Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder
When timing chain, belt or tensioner failure gets reported
Owners of the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder report timing chain, belt or tensioner failure at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 19 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 120,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 110,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 76,800 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.
16% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34,800 miles | 63,850 miles | 80,000 miles | 98,000 miles | 111,600 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 $1,200–$4,500 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.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2017, at a median of 65,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 102,500 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 35; the 2007 has 22. 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.
A high pitched humming/whining noise from under the hood on a 2007 nissan pathfinder. Took to dealership and after performing a diagnostic check, they stated that it was the timing chain and it would be $935.00 to repair. I asked that since the car was only two years old with maintenance records shouldn't it be under warranty. They stated that since I had 65,000 miles I missed the deadline by 5,000 miles and it was o.k. To keep driving and not to worry about it. I researched and found that they have had a service bulletin (ntb07-042a) out about this issue since april, 17,2009. I have had my vehicle in a few times since the bulletin came out and feel that they should have notified me especially since I have paid for another bulletin issue regarding the fuel gauge(reference service bulletin ntb07-069b) that cost me $395.00. I feel the dealership is negligent in advising my wife to not worry about the timing chain and to go ahead and deal with it later. It appears that they wanted more mileage to placed on the vehicle so they would have a stronger claim down the road to not pay for the repairs that were mentioned on a bulletin five…
Received warranty extension on my 2007 pathfinder radiator to 80,000. Radiator has faulty transmission cooler inside which leaks into transmission causing transmission failure. Why not a recall. Called nissan corporate and they said they will only fix the known defect after the failure which of course leaves you stranded somewhere. This makes the vehicle an unreliable mode of transportation, especially on long trips. Very dissatisfied with this vehicle due to transmission cooler defects, timing chain tensioner defect, and the fuel gauge inop defect. These are all major defects in which nissan got off easy by warranty extensions and not preventative repairs of known defects. *tr
A high pitched whining noise from under the hood on a 2007 nissan pathfinder. Took the car to the dealership in modesto california and my wife was told that it would cost 1,300 to replace the timing chain tensioners or more if the timing chain(s) were bad. The car has 71, 000 miles and I was told that it would not be covered under the warranty. My wife was told the car was safe to drive and was told that there was no risk of further damage to vehicle. I have read several other instances where timing chain components fail just beyond the manufacture's stated warranty. The issue has had a tsb since july of 2007 #07042a. I have had all of my service done at this dealer and I had never been advised about the tsb or the noise. The timing chain nor the tensioners should not fail at 70,000 miles. I also have uneven tire wear with no alignment issues. Vehicle=lemon. *tr
Also reported on the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder
Radiator or coolant leak
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure
Other powertrain problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
Other engine problem
Other fuel system problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 22 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 timing chain, belt or tensioner failure happen on the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder?
Across 19 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is timing chain, belt or tensioner failure on the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder?
22 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.4 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