occurred in both the 2wd and the 4wd/variable transmission settings. The recall notice received said the continuously variable transmission (CVT) chain might slip and cause the vehicle to "judder", which it did many times. The vehicle acts like the engine will die when stopping or accelerating from a stop, causing hesitation that could result in an accident. After the recommended "reprogramming of the transmission control module (TCM)" by the dealer, the problem continues and now one year and several complaints to the dealer later we were advised to "open a file" with nissan to document the problem, though no one has said if it can be repaired. Along with this complaint, we are also contacting the national consumer affairs dept of nissan north america. The "slipping" occurs daily and according to the original recall notice, this might result "in future damage to your vehicle's transmission".