Other engine problem on the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder report other engine problem at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 85,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 65,012 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
20% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21,840 miles | 51,250 miles | 64,250 miles | 73,750 miles | 86,852 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
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 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 23 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2013, at a median of 7,500 miles, and latest on the 1998 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2013 carries the most reports, with 64; the 2003 has 10. 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.
Dt: about three weeks ago, the consumer noticed the exhaust tubes split. The consumer noticed this when he started the vehicle in the garage. There was noise coming from the exhaust tubes. The owner noticed the vehicle was leaking exhaust fumes. Then the vehicle was taken to the dealership and they repaired it. There were no warning lights on in the vehicle prior to this occurrence. The vehicle was regularly serviced. The owner has contacted the manufacturer, who stated they would call him back in 24 hours. The dealer did not replace the exhaust tubes, they just patched them. The consumer says there must be a defect where heat causes problems in the exhaust. *jb
2003 nissan pathfinder exhaust system disintegrated at connection point (vehicle has 85,000 mi.). Have had the dealership advise and cost will be $1200.00 to fix. Have searched on-line and found problem to be widespread with 2002-2003 pathfinders. *tr
Exhaust tubes on 2003 nissan pathfinder cracked before reached the 24,000 warranty expiration. Nissan "patched" tubes rather than replaced them. The patch failed this year and I am fighting with them because they should have used new parts in the first place. I can not tell if this is endangering the environment, however, I know that many pathfinder owners are experiencing early failure of the exhaust system and nissan is not owning up to their design defect. *tr
Also reported on the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder
Strut, shock or spring failure
Catalytic converter failure
Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin
Other brake problem
Brake line, hose or caliper failure
Other suspension problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 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 engine problem happen on the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 75,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2003 Nissan Pathfinder?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 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