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.
Radiator leaked into the transmission case completely destroying the entire transmission. Per Nissan, the cost to fix is $5900 and requires a new radiator and transmission. First symptom was lack of acceleration.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 mph, the transmission responded extremely slow with slight hesitation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the defect was contributed to a crack in the radiator. The leaking coolant from the radiator caused severe damage to the transmission; however the radiator was replaced. In addition, the technician informed the contact that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70,225. The VIN was unavailable.
Was driving along and vehicle stopped pulling. Too it to dealership and was told by master mechanic at Nissan dealership that is was engine coolant leaking into the transmission in which there is a recall. And then was told by corporation that they were not going to help me.
Driving vehicle and suddenly lurched forward and wouldn't drive. Taken to shop and said defect in radiator allowed coolant into transmission ruining both components. This is a known complaint which Nissan fails to address. They uped their warranty when problem was seen but mostly happens outside of the warranty. I spoke with a customer service rep and she said there was nothing they could do even though they are aware of the problem.
- Xenia, OH, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Radiator and transmission fluid mixed. Internal radiator failure caused damage to transmission. Causing loss of power when driving. Nissan is aware of this problem and refuses to step up to the plate. It is a defective radiator and it can become very dangerous if it happens on a very busy interstate. I have chosen to let my vehicle set. I don't want to cause a fatality to myself or my family. Please help not to let Nissan get by with this. Updated IVOQ 01/02/13
After starting our Pathfinder in a parking lot and placing it into drive, the vehicle had lost almost all acceleration in first gear. After slowly climbing into second gear, the vehicle began to jerk and lurch almost causing our SUV to strike several parked cars. We immediately took it to a mechanic and were told after careful investigation that the transmission needed to be completely replaced due to damage caused by the leaking of coolant and water into the transmission from the factory installed transmission cooler. Extensive rusting and damage to the transmission had caused the failure. This is a very expensive repair ($4000) that could have caused us to get into a serious accident had we been traveling at a higher rate of speed in heavy traffic.
Was driving through an intersection and the car immediately slowed down and would not drive forward, cars had to slam on there brakes and we were almost hit from behind and the left side. We had it towed 20 miles to a transmission shop to have them tell us radiator fluid has leaked into the transmission and would be $3500 to fix, Nissan offered no help or compensation, called both the dealer and Nissan Consumer Affairs with no success, neither wanted or insisted any help was treated like I didnt exist, caused extreme pain for my family.
I had experienced some slight jerking around 60-70 mph and dismissed it as the transmission just trying to decided between gears. Last night, while pulling away from a stop sign, the vehicle began to move forward then I heard a slipping noise and it felt like the transmission was slipping and wouldn't move. This occurred while I was in the midst of crossing an intersection with my pregnant girlfriend and a 5 year old in the vehicle. I immediately parked the vehicle to avoid any damage. The transmission fluid level was good, but seemed rather clear compared to fluid I had seen in the past. I had expected it to at the least, look dirty. After reading reports of issues online, my guess is the issue many others have reported of coolant mixing with the transmission fluid. I'm having a mechanic look into the issue as soon as possible.
Radiator fluid and water were found in the transmission box. Mechanic said this is very common with this year make and model and can lead to transmission failure and loss of driving ability at any time. Google searches indicate as such, and that Nissan knows about this issue but isn't doing anything about it.
The transmission felt kind of jerky one day, and then the very next day it felt like it was slipping or not wanting to shift before it would slam into gear. It was at this point that the transmission finally let go.
The vehicle began to shudder badly and lose power. Thought smoke was coming from the undercarriage of my vehicle, but it was spraying transmission fluid. Pulled off of the interstate and called a towtruck. Had my five year old daughter in the back seat. Scared us both. No one injured but could have been in heavier traffic. Found out today that it's a common problem with these cars.
I bought my 2005 Pathfinder in November of 2010 with 76K miles. Ever since I bought it ive been having issues with the transmisson that have slowly gotten worse. I went and got my transmission fluid changed at 98K miles and now it has left me sit. Still owing over 19K on the vehicle and paying over 400 dollars a month on a payment and now Nissan wants me to pay for the problem that they have known they had on a vehicle. Not cheap eaither, apple Nissan of york pa estimated over 6K to fix the problem. Complete bs. This needs to stop now and these problems need to be free of charge and recalled asap!! I will go as far as going to the district attorney generals office if need be.
I was driving with my 15 year old daughter from my home in sanford, fl to clermont, fl to visit my mom at the nursing home. While I was on the expressway 408 the vehicle began to stall and bog down causing the vehicles behind me to slowed down abruptly almost causing a chain reaction accident. I was terrified. I slowly made my way off the expressway onto state road 50 then the vehicle would not go at all. I called my husband and he told me to put my hazard lights on turn the vehicle off and then try again. This worked but I was only able to go 20 mph, however the speed limit was 50 mph. At one point I was on a hill and the vehicle began rolling backwards almost crashing into the vehicle behind me. I was able to make it to the nursing home where I parked the vehicle then my husband came and towed it back home where it now sits, we have to hold Nissan responsible for their flaws. It's not fair that my life, my child's life and the life of other drivers were in danger because of Nissan's irresponsibility. I want the transmission on my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder replaced with a new transmission.
I was coming home from work on main road at rush hour when I heard a loud clunk followed by hesitation and lights on my instrument panel going on. I was having trouble going even 20 mph and motorists behind me felt I was going unreasonably slow, thinking I was doing this on purpose and even trying to pass me. I limped along to the next street where I could get off safely and called for help. Brought the car to closest dealer the following day and was diagnosed with transmission failure due to coolant contamination. My car which was finally paid off now faced certain doom. Nissan has failed to fix any of this so now the car must sit in my driveway until you issue a recall. Nissan knew of this issue long ago and isn't taking measures to warn any of their customers about this problem. These radiators need to be changed in all affected vehicles and those which suffered catastrophic damage put back on the road at their expense.how many more drivers need to go through this painful and potentially life threatening failure?
My Pathfinder started having a vibration every time I drove it and after some research I found out about the problem they were having with their transmissions and that it was a well known issue. I have also had a pop and it lurches forward.
Due to unexpected transmission slip, I had a near miss at a 4-way stop intersection when my vehicle failed to accelerate as expected. Two other cars entered the intersection from the opposite directions and both had to stop when my vehicle failed to exit the intersection as they might have expected. My Pathfinder very slowly accelerated and eventually cleared the intersection. I called the dealer and after initial investigation, they advised me that coolant had leaked into the transmission due to failure of the transmission radiator, irreparably damaging the transmission. The transmission had to be replaced as did the radiator. Aside from the high costs of repairs which I consider to be unacceptable for a vehicle at its stage of service life, I consider the failure mode to present an unacceptable safety risk.
I was parking the car in a carport a low speed when the car lunged forward and hit a metal pole and dented my front bumper. Several weeks before the incident I noticed the car lunges forward (a few times) as I accelerate from a complete stop. This incident happened a few more times until the check engine light came on and the car would hesitate to accelerate. I took the car to universal Nissan (where I bought my car and have excellent service record on my vehicle) on 08-21-12 and they informed me that the radiator water was leaking into the transmission and it would cost anywhere between $4-5K to be repaired. They also informed me that this is a known problem for Pathfinder, xterra and frontier due to defective radiator. I called Nissan North America to see if they could help me with the problem. I waited for a 2 weeks for them to respond but they did not help me, a loyal costumer who have purchased 3 Nissan vehicles in the past. This is a very serious problem that Nissan chooses to ignore. Since Nissan does not want to fix their defective product please make them do something before this serious problem takes a life. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
We had started to notice some rough shifting at low speeds. This past weekend my wife was trying to drive with our kids in atlanta freeway stop and go traffic. At speeds around 15 mph the vehicle would start to buck and lurch and it would kill the engine. It is an automatic but was behaving like a manual if someone didn't push in the clutch when coming to a stop. This was very hazardous in stop and go traffic on a 10+ lane freeway. The mechanic said the transmission is failing because radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission and that he had seen a number of Nissan with this problem. We are having to replace both the transmission and radiator at $4,000. That is better than having the transmission lock up at highway speeds. If you remember last year, montoya's nascar transmission locked up sending him into one of the jet driers at the track causing a fiery collision. He had no control at that time and he is a professional driver. Nissan knows this is a problem. I now know that I am not alone and that too many Nissan owners have made this complaint and Nissan will not voluntarily protect their customers.
Vibrates violently when shifting, ON9/15/12 I was on the freeway and it started jerking and shaking back and forth and I had to let of the gas to get it to shift and going again. Since then it has got worse. Took it too a transmission place and they looked at the fluid and coolant had leaked into the transmission. $4200 is the estimate. I don't have the money and will now have to get a loan to get it fixed. Nissan warranty is expired at 80K miles. I have a warranty in place with naviss which they have denied the claim stating the radiator is not a covered part and the fact that is the cause of the problem so it is not covered. I have a wife and two kids and the vehicle is not safe to drive. My wife will not drive the vehicle. I can't believe Nissan knows that this an issue yet they won't take responsibility and fix the problem. The transmission place said they fix 3-4 a month, and have yet to see Nissan cover any. I hope that the class action lawsuit goes through so we can get our money back.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Highlands Ranch, CO, USA