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.

2007 Nissan Pathfinder drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2007 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 15 of 17)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #46

Dec 012011

Pathfinder

  • 78,000 miles

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

Vehicle jerks violently at 50 mph and 70mph. Multiple incidents where vehicle has lost all acceleration power in freeway. Near missed accidents. Valve body is flooded and vehicle does not start anymore.

- Daly City, CA, USA

problem #45

Aug 012011

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
While driving on the highway, I felt my transmission seem to shift very roughly into overdrive, and usually occurred between 40 and 50 mph. Over the course of about a year, it continued the behavior off and on, until it began to do it daily and I took it to the shop. It was diagnosed as having had antifreeze leak into the transmission due to the oil cooler lines cracking, a common problem with Nissan Pathfinders, and other Nissan vehicles of my model year. There was metal in the transmission pan which signifies that a rebuild is inevitable, all due to the mixing of antifreeze in the transmission. The radiator must also be replaced due to the mixing of transmission fluid, as the mechanics found the "milky" substance, typically associated with the mixing of water and transmission fluid in the radiator. So far, I have been quoted approximately 6,300 dollars for a repair job on this vehicle.

- Rosharon, TX, USA

problem #44

Mar 032012

Pathfinder

  • 122,123 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the vehicle began to jerk and shimmy abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the radiator malfunctioned and leaked anti-freeze into the transmission. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where they also advised that the radiator failed and was leaking anti-freeze into the transmission. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages was 122,123.

- Shirley, AR, USA

problem #43

Oct 252012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 89,000 miles

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

After pulling out of the driveway, I felt the transmission acting sluggish. Thinking it was glitch, pulled into a 50mph street and almost got hit from behind due to the vehicle not picking up speed. Took it to the dealership to have it checked out and they informed me that the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. Because I had exceeded my warranty they wanted to charge me $9,900 dollars to repair. I looked online and saw that other people had a similar problem. I called the ed hicks Nissan dealership back and informed them of this research. They stated that my problem was a different one so the Nissan extended warranty they offered would not cover it. This is clearly a defect that Nissan should pay for, as I have done all scheduled maintenance.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #42

Dec 152010

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 80,414 miles
2007 Nissan Pathfinder radiator defect causing leak of coolant into transmission fluid and resulting in transmission/radiator complete damage, undetected by dealer service for 30,000 miles. Problem detected with opening of investigation. Nissan requires co-pay of $2,500 even though complaints occurred previous to 80K miles and when problem detected, was 414 miles over requiring a significant amount of money for a known defect.

- Lexington, KY, USA

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problem #41

Oct 122012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 100,433 miles
I was driving at 30 mph and the Nissan Pathfinder 2007 start making a noise in the motor like when you have the car in 1 but it was on drive, then the service engine soon alarm appear. I parked the car but when turning on again it didn't. the dealer said that the radiator coolant damage transmission and the computer because was damaged. The estimated cost of the repair was $9,400.

- Humacao, PR, USA

problem #40

Jan 102011

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 24,500 miles

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

A vibration occurs at about 1500 RPM. At the time my car had about 24000 miles on it. I took the car to a transmission shop and they told me my torque converter was going out. I took the car to a Nissan dealer and they told me that there was something wrong but that they could not figure out what it was and therefore it was not covered under the power train warranty. It is now 54000 miles and the car would not go into reverse very easily. I again took it to a transmission shop and they told me the transmission oil was as black as motor oil. They said the transmission needed to be replaced. I then took it to the dealer and, same story, they said it needed to be replaced but it is out of warranty by three months. They again said there was something wrong with the transmission but they could not determine what it was. Even though I made the complaint almost two years ago, they told me it was not covered by the powertrain warranty as the vehicle is now out of warranty. There is quite a litany of complaints on the internet about transmission failures from Nissan products. I am obviously quite upset and dissatisfied. I will never buy another Nissan product.

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #39

Sep 102012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 85,042 miles
The transmission slips at various speed levels. The dealership inspected and determined that the transmission cooler failed and damaged transmission through cross contamination. The vehicle manufacturer knows that this problem exists but the warranty is only extended to 80,000 miles but the problems in most cases show up after 80,000 miles.

- Covington, WA, USA

problem #38

Sep 192012

Pathfinder

  • 91,000 miles
I started having a sudden jerking in my 2007 Nissan Pathfinder when driving down the highway. When I took it into a Nissan dealer they diagnosed the problem as a failure with the radiator internally and externally which allowed leaking coolant into my transmission fluid causing both radiator and transmission failure. The dealer now states that I need to replace both items or trade it in..... come on Nissan you have a major problem. We need a recall.......

- Baxter, MN, USA

problem #37

Sep 202012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 97,000 miles
Radiator defect leaked coolant into the transmission caused transmission to fail; will need a new radiator and transmission because of this known defect in the radiator. Also, engine timing chain defects in 2005-2010 Pathfinders. Repairs are set to be $12,000 - which is more than the value of the vehicle.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #36

Sep 102012

Pathfinder

  • 104,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle began to make a rumbling noise. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who replaced the universal joint. Two days later the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated that the transmission and the radiator needed to be replaced due to a hose that malfunction mixing fluids coming from both. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 104,000.

- Hillsgrove, PA, USA

problem #35

Sep 142012

Pathfinder

  • 85,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway when all of a sudden I heard a thud and lost power, had to go over 2 lanes without being hit.... I took it to the shop and the mechanic new excactly what the problems was. Radiotor fluid getting into the transmission causing it to fail... hundreds of Nissan Pathfinder owners are having this problem. Tell Nissan to recall this now before someone gets killed.. shouldnt have to pay $8000 for Nissan crappy work..

- Waipahu, HI, USA

problem #34

Nov 232011

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 79,000 miles
Nissan has extended the warranty on this issue (transmission and radiator} and when I contacted them they said it had to be checked by a Nissan dealer. I had to have it towed 250 miles away to the nearest dealership at my own expense, wait 2 and a half weeks for them to tell me because I bought it used (not new} they decided that they can not cover it under the warranty. So a used vehicle has no warranty? now I have to pay the dealership and have it towed back at my expense another $375, this is wrong on all levels and should be covered they should not be allowed to take advantage of people like this. There has been so many complaints about these vehicle's losing power in traffic, on the highways and how they barely avoided getting into major accident's. I know that the New York times has done up an article about this and I think if we can bail out the auto industry even though Nissan did not take a bail out we should make them accountable for their defects or do we have to wait till someone dies because of these defects before someone makes them accountable. I paid a lot of money for this Pathfinder, first GM burned me very badly and now Nissan. Please please.... someone needs to do something about this. "pleading for your help" thank you

- Caribou, ME, USA

problem #33

Aug 292012

Pathfinder

  • 160,000 miles
My Pathfinder was should have been slowing from the speed of as I was braking and letting off the gas, but it kept moving forward and shaking. If there was a car in front of me I would have hit them hard. My transmission would not shift down to slow down, due to radiator leaking into transmission. The cost of my repair of both radiator and transmission is over $5000.

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #32

Jan 182012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 104,000 miles
My wife was driving my 8th grade son and his basketball team to middle school game. She was on the freeway going 65 mph, when she felt the car jerk and then start to lose speed, the engine was still running but the car had slipped out of gear. She had no power and luckily she had room to coast to the shoulder. We took the car to the dealer the next day they diagnosed the problem as transmission failure due to radiator fluid in the transmission. We replaced the radiator and coolant lines and flushed the transmission, and it ran fine for a few months. But the check engine light came back on last month, we took it in and now they tell us that we have to replace the transmission. Please investigate this issue with the Nissan Pathfinder, frontier and xterra. It seems to be more and more of a common issue with Nissan owners and Nissan is not doing anything to repair this very serious and costly problem. I just got an estimate on Tuesday (9/4/12) for $9459 worth of repairs to the transmission and the radiator. I bought the car new from Nissan, and it now has 110,502 miles.

- Gilroy, CA, USA

problem #31

Aug 022012

Pathfinder

  • 92,000 miles
While driving down the highway my husband and I experienced loss of power and had to pull onto the side of the road. We were towed from there to the mechanic who explained to us that the internal radiator had leaked fluid into the transmission causing failure to both. Since our warranty was outdated we are now out 6000$ and are struggling to fix this. I am very frustrated and disappointed in the vehicle. We had our children with and I am very glad that we were not at a busy intersection or interstate.

- Marne, IA, USA

problem #30

Jul 052012

Pathfinder

  • miles
2007 Nissan Pathfinder. Consumer writes in regards to transmission and radiator problems the consumer stated the repairs totaled $ $3,399.10. Updated 11/05/12

- Country Club Hills, IL, USA

problem #29

Aug 202012

Pathfinder

  • 82,470 miles
While driving my 2007 Nissan Pathfinder SE, I encountered a hesitation of transmission functionality while making a left hand turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic. As I proceeded to accelerate through the left turn, the transmission seemed to slip and would not get out of first gear. Subsequently, my service engine soon light came on. The next day, I took the vehicle to the local autoexpress to have the odb-II code retrieved, I was informed that they could not read it as it was a dealer specific code. I left and went right to my local Nissan dealer who informed me that a part of the radiator had broken and the car was now mixing antifreeze with transmission fluid. They informed me that both the radiator and transmission had to be replaced at a cost of $9200, the dealer suggested that I call Nissan as I was just 2000 miles over the warranty. After countless calls to the call center in the phillipines and the regional office in Ohio, I was basically told that there was nothing they could do for me, they stated that because there were no records of maintenance being done at the selling dealership, I was out of luck. We purchased this vehicle brand new and it is a fully loaded model. The plan was to drive this to the 200K miles that Nissan has been pitched to commonly achieve. Instead, I have a car in the driveway that I cant drive, I still owe $4700 on it, and it will cost me $9L just to make it useful again. Nissan should be ashamed of themselves. It will not be until someone dies that any recall action will happen. Nissan has chased away a life-long loyal customer.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

problem #28

Jun 012011

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 88,000 miles
Wife first noticed a vibration on her way home from school with our daughters. Became progressively worse over time. I had tires, bearings, etc checked. No problems found with any of those. Looked online and discovered that a lot of Pathfinder owners were having transmission problems. Checked coolant and found that it had in fact mixed with transmission fluid. I switched the lines from the transmission to trans cooler and radiator to prevent further contamination, and flushed radiator/replaced coolant. Also had transmission flushed/fluid changed. The vibration is still present, as I don't have $5000 + for a new transmission/radiator.

- Gaffney, SC, USA

problem #27

Aug 272012

Pathfinder 6-cyl

  • 75,600 miles
I was on busy 495 highway in Maryland with my family, all of a sudden my 2007 Nissan Pathfinder stopped accelerating, and there was a big truck behind me on high speed, my wife and kids started shouting when they saw the big truck almost ran us over. I had towed the Nissan Pathfinder to the dealer, only to be told that it's a transmission problem and might cost me more than $6,000 to fix. I got this vehicle brand new from Nissan in 2007, and only have about 75,000 miles on it. A used car that I bought with 105,000 miles on it, and topped it with another 65,000 miles, making it 170,000 miles is still running good! someone out there needs to shout out that Nissan needs to recall their vehicles with transmission issues before they waste people's lives via accidents.

- Laurel, MD, USA

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