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.
9.0
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$4,060
Average Mileage:
110,750 miles
Total Complaints:
231 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace transmission and radiator (131 reports)
rebuild transmission and replace radiator (40 reports)
not sure (26 reports)
replace radiator and transmission (16 reports)
new transmission (6 reports)
radiator and transmission cooler replaced (5 reports)
Nissan Assist Program - Information about extended warranties for Radiator Assembly, Fuel Sensor
Lawsuit Against Nissan For Transmission/coolant Issue - The attached link will take you to the actual Law firm that is handling the lawsuit against Nissan for continuesly ignoring the defect on their Nissan vehicles 2005 and 06. where the coolant has leaked into the transmission and causing complate failure.
Go to the site and add your information. I'm hoping the lawsuit will have more meaning if you let them know of your experience with your Nissan vehicle.
Radiator Assembly Customer Satisfaction Program - Nissan has decided in the interest of customer satisfaction, to further extend the warranty for the Radiator Assembly on all 2005-10 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions.
On a small percentage of vehicles, an internal crack on the oil cooler tube may occur leading to internal leakage of engine coolant. While the majority of vehicles will not experience this issue, for customer satisfaction purposes, Nissan has decided to further extend the coverage of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty on the radiator assembly, subject to certain customer co-pays that vary with age/mileage.
The New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage on applied vehicles for the Radiator Assembly (original terms 3 years/36,000 miles) will be extended from the current extension of 8 years/80,000 miles to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever occurs first), including damage, repairs, replacement, and towing resulting from this issue.
With the additional extension, the following warranty coverage and corresponding customer co-pays will now apply:
Up to 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first): No customer co-pay
After 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $2,500
After 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $3,000
As with the prior extension, this extension of warranty on the radiator assembly will cover damage caused to other affected components, including the vehicle transmission, as a result of an internal leakage condition in the radiator assembly. However, existing powertrain coverage applicable to the transmission (5 years/60,000 miles) otherwise remains unchanged.
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2006 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 5 of 12)
The first thing we notice was that the car didn't want to accelerate. One day it just stopped moving in the middle of the street. I turned it off and on again. It moved just enough to move out of the way. I already rebuild the transmission, which was very expensive, just to find out that I also need to replace the radiator. My car is starting to cost me more that what it is worth.
2006 Nissan Pathfinder. First noticed that while idling the heat would not blow hot air. Nissan dealer stated that it was air in the radiator causing the problem. Now I see that it is one of the known first signs of a radiator leak into the transmission. Of coarse no one at the dealership pointed that out. Would have been somewhat covered by the extended warranty. More antifreeze added and heater worked, thought problem was solved, until again no heat while idling. Shifting started getting very noticeable. But by that time I had 134000 miles on the car. Took to independent transmission repair shop and they found the problem. 4200 dollars later I learned a valuable lesson, don't buy a Nissan. From what I have read they knew about the issue and they should have recalled these vehicles. I will never buy another Nissan. I feel the company does not respect its customers.
This is ridiculous. Wit a design issue between the radiator and transmission and the customer is being hit with a $3500/- demand. This does not make any sense. What are the courts are doing about the widespread problem among all the Nissan vehicles between a specific period of time.
I purchased my 2006 Nissan Pathfinder in 2013 with 109K miles on it. I loved it for 1yr and a half. 2 months ago it started shifting rough, I took it to a local place to be looked at. I was told that NISSAN PATHFINDERS have a faulty radiator that leaks internally into the transmission causing complete transmission failure! Would cost $3600 to fix.
I called Suntrup and was told by the service department that they had NEVER heard of this before and to bring it in, which I did and $100 later they told me the same thing I already knew from the other place for free. They again said they had NEVER heard of this happening before but they could fix it for $6800!
I began searching (not too difficult since it is ALL OVER THE INTERNET!) I called around trying to find a more affordable transmission place and every single place I called knew about the NISSANS FAULTY RADIATORS!! This is a prevalent problem for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 Pathfinder, Xterra and and Frontier! Nissan refuses to do a recall stating it isn't a safety issue but there was a class action suit closing in 2013 (year I bought my car) and would fix the transmissions up to 100K (I bought mine at 109K. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into this issue. I did contact Suntrup and talked to the sales manager who said to come in and they would "try and help me". Their solution is to roll the $4,000 I am upside down into a brand new car causing my payments to go up exponentially! (Also as a single mom of 3 kids in car seats a car isn't helpful, neither is super high payments).
You can NOT tell me that they didn't know about this Nissan transmission issue being a NISSAN DEALER! They didn't know about the class action suit, the year I bought the car?!?!
Perhaps there isn't anything that can be done in my case but I DO NOT think it is ethical to continue selling these models and years!!
Update from Apr 29, 2015: I tried fixing my car with a "band-aid", I replaced the radiator and had the transmission flushed three times. (until the fluid wasn't like thick chocolate milk). The shop that did the repairs knew about the Pathfinders faulty radiator...so weird that Suntrup Nissan doesn't?! The shop informed that the last "band-aid" only lasted around 8 months. I was hoping to have at least that amount of time to gather the $3500 for a rebuilt transmission. However that wasn't the case, I got about 2 weeks out of it. So now I have an un-drive able car that I owe $10,000! I did contact Nissan and was told I am beyond of the extended warranty so they wouldn't be able to offer any assistance. I'm not sure what I am or can do at this point. I did complain at BBB, I added my pathfinder to all the recommended sites, put in a request for an investigation at Contact 2 and posted on Facebook.
Like most owners...love my Pathfinder. My problem with this situation is and don't laugh too hard, I've been working at a Nissan dealership (in sales) for approx 10 yrs at this point when my issues started. 2 years prior to my infraction, my service department stated that the only way Nissan would replace my tranny and radiator would be if "they detect evidence" of coolant mixture at that time. My vehicle had never showed signs of mixture until long after the "so-called" warranty recall expired. That's what sucks! You find out that a "potentially" serious problem could exist and Nissan would not approve the "preventive fix" that would have saved a lot of LOYAL Nissan owners the headache. As one of my certified techs advised (no names to protect the innocent)...it's going to happen and when it does...drive it until it won't. So, here I am...2 1/2yrs later and she finally quit. Would love to hear of any repair/replace savings anyone can share. My email: dparker@leithnissan.com
- kiddee,
Durham, NC, US
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Needed it fixed quickly."Nissan Transmission Problems" if you want thousands of other opinions. We ended up trading it in and getting a competitor's vehicle. I will never buy another Nissan and recommend that you don't either.
I am so irritated at the fact that I just bought this car two months ago, took it back to the place I bought it from because I've seen where these 2006 Pathfinder 's were notorious for the coolant leaking into the transmission causing the transmission to fail. I see where there was a class action lawsuit but it doesn't apply to used cars.
How is this not a recall if there is so many issues of this happening to these Pathfinders. This is supposed to be a family car. The transmission went out on a busy intersection and I had my children in the car. I shouldn't have to replace a transmission when I've only had it for a few months. I never had any problems out of my 2000 Nissan Maxima that had 300 thousand miles on it.
Not everybody can afford a 3000 dollar fix and that's going the cheap route, and yes I do have an extended warranty but it only covers 1000 dollars. How does that seem fair. All in all I'm disappointed and won't buy another Nissan. Especially if there has been so many report this happening to people.Someone explain to me why this is not a recall or more importantly a safety issue.......
Update from Apr 27, 2015: Had to get a loan just to have car fixed.
To be honest I don't know when this happened. I bought this vehicle from a car lot and drove it about five times before my coolant leaked out. We flushed my coolant system and found "stop leak" in the radiator, which indicates there was a leak before. Now the transmission is not shifting properly, and when I accelerate my entire vehicle shakes.
I was towing my trailer up a hill when problem started, almost causing an accident. Transmission started to slip and shake and no shoulder to pull into. Cars behind me almost slamming into each other. Nissan was aware of the problem and should have mentioned it to me when I got my vehicle serviced by Nissan, and this whole problem could have been avoided. They are saying possible problem with differential.
I bought a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder brand new. Nissan dealer in Stockton, California did the maintenance for 5 years from the time I bought it. Yet, I was not notified about the extended warranty regarding the transmission. My vehicle shaking during acceleration, this started at around 97000 miles. So, I change the transmission fluids and the problem still ongoing.
By the time I was ready to take my vehicle to Nissan, it was already too late because the vehicle has over 100,000 miles on it. And that's when I found out that the warranty on the transmission was extended but it was already too late. Nissan did not mention anything regarding it. I now have changed the radiator and I saw signs of oil mixed with the antifreeze. So, I checked my transmission oil and saw that my fluid looks like chocolate milk, which is oil and antifreeze mixed together.
I have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with less than 65k miles on it. I mostly used my truck to go to a bus stop that was less than 2 miles from my home. I noticed a hard vibration noise from the front of the truck. Made an appointment at my local dealer to get an oil change and investigate the noise.
The service manager shocked me when she said I needed a new transmission, because antifreeze had leaked into transmission and ruined it. She proceeded to tell me I need a timing chain, u-joints, muffler clamps and that I should have taken better care of my truck. She advised I should get a new truck the cost would be a total of $4,500 for the repair!.
I left in disbelief knowing a truck with this amount of miles should not need a transmission. I researched on the web and found that Nissan was aware of a defect in the radiator that caused this problem, not only on my truck but other Nissan models as well. They settled a lawsuit that favors Nissan, but neglected to inform any of there customers like myself with a heads up if the issue has not happened yet.
I have to pay the first $3000 of the repair and Nissan will pick up the rest, This is outrageous the cause of the problem was a defective radiator, this should have been recalled.The service adviser did not notify me of this issue at the dealership and as of yet has not sent me a detailed estimate of the repair. This should be a safety issue since the trans could slip at some time causing an accident.
Nissan Consumer affairs division has not responded with a remedy with my complaint . I have lost faith in the local dealer and with Nissan product as well. Will not buy another Nissan again.
P.S. I took my vehicle to another repair facility and their estimate alone for the job was $4,555. When driving it to them I could hardly drive over 40 mph and the transmission started slipping. Again this should be a SAFETY RECALL !
Parents bought the car new in 06. The coolant was leaking into the tranny, so there were violent shutters between 60-80mph. Had the radiator replaced, transmission flushed, and a coolant flush and about 1 month later, the car is getting light shaking and coolant is mixed again. I am not spending $000 to drop a new transmission into the vehicle along with more $$$ to replace radiator again or anything with the coolant system. Nissan needs to pull their head out of their ass and fix this obviously if its happening to 2000+ vehicles. Its their manufacturing fault not the owners. I take vary good car of my vehicle regular oil changes & maintenance but this is too much. NISSAN IF YOUR READING THIS... I WILL NEVER BUY A NISSAN VEHICLE FROM YOU EVER AND MAKE SURE NONE OF MY FRIENDS DO AS WELL BECAUSE YOU WON'T STEP UP AND FIX THE CARS WITH 100000+ML ON IT!
JUST TOTALLY DISGUSTED DUE THINKING THAT THE MANUFACTURER WOULD BE MORE COMPELLING TO RECALL AND REPAIR THE ISSUE OF THE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR FLUIDS DESTROYING THE VEHICLE. THEY KNOW THAT THIS PART OF THE FACTORY DEFAULT THESE DAMN VEHICLES ARE LIKE A HOUSE WHEN IT COMES TO THE COST ESPECIALLY IF BRAND NEW, IT'S JUST ON WHEELS WE PRETTY MUCH LIVE IN THEM ESPECIALLY IF YOU USE IT FOR WORK, PLAY HELL SOME PEOPLE DO LIVE I THEM. THIS SUCKS!!!!! THIS HAS MADE ME THINK TWICE ABOUT NISSAN THEY TOLD ME NOTHING LIKE A BUICK, CHEVROLET... BORN IN THE USA. i WENT TO GET AN OIL CHANGE AND TOLD THE REP ABOUT THE JERKING AND I HAD A DISCOUNT ON THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DIAGNOSIS COULDN'T PULL IT UP ON MY PHONE. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME THE $175.00 IN FULL AND WOULD NOT CHECK IT.
THEY ALSO TRIED TO RIP ME OFF WITH MY OIL CHANGE THAT WAS QUOTED TO BE $24.99 AND ONCE DONE $41.30 I AM PISSED WITH NISSAN......NEVER AGAIN
In August of 2013, I noticed that whenever I accelerated in my truck, it would begin to shutter and hesitate. I did some research and learned that there was coolant leaking into the transmission, which was causing the transmission to fail. Shortly thereafter, I received a recall notice and took it to the dealership for the replacement. I was thankful that I did not have to pay any money out of my pocket for the pricey repairs!
On February 14, 2015, my Pathfinder started shuddering. After taking it to Aamco Transmission specialists, I was told that radiator coolant was leaking into my transmission and ruining it. After doing some research I have found that this is a know problem with Nissan SUVs from 2005 on because of an internal cooling system which cracks and allows coolant into the transmission. The warranty only covers vehicles up to 100,000, which is precisely after which the problem usually occurs and at which point the owner is responsible for the repairs to the tune of over $5,000.. I have seen hundreds if not thousands of complaints from other individuals in the same situation as I am right now, yet wonder why another class action law suit has not been started against Nissan for this problem to extend the warranty even higher. Or, why none of the other indvidiuals have not filed complaints with the National HIghway Traffic Safety Administration at (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM422685/INOA-DP12004-9949.PDF) since they have only receive 500+ complaints for this problem.
I am a stickler for keeping my car serviced on time and up to date! You can imagine how disappointed I was find out my car has to have the entire transmission rebuilt to the tune of and I quote, $2500 to $4500!!!! I'm feeling so down and really quite angry!
After noticing the heater was not working properly and the were issues shifting through the gears, I brought my 2006 Nissan Pathfinder into my mechanic who told me that coolant was leaking into the transmission and the transmission and radiator would need to be replaced. I called the transmission repair shop my mechanic recommended and they said they see a lot of this problem in Nissans and confirmed what my mechanic told me. They quoted a price of $4400 for repair. This is putting a big hurt on our family as this kind of $$$ will be difficult to come up with.
I used to like Nissan vehicles but I will never buy another and I will recommend to people I know to NOT BUY NISSAN!!! Poor quality. Poor customer service. Bad deal all the way around
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The first thing we notice was that the car didn't want to accelerate. One day it just stopped moving in the middle of the street. I turned it off and on again. It moved just enough to move out of the way. I already rebuild the transmission, which was very expensive, just to find out that I also need to replace the radiator. My car is starting to cost me more that what it is worth.
- Oscar C., Houston, TX, US