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2015 Nissan Pathfinder: CVT failure

27 of the 321 complaints about the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder describe CVT failure.

owner complaints
27
of this car's complaints
8%
typical repair cost reported
$5,000
typical mileage
45,000
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 61 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

CVT failure by model year

What owners say

Filed Apr 7, 2026 · Transmission · FL

CVT judder problems on acceleration

Filed Oct 22, 2025 · Transmission · MS

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked and vibrated, causing the steering wheel to lock up. The contact used force to maneuver the steering wheel. The contact was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. A mobile mechanic arrived at the residence and inspected the vehicle. The contact was informed that the CVT transmission had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred, and the contact parked the vehicle. The vehicle was no longer driven due to safety concerns. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Jul 18, 2025 · Transmission · CT

I was driving on a busy highway and when I went to accelerate after slowing down in traffic my Pathfinder started to shake and shudder and would not accelerate forward. I not only almost got rear ended but I almost got into a head on collision because I was at an intersection. The car just lost all power all of a sudden. My car has been maintained properly with routine oil changes, transmission fluid changes, it has four brand new tires on it just purchased six months ago. So now I find out that I am one of the "victims of the bad CVT transmissions that Nissan put into these vehicles and they knew it!!" I call Nissan support and they tell me basically "too bad the warranty was extended but it ended in 2022 and at 84,000 miles. It's now 2025 and you're at 105,000 miles. I am "disabled for life and on a fixed income" I don't have the money to fix the car. I have like two payments left and it's finally paid off!!! They should've done a RECALL ON THESE TRANSMISSIONS AND THEY DIDN'T!! THEY ARE DEATH TRAPS AND NOW I SEE THEY ARE GIVING $5000.00 TO MURANO AND MAXIMA OWNERS FOR BAD CVT TRANSMISSIONS!! BUT ALL OF US PATHFINDERS, ROGUE AND INFINITY OWNERS WHOSE TRANSMISSIONS DIDN'T GO BAD BEFORE 2022 OR 84,000.00 MIKE'S ARE JUST SCREWED!! THIS IS NOT FAIR AT ALL. WHAT KIND OF COMPENSATION IS THIS?? THIS CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT SETTLEMENT IS A JOKE. I'M CONTACTING A LAWYER. I NEED HELP HERE. I NEED A CAR. SEVEN YEARS OF PAYING FOR THIS VEHICLE AND NOW THIS??!! THEY WON'T EVEN HELP AT ALL. NISSAN SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!! THEY ARE A HORRIBLE COMPANY DON'T EVER BUY FROM THEM!!

Filed Apr 30, 2025 · VA

After my fiance passed from cancer in February. I saved 10g for me and our kids to get to school and work. The Carfax report only showed one recall at that time. I only drove that truck a week and almost died multiple times with my family. The truck just would go into limp mode. I found later that Nissin America had recalled the CVT / Judder/ transmission. It was recalled and never fixed! That was on no report I saw. I thought I found a great vehicle for my family and I bought a death trap. How can a recall of such importance like the transmission needing to be replaced and paid for by Nissan. It's 7 thousand dollars. I would have never bought that vehicle if all the information on that vehicle was on the report. How can you take something so dangerous and allow it to be sold to the public not knowing thst it was never repaired. The previous owners were never notified of the recall which is why is was never fixed. Nissan told me it was covered up to 81,000 miles or you had until 2024 to get it repaired or whichever came first. My family is about to lose everything. I can't even drive to hilltop to get my plates. I still haven't been able to drive it. It is a death trap. This vehicle should not have ever been resold with such a significant issue like the transmission! I feel like i was just robbed ten thousand dollars. I'm disabled and had plans to return to school. My sons wrestling future is now over. Everyone lost their jobs because I can't drive anyone. I can't even go to the store without worrying I'm going to die in that truck. This is so wrong. I am praying that you can help me make this right. The truck had a recall that was removed yet never fixed. A danger to the public and my family.Thank you for your time.

Filed Oct 1, 2024 · Electrical, Transmission · VA

The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated while driving 3 MPH in a parking lot, the vehicle stalled. An Advanced Auto mechanic determined that the battery was drained. The mechanic replaced the battery. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a U-turn, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. The contact was able to pull into a nearby AAA parking lot, where the vehicle was jumpstarted. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving and turning. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot, where the vehicle was jumpstarted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with CVT judder. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer covered under TSB Number: NTB17-039N. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Sep 10, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · SC

My car jolts/jerks in park as soon as it’s crunk up. Have been to the shop 9 times since June. Last 4 times has been Nissan Dealership, had $3000+ worth of work/replacement done. My engine is still continuing to do the same thing. Nissan said past 2 times that it was ignition coils, because they replace plug wires, but they’ve been replaced 3 times now and still the same issue ? Sounds more like CVT or timing chain issue. No codes were thrown past 2 times either

Filed Aug 5, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · LA

It begins shaking, jolting and shuddering while driving; started off happening at take off; then progressed to anytime speed was under 35mph; now, it does it often throughout all speeds. Nissan states it needs a new transmission which was quoted to cost $6,600+tax. The vehicle trade-in value is only $5,000ish prior to these symptoms. Vehicle has less than 117,500 miles and all maintenance and fluids have been routinely changed throughout vehicle's lifespan. This CVT issue seems to be ongoing therefore Nissan and other makes should not be allowed to put these into vehicles that are so costly and these transmissions begin to give problems while vehicles are still under warranty. Need assistance in fixing the costly transmission and Nissan should have a discount on this faulty transmissions that they knew had issues. No warning lamps or messages given; symptoms were found when taken in at 117,000 miles and stated transmission needs to be replaced. Warning lamps and signals should have been given to owner to prevent the damage done to transmission. Warning lamps do not show anything wrong with vehicle; however, the jolting, jumping and sputtering is very dangerous during driving and may cause accidents in braking, acceleration and/or heavy traffic flow.

Filed Feb 12, 2024 · Acceleration · AL

While driving my Pathfinder, the transmission hesitated, jerked, and spuddered while trying to merge into traffic. Almost caused a severe accident. This was not the first time this has happened and Nissan refuses to do anything about the CVT transmission that apparently has been recalled in the past as well as had lawsuits against it. There are no warning lights or notice at all before this happens.

Filed Oct 31, 2023 · Transmission · TX

I own a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder with a CVT transmission that has gone out. I bought the vehicle used in October 2022. Obviously this class action lawsuit and claim deadline had already passed - when I bought the car and until my transmission failed, I had no idea about the problems or the lawsuit. Therefore I have never opted out or into the lawsuit because I did not even own the car yet. The vehicle only has 55,000 miles. It's within the original 60,000 mile warranty, but Nissan refused to cover it because the 60 month warranty expired in May 2023. I've raised a case with Nissan Consumer Affairs to no avail. Nissan Cedar Park dealership where it's at has confirmed the transmission failure through no fault of our own. What recourse do I have? I have seen your CAMPAIGN BULLETIN: CVT Warranty Extension Reference: CVT Date: August 30, 2022 It seems to me clearly from that, that Nissan's CVT warranty for my vehicle has been extended and should be covered. How do I pursue getting them to make these warranty repairs? Can you help?

Filed Jul 16, 2022 · Transmission · RI

Transmisson is stuttering. Check engine light was on when i had it read came back as CVT leak. Vehicle only has 107,000 miles on it.

Filed Jul 13, 2022 · Transmission · WI

When driving for any period of time over a half hour the vehicle will cut power and stop the vehicle. I was turning left at a busy intersection, hit the gas to go and the vehicle lost power and I rolled into the intersection. I could not go forward because the transmission was dead. Nissans solution is a transmission software update. They said it was repaired and after I left the dealership, 40 mins into the drive the vehicle quit at 55mph. This is incredibly dangerous and Nissan is fully aware of the defective CVT transmission they've engineered. Someone needs to stop them before people start dying.

Filed Jan 22, 2022 · Acceleration, Transmission · IL

Purchased this vehicle in february 2019. Two years later in may 2021, I was slowing down to make a turn and when it was time to accelerate out of the turn, the car felt like it lost power and even though I was pushing the gas pedal, the car seemed to be stuck and hesitating. It wouldn't go over 5mph. Brought into carmax where I purchased it from, but because there were no lights on they couldn't find the problem and the diagnostic didn't pick up any codes. Two days later the car did this again and this time it literally died as well in the middle of a busy street. This time is rattled and shook when it died. Carmax said to bring it in to a nissan dealership. Nissan tried to get me to pay for a new engine!! Said there was sludge on the oil cap and that was an indication that we never changed the oil. We change the oil every 5,000miles! Carmax warranty wouldn't approve a new engine based on 1 mechanics opinions. I kept insisting it felt like a transmission issue, but they can only investigate if they have a direction via idiot lite or code from the diagnostic. So if they did the inspection and there was an issue, then it would be covered by the ext. Warranty. But if they didn't find an issue, I was responsible for inspection and labor $300+. They replaced the alternator. Car has been running great for the last 9 months until this week! The car is doing it again. Several times in a matter of 3 days the car has literally felt like it loses its power and wont go over 20mph no matter how far you push on the gas pedal. Seems to happen when accelerating from a slow down, stop, turn or an incline. You can literally feel the loss in power. Brought it to a different nissan dealer, who said right away it sounds like the CVT transmission issue. I am devastated. I love everything about this vehicle. I am praying that carmax's extended warranty covers this and that it fixes the problem. Concerned when I read others had it fixed but still having the issue!

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder cvt failure

Is CVT failure a common problem on the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder?

27 of 321 owner complaints about the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder (8%) mention CVT failure. The model year with the most reports is 2014.

How much does it cost to fix CVT failure on the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder?

Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $5,000 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder?

There are 0 recalls and 61 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2015 Nissan Pathfinder

Jerking 24Shudder 20Airbag light 18Stalling 15Transmission failure 15Loss of power 13Hesitation 9Check engine light 8Knocking 8Sunroof shattered 8Overheating 6Grinding brakes 5

All model years of the Nissan Pathfinder

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