Other suspension problem on the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder
2 crashes 3 injuries 5 of the 42 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other suspension problem gets reported
Owners of the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder report other suspension problem at a median of 122,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 105,000 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles, from 27 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 170,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 109,788 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
4% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60,412 miles | 105,500 miles | 123,183 miles | 139,000 miles | 170,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 2 a crash and 3 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 13 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2005, at a median of 1,000 miles, and latest on the 1999 at 165,000 miles.
By volume the 1997 carries the most reports, with 56; the 1996 has 42. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Noticed back end of my pathfinder swaying at speeds 60-70 MPH. Brought to my mechanic and was told rear bushings are bad and need to be replaced. My mechanic said it is a bad part but not yet a recall by nissan but should be. I have found alot of similar complains on the web by other nissan pathfinder owners. I also found recalls on other nissan's for this same problem but not the pathfinder. I feel it is very dangerous and should be a recall!!!!!!!!!!!!! *nm
I purchased a used vehicle from a private owner, a 1996 nissan pathfinder with 139,500. Immediately after my drive on the highway, I noticed a substantial amount of body sway from the rear end of the vehicle.I decided to research my problem on the internet and found several references to issues related to the premature wear of the bushings in the rear upper and lower links (control arms) that attach the axle to the frame (ref. Nissan bulletin# ntb 98-001).this bulletin describes in detail about worn bushings which it creates excessive sway, rocking and pull at any speed at that point, I decided to bring my vehicle at my expense to have an authorized nissan dealer to examine and document the potentially hazardous condition.they verified and concur with the wear in the rear links and recommended the replacement of the upper and lower links along with the rear shock absorbers (part # 55080-0w001 (2) and #08911-6441a (2))-part numbers for the links. In addition, I spoke to several owners of nissan pathfinders with the same condition which was built in 2004 on the same chassis. As a result, I contacted nissan motors of north america…
I am reporting a failure in the suspension system of my 1996 nissan pathfinder. At speeds of 50+ MPH, the back half of the vehicle has instances where out of nowhere it begins to sway back and forth for about 5-10 seconds and then it stops and will do it again just out of the blue. I reasonably foresee this failure resulting in a potential cause of death, personal injury, or property damage. All instances of this occurrence has occurred while driving on a heavily traveled interstate. There was a tech service bulletin addressing this issue but nissan should change it to a recall. *tr
Also reported on the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder
Other steering problem
Other wheel or tire problem
Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure
Other engine problem
Strut, shock or spring failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 42 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other suspension problem happen on the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder?
Across 27 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 122,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 105,000 miles and a quarter after 140,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other suspension problem on the 1996 Nissan Pathfinder?
42 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 3.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed