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:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
103,399 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.
Vehicle began to vibrate at speeds of approx 45 mph. Over a short period of time, the condition worsened - the vibrations became more aggressive and began to occur at higher speeds. After investigation by Nissan, they advised that there was an issue with the radiator and possibly transmission that was no longer under warranty because I was outside of the 100,000 mile limit. The coolant is leaking into the transmission fluid cooler line and ultimately right into the transmission, thereby causing damage that may or may not be repaired with a new radiator and transmission. Apparently, this is a know issue with these vehicles and Nissan neglected to alert consumers. At this time, the vehicle is inoperable.
Nissan refuses to fully cover the repair/replacement of a faulty radiator and transmission. Nissan is currently under investigation for this neglect and is stalling on recalling the vehicles. Nissan extended a warranty leaving the burden of $3,000 deductible for the consumer. This is an appalling and sad excuse of customer service - the vehicles did not meet quality control and it is disgusting to have the customer put out that much money for a problem that existed before the vehicle left the dealership.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that after shifting into drive, the vehicle accelerated without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The vehicle did not stop despite the contact applying both the brake pedal and emergency brake, and the vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle. The contact was not injured and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the incident. The approximate failure mileage was 111,000.
The trucks transmission slipped while I was merging onto the highway. The truck didn't want to move. It was very scary. I had the whole family with me.
Was hearing noise from the engine, dealer diagnosed as timing chain guides bad, said this was a "known" problem with this model. 3 weeks after fixing was going to work and the transmission went out, was advised by dealer that coolant had leaked into the fluid from a faulty radiator design on this model...estimated 6000+ for repairs. These are known issues with this model Nissan and the company has offered zero help with correcting this.
- Durham, NC, USA
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At approx 50K miles there was a clunking sound when putting into gear, short time period later a coolant smell. Then the transmission was slipping. Finally there is a heavy vibration when shifting or accelerating and the car does not warm up when sitting idle.
Car purchased in Sept of 2013, was speeding up from a stop at about 10 mph and the transmission started to slip. It has done it more than once, about 2 weeks ago I was crossing the railroad tracks and it shuttered and jerk, finally getting over them which was extremely scary with my 9 and 2 year old in the car with me. This past week the car has over heated 3 times. The last time leaving me stranded in -5 degrees temperature with my 9 year old daughter. I have since had to borrow a car seeing this Nissan is putting my family in danger every time we drive it. Since it was just purchased with 79,000 I still owe on the vehicle which is extremely upsetting. I have done research since and have see several people with the same problems. I will be taking the vehicle to the dealer this week to clarify this is the same issue as all the others. What upsets me even more is the car was sold to me from a Nissan dealer with 79,000 miles and was never mentioned to me of the extended 80,000 miles warranty, since then I have exceeded the 80,000 and am required to pay for this problem that should clearly be a recall. If there was still a warranty at 79,000 why wasn't this issue fixed by the dealer!!! please do all you can to help all these poor families out there!! thank you
Vehicle has not been warming up for about 2 weeks, never thought it was anything serious, thought it would be a heating coil or something, took it to the dealer on 1/3/14 to get an oil change and for them to look at the problem and the technician came back and said "oh you need a transmission and radiator bring the car back on Tuesday" like it was something common. Just looked into the complaints did not know this was a common issue with the vehicles, needless to say this will be my last Nissan. I purchased a extended warranty which they did ask me, however I did not know about the class action suit that would have covered the issue until today 1/8/14.
My wife was driving with kids in the vehicle when power in the transmission when to nothing then sporadically started working and not. She intelligently was able to avoid an accident and get the vehicle to a side road in a boat ramp parking area where the vehicle would not run in any gear. I was called and made aware of the situation and called my parents to pick then up for this was our only vehicle of transportation. After work my dad, uncle and I had the vehicle towed to our home where it has set since. Due to finding out that Nissan already had a class action lawsuit over this and the ruling with the mileage on my vehicle does not fall into any compensation or assistance to be fixed though the vehicle is only six years old. Just don't understand how transmission failure on a busy road does not constitute a safety recall. My understanding of issue doesn't seem to be mileage related as much as time of the problem to happen.
I was on expressway, driving approximately 60-65 miles per hour and without warning car lost all its ability to accelerate or maintain speed. Car engine would rev when you pressed on the accelerator but the car would not respond. Vehicles behind me had to hit on there brakes and go around me as I attempted to steer vehicle to the side of the expressway. Once vehicle came to a stop, my transmission would not engage in any gear leaving me stranded. I had to have vehicle towed to my home. I was informed by Nissan that engine coolant had leaked into my transmission and ruined my transmission. I have since found out this is a common problem on Nissan Pathfinders and the cost to repair vehicle is between 4 and 5 thousand dollars.
When driving aprx 40-45 mph, transmission sounds as if I was hitting rumble strips. I lose power. I have been told it could be due to a coolant leak into the transmission. After reviewing this site, I noticed many other problems and an investigation started almost a year ago....please get this defect recalled!!!
The vehicle vibrated and shuttered and ceased to move. I was in traffic and luckily had a place to pull over. I had the vehicle towed to the local Nissan dealership. After a discussion and diagnosis by the technician and shop foreman it was determined that the transmission and the radiator had crossed contamination of fluids resulting in the transmission becoming inoperable and requiring the transmission and radiator be replaced. The shop foreman stated that Nissan knew about this defect in the radiator and the resulting problems. I am waiting to find out if Nissan will help with repair cost. I was told by the shop foreman that the cost to replace the transmission and radiator would be approximately $8,000..
Cracked radiator allowed coolant to leak into transmission so not knowing Nissan was having this problem we had a new radiator installed and the cooling system and transmission flushed out mileage at this time was 79290 now 4 months later the transmission is shot and need a new one mileage now 83158 since the mileage is above 80000 Nissan will not fix the car under there extended warranty and wants me to dole out 2500.00$. if I would have known Nissan was having problems with there transmissions I would have taken my car to a Nissan authorized service center the first time.
The truck begin to shift hard and ride as if on grooves in the road. At time you would have to remove your feet from the gas several times to stop the vibration. The truck would jerk while driving or excel very fast without warning. After months of this the check engine soon light came on 11/19/13. I took the truck into the Nissan dealer to find out what the problem was. They came back with a estimated investment: Transmission, radiator, matic S coolant. No codes or issues that were wrong and at the bottom a grand total of $5047.33. I was told the radiator coolant leaked into the transmission causing it to go bad. He said the coolant damages all the inner parts through corrosion. I thought while all the reports I have read about online about the 2006-2010 models Nissan is happening to me. So what do I do pay a fortune to fix a defect that Nissan has known about since 2007 and haven't recalled to fix them in a car I just bought a year ago, that is no where being paid off. We need some help with this there are complaints from nc to Canada. This is not occurring in vehicles under warranty or extended warranty but in cars that are over the mileage. They told me the transmission pressure was to much. It is a SUV with power they should be made to pay for this.
The vehicle was traveling on I-95 during rush hour traffic, the vehicle was traveling at stop and go speeds due to traffic congestion and when the operator wanted to accelerate, the vehicle did not respond. It took various tries before it was able to move and placed on the curb. After that the vehicle started to respond again but at limited speeds and was able to barely made it back home at very slow speeds. It was then taken to an auto repair shop and it was determined that the transmission was failing. It has been further determined that there is a contamination of transmission and radiator fluids / coolants and a total transmission failure may be possible. The vehicle has not been in operation since this was discovered and we are evaluating options for repair, up to and including total replacement of the power-train and radiator. After investigating this possible failure I was able to find that this appears to be a fairly common manufacturer defect but I can not find any recall notices. This was a very disturbing incident and thankfully no one was hurt, but the transmission failure occurring in the middle of I-95 could have resulted in crash due to the sudden deceleration of the vehicle. I'm looking for guidance on how this can be taken to the manufacturer so they can take care of this obvious factory defect. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Radiator failed (product defect, no accident or external causes) and leaked into the transmission, effectively destroying it. Had to get both radiator and transmission replaced. Symptoms started with shuddering during shifting, which led to rough shifting, gear slippage, check-engine light, and eventually the car not even starting.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the vehicle vibrated and jerked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated the transmission needed T be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.
I was driving my Pathfinder down the highway and when I reached 40 mph, it began to hesitate as if the overdrive was not working. As I gave it more gas, it stopped. It has gradually gotten worse to the point that anywhere from 40 to 50 mph, the vehicle is hesitating unless you either slow to below 40 or speed up to above 50. I took it to the Nissan dealer and he stated that the transmission fluid was mixing with the coolant, which means that I must pay to have my transmission replaced or purchase a new vehicle! I have since heard that there have been many reports of this same issue. My vehicle has gone out of warranty, but, if this is an issue that has been known for quite some time (years) as I have researched, then I believe Nissan should have to cover the cost of replacement. Why was there not a recall on the issue, which could have been fixed easily instead of having to replace the whole thing at the owners expense! I also realize that at any moment my vehicle could stop in the middle of the road, which could cause injury or even death to me or my family.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fredericksburg, VA, USA