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.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that after attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated to move. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the radiator fluid had leaked in the transmission. No repairs were made and the vehicle became inoperable after some time. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000. Updated 12/01/14
At acceleration or while driving at lower speeds the transmission shudders, I am aware of a poorly settled class action lawsuit, however it does nothing to protect vehicles above 100,000 miles. The radiator is documented for cracking and leaking coolant into the transmission. This is my first vehicle purchase and I can assure you I will never purchase a Nissan product again, I realize all vehicles break down however Nissan was aware of the common problem and continued to disregard the value of their brand by neglecting to recall and repair this common failure.
Transmission fluid and radiator fluid mixing somewhere along the transmission coolant route, causing extensive damage to the transmission. Required replacement of both major items.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. When the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate and idled highly. The contact stated that radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission. The dealer stated that the radiator and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
Have experiences shudder while driving over last few months. On date of incident, I pulled over after one such shudder, then continued and had no torque but was able to proceed, as if lower gears were no longer working. This issue continued while accelerating after every stop light and sign. Got home (with sick child) and shut down vehicle. Tried to start 30 minutes later and would not restart. Towed to mechanic.
Vehicle brought in for oil change at the Nissan dealer where purchased and serviced. Told that my transmission was suspect, may need to be replaced due to cross contamination of coolant and atf. Dealer would not address the problem.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle shook violently. The contact released the accelerator pedal and had to accelerate again very slowly. The failure occurred multiple times. In addition, the air bag warning indicator was constantly illuminated. An independent mechanic stated that there was cross contamination with transmission fluid leaking into the radiator and coolant entering the transmission. As a result, the transmission failed. The radiator was replaced and flushed; however, the failure persisted and the radiator had to be continuously flushed of transmission fluid. Additionally, the contact asked the dealer if the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 08V690000 (air bags), but the dealer stated that the recall was nonexistent. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
The transmission began to slip and the radiator fluid overflow cannister started to expel a purple liquid. Car was found to have a cracked transmission cooling tube in the base of the radiator and the antifreeze had mixed with the transmission fluid. Found out on line that this is a very common problem that Nissan refuses to acknowledge as a defect. Radiator replaced and cooling system flushed along with the required transmission flushing and fluid replacement. Repairs became very expensive. Only hope transmission doesn't fail next.
Transmission on the Pathfinder was very rough shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. We returned it to a dealer, who said it needed a new transmission. It seems that this has been a very common problem, and it seemed the company should have done more to remedy the problem than just hoping the newest extended warranties ran out before the cars needed repairs.
Discovered a small pool of purple liquid under front left tire of my 2007 Nissan Pathfinder in the garage yesterday. Thought that must not be good, so I started doing some research online. Behold, discovered it was most likely a radiator leak and most likely leaked into transmission as well. Took the vehicle in today, and my concerns were confirmed. Radiator replacement = $800. Transmission is working normally right now, but from what I can tell the damage may already be done and its only a matter of time before catastrophic transmission failure +$4000. The issue I have with this whole situation is Nissan is very aware of this defect, yet did not issue a recall. All they did was extend radiator/transmission warranty. This warranty does not apply to my vehicle being over 100K miles. All Nissan had to do was issue a recall, fix the defective radiator (probably a $500 fix for them) instead, they ignored it, and the customer is stuck with a $5000 fix they did not even see coming due to them not notifying us about it. I am not pleased.
While driving on the highway we were intermittently losing power in the mountains leading to unsafe conditions due to mismatched speeds compared to the surrounding traffic.
I have a 2007 Pathfinder with 79,541 mile I have the same problem alot of people on this site has with the radiator leaking into the transmission, I took it to the dealership for a oil change and they told me I have a radiator creak that leaking into my transmission and its dangerous to drive I cant drive it at all and they have to replace the radiator and transmission because it has a mix of color like brown so they told me they going to order the part I ask them for a rental car because I was going on vacation until my truck get fix they said they was going to try to get me one that was on June 30th and on Thursday July 3th they call me to pick up my truck because the engine light didn't come on so they want me to drive it until the engine light go on, remember a few days ago they told me not to drive it because it was dangerous to drive I think they want me to drive so it can go over the 8 years / 80,000 mile warranty and pay a copay of $2,500 and I really don't have that money and I'm still paying for the truck they want me to take it out of they dealership like that, I'm scare to drive it I have a daughter and my dog I take with me and scare something its going to happen to us please help me anyone thank you
I am a very loyal Nissan/Pathfinder owner. I'm on my second Pathfinder and always have my beloved 2007 serviced regularly at the puyallup Nissan dealership. Because I rely on my vehicle for work, I make sure to keep it current with all recommended services over the life of the vehicle. Until recently, ive been an extremely satisfied Pathfinder owner. Now, I am quite upset that a known defective radiator notice I received approximately a year ago, advised to do nothing if experiencing no problems, but now that I'm over the limit of 100K miles (115K), and experiencing the known radiator defect issue, I am now on the hook for the entire repair cost ($5000). I've researched the issue which can be summarized at www.nissanproblems.com/problems/transmission.shtml what does the miles matter" does Nissan's obligation to their product and customer disappear after 100K miles? why didn't Nissan recommend replacing the radiators, as a preventative measure" further research of testimonials from other Nissan owners experiencing the same issue, suggests that the radiator problem seemed to typically occur after 100,000 miles anyways. So how is it that Nissan is ok with leaving their customer holding on to the (crud) end of the stick? I sure hope I am reimbursed for the hefty bill some way some day. (I've not yet pulled the trigger on having the repairs done, as I have been contemplating trading in and giving the problem back to the dealer, but how will this affect the trade in value, and if Nissan's past reputation is diminishing, why do I want to trade in for another Nissan. My passion for Pathfinders has suddenly dropped considerably...time for a new brand maybe.....:-((((( very disgruntled Pathfinder owner, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
When the car reaches speed of 45 mph, it begins to jerk and vibrate and a loud noise starts. If I press the overdrive button to turn it off, the car smoothes out. If I do not turn the overdrive off, once I lower speed or accelerate, it stops vibrating. Diagnosis from mechanic is coolant has leaked into my transmission fluid. Car should have new radiator and transmission put in.
Transmission failed, had to replace transmission, radiator, motherboard for computer inside transmission and had to have locksmith reprogram security system.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Baltimore, MD, USA