Front Passenger Seat Belt Buckle We have concerns regarding the front passenger seat belt buckle. My wife and another family member have both experienced issues where the buckle will sometimes not latch securely, and at other times it is difficult to release. On one occasion, the buckle would not release until I repeatedly pressed the release button so my wife could exit the vehicle. This most recently occurred on July 9, 2026.This is a safety concern and after review booklet this should be cover under nissan warranty.
Nissan Pathfinder seat belt problems
33 of the 7,336 owner complaints about the Nissan Pathfinder describe seat belt won't latch or retract, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 33
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 70,000
Is there a fix? There are 4 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
- 20251
- 20233
- 20222
- 20191
- 20161
- 20142
- 20072
- 20064
- 20052
- 20021
- 20001
- 19991
- 19975
- 19962
- 19931
- 19921
- 19912
- 19901
Often reported together
Fuel gauge 2Sunroof shattered 1Steering lock-up 1Stalling 1Check engine light 1No deployment 1Airbag light 1
What owners say
Two seatbelt locking mechanisms have failed to lock the seatbelt buckles in place; the third seatbelt locking meachanism failed to release the buckle. All located in the second row of my vehicle. The first two have been replaced by the dealer. The dealer was unable to replace the seatbelt locking mecanism on the third because we dropped and lost the buckle, this failure put my child in danger and we had to cut the seatbelt. We bought the vehicle brand new in 2023.
The contact owns a 2019 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the seat belt alert system failed to chime while the driver’s seat was occupied, and the seat belt was not fastened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the vehicle was functioning properly and was not able to diagnose a failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.
The contact owns a 2022 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the seat belt alert system failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that even though all the occupants in the vehicle were wearing their seat belts, the system indicated that the seat belts were not in use, causing an audible warning chime to sound throughout the driving trip. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was purchased; Dimmitt Chevrolet (25485 US Hwy 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33763), and the contact was informed that the repair would not be covered under the warranty purchased by the contact through the dealer and was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was then taken to another dealer; Crown Nissan (5151 34th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33714); where a diagnostic test was performed on the vehicle, and it was believed that the failure might have started after removing the third-row seat. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,400.
The middle passenger and middle seat seatbelt latch came disconnected from the vehicle. My son who is 9 was sitting behind the passenger seat when his entire seatbelt came off from where it connects to the car. I had him switch to the middle seat and when I got home i investigated it and the middle seat was about to come disconnected also.
The driver's seat belt chime randomly goes off even when the seat belt is buckled. This has happened more than 15 times already. Every time I take it to the car dealer, they inspect it and cannot find what is wrong with it because it is not happening at the moment of my arrival. Today it started to chime at me again, and I decided to bring the car to the dealer without turning it off so that the code, if any, would be available. They checked it again and drove it around, but it did not go off, so there was nothing they could do to fix the problem. However, the problem is still happening, and I have shown them videos I captured with my cell phone when it happens to prove that it is not just me saying so. I don't know what else to do to get this fixed because they tell me that if there is no code or part broken they cannot replace it.
Vehicle was traveling at 55 mph. Vehicle shifted itself into neutral, engine began to rev, vehicle began to slow to approximately 50 mph, engine shut off at 50 mph, vehicle immediately locked brakes up and skidded to a stop in middle of highway. Vehicle would not turn back on initially. After a minute or so, vehicle restarted but showed that it was still in drive, had to be placed into park before being shifted back to drive. Second issue, the second row rear seat has a electronics issue. The rear seatbelt alarm chimes consistently with a warning saying the seat belt is not bucked when the seat is empty. Only resolution to temporally fix the problem is to keep the rear middle seatbelt buckled at all times.
Intermittent seatbelt warning while displaying while driving vehicle. The seatbelt warning was displayed stating that a seatbelt was unbuckled while driving. Drivers side seatbelt buckle, and rear center seatbelt buckle was replaced.
I get regular Maintenance on my car and have owned it for numerous years. I was driving on a major highway & with no warning the car shut off and locked up. The power steering was completely gone. If it hadn't been for going down hill I probably would of gotten hit as I tried to get off the road. My seat belt locked in place and I had to climb out of the seat belt to get out of the vehicle. The doors were also locked and had an issue opening them at first in 91degree heat it was a very scary experience.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, there was a loud abnormal sound coming from the sunroof. The contact stated that the sunroof exploded without impact. Additionally, the passenger's side front seat was occupied with the seat belt buckled however, the seat belt warning light remained illuminated. The contract called her insurance company to have the sun roof repaired. The contact called gerald nissan of naperville located at 1575 w ogden ave, naperville, il 60540, (630) 355-3337, and made the dealer aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
Related recalls
Seat belts: pretensioner
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2024 Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 vehicles. The lap belt pretensioner in the left-side front seat belt assembly may be improperly secured, due to a missing rivet. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208 "Occupant Crash Protection," 209 "Seat Belt Assemblies," and 210 "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
- Risk
- An unsecured lap belt pretensioner will not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the left-side front lap seat belt pretensioner assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 18, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669. Owners may contact Infiniti customer service at 1‑800‑662‑6200. Nissan's numbers for this recall are PD106 and PD107.
Recall number 24V176000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- On certain light duty pickup trucks, the latch plate used in the seat belt buckle was not manufactured according to design dimensions. If the seat belt tongue is inserted slowly at an angle into the buckle, there is a possibility of partial engagement.
- Risk
- This condition can cause the seat belt tongue to come out of the buckle in the event of a collision or hard braking of the vehicle increasing the risk of personal injury to an occupant of the seat.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the buckle and, if necessary, replace the buckle assembly with a new buckle. Owner notification began may 22, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 02V125000 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- The latch plate used in the seat belt buckle was not manufactured according to design dimensions. If the seat belt tongue is inserted slowly at an angle into the buckle, there is a possibility of partial engagement.
- Risk
- This condition can cause the seat belt tongue to come out of the buckle in the event of a collision or hard braking of the vehicle increasing the risk of personal injury to an occupant of the seat.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the buckle and, if necessary, replace the buckle assembly with a new buckle.
Recall number 96V170001 · Recall details
Seat belts: front: buckle assembly
- What is wrong
- The front safety belt buckle release buttons can break. These red plastic release buttons are marked "press." if a button breaks, pieces can fall into the buckle assembly causing the buckle to operate improperly.
- Risk
- The safety belts would not provide adequate protection to an occupant in a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Owners should promptly check the condition and operation of both front safety belt buckles and carefully inspect the red release button for any breaks or cracks. They should ensure that both buckles are operating properly by inserting each latch plate into its buckle, tugging on the belt to make sure the latch is securely locked, and then pressing the release button. The latch plate should pop out of the buckle when the button is pressed. If either release button shows a sign of breaking or cracking or if either buckle fails to operate properly, owners should promptly contact their authorized dealer to schedule an appointment to have the buckle replaced or repaired free of charge.
Recall number 95V103002 · Recall details
Questions about the Nissan Pathfinder seat belt
Which Nissan Pathfinder years have seat belt won't latch or retract problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (5 complaints), 2006 (4 complaints) and 2023 (3 complaints).
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