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 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
159,184 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.
I was on my way back from the mall when I heard my fan/belt start to squeal. Not thinking anything of it I kept on driving next thing I know I'm pressing harder on my gas peddle just to go faster. My rpms where going to high and I was only going 65. I was on the high when this happen so I didn't notice till I had to go up a bridge and that's when I really notice my engine struggling to get power, it sounded like it was doing a lot when it really wasn't. I knew I had to go to the mechanic to get it looked at they told me it was a lose bolt. Next thing I'm driving home and my car was doing the same thing again but this time it wasn't going into gear in drive, so I tried 3 gear still nothing so I went to 2 and it stuck. I parked it on a side street in ocean city and called trip a and had it towed to Nissan of atlantic city to see what was wrong. Couple days later they called and told me my radiator fluid leaked into my transmission and messed all the gears up. After hearing that I looked up that problem on Xterras apparently this is a pretty common occurrence on them. I was not notified of such problems by the dealer and apparently Nissan want reimburse me so I'm out 7,500 because my Nissan is sitting in my back yard.
Radiator, which was recalled and I was never notified about, cracked leaking coolant into the transmission ultimately causing the transmission to fail.
I was driving 15 mph on the local street and the slip sensor light and vehicle dynamic control sensor light came on, then the transmission started to make a grinding noise. That's it, finished at 49K miles doa. Vehicle was always garaged. Radiator cracked leaked coolant into transmission nice truck, sorry to have to let Nissan go. Truck was like new.
When it turned cold Jan/Feb 2105 our daughter told us the heat was not working. But she knew we did not have the money to repair so we did not worry about it. We own a 2000 Chevy truck & the heat has not worked for years & we just live with it.so we never thought about the radiator/coolant being the problem. Then something major happened-our daughter was driving home from auburn al to our home in opelika al & she called us saying the car would not go over 25-30 mph. We were out of town, it was 10 pm at night so we told her to keep driving and get home to a safe place (her life was more important than stopping on the side of the road--a young lady all by herself) she got home, parked it & when we returned home we took it to a local repair shop that we trust. He called us the next day & said I have devastating news. He told us about the service report put out on Nissan Xterras in regard to the major, well known to Nissan problem of when the coolant/radiator cracks because of a faulty when in manufacturing radiator is put in it is a known by Nissan bad one. It cracks & leaks into the transmission in which the coolant mixes with the transmission fluid & creates a toxic hell stew that destroys the transmission. He said your car is worth $5,000 but the cost to repair is $7,000. I called Nissan they told me I had to take it to a Nissan dealer for their diagnosis and the diagnosis is the same. My husband is very, very sick and we have huge medical, pharmacy, hospital bills and I have had breast cancer with chemo that has caused an autoimmune disorder (almost lost my left eye) and our 15 year-old daughter goes to children's hospital in birmingham al for rheumatoid arthritis. We thought we were buying a very dependable car for $14,000 only 3 1/2 years ago and now it is 4500 pounds of junk metal. If Nissan had told us about the problem, we could have been proactive.
- Opelika, AL, USA
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The Xterra began overheating and driving in an unsafe manner at highway speeds. Diagnosis at a Nissan dealer was a failed cooler line allowed coolant in the radiator and that both the radiator and transmission would have to be replaced at a cost of $5800. There was no prior warning to the failure. The vehicle is just outside of an extended 10K warranty/$3000 copay Nissan offered as a result of a class action lawsuit for this issue.
Defective radiator leaked engine coolant into automatic transmission fluid (atf), causing cross-contamination of fluids that will ruin the re5R05A transmission. The engine coolant water contamination can short-circuit the low current electronic computer located on the valve body. This transmission was used in Xterra; frontier; pathfinder and armada vehicles manufactured between 2005 and 2010. Fixing the radiator and replacing the contaminated fluid with fresh fluid does not alleviate the problem, as the transmission computer has been permanently damaged. The only way to fix a damaged transmission computer is to replace it with a new one, and they are only available from Nissan as part of a new valve body assembly. (www.toptransmissions.com/Nissan-pathfinder-Xterra-armada) numerous consumer reports online show that the vehicle can suddenly lose power, or even lock up the driving wheels while driving the vehicle in traffic; therefore, this is a serious safety defect issue. Suburban transmissions of gaithersburg, md 20878 (ph. 301-362-4040 or 800-353-3477) reports that: "for most trucks and SUVS, fixing the radiator problem and replacing the transmission fluid might correct this problem. However, on the Nissan pathfinder and Xterra and other models that use the re5R05A transmission?(w)E also recommend (along with radiator & transmission replacement) bypassing the radiator with an external transmission cooler to prevent this from happening again as replacing the radiator issue is likely to happen again." [web source: Link shown above.]
Driving home from work my vehicle started to tremble and shudder at speeds above 30-40 mph. Eventually after much hesitation and loud engine revving I decided to pull over and turn the vehicle off. Turned it back on and got about a few hundred feet down the road when the same problem occurred. The transmission wasn't responsive with the engine causing me to cut someone off just to pull of the road safely. I have heard the common issue with Nissan's transmission/coolant contamination and decided to look further into the issue after getting towed home. $100 down the drain. Sure enough my coolant reservoir and radiator cap were smothered in a thick goop known as the infamous "smod". there is trans fluid mixed into my coolant and more than likely, coolant in my transmission. This is design flaw in Nissan. This problem should be resolved completely by Nissan with no fault to their dedicated customers. Warranties need to be extended past 100K because that's when the issue is occurring in most Xterra, pathfinder, and frontiers. I'll be damned if Nissan only partially cover my cost repair leaving the bulk to me. I am a student working a full time job trying to pay for their education bit by bit. This is not what others in similar situation need to deal with and neither do I. remember, Nissan is only successful and wealthy because of us, the consumer. Give back to those who helped you build a reputable auto manufacturer.
The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. While driving at approximately 40 mph, the transmission failed and the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator and the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 121,000. The VIN was unavailable.
For a cracked radiator the coolant leak into the transmission destroying it. The cost of repair is around $ 6,000. The Nissan dealer to not want to assume that it is a manufacturer defect.
Transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. The source of the contamination is a cracked atf line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator.my 2006 Xterra has had same issue.trans and radiator had to be replaced.
Upon turning a corner after coming to a complete stop at a stop sign in my neighborhood, I went to accelerate and match the speed of oncoming traffic. The gear failed to shift appropriately (transmission) and giving the car gas simply revved the engine. Luckily the approaching car responded well and slowed to avoid a rear collision while I eased off the pedal and then gently accelerated again to my local mechanic. Upon his examination of my 2006 Xterra, he determined that the transmission fluid and coolant were mixing and destroying both my radiator and transmission. A quick search on the internet revealed that this dangerous problem is common among Nissan owners! when I purchased the vehicle from smithtown Nissan in 2010 and subsequently, there was absolutely no notification or recall regarding this dangerous hazard. This is unacceptable and life-threatening. There settlement of a class action lawsuit is insufficient (a $2500 - $3K) co-pay to replace the transmission and potentially have the same defect again! my wife and kids rely on my car every day and I feel fortunate that I did not wait any longer to have the car examined, but I am extremely disturbed by Nissan's negligence.
The initial incident was failed timing chain tensioner guides. As indicated earlier Nissan knowingly redesigned the parts since the originals were found to wear through, causing the timing chain to rub directly on the metal post of the tensioner and contact the housing cover. During the repair the Nissan service department confirmed the failed radiator coolant contamination addressed in ODI NHTSA action number: DP12004. The timing chain and guides were replaced; the radiator was replaced; coolant was flushed; transmission was drained, flushed, and filled. The service department also confirmed Nissan, N.a. would not offer any amount of repair assistance. Total cost was $2200. The day after the vehicle was repaired it suddenly decelerated from 55mph to 30mph and the RPM's increased to 4K+ while traveling on a multi lane dark country highway at 11pm. The section of highway did not have an emergency lane or shoulder. A vehicle was in the left lane and a semi-truck was quickly approaching from the rear in the right lane. Once crossing the bridge the vehicle was jerked to the shoulder, avoiding a rear collision from the approaching semi-truck. The vehicle was turned off and restarted. The RPM's returned to 1K, the transmission was in neutral, and the check engine was illuminated. The following day Nissan service confirmed it was a failing valve body as a result of the coolant contamination. The wholesale repair cost was quoted at $1400. Again, Nissan, N.a. would not address the failure. At this time the repair has not, and will not, be completed.
Check engine light came on, took to mechanic for a check and found that we were leaking radiator coolant into the transmission fluid. Had to replace parts and flush transmission at a pricey cost.
The radiator cooling water got into the transmission fluid. This caused strong vibration that we had to get off the road in the middle of a highway. The damage was required to replace the radiator and flush the transmission. It started other problems with the transmission safety switch that caused engine trouble alert. After few weeks the car stalled altogether and we now had to tow it to a garage. This is a problem that was reported before and I do not understand why Nissan does not fix the problem and repair the damaged units.
Vehicle suddenly stopped changing gears while on a main road where speed limit is 55 mph. Turned onto a smaller country road, could not accelerate more than 20 mph, and slowly descended from there until finally coming to a complete stop. Cracked radiator caused coolant leak into transmission fluid causing many systems to fail. In turn, had to replace radiator and completely rebuild and flush transmission several times ($4400 expense). Had I been on a major highway or interstate when this happened, there would have been a much more serious out come.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- High Point , NC, USA