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.
9.2
really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$3,980
Average Mileage:
114,550 miles
Total Complaints:
232 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace radiator and transmission (152 reports)
not sure (42 reports)
replaced radiator and transmission (17 reports)
replaced radiator (13 reports)
bypassed radiator, added an external tranny cooler (2 reports)
bypass trans cooler/add external cooler/replace pcm (1 reports)
Nissan Settlement - Please visit this website to see if you qualify for reimbursement or for nissan to pay for so much of the damage.
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.
Nissan Radiator Assembly ATF Contamination 2005-2010 Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder - Have you filed a complaint with the US Dept of Transportation, the number is 888-327-4236 and the website is safercar.gov, according to the representative I spoke to the issue of the ATF fluid contamination is still under investigation but more complaints and data are needed to issue a safety recall involving the radiator assembly and transmission contamination. If you have not done so please file a complaint. Nissan needs to take responsibility for the defect rather than passing the repair cost to the consumer and dodging the issue!!!
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2007 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 4 of 12)
AFTER DOING MY RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES. SHAME ON ME FOR TRUSTING THE NISSAN NAME AND NOT DOING MY RESEARCH PRIOR TO PURCHASING. RADIATOR LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION. WE REPLACED THE RADIATOR BUT OF COURSE WE NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION IN ORDER TO FIX THE ENTIRE PROBLEM. NISSAN DEALER WANTED ABOUT $2,500 TO REPLACE JUST THE RADIATOR AND A TOTAL OF $8,000 TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION. I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION SO NOW I AM STUCK WITH A TRUCK THAT I HAVE ONLY OWNED FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND WILL PROBABLY BREAK DOWN ON MY WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, IF I DON'T REPLACE THE TRANNY. I WILL NEVER BUY A NISSAN AGAIN...
Well like so many others, the intercooler failed and leaked fluid into my transmission. In my case I did not get the signature "milk shake" look to the anti-freeze. Was lucky it failed just as I was about to enter the highway, total loss of power. About 60 seconds longer and I would be trying to enter the highway, so I guess a sliver lining if there is one.
I am just amazed that Nissan didn't release something letting customers know you could avoid the "isolated" occurrence by getting a new radiator or a by pass. I would have been happy to pay $600 to avoid the $5200 it is costing me now. And of course I am late to the party on the class action so stuck with the bill in full.
I can only hope this battle is not over with all the other issues Nissan is having with even their new Nissan Pathfinder transmissions. Just sad that a company that had such a highly rated overall view of their products have finical decided to let their reputation fall apart. I have always owned a Nissan, but this will be the last on ever. Having it repaired so I can at least get my money back and sell to someone knowing I have at least been honest, more then Nissan can say.
We had planned on giving this car to my son and buying a new Armada, but I think Toyota will be getting my business. I have let everyone I know that owns a Nissan to spend now to avoid the cost later. Really not that hard to do Nissan - you should try it.
I was driving in left lane of divided four lane road at 60mph with tractor trailer right behind me. As I approached a curve going uphill I accelerated, however the vehicle felt like I was going over rumble strips and decelerating. The tractor trailer almost jack knifed and my ability to move safely over into slow lane was hampered by curve, other vehicles, and extreme anxiety.
Calls to Nissan repair Dealers to discuss now what I know to be a factory defect have not been returned ! This could have been a multi-vehicle tragedy and issue that Nissan has known about for years and could have taken care of with a simple radiator replacement or installation of an external transmission fluid cooler ! Now I am faced with the possibility of a $ 5,000 or more repair bill!! Very frustrating for someone who has been a loyal Nissan owner for over 30 years!
After reading the multiple horror stories (150+ and counting) regarding the transmission failures in Nissans, I wanted to add our story as well. We bought our Pathfinder in 2010, trading in a Maxima, and the used 07 Pathfinder had 65,000 miles on it.
Over the course of the last 5 years we've only added another 58k miles. While on vacation this April the vehicle refused to go into drive. We were in South Carolina (from Boston) with our children and were completely shocked to be told by a local mechanic that the transmission had a 'massive failure'.
I started calling around to local dealers, mechanics, my local mechanic, and also to the dealer where we bought the vehicle to see if there was anything under recall. Nothing, all I heard from EVERY mechanic and Service Rep I spoke to, was "Yup, that's a well know problem with Nissans, the coolant cross contaminates the transmission and it's game over" ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! It's a long known issue and Nissan didn't issue a recall?
So, I had to fork over $5,250 to get a brand new Nissan Transmission and radiator, because the guy in South Carolina couldn't find a rebuilt one because it's such a big issue!!!
You want to know the worst part! Here's what a service manager at a local Nissan dealership told me off the record; "There has been no recall on this because no one has died because of a transmission failure" Can you believe that, Nissan will ignore this until someone is killed.
First started feeling like my vehicle was driving over a rough patch on the road. It starts around 40 mph. Then it jerks at 20 mph. Took it to the shop and was told coolant had leaked into the transmission. Paid to get the transmission flushed and coolant line re-routed. I was told if it continued to do it, I would need to get the transmission re-built and it would be approximately $4,300. I haven't gotten it fixed because I don't have the money. This really sucks, especially since Nissan knew this was an issue. I will never buy another Nissan period. I hope this company ends up going out of business. WARNING, be aware.
- Denise F.,
Indianapolis, IN, US
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We were not aware that this problem was so prevalent with Nissans. We had the truck towed yesterday and we are waiting for the radiator to be replaced. He is going to look at the the transmission to see if he can fix it instead of replacing it since we stopped driving it immediately. Unfortunately, we are beyond the Nissan warranty with the mileage for the this problem and class action law suit. We also have a 2007 pathfinder with 127,000 miles. We are going to trade it in as soon as we get the Frontier running, so we do not run into the same problem.
Replaced with new radiator and flushed out additional secondary radiator including reservoir and thermostat. Flushed out transmission fluids. Still did not fix problem. Now needing repairs for transmission! This is ridiculous! Repairs are expensive. It should be recalled and paid by manufacturer. They know this is happening, but refuse to take responsibility for the repairs. I will never buy another car from Nissan dealers! This is the second Nissan I have owned.
Purchased my 2007 Nissan Pathfinder from a dealer, this was a replacement for my 2006 pathfinder which was totaled in an accident which was not my fault, have been having issues with the car when it fails to go into overdrive and when taking off it does not want to go into gear. Took it to the dealer I purchased it from did a diagnostic and sure enough my transmission is no good , I never received any recall notices and cannot believe I have to pay $2,500 to fix this issue when it is the fault of Nissan for not letting me know before my warrenty was up , I will NEVER purchase a Nissan again. How could you sell these faulty vehicles to the consumers knowing this issue shame shame screwing us over is your game!!!!! Now I and my husband have retired and now get to start all over with a car payment since my Nissan was paid for thanks for nothing!! Nissan
I find it absolutely ludicrous that Nissan says they are not to blame. Every complaint I have read is by a person who owns this same year model. Apparently these vehicles came from the same manufacturing plant and the worker who assembled and/or put these transmissions and radiators in these vehicles was asleep or did not know what they were doing. This is the only vehicle I have and I am not in a position to buy a new vehicle, nor do I particularly want to. I have had so many things repaired on this car since I bought in 2010 that is is just ridiculous. I realize things wear our and tear up, but all of us who own this particular vehicle are not sharing the same one, so someone is to blame and my guess is, it's not the owners of these cars for them to all have the same issue.
We purchased our 2007 Nissan pathfinder on May 21 of this year. Today makes 39 days we've had it. On the 32 day we noticed it was having some roughness in the transmission when changing gears. It felt like we were running over really rough roads or rumble strips. It continued to get worse the longer we drove it.
Then around a week ago I put it in reverse and it continued to roll forward. I immediately drove home to inform my husband. When he checked the transmission fluid it appeared to be empty. When he further checked it and cleaned the dipstick it was a tan-ish colored liquid that was showing up.
I went to Google and found that many others with this same or similar vehicle was having the same problem,and that the problem was a leak in a radiator hose that runs thru the transmission and leaks fluids back and forth. My husband went to check the radiator and sure enough there is transmission fluid in the radiator and it appeared in the engine as well. So now we have transmission fluid, water, and antifreeze in our transmission, radiator and engine.
Nissan needs to step up and take care of this problem. Its clear that this is a flaw in their workmanship. We were told by Nissan to bring our Pathfinder in for an evaluation and be prepared to pay 2,500 dollars. Needless to say we are paying a payment already on a vehicle we have had for one month. We can't afford this kind of repair. So now were stuck with a car we cant even drive.AND NISSAN SAY'S PAY $2500 COPAY after we put 1612 miles on it since purchasing it..
Update from Jul 2, 2015: JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH NISSAN SAID WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY THE $2500 CO-PAY THIS IS A BUNCH OF BULL! OWN IT 39 DAYS AND HAVE TO PAY OUT ANOTHER $2500....
Extremely angry that this has been an ongoing problem and Nissan did nothing to fix the problem. I bought my car used 2 years ago and love it but this should have been recalled and fixed before it led to needing a new transmission and having the engine fixed. If I didn't still owe on it I would not have gotten it fixed.
On Friday while driving to work my Pathfinder jerked and the check engine light came on, by the time I got to the shop it was having trouble accelerating from stop. After I turned the engine off it would not restart and needed to be towed to the transmission shop. On Monday I get the phone call that the coolant leaked into the transmission, causing the computer to short, and resulting in my car needing a new radiator, transmission rebuild and an engine flush.
From reading online I can tell this is a major problem for Nissan yet they didn't think to recall and fix these. After this car is paid off it is getting traded in and I don't think I want another Nissan.
We had noticed shimmying at about 40 mph and had it checked out. The dealership said it was a defective transmission. They advised there was a recall and we missed out on it because we did not respond. Of course, we never received any notice of recall and would have taken the car in if we had. I learned that Nissan--acting as all corporate citizens do now--has generously agreed to pay for repairs on a schedule that makes it look like they have supported their product and customers, but is entirely illusory. There is apparently no coverage if your Pathfinder has more than 100,000 miles on the car which, of course, is when it appears the problem usually is discovered.
If we actually had a working government or civil court system, Nissan would not be able to dodge responsibility for what appears to be a clear design defect. Since we do not--and the government essentially exists to funnel additional wealth to corporations from individuals--we are on our own. The only thing we can do is vote with our feet. DO NOT BUY NISSAN PRODUCTS.
Had the leak problem into the AT. and as most people I didn't know about it until it happened.It damaged my AT and radiator just because stupid engineers at Nissan won't design the car as supposed, no support from Nissan at this mileage. I asked and it cost around $6000 !!
I'm just frustrated to learn that I have to pay to fix the manufacturing defect. I understand there was a lawsuit and the deadline to file it, but I was not notify of the lawsuit or deadline. Nissan should have step up and help their loyal customer out and fix the problem. This should have been a recall, not an warranty extension.
I have a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder and the "Engine service" light went on and took it to my general mechanic for the usual oil change etc... He serviced the car and no major issue found.
On Wednesday 06/06/2015 after I arrived home from work, my car would drive backwards but not forward, call my mechanic and explained he told me to bring it to him but instead I took it to the main Nissan dealer, thinking he had missed something.
Over at Nissan the guy told me it was really bad. He told me I needed to replace the transmission along the radiator due to cross contamination of air coolant/water in the transmission. According to him, my warranty expired last year and my cost would be $5,180. I blamed my previous mechanic for not catching this but Nissan explained this is something no one could have "caught"... that when it happens it happens. Really is that a response????
In looking for "used" transmissions so to minimize my cost, to my surprise and disbelief, there is hundreds of complaints regarding this issue, no recall whatsoever, and it seems no one is doing anything about this.
I moved my car to a local shop specializing in transmissions only and still waiting to hear what my cost will be.
I am appalled by this, I have only owned this car for less than 3 years, still owe over $9K on it and now I have to spend $5K in repairs.
NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY A NISSAN. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE people making cars meant to fail, so that we make them more money on costly repairs.
I am beyond frustrated that Nissan will not offer a recall to correct the transmission issue for their buyers. This is NOT acceptable behavior and definitely NOT good customer service! I have always owned Nissan products and have never experienced any problems such as this with my previous vehicles.
Nissan told me that the transmission warranty was extended for 8 years. I was never notified and had no way of knowing until it was too late. I have taken great care of this vehicle and suddenly it started shaking on the freeway. Once I stopped I pressed the accelerator and nothing happened. This happened at 8 years, 4 months and they charged me a "Co-pay" of $2,500. Bullshit. This car only had 70,000 miles on it.
I want my damn money back. I had no choice and I payed the thieves.
I have a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder that I thought was the perfect car. It wasn't until a loud abrupt noise started coming from the front of the car when I sped up. We were told by friends that it sounded like there was a problem with the transmission. One day we were surprised by a pink foamy substance that came from the radiator. We replaced the radiator and had the transmission flushed twice. We did this before we found all these complaints online about the same problem.
I feel I'm at a loss here, I don't know if I should spend the money on replacing the transmission.
I still owe on the car and am very disappointing that Nissan won't take responsibility over this flaw in design. I will never buy a Nissan again.
I have written Nissan reimbursement headquarters and have had no response. I understand there was a recall for Radiator/Transmission cross contamination. This is exactly what the Transmission Specialist told us happened to our 2007 Pathfinder. We bore the entire cost of the repair to the tune of $3,551.37. I think it is so wrong that they can put a time limit on a known and admitted defect like this. We have had no other issues with our vehicle.
I realize this site will only use my data to compile defect patterns, as a consumer I would never recommend anyone buy a Nissan Pathfinder.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
AFTER DOING MY RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES. SHAME ON ME FOR TRUSTING THE NISSAN NAME AND NOT DOING MY RESEARCH PRIOR TO PURCHASING. RADIATOR LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION. WE REPLACED THE RADIATOR BUT OF COURSE WE NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION IN ORDER TO FIX THE ENTIRE PROBLEM. NISSAN DEALER WANTED ABOUT $2,500 TO REPLACE JUST THE RADIATOR AND A TOTAL OF $8,000 TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION. I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION SO NOW I AM STUCK WITH A TRUCK THAT I HAVE ONLY OWNED FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND WILL PROBABLY BREAK DOWN ON MY WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, IF I DON'T REPLACE THE TRANNY. I WILL NEVER BUY A NISSAN AGAIN...
- mpapa, East Islip, NY, US