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.

Had the problem with the transmission. The coolant leaked into the transmission and screwed it up. My mechanic said the transmission had aids. All the seals were screwed up . When I looked up on the computer, I found about 162 complains, all the same. Up until now , Nissan did nothing except give me the runaround. Now there is a case action suit. So maybe I can get something for all the gap I have put up with. I love the truck. My wife just brought a new 2013 Altama. Before this, it was a Rogue. This is my secondary Nissan truck. Just don't like how they conducted themselves with this problem. It happened to a lot a vehicles.

my 2005 nissan frontier started giving me problems in September 2012. I noticed that it would not accelerate after coming to a complete stop and when going up a hill the RPMs would ramp up. I also noticed a thumping sound coming from the transmission so I took it to a transmission repair shop in Nashville Tenn. He ran some tests and told me he did know what was wrong with it and that he thought it was an electrical problem. I then took it to an electrical shop and he told me he thought the transmission was bad but was not sure. I then took it to a Nissan Dealer ( Action Nissan in Nashville), the service manager told me that the radiator and the transmission had to be replaced, he said there was coolant in the transmission causing it to malfunction and that it would cost me $4800 . I called nissan consumer affairs and complained to them, at first they were very cooperative with me then two days later a lady name Melissa called me and told me that because my vehicle was outside the warranty there was nothing they could do for me. I told her I was aware of the defect and the problem with nissan and they should repair my vehicle, she told me she was sorry and hung up. I am really upset with Nissan because they know this is a problem caused by them and they refuse to fix it they rather pass the cost on to the consumer. I really thing something should be done about this and I am going to do everything in my power to expose nissan. I will never purchase another nissan vehicle.

I feel so stupid just to trust nissan before I actually got my 2005 frontier.... I also feel sorry for those who are getting or already got one I wish all of you,. good luck.... because my story is much different I was rip-off totally .... I did so much work on my tuck that it hurt so much .... when I decided to sell it because I didn't have money necessary to fix it at the time ..... and when i finally sold it .. I got nothing$ for it...... and to think how much money I put into it ....well I guess is part of the job....

I asking nissan inc to respect people and don't sell us cars like my nissan frontier without repairing they mistakes......

Just like many of the other Nissan Frontier owner's, my wife and I went through the same issues with the radiator coolant leaking into the transmission fluid. Our vehicle has a life time oil change through Nissan and every time we take it in for an oil change they do their 21 point inspection. I can't believe they were not able to notice that there was oil residue in the radiator when they checked our vehicle. Once I felt our vehicle start to make a little noise and vibration (like as though you were hitting the ribs on side of the road to keep you awake if you start going off the road). I started looking into what might be causing this issue. I checked the transmission fluid and it looked a little on the brown side and I noticed oil residue in the radiator. I took it into Nissan, which they charge me $ 150, just to tell me that I needed to replace the transmission and radiator. Our vehicle was still running pretty good at that time, I asked if there was any kind of discount they could give us and I even spoke to the service manager and they said they would have someone contact me. I can 't believe they had sales person contact me to see if I wanted to purchase a new vehicle. Needless to say what I told that sales person what he could do with his new vehicle. I also contacted Nissan Corp. and they were totally useless.

I ended up purchasing a new radiator and drained the transmission about 3 time and it seems to be shifting ok. I was one of the luck one's that caught it in time and was able to save my transmission. Shortly after changing out the radiator, our vehicle started heating up and I found out that I was getting exhaust emission into the radiator, due to a bad head gasket or warped head. I believe this was caused by the combination of coolant and oil being in the cooling system. Nissan wanted to charge me about $ 2,500 just in labor. I had a local mechanic do the labor for $ 1,000 and the repairs to the heads was about $ 500. Our vehicle is now running fine and not over heating. I am so pissed at Lithia Nissan of Fresno and Nissan Corp that I will never purchase another vehicle from them. I have purchase several vehicles in the past (about 5 vehicles). They have lost my business for good and I will tell any of my friends not to purchase from that dealership or Nissan products.

After reading all of the same issues with this year and model, I see Nissan having no intentions of replacing transmission and radiator ! I have a 2005 Nissan frontier Nismo 4.0 4x4 My transmission Shifts hard and sounds like its about to explode!!! My rear-end or transmission vibrates at between 35-65 MPH like my drive train is about ready to drop out on the road! Just days ago I took a 150 mile trip, and as I started to slow down for a stop at a light, I heard and felt a massive Bang that felt as if my rear-end came up off the ground. I started to slow down and "BANG BANG CLUNK ! The vibration is so intense, I had to call a tow truck to haul it back 150 miles! I don't have the money $6500 to fix a problem and part failure that is the cause of Nissan's poor design! THIS SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF BY NISSAN FOR FREE! If they don't, I have a friend of the family that's an investigative reporter for 60 minutes! If something does not happen and Nissan refuses, they will have a major problem that will make Toyota's recalls look like a picnic!!!! STEP UP AND REPLACE THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION, OR YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF NOT ABLE TO SELL OR BUILD ANOTHER CAR OR TRUCK AGAIN!

Noticed rough shifting, brought in to an independent mechanic for a check. When draining transmission fluid, they noticed water in there. They recommended to replace the radiator and flush the tranny. Did that (cost $440). Rough shifting is still there. A Co-worker brought to my attention that there was an extended warranty for the radiator unit and tranny. Brought in to Mossy Nissan in Poway, CA. They asked me to contact Nissan USA to open a case since the radiator is replaced with an after market unit and was done at an independent mechanic. Nissan USA told me that since the work was done else where, that voided the extended warranty. They blame that the after market may have damaged the tranny. There no visible issue with the after market radiator (1 month old). Nissan USA also told me that they are checking to see if they can provide with any assistance.

Cant add much that hasn't already been said. Same problem as everyone else. 2005 Frontier was running fine, going down the highway 55mph, it was like you reached down and shifted into neutral. Luckily late at night and not much traffic, had nowhere to get off highway!

Towed to dealer to find out radiator coolant in transmission, thus both were junk and both would have to be replaced, cost $6,900.00. Called Nissan Consumer Affairs, what a joke, they contacted me two weeks later,denied my claim, acted as if i was the first person to have this problem and said since my truck had 95,994 miles it exceeded the "extended" 80,000 mile warranty. Asked the rep. if 16,000 miles was worth loosing a 20 year Nissan customer, they replied "they have to set guidelines and stay within those guidelines" while saying it with a straight face! To add insult to injury also had a private warranty through Auto Assure and when filed complaint with then was told that the radiator is not covered under the warranty and would not pay for repair of transmission because radiator was at fault. Finally haggled with dealership and got them to come down to $4,800.00. Now i have a truck payment, warranty payment,and a repair payment which has me at new truck price for a 2005 vehicle. Thanks Nissan and hope you get yours and the sooner the better ! If you have a 2005-2010 with these problems do your homework and file a complaint with every outlet you can find, NHSTA, Better Business Bureau and others. There is also a lawsuit in the making against Nissan,the more complaints to the right places hopefully will force Nissan to recall this undeniable DEFECT!!

The problem began with an audible growling accompanied by a shuddering sensation. I had the problem diagnosed at the dealership as fluid contamination in the transmission. The dealership advised taking the vehicle out of service for repair at an estimated cost of $6500 to replace the transmission and radiator. I could not afford this so I had the radiator replaced and the fluid completely power flushed by my local (ASME) mechanic at a cost of $900. The problem persists and I expect catastrophic failure at any time.

I am an independent contractor and this vehicle is my livelihood. I have owned 7 Nissan trucks and I love them, but this may be my last. Why doesn't Nissan acknowledge they have a defective product and repair these trucks?

Nissan should be taken to court and fined for fraud. They need to recall every bad transmission and radiator out there. It is a manufacturing defect and they are responsible. Here is my story: Before I started shopping for this make and model I checked online for any recalls it might have. I noticed there were only a few minor ones so I felt good about purchasing this year and model of truck. I drove to Sacramento and bought this 2005 Nissan Frontier LE 4X4 in early May of 2012. After driving home from Sacramento on the freeway I noticed a slight vibration as though I was hitting the warning strips you sometimes see on the shoulder of the asphalt. It would last for a few seconds and then stop. It mainly happened at 60 mph and at 40 mph with the overdrive on. I went online to see if there was any other mention of problems with the drive-train and I was shocked to see all the complaints of cross contamination with the automatic transmissions and radiators. Nissan has failed to take responsibility in reporting this as a problem. So I had the truck looked at and found the radiator fluid to look frothy in the overflow and the transmission fluid was pinkish. I recently had the transmission disconnected from the radiator and re-routed to only the cooling unit (it sits in front of the radiator) to separate the two fluids from each other. The transmission shop owner told me there were signs of breakdown on the seals inside and contamination of the transmission fluid. Now the transmission slips from 2nd to 3rd gear and clunks sometimes as I accelerate. To fix it will cost $4300 (to install a re-manufactured transmission) and I don't have that kind of cash on hand at the moment and I am not thrilled with the idea that I should have to pay to get Nissan's defective design fixed. So naturally I am joining the growing number of pissed off consumers in possession of a malfunctioning and poorly designed product from a corporation that refuses to acknowledge that they are responsible for solving this matter.

The transmission has not been right since the first tranmission service. Of course, I had to have the service at the dealership. Even though I complained about it every time I returned for any oher service, I was ignored and they intentionally never wrote it into my service record...NOT ONCE. Finally someone did look at the transmission, and said the radiator cracked and ruined the transmission. That's a first. Now they are trying to say it is out of warranty, but I have been complaining about the transmission not being right since their required service. It seems they intentionally did not document the issue. It seems that they intentionally did not look at it because they wanted to wait until the warranty was up before bothering to actually look at it again. Now knowing this is a serious design flaw, if they do not offer to pay at least half the cost,its good to know I may join the class action lawsuit. It may also mean Buh-Bye to nissan.

I think the design and the fact that it could happen was a very idiotic thing for so called educated idiots that engineered this major malfunction, should have to pay for this. I also believe the company who is Wholesale Inc of Nashville,TN knew about this problem and just tried to pass it off because I didnt know about it. I will take the blame for my lack of knowledge on the product, and I learned an important and expensive lesson. When I went back to try and trade, they wouldnt even consider taking me serious. It will be the last vehicle I buy from them. Nissan is no doubt responsible but I will just be the guy who has learned a hard lesson. No more foreign vehicles for me. Buy American cause I will.