Torque converter failure on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder
When torque converter failure gets reported
Owners of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder report torque converter failure at a median of 2,200 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 600 miles and a quarter after 5,000 miles, from 23 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 96,000 miles. It is the 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 500 miles at the tenth percentile to 10,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 7,528 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
100% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 472 miles | 600 miles | 2,200 miles | 5,161 miles | 8,000 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 $1,100–$3,200 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, every year of the Nissan Pathfinder
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.
When my vehicle is not experiencing shuddering at either 10-20 MPH or 40 MPH, it will exhibit a new condition at those speeds. Currently I am seeing the engine rev up 300-500 rpms prior to the torque converter locking up and a loss of acceleration (feels hesitant) until the engine rpms return to the lower level they were at prior to the rev up. My service rep said he did not reprogram the transmission controller so this may be a "learned condition" to offset the shuddering I had been and still do experience. *tr
When I had my new car for only two weeks, while driving on side streets, I started to hear rumbling like I was going over rough road or a warning strip at random times when I accelerated. Then it also happened when I tried to accelerate on the parkway. When I called the dealership, they stated that they had no idea what I was talking about. Told me to bring the car in a week later when they had a loaner car available. I took it on june12th, and they still stated they did not know what the problem was. I started to research and found out that this is a common transmission problem in the 2013 pathfinders.when I told them I knew this was a common transmission problem, the dealer is still stating they know nothing about it, but now want to replace my torque converter when they get the part that is currently not available. I called nissan and have asked for a refund of my money. I do not want a brand new car with transmission problems! I can't use it to tow my boat and am afraid to go any long distances. They still have not called me back. How can they continue to sell this car when there are nationwide problems with this transmission?…
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while accelerating, the vehicle vibrated and shook. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, who advised that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The manufacturer denied any assistance with the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 600 and the current mileage was 1,000. The VIN was not available.
Also reported on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder
Other powertrain problem
CVT failure
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other engine problem
Other body or interior problem
Complete transmission failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 23 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 torque converter failure happen on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder?
Across 23 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 2,200 miles. A quarter were filed before 600 miles and a quarter after 5,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is torque converter failure on the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder?
23 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 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