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:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
76,955 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.
2005 Nissan ipdm problems. After reading online everyone is having this problem. What are recalls for? 63,000 miles and a dead truck. The big company Nissan needs to step up and fix this small problem instead of milking consumers for unnecessary repairs "trying" to fix the problem.
The problem is the lost power / died randomly in various situations on the Nissan Pathfinder 2005. The failure has occurred at a low speed accelerating into an intersection, at a stop and go traffic, at a steady speed on a city road, and at a highway speed. The failure always occurs without warning or failure indication. I lost complete power; the "service engine soon" light comes on along with the other lights in the dashboard like if the key was just turn on without starting. This failure has been very scary for my family as it has occurred on the highway. No engine codes were found, so no repairs were attempted by the dealer. What is most discomforting is that when I did research on the web, I found that it is a very common problem with this model. Here is a one of the many links I found: www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2005/Nissan/Pathfinder/electrical+system.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 5 mph the vehicle stalled. She stated that the vehicle stalled with no warning lights. She waited for a few minutes and attempted to restarted the vehicle but it did not start. She called a towing company and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer advised her that the intelligent power distribution module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer stated that they were recalling certain vehicles for the failure but her vehicle was not a part of the recall. The contact was unable to provide a VIN. The approximate failure and current mileages were 75,000.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Engine cuts off without warning while driving. Has happened twice in traffic, one time at a busy intersection. Vehicle starts about 20 minutes later. Took vehicle to dealer who advised that it's 'most likely' ipdm failure but they are unable to diagnose as it doesn't throw a code. Dealer kept car 5 days and "tried" to duplicate the failure to positively diagnose, but was unable to. The day after picking it up from the dealer the engine quit again in traffic. Now we are told that our warranty company will only cover if they can positively diagnose. My toddler was in the car the first time this occurred and our car died in the middle of an intersection between 2 6-lane roads. Couldn't remove the vehicle for 30 minutes. Just waiting for it to happen while merging on the interstate during rush hour traffic. Hopefully there are no injuries or fatalities as a result of this failure.
The 2005 Pathfinder has lost power / died randomly in various situations 4 times in two months. At low speed accelerating into an intersection, at a steady 30mph on a city road, and at 55mph on a highway. The failure occurs without warning. I lose complete power, the "service engine soon" light fades in and out along with other lights. This failure has been very scary for my family as it has occurred on the highway with my 15year old daughter learning to drive. She has also been stranded in the middle of an intersection as the vehicle is stalled and cannot be restarted. When trying to re-start, the engine will turn over and maintain a sputter, but not really run and not allow movement. No engine codes were found after two separate incidents, so no repairs were attempted.
Well, well, thank goodness for sites like this. I took my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder SE to the dealership....car had been bucking and stalling randomly. They played stupid at the dealership, even had the gall to suggest after running the $95 diagnostics that my car was fine. Yeah right. I just had nothing better to do than drop off a car in working condition... they suggested I leave the car there overnight and they would run the diagnostic again and voila...its the ipdm! they want around $600 to fix because its not under warranty. I've had to change the battery at 20K miles, replace the fuel sensors, take the car back and forth multiple times because sensors were going off for no apparent reason. Apparently this all comes back to that faulty ipdm that should've been looked at from the beginning--while under warranty. Now I've spent all this money on fixing things that this ipdm has created and now they find the source is the ipdm conveniently after warranty is expired"?? Nissan knows about this problem and I was told by a Nissan usa customer service rep that this part is on backorder because of widespread demand. Hmmmm...could it be because it doesn't work, is faulty and should be recalled???" yes. Nissan should be ashamed to put a car like this on the road with these known problems. I am done with this brand. Unsafe.
I have a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. After filling the gas tank the gas gauge reads empty and the service engine soon warning light stays on. I currently have about 146,000 km and had this same problem when the vehicle had about 55,000 km. The fuel sensor was replaced under warranty at that time. I have been operating the vehicle like this as the cost is about $400 to replace the sensor.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder ipdm failed in the middle of traffic at 70 mph with no warning. Lost all power and left family stranded on side of the road. Had car towed home then to Nissan where they admitted alot of same problems with other 2005 Pathfinders. Now fuel sensor failed on Pathfinder which Nissan has recalled for 2006-2008 Pathfinders for same reason but not 2005 Pathfinders with same problems. Car is almost 5 years old and has had 4 batteries and has left us stranded 6 times all for electrical issues that are posted on the internet as a huge consumer problem with Pathfinders someone is going to get hurt or killed in a Nissan unless government takes a look at these problems. All internet postings are regarding same issues ipdm module and the fuel level sensor. Please help!
I have a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Around 50000 miles the fuel gauge quite working properly and continues to show both accurate and erroneous indications. I will indicated properly at times and indicated improperly at times. Also the distance to empty calculator has quite working. This is a very common issue with the Pathfinders, Nissan recently issued a recall for the 2006 and 2007 Nissan for this problem. However they failed to include the 2005 Pathfinders which have numerous reports of the exact same symptoms. I have run out of fuel twice due to incorrect fuel indications. Fortunately they were both near home on unbusy streets. I have a 2 year old son and I can't afford to drive and unsafe vehicle. Heaven forbid I run out of gas on a 4 lane highway with no shoulders. Nissan knows there is a problem with these and yet neglected to include 2005 Pathfinders in their recall. They continue to deny responsibility for the safety of the people that drive their cars. The fix for this cost nearly $500. In my case it caused the check engine light to come on, which in turn means my vehicle will not pass inspection. All because of a fuel level sendign unit that was either engineered improperly, manufactured imporperly or installed improperly. Why is it that the exact same type of vehicles have the exact same problem all around the same mileage. I highly doubt it is coinsidence. In fact, Nissan recognizes that there is a issue with the fuel level sending units, yet somehow the 2005 Pathfinders don't fit into the recall. You would think with the recent issues with Toyota that Nissan would be more willing to ensure the safety of their passengers.
Engine shutoff without warning in September of 2009, I started to have sudden engine shutdowns in my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. It could occur anytime and was completely unpredictable. The most dangerous times were at highway speeds with traffic behind me. I contacted my local Nissan dealer several times and the suggested a number of possibilities and checked various items without success. I wrote the Nissan Consumer Affairs department (Nov 17, 2009) and explained my situation and the danger after an internet search revealed the problem to be a computer device called the "intelligent power distribution module" or ipdm. At the time of my problem this device was on back order because of the demand for them. I paid to have my ipdm replaced because of the very serious and dangerous problem of the engine shut-off without warning, since the device was replaced, I have had no problems with engine shutoff and my vehicle runs fine. I can not believe that Nissan is not appear of the problem since appears to have started in about 2005.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The entire car shuts off while driving when it has 1/4 tank of gas. Mine cut of while going through a busy intersection. Took it to the Nissan dealer & they said it was the idp chip. I looked on the internet and several Pathfinder owners have this same problem. This can be very dangerous. The car cuts off with no warning. The dealer told me the part could take up to 1 month to get in! when they finally got the part it cost me over $400 to put in on. This is a serious and very dangerous problem.
Own a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder with 64,000 right now.. which is out of warranty. Had the check engine light on for couple of months.. the truck has been at the dealer and also private mechanics... nobody could find anything wrong with the car until it completely shut down on me. Wouldn't start had it towed to the nearest mechanic he said the car had electrical problems had the whole fuse box replaced paid $450 two days later the check engine light came on again took it to the dealer nothing wrong was found went back home.. right now my car is at a private mechanic... because wouldn't go more than 40 mph.... the mechanic said is the radiator which is broken and antifreeze leaked in the transmission please help.... I see there's a lot of people having the same problem these vehicles are defective just to get it fixed is close to $10,000.
Nissan Pathfinders 2005-2009, are have a problem with the ipdm, which causes the vehicle to stall while driving. I am not sure if there has been any injuries from this problem, but the potential is there, if the driver is trying to merge into high speed traffic and this happens, an accident is sure to happen. I had this problem, as I searched the internet for a solution there are plenty of other owners having the problem, with their vehicles. The post I found my solution on states that Nissan knows of this problem, but no recall to fix the problem.
The ipdm/er (fuse and relay box) failed on our Nissan Pathfinder in the middle of a busy highway with my kids in the car. The car just shutdown, all electrical failed. After doing research, it turns out alot of people are experiencing this issue. The same thing is happening with titan Nissan trucks. The car shutting off randomly can be deadly! it's one of the most scariest things to happen with your kids in the car. There is a national back order for this part from Nissan which proves that this is an epidemic problem and Nissan should makes this a national recall before someone ends up dead!
My 2005 Nissan Pathfinder has a bad ipdm (part# 284B7-zc00A) which makes the truck randomly shut down. Mine shut down in an intersection and I was almost T-boned. Dealer has told me that this is a known issue for Nissan, and looking on the internet, the problem is rampant. Thank god it didn't fail when I had my family back county leaving us stranded. Nissan is aware of this, they are redesigning the part (so I am told) - they should recall before someone is hurt.
Vehicle stalls while driving, losing power, and won't restart until minutes later. This problem recurs, intermittently over the day. Took car to the Nissan dealer. Dealer was finally able to reproduce the malfunction while car was on the self-diag, results was : internal failure @ ipdm.[ECM loses power supply from ipdm.] removed and replaced part ; dat 284B7-zc00A [controller unit.] also request bg fuel induction flushing service. Total cost $531 vehicle performs good.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Since January of 2009, the fuel gauge has failed to display the correct amount of fuel in the vehicle. The contact feels that this is a safety issue because it is important to know how much fuel is in the vehicle. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were 68,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Farmville, NC, USA