CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005-2007 Xterra 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.
The same defect exists in the Pathfinder & Frontier as well. And 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:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
102,852 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.
First incident occurred in April 2011 - while driving the transmission began to fail and would not shift. I had to have the vehicle towed because it would not drive faster than about 15-20 mph. The Nissan dealership diagnosed the problem as "internal fault in valve body" and replaced the valve body. This incident cost me $1568 and a week without a vehicle; went in to dealership on 4/20 and I picked it up on 4/27. Second incident occurred in June 2012 - while driving with my kids in the vehicle, on a busy street, the transmission began to fail again and would not shift. Once again, the vehicle would not drive faster than about 20 mph. This time I had the vehicle towed to a local transmission repair shop. The diagnosis was "fluid is full, but is black and burnt, dipstick for the trans is crusty looking..." the transmission shop rebuilt the transmission and replaced all faulty parts, including the valve body. This incident cost me $3865 and eleven days without a vehicle; went in to transmission shop on 6/15 and I picked it up on 6/26. In fourteen months, I have had transmission failure and have had to replace the valve body each time, a very expensive part. It is simply unacceptable that the manufacturer patches the vehicle, instead of fixing it, not to mention charges the owner for their defect.
First incident occurred in April 2011 - while driving the transmission began to fail and would not shift. I had to have the vehicle towed because it would not drive faster than about 15-20 mph. The Nissan dealership diagnosed the problem as "internal fault in valve body" and replaced the valve body. This incident cost me $1568 and a week without a vehicle; went in to dealership on 4/20 and I picked it up on 4/27. Second incident occurred in June 2012 - while driving with my kids in the vehicle, on a busy street, the transmission began to fail again and would not shift. Once again, the vehicle would not drive faster than about 20 mph. This time I had the vehicle towed to a local transmission repair shop. The diagnosis was "fluid is full, but is black and burnt, dipstick for the trans is crusty looking..." the transmission shop rebuilt the transmission and replaced all faulty parts, including the valve body. This incident cost me $3865 and eleven days without a vehicle; went in to transmission shop on 6/15 and I picked it up on 6/26. In fourteen months, I have had transmission failure and have had to replace the valve body each time, a very expensive part. It is simply unacceptable that the manufacturer patches the vehicle, instead of fixing it, not to mention charges the owner for their defect.
A Nissan faulty radiator (original equipment) caused antifreeze to mix with transmission fluid slowly deteriorating the components of the powertrain/transmission of the vehicle. Nissan has acknowledged and agree to replacement costs or repair to the faulty radiator and to its potential harm to the transmission but refuses to acknowledge or warranty the eroded transmission caused by the defective radiator.
I am the original owner of a 2005 Nissan Xterra. I have had all repairs and services done at dealership and had an extended warranty until approx 94K miles. I brought Xterra to dealership in August 2011 for service and was advised at that time that I had complete transmission failure but not to worry because it was under warranty. The transmission was replaced and they were never able to tell me why the transmission failed in the first place. I had a warranty on the new transmission for 12K miles to approx 104K miles. I brought my Xterra to dealership in May 2012 for jerking at approx 105K miles, just past the new transmission warranty. I was advised that I had an inter cooler leak where coolant was mixing with my transmission fluid and that the problem could not be repaired that I would have to "junk" my Xterra. I was assured however that I did not have anything wrong with the new transmission. Nissan flushed all my fluids at a cost of $254, told me to drive the Xterra as much as I could for the next three weeks and bring it back to them and then they would confirm if that in fact was the problem. I talked to several mechanics including two Nissan mechanics and was told that I would not have to "junk" the Xterra that I would have to replace the radiator and transmission and not to drive the truck until it was repaired. I was also advised to contact Nissan North America. I contacted Nissan and they told me after there investigation that I was too far out of warranty and there was nothing they could or would do to assist me financially in repairing the damage. I am also aware that Nissan knew about there defective radiators and there is a class action lawsuit against them for this exact problem.
- North Las Vegas, NV, USA
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Transmission locked up on highway. Evidently engine coolant had gotten into the transmission by way of failure of the radiator. Could have been killed...
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission, causing the transmission to seize. In addition, the cooling system failed. The radiator and the transmission were repaired by a local mechanic but the cooling system was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,000 and the current mileage was 131,000.
Nissan's 2005 Xterra has a major flaw in its cooling system and transmission. Apparently the coolant in the radiator leaks into the transmission causing the transmission to fail. This is very expensive as the radiator and the transmission have to be replaced. Flushing the system is not enough. This should have been recalled and repaired by Nissan before the problem became costly. Apparently Nissan has known about this for some time. This is disgraceful.
Driving on a busy road the X-terra stopped moving forward. Pushed the vehicle into a parking lot. Insurance company towed it to the dealership. They investigated and found a fluid contamination between the radiator and transmission. Spent $5300 to get it fixed. This is apparently a known problem. I expect the transmission to eventually fail, but not at 113K miles. But, I think this is something else - a design/flaw. The web is full of transmission complaints for a 2005 Nissan Xterra, as well as a class action lawsuit.
My wife was driving home from the grocery store when her Nissan Xterra would not shift out of first gear (it's an automatic). She had to drive home in first gear and keep it under 15 mph. The dealership informed us that the faulty radiator leaked coolant into the transmission causing a transmission failure. This is apparently a widely known issue with Nissan, but we were unaware of it until this occurred. Nissan is aware that the radiators in this model have been known to leak into the transmission, but they never notified my wife (she's the original owner) or else we would've taken steps to prevent this from happening. Thank god she wasn't on the highway when this happened. This issue needs to be taken more seriously before someone ends up in a fatal collision as a result. Even though my wife suffered no physical harm, we're now facing a $6100 repair bill.
I've noticed recently that my Xterra started shuddering while cruising at highway speeds, and has been shaking while shifting between gears. Additionally, there was a specific occasion where my vehicle stopped accelerating while merging onto the highway. When I took it to a local Nissan dealership for to fix a separate recall notice, I was told that my transmission fluid had mixed with my coolant, which meant that I would need to replace both my transmission and radiator.
Transmission failed while trying to accelerate across an intersection almost causing me to be hit by on coming cars. Nissan is aware of the problems with these cars and has not recalled. I feel this is poor business and will result in loss of life!
The contact owns 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact was driving 45 mph when the vehicle started to shake. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 99,000 and the current mileage was 110,000.
While driving my Xterra I started to notice it shuddering and vibrating while driving to work. This was getting worse so I brought it in to be looked at and they new what it was from the moment I drove in. They told me it was my transmissions and they have fixed multiple Xterras with this problem. So naturally the warranty has expired so my cost is $3800.
As with most of the 2nd generation Xterras, my radiator failed causing coolant to mix with transmission fluid. This causes the transmission to seize up and/or an inability to shift. I first felt shuddering while shifting into 4th (automatic transmission). I immediately recognized a problem and and began driving to my mechanic. I entered the freeway and found myself unable to get out of 1st or 2nd gear - I could not drive faster than 20 miles per hour with traffic traveling at 65+ and no shoulder. This is a serious safety issue. Nissan has acknowledged the problem and extended their warranty to 80,000 miles but apparently this issue happens between 85K and 100K typically (my issue came to light at around 95,000). I was in serious danger on the highway and this is not an isolated incident by any means.
Went to pull out into traffic and experienced tranny slipping. I was very lucky not to be involved in an accident. Check engine light came on took my vehicle to the dealership and they told me what was wrong and that they have been seeing this problem more and more frequently. It would seem Nissan is aware of the manufacturing defect in the radiator which causes fluid to leak into the tranny thereby slowly destroying the transmission, they offered an extended warrant to 80,000 miles but thru research I have discovered that this problem does not manifest itself until around 100,000 miles. I was never contacted by Nissan about this issue and there is no recall but hundreds of complaints. It is obvious that if Nissan does not resolve this issue there are going to be accidents and maybe even deaths related to this manufacturing defect.
Total transmission failure after engine coolant floods transmission, causing vehicle to lurch and stop. Incurred repair costs at dealership of $5,968.89. Nissan is aware of this problem on 2005 Xterras, but failed to inform owners to replace faulty radiators which causes the transmission failure. Nissan secretly extended the power train warranty to 80,000 miles because of this problem (owners not informed), but the transmission failure associated with this issue does not occur until after 80,000 miles. One website, caromplaints.com, as 23 pages of complaints from 2005 Xterra owners documenting this issue. Ref: www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Xterra/2005/transmission/radiator_causes_transmission_failure.shtmlnissan refuses to reimburse owners for the repairs. The Nissan Consumer Affairs file no. For my complaint is [xxx]. please help. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Whitehouse, TX, USA