Pathfinder Sport S A/T Tire Review & Rating
As an off-shoot of Kumho, the Pathfinder Sport S A/T is exclusive to Discount Tire. This all-terrain tire is built to provide dependable on-road traction, handling and comfort, while also delivering good performance in light to medium off-road conditions.
The Pathfinder Sport utilizes a stronger tri-polymer tread compound that resists cuts and punctures with a computer-optimized tread pattern. This tread design is less aggressive than what you find in tires like the BFG T/A KO2 or General AT2 among others. That’s ok because this model is not built to compete with the more heavy-duty off-road performers.
Inner tread block ridges and tapered grooves around the tread help with grip in lighter off-road trail conditions, as well as clearing out small rocks and other debris from the grooves. Despite the somewhat less aggressive looks, this tire does quite well in dirt, grass, small rocks, gravel and other light terrain.
A continuous center rib enhances stability at highway speeds, while the addition of hundreds of sipes around the tread increase traction on wet or snow covered roads. It’s important to note that the Pathfinder Sport carries the Severe Service emblem, meaning it provides the same level of winter handling as you’ll find with dedicated winter tires, which is a major plus for this model.
Riding on this tire at highway speeds is much quieter than you might think. In addition, the ride is smooth and gives very good on-center feel. Finally, the tread compound and optimized pattern further improve overall tread life on this model.
Pathfinder offers a wide range of sizes ranging from 15-20 inches. It’s also backed with a 60K mile tread warranty on P-metric sizes.
Pros
- Light off-road terrain traction
- Highway performance
- Treadlife
- Lower price
Cons
- Not ideal in heavy-duty off-roading conditions
Overall Thoughts
If a less-aggressive AT tire is what you need for those weekend camping/fishing trips, yet you wish to maintain solid highway performance in dry, wet or winter conditions, the Pathfinder Sport S all terrain tire is for you. While it may not “wow” you with its off-road capabilities in rock climbing or deep mud bogging, it is more than adequate for light-duty use.
Driving on the highway you’ll find this tire delivers excellent traction and handling. Road noise is minimal and the ride is smooth and comfortable among AT tires. What’s more is that treadlife has shown to be long lasting, which is evidenced from many customer reviews on the tire.
Since the Sport S AT carries the severe service emblem, traction in snow, slush and ice is on par with dedicated winter tires. Unless you’re trying to navigate a raging blizzard, you should not have any difficulty getting around town in winter weather.
Overall, with its solid performance and lower budget-friendly price point, we like this Pathfinder all-terrain tire.
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What Vehicles Will The Pathfinder Sport S AT Fit?
(This is not a complete list of ALL vehicles this tire will fit)
- Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe
- Dodge Durango
- Ford Explorer, F-150
- GMC Sierra 1500
- Hummer HT3
- Jeep Commander, Grand Cherokee, Wrangler
- Nissan Frontier, Titan, X-Terra
- Ram 1500
- Toyota Highlander, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner
Tire Sizes
15″
LT235 /75 R15 104S C1 OWL
P 235 /75 R15 108S XL OWL
30 /9.50 R15 104S C1 OWL
31 /10.50R15 109S C1 OWL
16″
LT225 /75 R16 115Q E1 OWL
235 /70 R16 106T SL OWL
LT235 /85 R16 120Q E1 OWL
245 /70 R16 111S XL OWL
LT245 /75 R16 120Q E1 OWL
P 245 /75 R16 109S SL BSW
P 255 /70 R16 109S SL OWL
P 265 /70 R16 111S SL BSW
265 /75 R16 116T SL OWL
LT285 /75 R16 126R E1 OWL
17″
245 /65 R17 111T XL OWL
P 245 /70 R17 108S SL BSW
P 265 /65 R17 110S SL BSW
P 265 /70 R17 113S SL BSW
P 285 /70 R17 117S SL BSW
18″
P 265 /70 R18 114S SL OWL
P 275 /65 R18 114S SL OWL
LT275 /70 R18 125S E1 OWL
285 /60 R18 120T XL BSW
20″
P 275 /60 R20 114S SL BSW
Price Range
Pathfinder Sport S A/T prices range from approximately $85 and up. You may also find occasional rebates, discount prices, coupons and special offers on this tire.
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Warranty
Pathfinder provides a 60,000 mile tread warranty on all P-metric sizes of the Sport S AT. Tire uniformity is guaranteed for the first year or first 2/32 inch of wear.
Materials and workmanship are warranted for 6-years and include free replacement during the first year or first 2/32 inch of wear. A prorated amount is given for the remaining time period or down to the final 2/32 inch of tread depth.
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How do you read the manufacture date on the tire. I have 245-65-17”
Where can I buy this tire in the Aurora, Co area ?
bought a set of 4 in October of 2017 for my 2007 Dodge Dakota, and in October of 2019 I had put 30,000 miles and was already down to 5/32 tread. There is no way these will make 60,000 miles. I have noticed recently that on wet roads and flat surface I need to be very careful as the rear tires will start to spin when taking off from a start. I am very concerned about the winter. I really liked these at first but the poor tread life is very disappointing.
I have a 2005 Ford ranger edge and I have had two other rangers since 1994 and by far the pathfinder s at tire has been the best tire I have had on my rangers. I have never felt more safe when driving during rain or snow/sleet and I stay on top of alignments and rotations and you can barely see any wear on them
Hey John,
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Purchased a used Jeep TJ with newer Pathfinders on it. Have not gotten off road yet, but on highway and around town they track straight, no wander or wobble, do 70 with no issues, and as quiet as a Jeep can get. I like them. Hope they hold up for the long run.
Hi John, glad to know you are satisfied with you set of tires. Good luck, I am hoping they will give you a
smooth drive in future as well. Don’t forget to keep us updated!
In July of 2017 I purchased four pathfinder a/t sport tires for my 2007 Mitsubishi Endeavor. Size 245/65r17. This is the largest size I could get on my vehicle that wouldn’t rub. After only putting 29000 miles on my vehicle, I took it back to discount tire because I kept hearing a noise from the back of my truck and noticed the front tires were already wearing pretty quickly and yes an alignment was done after install… the reps at discount tire told me the noise was from cupping and that I didn’t follow my warantee, my extended warrantee that I paid an additional 176$ for and said I had not rotated my tires. I then brought out all of my documentation and showed them I had three tire rotations done and ten oil changes and the rotations were done within the 9,000 mile mark… was told that the only thing they would do is prorate me 50$ a tire and there was not a problem and where I took my vehicle just didn’t rotate the tires…. mind you I took to Mitsubishi dealership to have these services performed…. all in all then when I go and get the proof that discount tire just didn’t want to honor the warantee and took in the surveillance from Mitsubishi…. what do you know these tires are discontinued and I have been totally screwed on tires… I would never recommend purchasing these tires. Were never used in off road only on highway and I bought them because of the snow we get. These tires are an epic failure and the company that sells them is ridiculous in scamming money and not honoring a warantee
Hi Stephan
We’re sorry to learn about your unfortunate experience using the Pathfinder Sport S A/T. If a majority of our audience faces similar issues with a tire be it poor wear or any other manufacturing defect then we update our reviews accordingly.
I bought 4 in January 2018 along with all insurance. The tires performed as advertised. Long distance drive to 2nd home in rural mountains.
When one failed and needed replacement, Discount replaced it with a different model tire. That left me with 3 if one type and one different.
I absolutely would not accept this situation and in the end worked out a resolution.
Have had these on my 06 Honda Ridgeline for about two years now with no complaints. Daily driver on city streets and highways and some off road throughout the year, we’ve been in ice and snow, they do great there, we’ve been at least 30 miles down beach on Padre Island, no issues in sand whatsoever, been out in the New Mexico dessert, great there, up in the back country on some pretty rugged trails in the CO rocky mountains and these things don’t show any worse for the abuse, got in some spots I thought may be too much for the little truck but no loss of traction whatsoever, I know some of that has to do with the great 4×4 system on the truck but those four small patches of rubber on the ground are a big part of that too! Some road noise to these but nothing you can’t stand. I recommend without reservation and have always had good service with Discount Tire as well.
Hi Chris
Thank you for sharing your experience using the Pathfinder Sport S A/T glad to hear the tire has performed so well for you on a variety of surfaces. Though we wouldn’t recommend this truck for rugged off-road application, its great to see you’ve driven over some pretty challenging terrain and remained unscathed.
I purchased Pathfinders in 1997 for my 94′ Ranger XLT. It came with Firestone AT tires, which got 14 flats in less than 40k miles, mostly from gravel puncture through the tread. I lived 800′ up a gravel road, and had 300′ feet of gravel driveway, and the Firestone tires couldn’t handle it. Not only did the Pathfinder AT tires fix the problem getting flats, they also were much better at taking a full 17,00 lb. load in the back of the truck with very little flexing when aired to maximum pressure. Doing that with the Firestone tires felt like I was driving home on marshmallows, not a safe feeling. Now looking for new AT tires for 2007 Escape, and I am definitely considering Pathfinders based on my very positive experience. One person mentioned flat-spotting when parked overnight. I presently have Cooper Discoverer AT3s on my Escape, and they do they same thing, but at 50% higher price. So I wouldn’t let that stop me from buying Pathfinders.
Hey Joe, I am glad to hear that switching tires to Pathfinders turned out to be a good decision for you. Thank you
for sharing with us.
I am super disappointed in these tires. I bought them in 2017 and got 23,000 miles out of them when the inner thread started showing. I noticed when my tire went completely flat in a matter of minutes. Luckily I was not on the freeway, or one of my teenage kids was driving. I noticed that these same tires were recalled in 2015 for inner thread showing. Which makes me believe that the tires still have a manufacturer defect. I went back to discount tire and they wanted me to pay for new tires. These tires basically cost me $50 a month, the previous tires we had cost me $23 a month. I would not buy these ever again. Luckily, the store manager at discount tire gave me a bigger discount on the tires. But, it’s more of a matter of these tires being safe.
I am sorry to hear about this Ericka. Pretty surprised to see that you got only 23,000 miles out of these tires since we’ve come across quite some positive reviews about their tread life. I will definitely research more on this. Thanks for sharing with us.
I’ve had these on my wife’s sport trac for 3 years now. Tread wear is great! They are awesome in the winter here in the northeast. Only negative is they seem to get flat spots when out truck sits overnight. A few miles of driving down the road, they get smooth and better.
Hi John, glad to hear you are satisfied with these tires. I agree that an incredible tread wear is definitely their positive trait, just avoid off-roading to enjoy a smooth drive on these tires for a longer time.
I have Pathfinder tires on my Dodge Dakota, in wet weather, easing from a traffic light or on a hill, the back of the truck starts to come out from under me. They are ok when driving but no traction from a stop on wet roads.
Hi Cort, other than wet handling are you satisfied with these tires?
Just returned from Discount tire store to replace the tires they put on my F250 Super duty Ford P/U replaced them with Bridgestone after the first 10 minutes of driving. Massive amount of over steer with these tires (Path finders- should be named the ditch finders.
Got a set for my wife’s 2005 suburban and am very happy with the set of pathfinders. We are sitting on the side of a mountain in NC with a huge road incline with road base. My GMC truck just dug in and refused to go up and a Dodge struggled to go up it. Our Suburban just drove right up and didn’t slip one time. As soon as my tires wear out on my GMC a new set of pathfinders will go on. These tires are bad a..
Thanks for the info. I’m putting 4 of these on a 97 Jeep Cherokee that my son is taking to college. Needs some highway, light off road, and we’re in Colorado so winter performance too. Sounds like this hits every need.
Hi Allen, I think these will be a great fit! Do let us know about your experience.
about 15k on them, 275/65/18 E
2011 Nissan Titan tow pkg 2wd.
so far really Tuff tires, also a quiet ride. Handling is ok, but still good. I can go 90 MPH on Asphalt NP And go to my cabin in Northern AZ that has a hellish road with rock that has chunked more expensive AT tires in the past. Perfect tire for those who are a little bit Country and a little bit Rock and Roll.
Nice reviews, saw on eBay at a reasonable price. I’m ordering 4, thx
Hey Mike, thanks for your comment! Your appreciation is valuable to us.