CarComplaints.com Notes: For years, Nissan trucks and SUVs have had problems with coolant destroying the transmission. And for years, Nissan has done nothing about it.
The 2007 is no different than the 2006 and 2005. Just avoid it.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
111,033 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I have a 2007 Nissan Frontier with 68,000 miles. No major issues until now. Started having a transmission noise during acceleration. 10/2016, took my truck to my local auto mechanic and found transmission fluid low. No signs of leaks. Also check coolent and no problems seen. 11/5/16 I head a pop and saw fluid running out of coolent overflow. Transmission stated slipping. 11/9/16 took truck to my local auto repair shop and they see the coolent is mixed with oil. On 11/15/16 per my local Nissan dealer I have a crack in my trans coolent system which is mixing transmission and coolent fluid. In result damaged my transmission and requires replacement. He had ask me to call Nissan for addition assistance. I was also told by my local Nissan dealer that this problem could have been resolved by a radiator replacement. On 11/9/2016 I contacted nissanusa and I was hung up on twice. I finally got in touch with a decent person the set me up with a case. I asked for a description of the details of the warranty and they said it would be emailed. 11/15/2016, I'm still waiting for that email. I called again after getting one rude person and was put on hold then disconnected. I called back asking for financial assistance. I should be getting a call tomorrow. Also, I was told about the issue a year or two ago by another Nissan owner. When I contacted my local dealer to acquire about the problem and aware to they knew nothing about it. Also, they did not have info of any preventive measures the could prevent this problem. If this was a know issue the we should have been notified by Nissan.
The truck began losing power because it would not shift into lower gears. This put us at risk at higher speeds. The problem got worse and we took it to the Nissan dealer. We learned that Nissan knew of the issue, but failed to notify us. They knowingly let us drive a dangerous truck for years.. we were lucky we brought it in when we did. We always had our truck repaired at the Nissan dealer, they had numerous opportunities to tell us, or write us. We have not moved! this is wrong and the class action lawsuit settlement is unfair to those of us who happened to have the issue at mileage over 100,000. The judge should have required Nissan to warn us. We are going to have to pay $5000 to have this repaired, we already paid $200 dollars in new fluids thinking that was the issue.
The transmission fluid cooler in the radiator has busted causing radiator coolant to get inside the transmission. When the coolant mixed with the transmission fluid it has caused catastrophic damage to the inside of the transmission (gears, etc.) a couple of weeks ago I noticed the transmission starting to shift more and more abruptly. I drove to work and at the end of my shift, my truck would not start. I discovered the reason for it not starting was due to the automatic transmission fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse, started the truck and the fuse blew again. I took it to a mechanic and he discovered the issue with the radiator and transmission. This is a recurring issue with 2005 -2010 pathfinder, Frontier and xterra owners. What can be done to hold Nissan accountable for a faulty product that they are obviously aware of but will not correct. This is going to cost me $3500 - $4500 to repair
My radiator had failed causing transmission fluid to enter the coolant and coolant to enter the transmission. Once Nissan replaced the radiator and flushed out both systems, the transmission seem to drive ok, and the Nissan dealer said it seems to be ok. After driving the vehicle for a month the transmission has developed slippage due to the previous radiator with an internal transmission cooler that caused internal damage to the transmission. If Nissan had built the truck with an external transmission cooler separate from the radiator, I wouldn't have had an issue with the transmission once the radiator failed. As an ase certified mechanic with working in the industry for 10 years, also serving in the military as a maintenance mechanic, and with all the different models of vehicles that I have owned; have I ever had this problem where one component fails that would cause me to replace a transmission. I am starting to believe that Nissan is not any better than owning any other car, as the technology seems to not be getting better but more costly to us the consumers. The vehicle was drivin at about 30 mph when the truck temp gauge elevated, and coolant burping out. I immediately shut it down to check and discover the issue was the radiator. Once taken to the shop by tow truck the shop said the transmission fluid had coolant inside and transmission fluid inside the engine coolant area and passages.
Lights on dash came on while in park and engine running. Took it to dealer, and was notified that the radiator coolant had leaked into the transmission. Repair will cost $5,900.94 for new transmission and radiator. I had no idea that anything that serious was going on. I felt no issues while driving.
- Mesa, AZ, USA
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The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Frontier. While attempting to start the vehicle, it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator was leaking into the transmission. The vehicle was then towed to an authorized dealer where it was confirmed that the radiator was the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000. The VIN was not available.
NHTSA action number 12004. This week my 2007 Nissan Frontier's transmission failed at roughly 62,000 miles. I had the vehicle towed to my nearest Nissan dealer where they informed me that it failed due to a leak in the cooling system causing coolant to leak into the transmission causing the failure. They also informed me that this has been such a problem that Nissan "extended the warranty" to help fix the problem. The only issue is that the deductible for the "warranty" is $3,000! that does not seem like much of a warranty to me. I feel like Nissan has admitted the problem and is trying to avoid a recall by issuing the extended warranty with a deductible that is most likely covering a majority of the cost of the job if not entirely. Since this investigation is still open I thought it only appropriate to contribute.
Transmission and coolant mixed causing the transmission not to shift properly in traffic. Nissan is aware of their faulty components and should be forced to recall and fix, at their expense.
The transmission line runs through the radiator in these vehicles. It broke inside radiator and put transmission fluid into cooling system and coolant into transmission, causing failure of both systems. When problem was detected(service engine light came on and transmission slipping) I took to mechanic, we flushed transmission and cooling system. Transmission is systematically failing,
The transmission failed due to a known design flaw that allows collar from the radiator to leak into the transmission causing it to fail. On my vehicle it failed at 100,800 miles, just barely outside warranty. It will no longer climb hills and has great difficulty gaining initial momentum on flatter roads. It doesn't stall, just sits in one place, rolls backward instead of forward, or excelerates like a 3 toed sloth. The first time it happened we were driving up steep driveway and it just stopped moving. The second time we were on a less steep busy roadway and we're forced to roll backwards in traffic until we could find a place to turn around. Issue had not been specifically noticeable prior to this.
My Nissan Frontier pick up went completely dead and would not start after I had refueled at a gas station. I checked out the battery connections and ignition and found nothing out of the ordinary. I then called a local dealership service department and had it towed in for diagnosis for repair. The service manager called me the next day and informed me that the transmission valve body was in need of replacement at a cost of $1800. After a week or so I called and was told my vehicle was ready. I picked it up and paid the bill. Shortly afterward I noticed the vehicle was shifting an little hard but dismissed it as possible characteristic of a new part functioning differently. After about 4 months I noticed an increase in this shifting and so I checked transmission fluid level which was a little low but a healthy color. I added transmission fluid and transmission operated ok for about 6 weeks now the transmission is shifting very hard and slips and some times the vehicle jump forward just slightly when at a stop sign or stop light. I have began investigating this problem online and discovered this is happening a lot with Nissan vehicles not just the Frontiers, but also pathfinders and exterras. Some consumer group are seeking a recall for this problem and I hope they get it because I cannot afford to pay $1800 every six months.
Vehicle is well maintained with 115,000 miles odometer reading. This is the 2nd time the rear axle seas have failed, resulting in gear oil soaking rear brakes, resulting in oil contamination of brake pads and rendering the parking brake ineffective. The reason was explained by Nissan as a rusted $14 breather tube in the differential housing causing pressure build up to ruin the $7 dollar seals. The result is a repair any where fro $1500 for a difficult axle pull to get to the seals or up to$6500 to replace the entire rear assembly. The problem with seal replacement is it is difficult and time consuming and must be performed perfectly or the seals will leak again. The root cause is a poor breather system, . Nissan is aware of this problem and refuses to acknowledge the defective design and application. Continued use will cause premature rear brake failure and too much stress on the front brakes to stop the vehicle.
The problem began as "shudder" resembling what is felt when the car moves onto the "rumble strip" near the shoulder of the road. This occurred while traveling at lower rpms (1500 - 2000) at average highway speeds in 5th gear (55 - 65 mph). Since the vehicle is primarily driven in town at lower speeds, the "shudder" occurred rarely and was not initially identified as a problem. Over the course of several months, the problem began occurring more frequently and at lower speeds, but always at lower rpms (1500 to 2000) and in all gears. As the shudder worsened, the vehicle also began to shift more roughly, often jarring as it moved from one gear to the next. (this occurs at all gear changes.). the vehicle is now "slipping" quite badly as it moves from 4th to 5th gear. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who diagnosed torque converter problems and possible transmission failure. The mechanic has recommended replacement of the transmission. It appears there may have been a valve body failure in the transmission and cross-contamination of the coolant and transmission fluid.
Drove a very short distance near my work and heard a bubbling sound in the engine compartment, knew immediately something was wrong with the radiator. A few seconds later it was like a small explosion and I was able to park. The goo coming from underneath was unlike anything I had seen before. I had usaa tow it off, dealership said crack in the radiator caused fluids to mix and corrupt the transmission and found out 15 days later that nothing would be covered. Didn't know about the massive, wide-spread problems with this exact scenario. Dealer didn't know, insurance and adjuster never said anything. Wasn't until a small town mechanic told my mother-in-law, that we heard about these issues from other Nissan owners. I am hesitant to have factor parts put back in it if, according to others, the same problem could re-occur.
Transmission failed due to coolant intermixing with transmission fluid. This is the second time this vehicle has had catastrophic transmission failure due to a crack in the cooling system. First time was just over the warranty so I was forced to pay a $2500 copay. The vihicle started showing signs of a secondary failure just prior to 100000 miles and when I brought it to the dealer they lied to me and said there was just residual oil in the radiator from the first failure... now I am past any warranty copay and the transmission is failing at just 100500 miles. That is just two years (less than 18000 miles) after they replaced the radiator and transmission. This is unacceptable that consumers are being forced to pay for a known issue of poor engineering especially when it was supposedly fixed by the dealer with Nissan parts. They have obviously not fixed the problem but just replaced with another defective part. On top of that they denied there was a problem to so I would continue to drive the vehicle until it was past the extended warranty (from 2012 class action lawsuit). While there was no accident in either indecent there was a near collision the first time as I was in the middle of a busy intersection and the second there was traffic behind me that had to avoid rear-ending me as the vehicle stopped, this is a dangerous defect that could result in injury or death.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Frontier. While driving the vehicle, a clunking and stuttering noise emitted from the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic and dealer who diagnosed that the transmission failed. The transmission and main computer needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated that NHTSA investigation number: DP12004 (power train) was directly related to the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.....updated 07/05/16
Entering 4 lane highway with 70 mph traffic. Kicked Frontier into passing gear to enter ongoing traffic. Frontier stalled and slowed instead of increasing speed. Transmission slippage and jerking caused motor to increase rpms. I had to move my truck over to right of paved lane and onto pulloff area in order to prevent accident. I was told at the Nissan dealership that I had transmission damage due to radiator fluid leaking into transmission. It cost me $2500 to repair a problem that could have cost lives. I understand this was a problem that was not recalled by Nissan.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lincoln University, PA, USA