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Radiator Causes Transmission Failure
2005 Nissan Frontier (Page 7 of 10)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Nissan dealer.
CarComplaints.com Notes: In a very limited selection on small pickup trucks, the Frontier is one of the best options except -- and I cannot emphasize this enough -- for one problem that makes it an avoid-at-all-costs pain in you know what: the radiator ruptures and leaks coolant into the transmission, killing it. Such a buzzkill.
This problem affects most 2005-2008 (and maybe beyond) Frontiers.
9.0
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $3,790
- Average Mileage:
- 104,000 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 189 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- replace radiator and transmission (122 reports)
- not sure (22 reports)
- replace radiator and transmission due to oil contaminati (14 reports)
- replace transmission (7 reports)
- fix it and compensate owners for full expense (5 reports)
- extended warranty announced by Nissan on 10/15/10 (4 reports)
transmission problem
Helpful websites
- Nissan Frontier Transmission Lawsuit - Class Action regarding the radiator defect that leads to transmission failure.
- Nissan Cracked Radiator And Transmission Problems - Describes how a cracked radiator can cause the transmission to fail and actions you can take.
- File A Complaint - File a complaint about the Radiator and Transmission failure issue. This is a government site for safety issues to be reported.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Suddenly my truck appeared to have no power; could not accelerate up to traffic speed or effectively get across an intersection. It was scary and dangerous. The "Service Engine Soon" light came on and I promptly took my '05 Nissan Frontier to my local Nissan dealer for service. I was shocked when they told me that it needed to have both the radiator and transmission replaced due to "fluids mixing". And I was further shocked and angry that it would cost me $3K even after the "extended warranty". (I don't have this kind of money lying around to dump into my 7 year old truck, that I had bought new in '05.) This is a catastrophic defect in the design - known by the manufacture and should be made right by the manufacture. Nissan needs to do their consumers right, or risk losing loyalty. Up until now, I've been really happy with my truck, my service dealer and Nissan, but now I'll be looking at other brands that back their products and consumers better.
Update from Dec 17, 2012: Forgot to mention: I just had the full 90K mile service with radiator flush and no issues where reported to me. So this defect issue came as a big, unfortunate surprise.
- kevr, Simpsonville, SC, US