CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005-2007 Pathfinder appears to have a widespread defect where coolant leaks into the transmission, causing transmission failure around 90,000 miles. Repair costs are typically upwards of $3,500.
According to the New York Times & a class action lawsuit, the defect actually extends through 2010 model year. More info here.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
106,074 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 was going to work a usual so I have to take the highway. Everything was pretty normal then as I was driving for about 10 minutes I felt like hesitation from the SUV. I was in first lame so as I pressed the gas pedal a little further in I noticed that the car was decelerating. It was like it was losing power. It returned to normal then 5 minutes later the same thing happened only the car started jerking as well. I turned to the emergency lane to see what was wrong. I turned the engine off and popped the hood it smelled like coolant leaking and the SUV didn't say that it was overheated.I tried to turn it on it didn't let me and the dashboard wasn't displaying the N, D, R...etc. Took it to the mechanic and said the SUV had internal leakage of the radiator and it messed with the transmission. He told me that this type and year of SUV had faulty radiator that came like that. The only problem is that I had bought the car 8 months ago and that it came with a warranty for these type of car for less than 80,000 miles. Well I bought the car from the dealer with more than 100,000 miles.now at this point to fix the car ranges from 3,000-6,000 dollars. Shame on Nissan dealers for selling these type of cars that are potentially dangerous on the road.
My wife picked up our two young kids (4, 6 at the time) from school and while on the way back home our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder totally shutdown as she was passing through a busy intersection. Thankfully, she made it through the intersection before being hit but was broken down in the street. Unfortunately, I was out of town for work that week so she called our neighbor and he helped get the truck back to our house. After discussing the situation with me on the phone, she called several transmission specialists and had one of them (a+ transmission) pick up the SUV the next day. After a running a diagnostic test and determining the severity of the transmission problem, they had to pull the transmission to do a complete inspection. They determined that the radiator had leaked into the transmission and transfer case and that the whole transmission including the radiator needed to be replaced. We opted for a rebuild since transmissions from Nissan were on 6 month backorder due to other Nissan's having the same issue. We spent almost $4,000 to fix this problem with no help from Nissan. After some research online, we found many complaints regarding this issue and the lack of a recall by Nissan. This is a significant safety issue that Nissan has failed to adequately address. I hope that someone will make Nissan do the right thing.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle fire that was caused by a defect. The consumer stated the vehicle caught on fire while his wife was driving. His wife felt a jerking motion when she pushed down on the accelerator. His wife pulled over, when suddenly another motorist informed her the vehicle was on fire. Once she exited the vehicle, there was a loud boom noise, which was believed to be the battery exploding. Within in seconds, the uncontrollable flames literally engulfed the entire vehicle. An investigator believed the cause of the fire was a failure in the transmission.
Around 95000 miles the transmission began very abrupt jerking when accelerating. Around May 2011 transmission began slipping, I googled the problem and discovered many people had the same problem due to radiator cracked. I looked into my radiator and discovered strawberry looking fluid. Replaced my radiator, an flushed it a few times and then flushed my transmission which had the same color fluids, I believe Nissan was aware of these faulty radiators and transmission and drag it out through court so people would loose their opportunity to use their warranty. I am currently trying to get Nissan to replace my faulty transmission and I am willing to pay a $3000 fee but so far they are reluctant. Any suggestions you may have would be appreciated.
The transmission failed while driving 60mph up a hill. The car most ability to climb hill and speed dropped dramatically. I was concerned of being hit from behind as traffic was going faster and had to go around me. There was not a place to pull over. I made it (barely) over the hill and pulled over. The issue is a failure of the internal radiator coolant hose leaking into the transmission and destroying the transmission. This has been admitted and previously noted and diagnosed by Nissan, but they have offered no assistance if your vehicle is out of warranty. It should be a recall for all affected vehicles. Pretty scary when the car fails at speed and you are in the middle of traffic.
- Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA
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Well my Pathfinder was working great and I never had any problem with it then one day I'm driving it to work and it just stop I kept accelerating and it wouldn't move. A friend of mine came and looked at it and told me on the spot you radiator busted and filled your transmission with coolant and that destroyed your transmission and destroy it did. My friend to told me funny thing is that could have been prevented by installing an external cooling which he would have done for 100 bucks if only had Nissan let me know that the 2005 Pathfinders had this issue. Oh well I feel cheated and I swore in my life I will have a Nissan car again or Acura for that matter nor anyone in my family. This one I'm stuck with but once guaranteed that the mechanic gave it's about to expire I'm selling it and I'm definitely not buying Nissan again! ever!
Driving down 4 lane highway and stopped at a red light in a small town. When light turned green, I tried to proceed but vehicle would not move. When I would press the accelerator, the rpms would go up but vehicle would not move. There were many vehicles coming up behind me at a high rate of speed and there I was with my wife and three children stuck in the middle of a four lane highway, unable to move. I had to risk getting out of the vehicle and run to the rear of the vehicle and try to flag down vehicles coming at me at over 60 mph and try to flag them around my stranded vehicle with my family inside. Finally able to get some assistance and get vehicle pushed to shoulder of the road. My vehicle has been to the same Nissan dealership five times for this same problem!!!!! each time the repair lasts approximately 12 to 18 thousand miles and then I start having the same problem. In Jan.of 2012, I paid the same dealership five thousand dollars for a new transmission and in August ; I once again have the same problem. I decided to file a complaint after becoming aware that this is a very common issue with these vehicles.
My vehicle had given no signs of problems. I had my vehicle serviced, oil changed...etc on regular basis. Friday November 9th I left work and my vehicle wouldn't start. The Nissan dealer I took my vehicle to has informed me that a faulty radiator tank broke down, leaked coolant into my transmission, corrupting my transmission and all the electronic components that allow the vehicle to identify my transmission & give the vehicle/transmission ability to start. In addition they indicate it caused corrosion and has destroyed my transmission. I have been told that Nissan knew of this problem/exact issue but instead of recalling the radiators, they "offered" an extended warranty up to 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first): No customer co-pay; after 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $2,500; after 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $3,000. I think its asinine that they can get away with not recalling all of these and taking care of a problem they know about without putting a huge burden on all of their customers.
My Nissan quit due to a failed transmission. I was driving and without warning when I accelerated it would not go forward. It occasionally would do a hard shift when going down hills or increasing speed. I began to smell a foul odor coming from the hood and alot of smoke billowing from the back of the car.
The problem began some time in Sept 2012. When slightly accelerating at about 40 to 45 mph the transmission "shudders". recently it has been happening at higher speeds (60 to 65).
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the transmission failed. The contact stated that she tried to accelerate but the speed dropped to zero. The contact pulled the vehicle over and allowed the vehicle sit for a day. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer for inspection where they stated that radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 110,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Bought vehicle in April 2012 had transmission go out fixed that with warranty company. The transmission went out again in less than a month comes to find out the radiator was cracked sending antifreeze into transmission and transmission fluid into my radiator destroying my transmission computer. Got that fixed camshaft sensors then went bad cost me more money. After that the radiator was still messed up had it repaired and flushed system completely. The shop also had to replace the back flow reserve cap and thermostat for being bad. The vehicle worked for another two days and had a mechanic look at the vehicle for overheating and the diagnosis was fan clutch was working need to replace fan clutch completed that. Now Nov. 8th two days later after being fixed still overheating. Do know what to do anymore"?"
This complaint is regarding a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. It is common to this model and involves the intermingling of coolant and transmission fluid due to the faulty design involving these systems. The result is ruination of both the automatic transmission and the radiator, in addition to various associated components. Please, compel Nissan to issue a fully-covered recall on this defect. It is an obvious design flaw and the fact that the consumer is currently forced to bear the significant burden of the substantial related repairs is absolutely ridiculous.
I was leaving a restaurant parking lot with my wife and kids. I pulled to the parking lot exit and turned right onto the 4-lane boulevard. I tried to accelerate to traffic speed in the near lane but the motor simply raced and would not propel the vehicle. As traffic caught me I heard tires squealing and horns blowing from the vehicles behind me. The traffic worked around me while I shifted the transmission into park and then back into drive and began to move at idle speed. As traffic allowed I worked over into the left lane and then the turning lane while gradually accelerating to driving speed, merged back into traffic and proceeded home, careful to avoid any stop lights in busy traffic. We are fortunate that we were not involved in an accident. I'm no expert, but I do know that a vehicle that suddenly won't propel itself in traffic is as dangerous as one with no brakes. This was the one and only time that we experienced this problem. There was no previous indication that anything was wrong. I took the car to the Nissan dealer and they diagnosed the problem as a transmission coolant line failure which allowed transmission fluid and engine coolant to intermix in the radiator, engine block and transmission, which in turn caused the transmission to slip. I'm sure NHTSA has received many complaints about this problem. I'm hearing many of the same complaints just in my area and likely there are others that have not yet been reported. Hopefully no one will have to die or suffer serious injury because of this unsafe condition before a recall will be issued.
The car was being driven on a busy street during morning rush hour, at approximately 40 mph. The car immediately stopped running and went to a crawling speed (around 1-2 mph). Cars behind needed to move quickly to avoid collision, and because there was no shoulder, the car blocked traffic. The car was taken to a Nissan dealership. Their first diagnosis was that it was a failure of the automatic transmission valve body, and they wanted to charge around $2400 for the repair. Three days later, after looking at it, the dealership diagnosed the problem as coolant leaking into the transmission, with a cost of repair of $7400.
My vehicle quit driving in the middle of traffic. It would only idle when I pressed the accelerator. I was notified that my radiator had an internal leak and the coolant was mixing with my transmission fluid which caused my transmission to shut down. I was notified when searching for a radiator, that this has been a common problem with the vehicles and is documented with complaints all over the internet. I am currently a nursing student, and I do not think it is fair that I must pay for repairs that are not my fault when I am not able to afford them. This has been an extremely costly repair and I have been forced to take out a loan to get my vehicle repaired so I will have transportation to school.
Transmission failure due to radiator leaking into fluid my transmission which has been ruined. I have 140 K miles on my 2005 Pathfinder and was never notified by Nissan about the faulty radiator and therefore this damaged occurred. Estimate to fix is $5600.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Consumer states problem with vehicle transmission the consumer stated while driving, the check engine light illuminated, as well as the 4-wheel drive light. The vehicle started hesitating. When the consumer called the dealer, they advised her to open the gas tank, to see if a puff of air came out. Once she told them no, she put the vehicle in drive and it would not move, she then put it in reverse, and it still did not move, . the dealer then advised her to disconnect the battery for a half hour. She reconnected the battery and drove around the block and it stalled. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer. An inspection revealed a problem with the transmission. The dealer stated a gasket between the radiator broke and anti-freeze leaked into the transmission. The dealer informed the consumer, it would cost $6,000 for the repairs.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the vehicle suddenly decelerated without any warning. The contact mentioned that the digital panel that displayed which gear the vehicle was in also went blank. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the radiator leaked coolant into the transmission, destroying the modulator. As a result, the transmission, radiator and modulator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who offered to pay for part of the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 96,000.
Many instances of the car jerking, jerking forward when trying to slow down or stop. The RPM revving up to dangerous levels for no reason and trouble driving uphill. My car has become a major safety issue. First the fuel gauge stopped working, which caused me to run out of gas and stalling in the middle of an intersection. Next, my car stalled for no reason while driving, that was repaired, something to do with a relay switch, now the transmission issues, possible radiator failure and the need of a new catalytic converter in a car with 100K miles.... that's insane !!! someone is going to be seriously hurt or killed if they don't fix these vehicles and people don't have thousands of dollars laying around to fix it. So, no food, rent or bills being paid for over a month just to pay for repairs is even more of a hardship to families. Please help us before something happens. Thanks !!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oxnard, CA, USA