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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,407 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.
This sub has a problem when speed after 35 mph. The engine has to go high revolution 4500 or 5000 RPM wich is not normal. To keep at 50mph.the tramision doesn't gear properly. I took to Nissan dealer they said is the tramision has water fron the radiator. The coolant majestic the tramision fail. It cost over $5000 for rapair.it need new radiator.
Radiator coolant leak into transmission caused complete engine failure while driving on a 6 lane highway. Ability to accelerate or maintain speed ceased when pressing gas pedal. Coasted on slight downward hill for 1/4 of a mile or a little more allowing time to turn onto a side street where vehicle stopped completely.
In 2012, soon after we purchased our used 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, we knew it was a mistake. Not only did the fuel indicator not work (noticed the day we drove it off the lot) the SUV just didn't feel right while driving. I have been stranded in 100 degree weather on numerous occasions because the fuel indicator says I have fuel, but the light would immediately come on, and the car would cut off & lock up while I was driving it! fast forward to last year, 2015, we started experiencing problems when shifting into and out of park/drive/reverse. The transmission was slipping and sometimes wouldn't even change gears, just keep revving up the engine and not going anywhere. It has left my children and me stranded on numerous occasions since then. Finally, about 6 months ago, the Pathfinder decided to not move out of park at all after cranked. Today, 9/14/16, the transmission left me stranded in the middle of heavy 5 O'clock traffic. I barely had it pulled off the road when I almost got rear-ended! the transmission won't change gears, won't propel the car forward (or backwards) and the shop said it needed a whole new transmission, and maybe a new radiator! I am a student and my husband is in law enforcement - we certainly don't have an extra $4,000 lying around for repairs to a vehicle that should have been recalled! so, it is parked in our driveway, completely immobile and we have a car payment coming up next week (and every month afterwards). We are underwater, still owing $8,000 for a car we thought we'd drive forever, that is valued at around $4,000 on a good day with no transmission issues. Something has to be done! Nissan needs to repair our car asap!
- Clemson, SC, USA
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Vehicle would hesitate badly while driving and almost caused an accident. When taken to a mechanic to fix issue, we found that the transmission fluid had turned pink. The technician stated that at fluid and coolant had mixed together. We had to have the transmission and the radiator replaced.
When I had about 87,000 miles on the vehicle, it started vibrating when I reached about 40 miles an hour. From there, the heat wouldn't work when I would stop at intersections or letting the car idle. I then had my coolant levels checked, and discovered my coolant was mixed with radiator fluid. I had the radiator replaced, and the vehicle drives, but only up to about 40 mph. Trying to accelerate beyond 40 mph and the engine revs high. Turns out my transmission is slipping as a result of the engine coolant getting into the transmission. The only way to continue to use my vehicle is to have the transmission rebuilt/remanufactured at a tune of $5,000. Well, I've already paid ~$40,000 for the vehicle, alone (excluding other repair items since I've owned it). The fact that I need to replace a major power train component to use such an expensive vehicle is beyond comprehension. Until the manufacturer (Nissan/infiniti usa) takes responsibility for their major mishap, I discourage everyone I know from purchasing their vehicles. I bought a vehicle... one that should Transport me from a point of origin to a point of destination (what it is designed to do). I didn't pay $40,000 for a hunk of plastic and metal to take up space in my driveway. Someone needs to do something about this major malfunction as expediently as possible. This should not be permitted to take place in the modern usa that we live in. Otherwise, what purpose does federal commissions serve if the citizens aren't protected from such fraud?
I have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with 91,450 miles. I notice a slight slip in the transmission on the way to work. I work at a auto repair shop. They took it for a test drive and found nothing. Approximately two weeks later, it really started to slip to the point I had to pull over, because it was not shifting correctly. When it was brought in to the shop again it did nothing. I called the local Nissan dealer in stroudsburg pa and was told there was a "silent recall" and to check the fluid if it was a milky color, pretty much I was going to be without a car. I always took care of my car and for this to happen was a real blow. The dealership told me pretty much the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle. I did check the value of my car was approximately $6-7000 for the shape that it was in. That's a lot of money to lose on a vehicle. Also, the hazard of not shifting properly could have caused an accident, I had to pull off the side of the highway until I could get it to shift and this kept repeating it self over and over. Nissan had a class action settlement, which when I called Nissan directly they said it did not include my VIN number. I believe Nissan knew this was a defect and only if you complained about it did you get attention from the company. I had an address change so I do not know if I received any information on this type of issue. I was the only owner of this vehicle and believed that Nissan should make good for the repairs it will cost.
Had to have steering column replaced due to it breaking and causing hard steering and no control of wheels. Barely made it home. Also the transmission had to be flushed and by passed due to cooler getting water in transmission. Both of these are safety items and Nissan dealer says not enough complaints about these problems. Cost me $3400 in repairs which had to be done due to safety reasons. The car was in motion each time on freeway and had to stop and get it towed to mechanic because it was unsafe to drive anywhere.
I was pulling into a parking space slowly with my foot on the brake, rolling into the space. As I braked a little bit more in order to come to a stop (I never took my foot off the brake), the car suddenly revved up, accelerated, and crashed right through a fence. I was able to slam it into park to get it to stop.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was contamination of radiator fluid in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. While the vehicle was previously in park, there was engine oil leaking underneath the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the radiator was leaking fluid into the transmission and that the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Radiator cracked leaking coolant into the transmission that is impacting the ability for transmission control module to function properly. Now, while driving, the car randomly stalls and loses all power. While on the highway, it has become necessary to restart the car while rolling in neutral to avoid having to switch lanes into faster moving cars. I've been informed by Nissan that it's a common problem and an $8000 repair to replace the radiator, transmission, transmission control module, and flush everything out.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle lost power without warning. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and towed to a local dealer who diagnosed a transmission failure due to a radiator leak. The dealer completely rebuilt the transmission. The failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to another dealer where it was diagnosed that the rebuilt transmission caused an "inter cooler failure". the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that it was not the manufacturer's problem. The contact was referred back to the dealer that installed the rebuilt transmission. The dealer stated that the manufacturer was aware of the rebuilt transmission and referred the contact back to the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that nothing could be done. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 10V517000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure mileage was 168,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that when he took his vehicle to the mechanic for maintenance, the mechanic stated that the vehicle coolant was abnormal. As a result, it was diagnosed that the transmission fluid and coolant had mixed. The radiator and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000. The VIN was not available.
While accelerating to get onto an entrance to I-95 my car began to vibrate at about 40 mph and make a roaring noise. The noise went away at about 50 mph. When I took it to my mechanic he said the problem was an known issue that Nissan had involving the transmission coolant leaking into the transmission and ruining it. He explained that Nissan had offered an extended warranty up to 80,000 miles. My car has 98,000. Nissan has known about their defective radiators leaking into the transmissions since 2013 and did not issue a recall. I feel like it is their responsibility to fix this problem for free. When I attempted to trade the car in no one wanted it in trade because of the known issues. I am on a fixed income and can not afford this costly repair or a new vehicle. Nissan had left us high and dry and plan to do nothing to help fix a problem that they knew existed. This is criminal! they have cheated us and ignored Nissan owners dealing with this problem. I want my car fixed before it gets to 100,000 miles in case they call a cut off at that mileage again! they are totally at fault and responsible for cheating people out of hundreds of thousands dollars and the are getting away with it. My car is parked and I can't drive it for fear of going over 100,000 miles or breaking down completely on the highway and having a fatal accident. I have had to borrow my son's car to go any where I need to go. This is very frustrating and totally unfair that I even have to write this complaint since Nissan admits that thousands of their vehicles are known lemons! they should pay up or be prosecuted as any other criminal would be for cheating/stealing from a consumer.
We have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder that has transmission failure due to a defective radiator. This is a known defect that Nissan should be held accountable for. We followed all recommended maintenance, most of which was at a Nissan dealership. The dealership was negligent in its inspection and repair of our vehicle. When we began to experience transmission failure and had both transmission and coolant contamination, they failed to diagnose the problem. Two Nissan dealership inspections in May 2016 outlined that all was well with our vehicle, even after we found that there was no transmission fluid on our dipstick, and it did not appear that the bolt to check the fluid had not been recently removed. Our family's safety was put at risk driving this vehicle for over a month, while it was experiencing transmission failure and risked engine failure due to heavily contaminated coolant. After a few weeks of symptoms, we looked online and were shocked to see the widespread manufacturing defect that has been reported. We took our truck to an independent shop who diagnosed the problem. The Nissan warranty was extended to 10 years or 160,000 kilometers for possible radiator assembly failure. Although our vehicle fell within the 10 year time frame, we were outside the kilometer range by 40,000 kilometers. Nissan Canada and crown Nissan refused to extend the warranty to us. We feel the 160,000 km is far too low for a 10 year warranty. A recent Dodge warranty extension was 10 yrs, 240,000 km. Nissan put us in an unsafe situation, where they failed to diagnose the problem and we were out driving for several weeks, some of which involved towing our family camper on the highways. Nissan has been negligent on many levels and a recall should be extended to these faulty radiators.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed due to coolant contamination. As a result, the transmission, radiator, and thermostat needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 191,270.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While the gear lever was in reverse, the transmission failed to operate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator connector hose leaked fluid into the transmission. The contamination caused internal damage to the transmission. The radiator and transmission were replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. Consumer stated while driving up a hill she acceleration and could not make it up the hill and made it to her job. Consumer attempted to put the vehicle in reverse and would not go in reverse. Car was towed, aamaco diagnosis was coolant had leaked into the transmission causing transmission to fail. Updated 6/13/18
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Amityville, NY, USA