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.
Radiator fluid mixed with my transmission fluid, making the car undriveable. At 65 mph the vehicle began to slow as the RPM's were increasing. The vehicle then slowed to only 40mph, and we barely got the car off the hwy. Then, eventhough in drive, the vehicle would not move; like it was put in neutral. Looked up issue online, and it is another known Nissan recall; but they limit the amount of miles that you can have to receive any reimbursement. Basically, I will get no relief for this known defect. I did get a recall notice but my vehicle was having no issues at that time, and now at 18 months later my vehicle is toast. I will never buy a Nissan again.
Checked the transmission fluid and it was white milky. Had it checked its a problem with the transmission cooler inside the radiator cracking and letting antifreeze get into transmission and it destroys it and it's up to $5000 to fix and lots of lost time and Nissan isn't doing a thing about it. And there are numerous people on the internet with same problem. Nissan should fix this at no cost to the owner !!!!!!!!
Transmission problems that everybody is complaining about has hit me as well. This is really bad that Nissan is not doing anything about. What is there to investigate" I don't understand, are all of these people out of their mind" this must be recalled and recalled fast.
At 40 mph the vehicle would seem like it upshifted to a very high gear and then start to vibrate real bad. We took it in for an analysis and they told us immediately that the two fluids had mixed (trans and coolant).
I purchased my Pathfinder used. With 78,000 miles and within 10 days of having it the transmission dropped completely. Well we took it to the dealer and demanded they make right..they paid our extended warranty never paid for our rental car and never bothered to tell us there was a defect on my vehicle! we were driving and noticed the transmission slipping and the truck vibrating very loud and vigorously when going into 3rd or 4th gear at around 50 mph. But they had told me it was my imagination. Well 10 days from the day I drove it home I guess it wasn't just my imagination because we lost all acceleration power. The truck was running but wouldn't not move. Here I am a year later googling why my truck keeps screwing up and boy what do I find"??" I'm very livid and can't believe that Nissan has decided to fatten their wallets instead of helping it's consumers and making things right. I had a new transmission and new radiator put in. And a year later I'm fighting the same problem all over again. If I'm idle or stay in one spot for a few minutes my truck is over heating and not only that but it's spewing coolant out the reservoir. I have had it in the shop numerous times and no one gives a crap! I was told it was an air pocket and I'm not stupid especially now that I'm reading all the other complaints. This makes me wonder how the government can allow this to continue going on..I can't believe that no help is available to us and we are being screwed royally and our lives in danger because we are forced to drive a dangerous non reliable vehicle!!!!!!! make things right Nissan fix our vehicles or do a recall and give us our money for putting us through [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Scott, LA, USA
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Milky substance appeared in radiator and car smoked and smelled. Took to mechanic and reported failed cooler causing radiator fluid and oil to mix. Resulted in cracked heads as engine overheated. Now transmission has failed. Likely due to engine overheating.
The coolant has mixed up with the transmission fluid, and it is having problems with shifting. I done some research online, and found out that this a major issue with Nissan and they are not willing to fix this issue. It says that there a hose leak issue into the transmission. Now M car is sitting I N my driveway, dead.
I took my vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test and was informed that the coolant from the radiator was leaking into the transmission and vice versa. The service technician stated that this was a known issue with my particular make/model vehicle.
I purchased a used 2007 Nissan Pathfinder with extended warranty for my daughter on 12/28/13. Last week the check engine light came on. She made an appointment, arrived early and 5 hours later was told that a sensor needed to be replaced and suggested that she take it to a Nissan dealer as they had equipment specific to Nissan vehicles and her warranty covers the work at any dealership. She asked if the vehicle was safe to drive and was told yes. She drove two miles to a Nissan dealer spent another 2 hours there while they ran their own diagnostic tests. They determined that there was cross contamination in the radiator. Not only did her radiator need to be replaced but so did her transmission. She was further told that her vehicle was unsafe to drive. The called the warranty company who indicated that the radiator wasn't covered and therefore the transmission wasn't covered as it was caused by the radiator. My daughter drove back to auto nation again and asked to speak to the general manager. She was told he wasn't in and the used car sales manager would speak to her. I left work and went over to help her. I also asked for the general manager, was asked what it was about, I said I would prefer speaking directly to the GM and was told the same thing as my daughter. The used car sales manager reluctantly agreed to replace the radiator and flush the transmission twice he indicated that would solve the problem. She picked up the SUV today and 2 blocks later the check engine light came on. She went back to auto nation and was told by the used car manager that there was no way he was paying $3500 to replace the transmission. He told her to just drive with the check engine light on. This is so wrong! to send a 22 year old off in an unsafe vehicle. This was apparently a known issue on this make/model & year. Nissan even extended the warranties because of the issue.
While driven in normal conditions on a highway at approximately 60 M/H it start to loose speed, the transmission won`T shift back to third speed from fourth, when it need it, no overheating where indicated by the heat indicator just the lock of power, car need to be towed to my house.
Radiator transmission cooler failure allowed cross contamination between transmission fluid and antifreeze.the resulting lack of lubrication and electrical conductivity of antifreeze caused electrical and mechanical transmission failure.
Vehicle started out shifting hard and changing gears hard. When vehicle was put in reverse and/or driver, it started sputtering as if it was about to shut off. The vehicle was also very sluggish when hitting the accelerator. The vehicle was brought to the mechanic to diagnose the problem and I was advised that the transmission oil had mixed with the coolant in the radiator, causing coolant to be in my transmission fluid and transmission fluid in my radiator. I was advised that this was a common problem with my vehicle type that Nissan was aware of, but only offered an extended warranty to 100,000 miles. If Nissan is aware of the defect in their parts, they should be made to pay for the repairs that this defect has caused and not put the burden on the backs of their customers. I will never purchase another Nissan vehicle and will tell everyone that I know not to purchase a Nissan.
While driving the truck normally, in the morning, I came to a stop at a stoplight. Once the light turned green I pressed the pedal to accelerate and the truck was slow to respond (as if it was in a higher gear to start) once it was up to about 20mph it drove decent enough. I came to another stop and it happened again, same as before, and the check engine light came on. I was stopping at a school to drop kids off and turned into a spot and turned off the truck. It would not turn back on when attempted. I checked the diagnostic codes and came up with U1000, U1001, P0717. I had to tow it away from the parking lot a couple days later. Once I was able to check the truck out, I found a substantial amount of transmission fluid (frothed) in the coolant. I read that this is due to the internal radiator transmission cooler failing and mixing the coolant with the transmission fluid. I also found that the reason for the truck not starting was that the 10A fuse for the A/T ECU blew. I have replaced the radiator, flushed the cooling system, and am about to take a sample of the transmission fluid to see if there is coolant in the transmission before I talk to a repair facility about repairing the transmission.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the vehicle shifted erratically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that radiator fluid was entering the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage and VIN was not available.
Had cross contamination of coolant and transmission fluid. Nissan garage discovered this after I took to the shop for something completely unrelated. For some reason the garage never checked for this or mentioned the class action suit when my vehicle was under 100,000 miles. I had to pay $5,000 and could not recover anything from the class action, as my vehicle has 112,000 miles. I still owe on it! there should have been a recall, but Nissan decided to extend the warranty and save a ton of money, knowing that this issue would frequently occur after 100,000 miles. We as consumers, are driving around like fools, thinking that our vehicles are reliable and safe.
The fluids of the radiator and transmission mixed. 3 mechanics and a Nissan dealer said its a known issue between 2005~2007. And no recalls we're being issued. I had a diagnostic test done at antwerpen Nissan done when my Pathfinder was running. I have had a 95 sentry, I have a 09 versa, I have talked my mother in law into a Nissan Altima, as well as my step mom. My husband has talked a couple of his co workers into a Nissan also. I want to know why there has been no recalls on a "well kept secret" as that is what I was told.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Milton, FL, USA