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:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
159,184 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.
While driving the vehicle at 40-45 mph and 1200 rpms or 60 mph and 1500 rpms, a vibration as if running over rip bars on the side of a highway happened. At first, it was thought to be a universal; however, after replacing the part, the vibration continued but happened at all speeds above 40 mph regardless of the rpms. Research showed that there was a problem with the transmission coolant system cracking, causing coolant to leak into the transmission but no recall had been issued. A local dealership said they had no report of this type of problem. They suggested turning off the overdrive and if the problem stopped, the transmission needed to be flushed. This was the case, but before we could have the transmission flushed, it started having a roaring noise. When the transmission fluid was checked, it looked like a strawberry milkshake and so did the coolant in the radiator. Both have been flushed but apparently when the initial leak happened, it also allowed coolant to leak into the computer for the transmission. While driving the car, up a steep hill, the rpms grew but the speed decreased. Shifting down showed that the gear had been lost because the vehicle performed normally in the lower gear. Another dealership out of the area said they had several hundred Xterra's brought in for the same problem and that we would lose one gear at a time until we lost them all. This is a $3,500+ repair and if we lose gears in high traffic, we will be possibly rearended or stranded on a highway, which is not acceptable. It is now October and nothing has been resolved. A recall is needed before someone is in a serious accident!
While driving 70 miles an hour on the highway my car suddenly shot up to 4000 RPM and wouldn't go faster than 30 miles an hour. After my car was towed to a local mechanic friend of mine's shop he told me the radiator had cracked, leaked coolant into the transmission, fried the transmission and torque control valve, all valves and seals, as well as both catalytic converters. The cost to fix would be $6000. Nissan needs to pay for this because of their factory defect!!!
My vehicle has just been diagnosed with a failed transmission due to the leakage issue described below. Nissan is stating I am responsible for repair costs up to $3000. Report date : October 16, 2012 at 12:21 pm NHTSA action number : DP12004 NHTSA action number : DP12004 NHTSA recall campaign number : N/a vehicle make / model: Model year(s): Nissan / frontier 2005-2010 Nissan / pathfinder 2005-2010 Nissan / Xterra 2005-2010 manufacturer(s) : Nissan North America, Inc. Component(s) : power train power train:automatic transmission power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm, PCM) power train:automatic transmission:cooling unit and lines power train:automatic transmission:torque converter date investigation opened : June 11, 2012 date investigation closed : open summary: ODI received a petition requesting investigation of transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. The source of the contamination is a cracked atf line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator. ODI has received (512) five-hundred-twelve consumer complaints between August 2005 to May 2012 regarding transmission problems. A copy of the petition will be placed in the public file. ODI will review its content and related field data to assess whether a safety defect investigation is warranted. Referenced voqs are listed on a separate page.
2006 Nissan Xterra. Consumer writes in regards to transmission issues. The dealer inform the consumer the radiator and transmission needed to be replaced, because coolant was leaking into the transmission. The consumer also stated it felt as though the tires were slipping when taking off from a stop.
Coolant from Nissan's defectively designed radiator leaked into my transmission. The transmission, valve body, computer, and radiator needed to be replaced at a total of $4,000. While driving my Xterra home up a steep grade it was having a problem shifting and its RPM was almost red lining so I stepped off the gas. The Xterra was at times bucking, shifting up and down rapidly making it very hard to drive it home. My vehicle couldn't go over 40mph and I had some people almost run into the back of me while limping it home. This is a major safety hazard and I pray no one has been severely injured or killed in an accident caused by this issue Nissan created. Shame on them!
- Anza, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that when depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.
This problem has been happening to my vehicle for awhile but I was unaware until last week. My truck was overheating and the antifreeze had a white substance in it. My mechanic told me it was mixed with transmission fluid. The radiator cracked and the trans cooler which is inside leaked. The two fluids mixed and has caused transmission problems. My radiator has to be replaced and the trans will be flushed several times. The extent of damage to the trans is undetermined at this time as it is still in the shop. I researched this problem and found it to be a very common problem with Nissan Xterras. The symptom's of others vehicles are exactly the same as mine. Nissan has had a very poor settlement in a class action suit but it is very poor. This shows that they are aware of the poor engineering design and/or parts. This problem is leaving people with several thousand dollars in repairs ($3800 and up) for a problem that Nissan is aware of. Even though you have maintained your vehicle routinely this problem will still occur due to Nissan poor design and parts. This problem should be covered under a recall and if an owner has fixed the problem they should be reimbursed for their expense to repair the problem.
5/29/14 check engine light came on, transmission slipping.diagnosed as radiator contaminated with transmission fluid, replaced radiator, drained coolant, flushed multiple times. 7/12/2014 on family vacation out of state engine light came on, transmission slipping, low transmission fluid.filled fluid by beach ready auto. 7/15/2014 check engine light again on interstate highway traveling at 60 mph total transmission failure. Rebuilt transmission put in out of state,8 days missed work, airline ticket home. My expenses for this defect in design by Nissan is $5900.the fact that there has not been a recall initiated by Nissan is completely unacceptable and dangerous. A failure on the company's part to stand behind their products wrong, but knowingly allowing their product to endanger people's lives is inexcusable.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that the gear would not shift into reverse. An independent mechanic noticed that the transmission fluid was mixing with the coolant and the coolant was leaking into the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 169,000.
When driving the car at 40mph/around 1000rpms the vehicle began vibrating at the back end. Upon acceleration, the vibration ceased. This behavior became consistent. A mechanic independent from Nissan found that the transmission and radiator must be replaced per his conversation with the local Nissan dealership. Also advising independent mechanic that the dealership admits to having a floor full of transmissions that need repair. I investigated the class action suit filed in 2010 and already settled, but had no knowledge of this prior as Nissan did not alert me to the persistent problem since 2005 I should expect my car to develop.
Radiator fluid leaked into the transmission causing the transmission to fail and ruined the radiator. My Xterra had 106,000 miles on it at the time of the failure. The cost to replace the transmission and radiator was nearly $5,000. The cause of the failure is the same factory defect mentioned in previous complaints.
My car actually is 8 years old and has approx. 105,000 miles, hence, does not fall under the settlement of class action suit ordering Nissan to reimburse repairs. If I was under 100,000 mi, I would only have to pay a $3,000 deductible. Because I had passed the 100,000 mile before the failure happened, I'm no longer eligible for this extended warranty. As in my case the radiator busted and caused the coolant to leak into the transmission which means that I now need a new radiator and a new transmission which is going to cost roughly $5,000 dollars to fix in which I cannot afford. I replaced the radiator & had the transmission flushed twice (cost nearly $1K). This caused internal damage to transmission. I submitted a claim for out of pocket cost, never heard anything!! either way I would like to know if the problems are happening to vehicles until they go over 100K miles then why cap the assistance requirement??
2006 Nissan Xterra: I replaced the radiator & had the transmission flushed last August(cost nearly $2K). A couple of weeks ago after going about 60 miles the vehicle was not engaging to accelerate. It was a one time occurrence. Today after about 20 miles it did not accelerate as I was attempting to merge onto the highway. I could not get it to go over 20 mph but was revving at 4rpm. Now the check engine light is on.
I'm the owner of a 2006 Xterra I was coming to a stop at a major intersection with no previous malfunctions of any kind. I have driven this vehicle across country 4 times and have meet all required preventative maintenance requirements and scheduled tune ups. Now back to the intersection we came to a stop when the light turned green I depressed the gas pedal and it hesitated for a second and approached 10 mph and then it just revved as if the transmission was no longer engaged and the check engine light illuminated on the dash. I turned on my foreways and naturally proceeded to investigate the situation. To my surprise their was no evidence of external damage or tampering with anything underneath the vehicle. A police officer came to the intersection to assist myself and my family I entered the vehicle and shifted from park to drive and it took off as if there was never a problem. I drove 2 miles to my place of residence and decided to investagate. I looked up some information online to see if other people are having transmission problems with this type of vehicle and found that their is a common rupture at the base of the radiator that allows coolant to mix with the atf. I decided to drain some coolant and verify my assumption. I made a video of the processes and there was a good amount of atf in my coolant and then I proceeded to remove the transmission drain plug to extract a sample atf and sure enough a pinkish tint and very watery atf was extracted from the transmission.
I bought a Nissan Xterra 06 in September 2013. It's now July 5 2014, not even a year after I bought it, and I'm having issues getting my car fixed. Something in the radiator busted and caused the coolant to leak into the transmission which means that I now need a new radiator and a new transmission which is going to cost roughly 5,100 dollars to fix in which I cannot afford. I purchased an extended warranty when I purchased my car so that if I had any major issues, like this, I would be covered financially bc anyone knows that car repairs can be quite costly. I was told that, zurich, my warranty company, would not pay for the repairs bc the problem came from the radiator and it's not covered in the warranty which leaves me to pay for the costly repairs. I believe that the dealership I got my car from should pay for the repairs as I haven't had it a whole year yet. I feel as if I've been skrewed over. Nissan also needs to issue a recall bc I'm not the only 06 Xterra owner to have this issue. Please help me, I have a 1 yr. Old daughter and I need my car fixed and don't have 5100 dollars to fix it myself. Thank you
When my Xterra was idling in park or at a stop light, the car was overheating. Also while accelerating, the car was shuddering when changing gears. Upon taking the vehicle to a repair garage, I was informed that this particular model Nissan is notorious for faulty radiators being installed which caused coolant fluid to leak / mix in with transmission fluid, thus damaging the transmission, possibly to the point of having to be replaced as well as the radiator. My car is sitting at a garage now waiting for the radiator to be replaced and try to run the vehicle to see how bad the damage now is to the transmission.
Transmission cooler, located in radiator, cracked and allowed mixture of coolant and transmission fluid. This caused internal damage to transmission. Vehicle had power loss during a merge onto a state highway, nearly causing an accident and potential harm to my wife and 4 year old son. Nissan settled a class action lawsuit which clearly acknowledges there is a manufacture defect with the radiator. No safety recall was made which has the potential to injury others who experience this failure. Research has shown this is a large scale issue and settlement is unacceptable, Nissan has a responsibility where manufacturer defects can cause harm to their customers.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Keyser, WV, USA