2022 Nissan Pathfinder Review & Towing Test: Would You Tow 6,000 Pounds With This? 

Glad it was helpful! We try to do honest, legit towing reviews as many others don't. Appreciate the validation that it's worth the time :-)

Thank you! Glad it was helpful :-)

It's a huge upgrade from the outgoing model! Everyone we showed it to liked the looks, which is a good start.

Glad you enjoyed! Payload matters so much and most people don't discuss why.

Regardless if its 2wd or 4wd? As long as it is equipped with the premium package?

​@@rleno.8I would say yes. Only SV can tow 5500. Rest tows 6k

Hey there, glad you enjoyed! We did the entire towing test in Tow mode. It held shifts longer for acceleration sake and was more eager to downshift for uphill climbs, which was great. It was not super eager to downshift for engine braking in Tow mode, but it's easy enough to click the downshift paddle a few times. You do see far more aggressive downshift logic with Tow/Haul modes on various trucks, it seems.

With my 2023 Pathfinder I towed a 5,700-pound travel trailer for 80 miles mostly on major highways at about 55 to 60 mile per hour with very few hills. I got 12.5 mpg.

Yes, the automatic emergency braking in reverse was a total pain while trying to back up with a trailer! Would be easy for Nissan to configure it to auto-disable if trailer wiring was plugged in, or throw a prompt up on the screen to quickly turn it off.

I have a 2023 Rock Creek. They’ve addressed this issue I believe. In reverse it automatically gives you an option in the instrument cluster to disable the rear obstacle sensing by just hitting ‘ok’ on the steering wheel controls. Love the vehicle.

Just picked up my ‘23 Rock Creek yesterday and will be towing in two weeks after my 500 mile break in period.

Too eager to upshift at slow speeds (for fuel economy) and that means it's out of the powerband if you roll on to the throttle and try to pick up speed. Takes a second to downshift and rev. Much better behaved at highway speed, though it's still got a lot of gears to sort out and downshifts are a bit slow. Was generally well-behaved though, using Sport mode helps around town to keep things feeling a little more snappy.

Thanks Bryan. I was curious as well. Now we have the answer. I'm going to wait for the '23 Pilot. Honda's new 10 speed is a big improvement over the same ZF 9 in the '22's. It's available in the MDX and the reviews on it are very positive. It shifts much quicker and stays in the passing gear longer.

@@TwoPair72 the Honda 10 speed is good but not perfect. My wife’s RDX is very good when gears are going up, but when you need to pass it sometimes take time to decide what gear to reduce. Too many gears at the end. I think the best transmission is the ZF 8 speed used by BMW.

@@fredepstein Thanks for the info.

I imagine Nissan will offer a software update on the ZF-9 if they receive enough feedback on it.

I got 12.5 mpg towing a 5,800-pound travel trailer.

@@ClassicFIHD that is good MPG! Thank you for the info.

Thanks! They're from Taft, aka "the Instagram boots" thanks to some very good paid marketing on their part ;-) taftclothing.com/

Correct, if you want the transmission cooler and 7-pin trailer wiring, you have to get an SV w/Premium Package or higher trims, which forces your hand on also getting second row captains' chairs.

Fortunately now Nissan is putting in a bench seat in the middle of some of the platinum levels. I've been looking more lately and have test driven 2 in the last week. Keep looking.

It's tremendously irritating!

I have a 2023 Rock Creek. They’ve addressed this issue I believe. In reverse it automatically gives you an option in the instrument cluster to disable the rear obstacle sensing by just hitting ‘ok’ on the steering wheel controls. Love the vehicle.

@@Volcomcreate mine also has that option . When clicking “ok” it makes it stop beeping. But it will still slam on the breaks. Did you try it with a trailer or bike rack attached to the hitch?

@@Volcomcreate I have the 2023 SL with the tow package and they did not fix it.

@@ClassicFIHD @katiekauffman5045 since then i've towed with a camper and bike rack. If you hit ok it does disable the rear emergency braking (on Rock Creek). You do have to do this every time you put the vehicle in reverse- sometimes forget but a minor inconvenience IMO.

Hi there, yes, a 4k lb camper should be fine behind the 2022 Pathfinder. You will need to measure your tongue weight (the RV dealer may be able to help, or you can buy a Weigh-Safe hitch that measures it) to make sure you don't exceed 600 pounds. Travel trailers *can* be tongue-heavy if they have water tanks and other potentially heavy items on the tongue or toward the front of the trailer, so worth measuring. Remember your payload is on the door jamb sticker and you subtract tongue weight from it to get max allowable weight in the Pathfinder. That may mean you put some of your cargo in the trailer while towing. You will be over 50% of the rated weight for the Pathfinder, so a weight distribution hitch is recommended. Nissan allows them according to their towing guide. A WDH will keep tongue weight better balanced between front and rear axles of the Pathfinder and ensure steering stays confident. Your dealer or eTrailer can help pick one out. Finally, be sure to set up trailer brakes, either by wiring in a brake controller (harness is under the dashboard) or using a wireless Tekonsha Prodigy RF as we used: amzn.to/3IbbXvY

@@OutMotorsports Thanks for your explanation! He is heading to the dealer right now. Life changed over the weekend lol. He is super excited about the Airstream.

@@xixiincanada3057 did you all end up buying the airstream? What did they tell you regarding tongue weight? Interested in this same setup

@@Volcomcreate Yes. We bought a 19Caravel. But we changed our mind to order a QX80

Yes, definitely need a brake controller if your trailer uses electric brakes! We recommend the Tekonsha P3 for a hard-wired solution; this link will get one with the Nissan wiring harness included: amzn.to/45LpVSv

Hmm it's been a while but pretty sure (like 99%) it was a 2" rise.

Thanks! We didn't mention speed/RPM/gear choices because it truly varies so much between each trailer and the terrain you're towing on. Gears 6, 7, 8, 9 are all technically overdrive gears, so don't be alarmed if the transmission doesn't want to go all the way to 8th or 9th while towing. You probably need more revs than can be provided in that high of a gear. If you go faster than 55 you'll do okay in 6th or 7th. Doubtful you'll get into 8/9. The biggest challenge in the mountains will just be making power and avoiding too many shifts (more shifts = more heat in transmission fluid, can be bad long term) - put it in Manual shift mode and hold/choose the gears yourself. Don't be afraid to let it sit at 4,000 rpm if that's where it's happy to maintain speed and make some power. The VQ engine has to rev to make power, there is no turbocharger to help it out. Your brake controller wiring should be under the dash on the drivers' side, it'll be a pigtail that plugs in to a brake controller with a wiring adapter. Look on eTrailer (or call them) to see about an adapter from the Nissan plug to whatever controller you have or buy.

@@OutMotorsports thanks! Any suggestion as to a brake controller? I see there are many at various prices

This Tekonsha Prodigy P3 is the gold standard (and has been) - looks like you can purchase it with the Nissan wiring all in one bundle: amzn.to/35FyTWO

@@OutMotorsports Thanks so much! It did not mention compatibility with the 2022 Pathfinder, so I will take this info to my Nissan dealer and ask if there's anything different from the 2020 to the 22, as regards the hookup.

Given the 2020 and 2022 are on the same platform, we'd guess the wiring is the same. But always worth asking first!

Thanks Amber! Sorry to hear yours isn't working out so well - sounds like a few of your issues could be fixed under warranty (heater in particular). It was super cold in the DC area when we had this one and it was appropriately toasty. Seats mayyyy break in more as you add miles, so don't write them off just yet. Our experience with new cars tends to see seats break in around 5,000 miles. We did have some funky remote start operation a few times using the key fob. Nissan did not set us up with the app for the loan duration.

You need to have the SV Premium package on yours, whether you are FWD or AWD, to be rated for 6k lbs towing. Otherwise it's 3,500 pounds. The biggest difference is a bigger transmission fluid cooler, but Nissan may have other changes as well that aren't published.

Theoretically it'll be worse than the other trim levels - Rock Creek is working with all-terrain tires that have bigger, chunky tread blocks instead of the smooth tread pattern of a highway tire. That means the tire can be more squirmy with a heavy load like a trailer. It's also got a different suspension, and while Nissan hasn't confirmed it, it's likely a bit softer spring and/or damper rates, which tend to perform better and be more comfortable off-road. In practice, the Rock Creek should tow fine but if you're looking to tow often and/or near the top of that 6,000 lb capacity, the other trim levels will be a better choice.

Tekonsha Prodigy RF: amzn.to/3pT4N9b

@@OutMotorsports thanks

Yes, it's supplied by ZF.

Be really careful with total weight and tongue weight. Sounds like horse trailers can run heavy given their construction.

I did and every time, it will panic-brake. You have to disable the auto emergency braking every single time you reverse with a trailer, it doesn't automatically do it. Very irritating!

@@OutMotorsports let's hope they fixed that in 2023. It should be very easy for the BCM to detect a trailer plugged in and disable the emergency braking while it's connected.

@@grattonland Nope! I have the 2023 and it does the same thing. You would think in the Tow-Mode, it would disable it.

@@ClassicFIHD just the simple action of plugging in a trailer should be enough for the BCM to detect a trailer and disable the rear sensors. My 2015 GMC Sierra writes on the dash "Trailer Connected" when I start the truck and the trailer is plugged in, so the BCM knows. But I have the base model with no backup sensors, so no issues.

@@grattonland Nope. not on the Pathfinder. At least with my small enclosed trailer without brakes.

It’s on the same Nissan “D” platform as the prior generation Pathfinder and several other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. It’s been updated but is not an all new platform underpinning the vehicle.

Uhhh if that's been working for you, then great, but in the United States, trailers are designed to be towed with 8-10% tongue weight on the tow vehicle. Trailers in other countries are designed differently. In the U.S., where we are based, under 8% will generally lead to instability while towing given our trailers' designs.

I’ve had bad trailer sway with a tail heavy trailer with an Xterra. Trailer was going several feet side to side. Good I didn’t panic and slowed down gradually. I make sure to have sufficient tongue weight now.

@@OutMotorsports Not on the 10 or so different boat trailers I've been towing since, oh, 1974

Yep! A lot goes in to a tow rating, especially if you're looking (as all manufacturers are now) to meet the SAE J2807 standardized rating system. And the transmission is only one factor in achieving a certain rating.

What’s wrong with that?

@@bradleyscarreviews I didn't know they had specific channels labeled specifically for that and that has car reviews. Nothing wrong with it at all. I just haven't come across it.

@@occckid123 same

@@occckid123 we are heading on Saturday to pick up our boulder gray Pathfinder Platinum.

@@bradleyscarreviews I like that color on the pathfinder. I'm trying 2 get my dad 2 trade in his 2020 platinum awd altima for the pathfinder. It's already paid off with low miles he will get alot of money for it probably what he paid for it