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 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
105,549 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.
Sudden loud noises/banging while driving. Pulled over, had vehicle towed to mechanic. Radiator found to be cracked. Radiator fluid leaked into and contaminated transmission causing sudden transmission failure. Learned Nissan was/is aware of this problem and has not notified anyone of preventative measures to prevent failure of transmission. "extended warranty" resulting from class action lawsuit requires $3000 copy for vehicles with 90,000-100,000 miles. My mechanic says this is a joke because radiators not cracking until at least this time. Now I have to pay $3000 I don't have to repair the transmission which I could have saved had I been notified to replace the radiator. I will not ever purchase a Nissan again.
I am very disappointed and disgusted with the way Nissan has handled this problem. My Xterra 2007's transmission did not go bad until it reached over 120K miles. My wife was driving cross country with my children and all of the sudden she felt the gears slipping while driving in a major interstate. Luckily she was able to drive home safe. I found out shortly after this almost catastrophic experience that there were many complaints regarding Nissan transmission problems. I guess there was a class action lawsuit that only covered vehicles under 100K miles. Why is Nissan only providing assistance to vehicles under 100K miles if there is a there is a defect in the transmission coolant. They should cover any transmission problems regardless of what the mileage is. I took my Xterra to aamco because they charge be thousands of dollars less of what a Nissan dealership would have charged me. I have been a loyal Nissan owner since 2003 and will never buy a vehicle from them again. In fact, I have convinced friends and families not to buy Nissan vehicles because of the poor service that they have provided.
My car was jarring and making a rumbling noise so I took it in to get fixed. There was water detected in my transmission so I had it flushed twice. The rumbling continued so they replaced the radiator. That cost a total of about $1,000. A few weeks later it got worse and they told me I needed a new transmission. That will be between $4500-$5000. Nissan has been under investigation regarding coolant mixing in the transmission fluid and have not done anything to fix the problem. There to be a recall!
My radiator went out in the starbucks drive-thru. I had it towed to a shop & was told it is a known design flaw by Nissan where the fluids are mixing & the only thing I can do now is replace the radiator & "hope" the fluids did not go into the transmission. Got the new radiator & had a trans flush 3 times & paid about $1800. It is now a month later & my service engine light is on. Today, I am told I need a new transmission which will cost $3800. This is our only car. We do not have the funds to pay for a new transmission. For safety reasons, we urge you to please issue a recall on this poor design by Nissan where the fluids are mixing & causing safety concerns to the consumers.
The contact owns 2007 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated the engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic test performed. The failure was located in the transmission where the radiator fluid was mixed with the transmission fluid. The transmission and the radiator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer advised the vehicle exceeded the 100,000 miles warranty repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 102,000.
Auto transmission not working, seems a lt of complaints and not recall.I called Nissan and was told that they are aware of the problem and the investigation going on, but will not pay for it since it is 10521 miles over their 100K warranty.I was told to send a complaint but is been 120 days and no respond what will it take for the NHTSA to order a recall " how many more complaints for them to start doing their job "
Engine coolant got into transmission. Lost control of vehicle for a moment on several occasions. Felt like I hit black ice. Transmission was not working properly.
I have had the same problem described in your current investigation of these models. An atf line embedded in the radiator cracked, and atf fluid was allowed into the coolant, and coolant was forced into the atf. The card started slipping in gear, then it started shuddering under acceleration, then it started refusing to go into gear. I got it to a transmission shop, and when they opened it up, the guts of the transmission were rusted, and the clutches had de-laminated. The cooling system was nearly plugged up with oily transmission residue. The transmission had to be completely rebuilt, and the radiator and all associated hoses had to be replaced. All in all, a $5500 fix for a problem that shouldn't have happened.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle exhibited a grinding sound. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, who stated that the transmission was defective. The contact then took the vehicle to a local mechanic for a second opinion, who stated that the torque converter was defective. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the transmission was replaced. The failure mileage was 88,228.
Radiator and transmission repaired after failure caused by defective radiator allowing fluids to mix between coolant and transmission. Repairs were performed by dealer. Radiator and transmission failed again. The way the warranty is priced, I am paying the full cost of repair. Although I was able to identify the problem without risk, when the transmission fails it is catastrophic failure which could cause an accident.
My 07 Nissan Xterra has been out of commission for 2 months now and after many phone calls and emails Nissan still will not own up to their mistake. Their faulty radiator design has ruined both my radiator and transmission. The service center was well aware of the problem and yet never mentioned it to me the numerous times I brought my car in to be serviced by them. It wasn't until I was 5,000 miles over the extended warranty and had an issue that it was made known that this is a common occurrence. Also, they claimed that I was mailed out a notice about the issue last December of 2012, which I never received, but claim that they did what was required of them by mailing the notice out. As soon as they are at the post office it is out of their hands. For a car being only 6 years old I shouldn't have to pay half of the car's worth to fix it. I have only had this car for 2 years and it was bought for over $13,000, now my trade in is only worth $5,000. I know there is an investigation under way, but it was opened last year and there is no recent updates as to the progress. I am still waiting for a recall that may never come.
On Friday, August 2, 2013, approximately 5:40pm, the car started to have difficulty shifting (automatic), speed became erratic, slowed rapidly. I was on a service road next to a freeway during rush hour traffic in a busy area of scottsdale. I was near pinnacle Nissan and decided to drive there. I had a couple very busy intersections to go through to drive the 1 mi to pinnacle. The car would not accelerate more than 10 miles an hour and was not shifting out of low gear. I was very concerned I would stall or the car would cease driving in these intersections. Pinnacle Nissan service diagnosed the issue (8/3/13) as a cracked radiator cooling tube that caused coolant to mix with transmission fluid ruining components in the transmission. A complete new transmission and radiator is required to fix this now. This issue is not related to abusive driving, I do very little off road and no towing, and is not a lack of or improper maintenance. This is a know design flaw by Nissan. It appears there is a high number of Nissan problem SUV's, 2005 to 2010, that experience this same problem after roughly 80,000 miles. Based on my experience, this is a potentially dangerous safety issue especially if someone would be driving at higher speeds on a busy freeway.
Transmission downshifted on its own at 45 on a mild downgrade. Did it again later changing from one four lane highway to another, this time around 45-50 mph. Took the truck to local Nissan dealer for diagnosis as I took out an extended warranty with olympicare. The service adjuster was aware that '05-'09, even '10 models have a defect that allows radiator fluid to mix with transmission fluid, creating degradation of transmission and cooling system. After-market warranty is trying to dis-allow claim, citing Nissan's knowledge of this design flaw.
Own 2007 Nissan Xterra maintain care with all proper services since purchased new. Suddenly driving and check engine light comes on park car and wait for morning to take to dealership, try to start next morning wont start. Have car towed to cerritos Nissan and have them inspect it, they call me back a few hours later telling me that my radiator hose have leaked coolant into my transmission and destroyed my tranny. I asked why this could have happened and they explained that this is a manufacture defect from Nissan and explained to me since I was over 100K miles that it is not covered. Price for new transmission and radiator 5000 dollars. Ridiculous for me to pay for a defect from Nissan that is going to eventually happen to any owner of Xterra, pathfinder and frontier owners from 05 to 11. I do not think us as loyal Nissan owners should have to pay for a defect from Nissan that is bound to happen Nissan should have atotal recall on all those models affected by the shotty radiator that they manufactured. I have purchased 4 Nissan through the past 12 yrs and I will never purchase another Nissan after this incident. I had to pay 5000 to fix a defect from Nissan.
My 2007 Nissan X-terra began suffering cross contamination of transmission fluid and radiator fluid around 88,000 miles. I have had to have the radiator replaced, the radiator lines flushed twice and I am still having a problem with the radiator trying to overheat due to the cross contamination. In addition to the radiator I have had transmission issues as a result of electronic module failures in the transmission. I contacted Nissan about this matter and they notified me the warranty had been extended but I was still outside the warranty extension and that it would cost me close to $5,000 out of my pocket to replace the transmission and radiator. I have already spent almost half that trying to fix this vehicle and continue to have issues. Nissan has a product defect and should have to stand behind this issue.
In January of 2013, my car was towed to the kraft Nissan in tallahassee, Florida and there I learn that my computer/brain that makes my car function needed to be replace. However, I was told that my car could be at the dealership approximately 6 months or longer because the part is on back order. The part could not be found anywhere in the state of Florida or in the United States. I was told by the dealership service dept that the part needed to be reproduce. I inquired if this part was a deflect issue or a national campaign for deflected car parts, and was told no. I paid approximately 1800 dollars for the repair bill. While my car was in the shop, I received a letter that explained the coolant fluid in the radiator can become contaminated with the transmission fluid and cause the transmission failure. I was having a issue with my transmission; however, after the car was repaired I requested that someone from the service dept test drive the car and indeed they drive it and stated they heard nothing. Later, I requested it be driven by a mechanic; therefore we went for a drive and indeed I was told it was transmission problem, but it will cost me 7500 dollars for a new transmission because they are not honoring any letter I received according to the owners of kraft after showing the letter as proof. As of today, I was told the computer /brain was a defected part and Nissan should have replaced the deflected part along with the transmission; today my car is at Nissan for an oil change and still to this date I am being told that they are not aware of any national campaign for the transmission issues I am having even though they have confirmed today that the fluids are contaminated. Service rep quote me a extended warrant I can purchase for 3000 dollars since my car now have 103000 miles prior to it had approx 95000. I need help with this issue.
Vehicle maintained meticulously. Fluids changed regularly. Drove mainly highway miles in the winter. At first it began having trouble starting. Then wouldn't start at all. Not a click, not a crank. Then took it to local shop with good reputation. Had it for 7.5 weeks before it was 'fixed.' Drove it for the first time in 8 weeks & transmission was thumping hard as it up-shifted & seemed not to keep up on down shift. Upon initial light acceleration tranny/gears began to slip making a loud/harsh vibrating/shuttering sound & feel. Took it home immediately. When I checked radiator the dreaded grey sludge poured out. Nissan has horrendous customer service. I'm told I need a radiator & a new transmission. Totaling over $6100! Nissan needs to for once do the right thing & do a full recall. This is my second Xterra. I had a 2005 as well. I also owned a 2005 maxima. That's brand loyalty but I also used to make $200,000/yr, live in my dream home, etc...thru divorce & illness I'm homeless just trying to survive. I had planned to sell the Xterra & buy an inexpensive fuel efficient car so I could bank the balance & begin trying to save again. I have no vehicle now or $6100 for repairs that R obviously due to a design flaw or flaws.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portland, ME, USA