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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,407 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.

2006 Nissan Pathfinder drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2006 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 9 of 21)

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problem #252

May 172013

Pathfinder

  • 77,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission failure. I have service records from reputable mechanic shop that the transmission problem started at $77K miles. Nissan does not care. The court ordered settlement (class action suit) lets them off the hook after $80K miles. $2,500 copay to fix a problem caused by radiator leaking into transmission. Terrible customer service at dealership (why I never went to them for repairs). They try to charge for stuff under warranty (my fuel gauge issue a few years back). I thought Nissan na would help but I was wrong.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #251

Jun 192014

Pathfinder

  • 146,000 miles
Fluid from radiator leaked into transmission, completely burned out.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #250

Jun 202014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 87,000 miles
Have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder le and noticed the transmission was starting to make a rumble strip noise around 45 mph. Did some research and discovered that Nissan had a defective radiator which caused anti-freeze to leak into the transmission through coolant line. Knowing that the radiators were defective why wasn't Nissan ordered to recall them. It is a safety hazard if you are traveling on the highway and your transmission fails!!! I now have to pay $2500 to pay for a known defect to have radiator and transmission replace.

- Hummelstown, PA, USA

problem #249

May 172014

Pathfinder

  • 87,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Pathfinder experienced complete transmission failure. Car stalled in the middle of an intersection and the engine started smoking and fluids spilled out from underneath. People behind us had to swerve around us to avoid hitting us. Some good samaritans helped my husband push the car to the side of the road. He could no longer drive the car. Earlier in the day the car was having trouble accelerating and would jerk. We managed to get off the freeway before it stalled completely. We had the car towed to mossy Nissan and we were told by the service advisor that the manufacturer radiator that came with the car was badly designed. The radiators crack causing cross contamination of the radiator and transmission fluid which then results in complete transmission failure, which is what happened to our car. He told us there was a class action lawsuit, actually, and the settlement terms were that if your car was under 80,000 miles Nissan would cover the cost of repairs. Our car had 87,000 miles and so we had to pay $2500. Over 90,000 miles and you have to pay $3000. Over 100,000 miles and you're out of luck. We were told the repair runs about $7,000 outside the warranty period. This should have been a recall issue, not an extended warranty issue, because it is unsafe to be driving on the road when your car stalls and the transmission fails. The car has since been repaired but I no longer feel safe in a Nissan. Nissan North America refuses to take responsibility for a design flaw and the extended warranty from the lawsuit benefited no one but Nissan. You couldn't have your radiator replaced under the warranty if it wasn't malfunctioning yet. Your car needed to break down before the warranty could kick in, and at that point you were already outside the 100% coverage window.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

problem #248

Aug 292013

Pathfinder

  • 89,000 miles
Vehicle started making a whining noise coming from the engine area that increases with rpms and was taken to dealer and said to be faulty timing chain tensioner. Was manufactured with plastic parts for this model had price quoted to approx $3000 to repair!

- Chillicothe, OH, USA

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problem #247

Jun 032014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 106,000 miles
Radiator coolant leaked into transmission, killing transmission.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #246

May 272014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 125,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Same issue as all others, drive a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder and was happy until 125tsd miles never a big repair. Now I have the same issue faulty radiator kills silent the transmission. Did visit the dealer for every service even as the problem starts little by little. First a unpleasant shifting, dealer recommends a transmission flush before the official service interval, done. After we are still not happy as we can tell the transmission shifts different as we did know it from before. See the Nissan dealer again, they write the order with the customer complaint, "customer complains about transmission problems". written statement of the dealer, transmission checked no issues found. Some miles later, total fall out of the transmission special the tcu. Good customer will not see now dealer again but a lawyer.

- Simpsonville, SC, USA

problem #245

Apr 032014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 103,000 miles
Engine coolant hose ruptured into the transmission fluid. First noticed it when the engine was running hot. Found out this is a factory defect.

- Cut Off, LA, USA

problem #244

May 232014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
Nissan Pathfinder just got to 100,000 miles when started experiencing transmission issues, turns out there was a factory warranty that I was never informed of that would have covered the radiator/transmission issue. However because I was not having an issue until the extended warranty ended Nissan is refusing to cover the cost of repairs despite knowing about this engineering fault. It is extremely frustrating that a large company such as Nissan is able to send a vehicle out into the public with known engineering flaws and put a mileage limit on repairing the issue. It is something that will inevitably fail but it is only a matter of time so it might have occurred within the limit for some and outside the limit for others. It is my hope that you will expose this shady and unsafe practice that Nissan has going and help get people the repairs they deserve.

- Arvada, CO, USA

problem #243

Jun 062014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 80,743 miles
Had issue with transmission.brought to mechanic and found out that radiator was cracked and ruined transmission. Was told by mechanic that this was common with this vehicle.went in internet and found all kinds of info about same problem. I feel if I was notified from Nissan earlier I would not have to pay for extended warranty 2500.00.would have been free for under 80,000 miles.my car has 80,743 miles.not happy with Nissan, will not ever buy another.

- Ocean View, NJ, USA

problem #242

Jun 122013

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 11,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I noticed a shudder when the car was shifting, my mechanic test drove it and sent me to the transmission shop. The gentleman there told me that it was a transmission problem. He also said that this was a common problem with this year Pathfinder. He thought that since this was a common problem that Nissan had extended the warranty. I later found that the warranty had been extended but not enough to include my truck. Very disappointed in Nissan, I have owned 4 Pathfinders and several other cars made by Nissan. I thought they would take better care of loyal customers.

- Coventry, RI, USA

problem #241

Jul 192013

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 150,000 miles
Coolant leaking into transmission causing failure and slippage. When coming to abrupt stops transmission "jerks" and "bucks" also, upon accelerating, transmission slips and is unable to accelerate properly. Safety issue with proper driving capability.

- Greentown, PA, USA

problem #240

May 312014

Pathfinder

  • 143,000 miles
Vehicle transmission stopped shifting while driving in traffic. Sounded like vehicle couldn't switch gears any longer. This is serious problem and lucky it did not result in an accident. We have kept the vehicle on the proper maintenance schedule. With so many complaints this needs to be a recall.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #239

May 252014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 140,000 miles
Noticed vehicle pulling off sluggish and wasn't shifting gears. When I made it home, I had it checked out and found transmission fluid mixing with the engine coolant. I started searching online for recall and found this is a common problem, but there isn't a recall to fix the issue. I also didn't know they extended the warranty to 80,000 miles to only have the radiator replaced. They to do something to fix the problem and make it right for their customers.

- St. Francisville, LA, USA

problem #238

Apr 012014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 80,900 miles
Radiator developed a crack which leaked into transmission - both had to be replaced. We were told, due to a class action settlement in 2013, we were responsible for a deductible of $2,500 since our vehicle started problem after 80,000 and past March 1, 2014. Did not realize this problem until we took vehicle in, by that time mid April 2014 and at 81,990. This should be a recall.

- West Columbia, SC, USA

problem #237

May 202014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 111,990 miles
Driving down the road, vehicle becomes sluggish. Notice that the temperature begins to rise rapidly. In afternoon work traffic and have difficulty negotiating traffic trying not to break down in the middle of a busy road/intersection at 5:20pm. Vehicle was take to a repair shop where I was informed that the radiator had ruptured, thus sending coolant into the transmission and transmission fluid into the engine. Current estimate is approx $3000.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #236

Apr 032014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 142,692 miles
My truck was shifting really hard for approximately two or three days and I took it to a service shop to have them take a look at it and they found radiator fluid had leaked into the transmission on my truck. I had no idea this was something that was a known issue by Nissan, after doing some research I found that because I didn't meet the strict requirements for them to cover any cost or out of pocket expenses for the repair I had the service center replace the defective radiator only to find that there was damage done to the transmission too, looking at a cost of over $4,500 I was very disappointed with Nissan's lack of commitment to taking care of their customers who were experiencing this issue namely me.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #235

Mar 242014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
Corrosion in radiator parts allowed coolant to contaminate transmission fluid resulting in failure of transmission.

- Edmonds, WA, USA

problem #234

May 062014

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 102,000 miles
Came to stop at light. Tried to accelerate and transmission was not engaging. Eventually was able to put car in 1st gear and transmission engaged. Was able to pull off road. Turned off vehicle and tried to engage any gear. Transmission totally gone.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #233

May 062014

Pathfinder

  • 102,000 miles
Wife was driving home from work. Was in middle lane of traffic stopped at red light. Tried to accelerate but transmission would not engage. Eventually transmission worked for a few seconds. Pulled off road. Inspected vehicle. All gears (including reverse) do not engage. Did some online research this evening and looks like this is a very common problem. Why has there not be a recall for this problem?

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

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