2013 Pathfinder Cracked Rear Subframe

Welcome to the forum.

Can you share a pic?
Never heard of this issue.

nighthawk said:

All,

I bought my pathfinder brand new in 2013. It has a 140k miles on it and just recently the rear subframe cracked. The car is well maintained and always kept in a garage. Has anyone seen any bulletins or policy statements or has delt with Nisan on this? It appears this issue is not unknown to the pathfinder and other nissan vehicles. On the Altimas Nissan was fixing this problem. I have reached out to the dealer with no results. Please let me know if anyone has any experience with this.

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I have heard of certain year Altimas with floor boards deteriorating maybe some type of related issue?

Registered five years ago. One post only. Might have to wait another five years.

It I was OP, just trade it in.

Assuming this is a rust-belt Pathfinder, I'm curious what your expectations are from the dealer at this point after 9 rust-belt winters?

I feel for you, but this is the norm for a Nissan, GM, Ford, etc..etc..

I'm in the process of replacing a transmission cooler line on my daughter's 2015 Nissan Versa sedan w/ 57K miles on it because the steel portion of the line rusted completely out. The amount of rust under this vehicle is astonishing for the age/mileage of it, but it is one of the "cheapest" vehicles you can get and I live with Buffalo NY area winters. I've even treated this vehicle with fluid film and woolwax. Given the design of the undercarriage, these products wash off quickly.

Some oil spots on the driveway was the only thing that clued me in. When I wiggled the line it really broke loose and pumped a quart or more of ATF on my garage floor by the time I killed the ignition.

Ugh.. Is the rest of the vehicle rust free?

You should report this to the NHTSA. If this starts becoming an issue Nissan will be forced to issue a safety recall.
Mazda not too long ago had to issue one for the subframe of the 2009-2013 Mazda 6.

Right there with you. I have a 2013 with just over 100k miles. Failed inspection as the entire subframe is rusted out on the drivers side. And I am in VA, so not a rust belt state per se. This is why I stopped buying Nissans. Same exact thing happened to my Armada.

I have never seen this on a Nissan of that era. Maybe a couple of the first gen muranos and other makes, but this is not the norm. If you just bought a car, and it can't pass inspection, you've got something to work with, since some states require the dealer to inspect the car first. It could just be from sitting somewhere. Cars get destroyed when they sit outside. I sold a car to a friend unrusted, he let it sit, I bought it back, it looks awful underneath.

I'm with @Tutti57 on this.

I've seen plenty of older Altimas, Maximas and Sentras rot out from underneath like that, but there's way more of those on the roads then there are Pathfinders. Probably 10x more. My in-laws owned a late 1990s maxima that had the rear subframe rot apart on. They traded it on a new first gen Rogue back in 2007 and have been driving Rogues ever since.

The bad thing about this thread is it's all one-hit posters. Need more info. It is definitely not uncommon for a daily driver vehicle to have serious corrosion issues in 7,8,9yrs where I live unless you are proactive with rust proofing to some degree. I've seen ~2014 domestic pickup trucks look good from a walk around, but peek underneath and they're Swiss cheese.

Hi,
My 2013 pathfinder has145k on it, My rear sub frame just failed due to rust. I’m the original owner. The rest of the car is clean. Front sub frame is losing paint but no rot like the rear. I live in the rust belt and have taken many ski trips with it over the years. If anyone has seen a bulletin about this please advise.

My daughters 2013 pathfinder rear drivers side frame just broke into. Car is body and mechanically sound including the frame on the passenger side. Anyone have success getting it repaired? Please help!

I've treated the underpinnings of my 2019 Pathfinder a few times now with fluid film and woolwax. It's a greasy mess in the back, around and above the spare tire, but it's tough to keep these coatings on the subframes and suspension because of constant road wash/spray. Because of the above pics, I'll be paying particular attention to those trailing arm boxes.

PoManzPathy said:

I've treated the underpinnings of my 2019 Pathfinder a few times now with fluid film and woolwax. It's a greasy mess in the back, around and above the spare tire, but it's tough to keep these coatings on the subframes and suspension because of constant road wash/spray. Because of the above pics, I'll be paying particular attention to those trailing arm boxes.

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Does anyone think it's worth replacing the subframe? I've began my search for a replacement vehicle already but open to suggestions. Unless you pre treat the vehicle prior to initial or prolonged exposure, this will happen as the parts are inferior to the chemicals being used currently.

IH8SPM said:

Does anyone think it's worth replacing the subframe? I've began my search for a replacement vehicle already but open to suggestions. Unless you pre treat the vehicle prior to initial or prolonged exposure, this will happen as the parts are inferior to the chemicals being used currently.

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It's hard to say. In today's market it could be worth replacing if the rest of the vehicle is good. Based on the what I can see in your pic, the rest might be fine. It looks like a new replacement subframe is about $1100. Add what is ever breaks or needs replacing in the process, plus labor, this is probably a $2500-$3000 job easy.

Lots can go wrong with a Pathfinder of this vintage. CVT, transfer case, rear coupling, A/C compressor, HVAC issues, etc. The first three are $3-5K to fix.

PoManzPathy said:

It's hard to say. In today's market it could be worth replacing if the rest of the vehicle is good. Based on the what I can see in your pic, the rest might be fine. It looks like a new replacement subframe is about $1100. Add what is ever breaks or needs replacing in the process, plus labor, this is probably a $2500-$3000 job easy.

Lots can go wrong with a Pathfinder of this vintage. CVT, transfer case, rear coupling, A/C compressor, HVAC issues, etc. The first three are $3-5K to fix.

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Yeah, I totally agree with you. The job can be DIY or shop preferred but who knows what else will be bad along the way and that's the open rabbit whole I don't want to go down like a boat anchor. Hopefully at a minimum my addition of mileage and pictures helps others or someday is used as a class action suit against Nissan or the states.

Report this to the NHTSA and keep receipts of everything you spend repairing this.
A high number of reports might trigger a recall and you could get that reimbursed.