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:
$3,910
Average Mileage:
102,400 miles
Total Complaints:
425 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. replace transmission & radiator (290 reports)
  2. not sure (55 reports)
  3. replace transmission & flush the radiator (27 reports)
  4. replace radiator (14 reports)
  5. repair transmission and add an external oil cooler (13 reports)
  6. rebuild transmission (12 reports)
2005 Nissan Pathfinder transmission problems

transmission problem

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2005 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 6 of 22)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #325

Jun 102013

Pathfinder LE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 93,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The most frustrating part is the lame lawsuit that Nissan came up with. They will pay partially for this fix, but only up to 90,000 miles. If you research this issue, this problem happens at about 95,000 miles. This should've been a recall with Nissan replacing every single radiator it made in these Pathfinders. They've lost our business forever because of this issue.

- Kimberly L., Hemet, CA, US

problem #324

Aug 142014

Pathfinder SE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 67,000 miles

Nissan has known about this problem for a number of years and actually settled a class action suit in 2012.

Knowing that a $500 radiator repair could have saved a $3500-$4000 transmission rebuild, Nissan elected to not recall the radiators, and roll the dice with their reputation and their customers money. Now with the vehicle 9 years old, but having only 67,000 miles, they have offered out of the goodness of their heart to replace the radiator and transmission for a mere $3,000 copay, but backing it with only a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty.

What a slap in the face. I can have it repaired for a few bucks more and get a better warranty, with a reputable local shop.

Then they have the nerve to say that alternatively they can give me $ assistance on the purchase of a new Nissan, an even bigger joke !! I hope that a second class action suit may be forthcoming.........I'll be all in.

- Wayne M., Baton Rouge, LA, US

problem #323

Jul 022014

Pathfinder ES 4.3L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 124,122 miles

I'm obviously not the first person with this problem but the fact that Nissan won't do a damn thing knowing they put out a faulty product is the real kick in the balls! Unfortunately for me, I have over 100,000 miles, which entitles me to exactly 0.00 dollars from Nissan. So I could sit here and piss and moan all day, but I'll make it short and sweet, F U Nissan!!!!!!!

- Chad G., Columbiana, OH, US

problem #322

Aug 112014

Pathfinder SE V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 102,765 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Nissan did not communicate the defective radiator to the customer. We didn't know this existed until it was too late. Nissan will not help me with the problem, they admit that I did nothing wrong.

- Norm P., Spanish Fork, UT, US

problem #321

May 292014

Pathfinder ES V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 121,000 miles

I want to know why all of Nissan pathfinder's owner were not told about the class action law suit concerning this problem. For those of us who are just now facing this problem and have to incur this cost at our own expense it's not fair. My next car was going to be a Nissan but no way in hell will I drive another Nissan and I will tell anyone who will listen how awful I think they are.

- Colene N., College Station, TX, US

problem #320

Jun 132013

Pathfinder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 83,431 miles

The transmission failed due to a poor design by Nissan. The transmission then failed again due to the radiator leaking into the "NEW" (rebuilt) transmission

- tommcc, Colorado Springs, CO, US

problem #319

Aug 022014

Pathfinder SE 4.0L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 56,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On August 2, 2014 I brought my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder in for service after it began to show signs of transmission problems: heavy vibrations, rough shifting, and shuddering noises. My local Nissan dealership diagnosed a coolant leak into the transmission (a known defect with 2005 Pathfinders). This coolant leak cause irreparable damage to the transmission requiring both the radiator and transmission to be replaced. Due to a class action lawsuit Nissan had extended the warranty to address this issue to 8 years / 80,000 miles (whichever comes first). However since this issue occurred 7 months beyond the 8 year limit the copay for repairs will be $2500. Not only is this issue a financial burden it is also a major inconvenience as the repair requires 2 days. Hopefully this repair will fix the underlying issue and avoid future coolant leaks into the transmission. Not happy at all with Nissan.

- Darren P., Trappe, PA, US

problem #318

Jun 292014

Pathfinder SE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 83,000 miles

Bought thePathfinder from a small local dealer. Drove less than 1000 miles when failure occurred. Problem did not show up unless you had driven over 60 miles because it takes that long to heat the transmission fluid to cause it to start shifting funny. Extended "warranty" had a $3000 co-pay which is stunningly ridiculous for a problem Nissan was fully aware of. Now I'm stuck with this lemon and understand that even with the Nissan "fix" it could happen again unless I spend even more to have the tyranny lines run into a separate cooler. Should have bought a 4 Runner!

- ntrepid55, Radiant, VA, US

problem #317

Jun 202014

Pathfinder LX 4w

  • Automatic transmission
  • 110,000 miles

We purchased a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder and is now currently experiencing the radiator cooler leaking coolant into automatic transmission. Not good at all! The problem began with the engine stalling and the check engine light came on. We took the vehicle to a certified Nissan dealership where we were told the radiator cooler is leaking coolant into the automatic transmission. The tech recommended transmission assembly, radiator cap, and flush cooler lines and quoted repair cost at $6000! Just shoot me why don't you. I contacted Nissan Corp to see if they would assist with the cost of repairs since they knowingly knew of this problem since 2010. They flat out told me no.

There was a class action lawsuit in 2012, for this specific problem, that we did not take part of because at that time, we were not having any problems at all. Love my Pathfinder until now! Well, still love my Pathfinder but am furious at Nissan Corp for not doing a better job at honoring their mistake. I have contacted a lawyer with the hopes of filing a new lawsuit against Nissan. This problem is still occurring as we speak to hundreds of Nissan owner's and it is not fair as a consumer to have to endure this type of frustration for a known repair that should have been recalled!

- T D., Baltimore, MD, US

problem #316

Jun 302014

Pathfinder TK V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 90,851 miles

my 2005 pathfinder i love very much but now i have no transportation. for over a month now i have been hearing this shuddering noise and this heavy vibrating sound while accelerating. so i took it to the dealer and was told that the coolant is leaking into the transmission. after receiving the estimate, which explained that i no longer have warranty, the cost will be $6000. Nissan will give me a $3000 goodwill assistance program which leaves me with the other $3000 to pay. i don't have that kind of money.after doing a research i learned that the 2005-2010 pathfinder has been having the problem since 2012 and they didn't have the courtesy to inform me or do a recall on the vehicle. now am in a bind. this is just just a pack of bull.

- Veron M., Gwynn Oak, MD, US

problem #315

May 172013

Pathfinder LE V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My well-cared for Nissan had a fuel gauge problem about 3 years ago that Town North Nissan (Austin, TX) said was not a part of the recall. The man there was very condescending to this little lady and downright rude. I spoke with Nissan NA and they agreed that yes that my Vin # was not a part of the recall but that it was under warranty. It was fixed for free, so they helped me out where the dealership would not.

Now my truck is at 85,000 miles and my husband reads online about the class action suit. The car is parked, as I cannot afford a new transmission. I contact Nissan NA, they tell me $2,500 co-pay. They send me to drive dangerous (stuck in 4th gear) vehicle to awful dealership who tells me diagnosis is; the Nissan issue of Radiator leaking into Transmission. Not covered since I am at 85,000 miles. I call Nissan NA (headquarters) and am told Regional Director will contact me in 24 hours. Lindsey (ext 457325) does call me and states "Sorry, but we were ordered to extend to only 80K miles and now your copay is $2,500." Not acceptable, not helpful.

I'm not done or should I say I am done with Nissan's forever and will flame them until I fizzle out. Still cannot afford $2,600 and can't sell broken truck so I have no idea what I am to do. I was hoping to pass this car along to my son as a graduation present or trade it in or sell it. All of that is negated now and it is worthless. Nissan problem = Zero sum game for consumer...

- Amy M., Austin, TX, canada

problem #314

Jun 272014

Pathfinder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 95,000 miles

I was never contacted by Nissan that this could be an issue.

Never was it reported.

- Oswaldo F., Kissimmee, FL, US

problem #313

Jun 252014

Pathfinder ES 4.0L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 104,500 miles

The radiator/coolant leak is a known issue. It has an easy and relatively inexpensive solution, which is to recall the vehicles and replace the radiator (after fixing the flaw in the radiator design that led to the coolant leak in the first place). It has been known for several years.

I have owned this vehicle since 2007 and not once heard from the dealer or the manufacturer to bring the vehicle in for a check.

In fact, September 2013, I paid Ken Garff Nissan of Orem, Utah for a serious transmission repair on my Nissan Rogue 2008, and asked specifically if there were any concerns I should be paying attention to on the Pathfinder so as to take preventive measures. The radiator could have been replaced at that point, and while Nissan should be taking responsibility for a defective design that causes the valve to leak int he first place, I would have been much more willing to pay for a $250 radiator replacement than a $4,000+ transmission replacement.

I'm furious. Ken Garff Nissan of Orem, and every other Nissan dealership in Utah will be hearing from me about this egregious breach of customer care for a repeat customer who currently owns 2 vehicles and has referred countless others to local dealerships because I've been such a fan, up until yesterday. How much easier would it have been to warn me about the radiator. After all the class action lawsuit was finished a year before I asked specifically if there was anything I needed to be concerned about. Ken Garff Service Guys!!! Seriously??!!!! You can't be that clueless! My transmission guy repairs RACE CAR trannies, not Nissans for a living, and he knew about the Pathfinder flaw; as soon as I described the problem he asked me if I had a coolant leak!!

Fix my car! Pay my guy to do it. and from now on, until you design a better radiator, replace mine every 50,000 miles. That's what it will take to get me to buy another Nissan, EVER AGAIN! Or win my good will and recommendations, EVER AGAIN!

- Patricia C., Springville, UT, US

problem #312

Jun 212014

Pathfinder XE 4.0L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 95,200 miles

I was totally unaware of this issue since there never was a recall. I have completely lost the use of my Pathfinder. It has seriously affected my ability to get to work and support my family. The mechanic estimates $4300 to fix this but that is only a rough estimate.

The fact that Nissan didn't issue a recall and that so many people have been affected is ridiculous beyond belief. I am seriously considering getting a lawyer and going after them for damages. I could have easily been involved in an accident as it happened while I was driving home on local roads. Had I been on the highway, there would have been an accident for sure.

- Chris B., Lansdowne, PA, US

problem #311

Jun 022014

Pathfinder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 118,000 miles

Bought used three months ago and it is a beautifully kept car. Still drives perfectly but "check engine soon" light came on so.... off to our mechanic.

Tells me we need a new radiator and transmission costing approx. $4500. Radiator has cracked, leaked into transmission, now transmission computer is ruined. It may run perfectly but I still need a new transmission because of computer, the transmission is going to degrade over time.

Pretty angry to see lawsuits filed over this issue because it is undeniably a design flaw.

- mclark68, Cumming, GA, US

problem #310

Jan 272014

Pathfinder LE 4.0L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 134,000 miles

I am so angry that Nissan knows of this problem and has not tried to make amends with their customers! My 05 Pathfinder made a popping noise 2 days ago when I shifted into reverse. Yesterday, it made a very loud popping noise when I shifted into reverse and then would not shift into 5th gear while driving. We had an idea that it was the transmission and after researching, we knew that radiator fluid has been leaking into the radiator causing my transmission to start to fail.

After finding this huge amount of other Pathfinder owners who have had the same thing happen to them, I am furious! $3,500+ to repair? Seriously? My car is 9 years old with over 134,000 miles! Ridiculous, greedy, lying, cheating, dishonest corporations are just plain disgusting! They will stoop to any low for a dollar!

- Beth K., benton, LA, US

problem #309

May 102014

Pathfinder LE 4.0L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 135,000 miles

My wife and I were on a major interstate – accelerating up hill in the middle lane… the power just shut down. When depressing pedal – tachometer revved up but still no power. In the meantime – a tractor trailer was barreling up behind us!! I was lucky enough to just get out of its way by coasting through two lanes and into the breakdown lane.

The person that stopped to help us informed us that his brother had this same issue with his pathfinder and that there was a recall. Well – we never received a recall notice – the truck now has 135K miles and is not covered under their class action settlement. Called a local dealer and was told by the mechanic that our issue has nothing to do with the recall and they have no responsibility.

My issue is – if I had received the recall when it was issued in 2010 – I would have had the repairs made while it was covered…. So how are they not responsible??? They never sent us a recall notice and no mechanic had ever mentioned it???

- Robert G., Litchfield, NH, US

problem #308

Aug 012013

Pathfinder V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 89,000 miles

We bought this car used from someone that we thought was honest. After a month of only driving to work and back about 20 miles to and from work each day, I could feel it shift hard going around curves. My husband blamed it on my driving, of course. We went to visit my daughter who lives about 20 miles away with my son and his family in the vehicle with us. It would not back up out of her yard. We had to go forward and drive slow all the way home. We were scared to stop anywhere, even though we had planned to stop for supper on the way back home.

We checked the transmission and saw the coolant inside. We could not afford a transmission $4000.00 and seeing a lot of problems on the internet with them was terrible. I could not get any help from anyone at the Nissan place. We asked a mechanic to replace the radiator and he did. We were able to drive it but occasionally could feel the transmission slip. We have not been able to make any trips in it and that was our plan. Just this past Friday, I had to get to work early to work on a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital and my car would not start. I thought maybe the battery was down, because we had used the lights the night before, but it would not jump off. We tried putting a charger on the battery but it was good.Finally took it to O'Reillys and they said it was good. We talked to several people over the weekend , and no one knew what was wrong.

NISSAN service team told us to bring it there, $75 to tow and they charged us $95 to supposedly have ran a diagnostic test and the transmission relay modular is out. The dash lights all light up bright, the radio works, but the car will not turn over. The transmission light never came on. Never ran hot and only occasionally would downshift hard when coming down a small mountain, I could feel a jolt. I am so disappointed in this beautiful ride, it makes me just want to cry. My husband talked to everyone he could and tried to check fuses, security system, the starter, but it had to be the transmission again. These transmissions should have been recalled when the problem was brought up. The Good Lord was with us when we were able to get home the night before it quit and have it parked in the yard, before we knew anything was wrong.

Nissan should be ashamed to put out such poor workmanship/design on a beautiful car such as the Pathfinder. I love this car, but it will probably be a year or so before I can get this amount saved up to repair it. I will not trust Nissan products again and I will not recommend this brand either. I have a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe that I drove until we got this one and then we gave it to our son. Of course, it was not a new car either, but we drove it for 6 years with no problems except the air conditioning quit. I would recommend this car. Never any problems. I talked to the Nissan dealership and they were no help. The mechanic that replaced the radiator also said a oxygen sensor was out, but the car would just be a little more expensive on gas. The driver window doesn't roll down and the back door hitch does not stay up when you are taking out groceries. Still a nice ride with a sun roof and bucket seats, white with light brown marshmallow seats and it has air. Going to be a hot summer!

NISSAN --SHAME ON YOU FOR POOR QUALITY AND NO BACKBONE TO BACK YOUR OWN VEHICLE FAILURES. WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING IF THE CAR HAD STOPPED AND DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION AND WE HAD BEEN KILLED? WIGGLING YOUR WAY OUT? NOT YOUR FAULT! BS!

- Patty W., Mountain Pine, AR, US

problem #307

Feb 182014

Pathfinder SE V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 93,000 miles

Have always serviced our car with Nissan Dealership . Brought it in now for the 90k service. My car is now paid off and happy I have no payment. When I went to pick up my car I was now told about this problem. I was told that I could either just replace the radiator and double flush the transmission, $1200.00, or the customer can opt to have the radiator and the transmission replaced by Nissan and pay a co-pay of $3,000.00, plus tax. I was also told that I could trade it in now for a new car. They said that this is not uncommon for this issue. I told them that if it is not uncommon then Nissan should fix for nothing. Also told them that I do not have the money right now to do this. I was told that I should do it before the 100,000. mile or it would not be covered.

I am feeling very fustrated! Nissan should stand behind their problems!! I paid good money for this vehicle! I will think twice before I buy another Nissan!

- Lisa M., Vineland, NJ, US

problem #306

Jan 012014

Pathfinder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100,000 miles

Just bought the car last year. Mileage was 95000. So the beginning of this year the engine service light came on. Took it in to check and they say the fluid from the radiator has leaked into the transmission, an estimated cost of $7000. I use it everyday as a family car taking the kids back and forth. I'm scare one day its just going to stop running in the middle of traffic with my kids inside. Man, 7g is a lot and I cannot afford to get it fix anytime soon.

- Lou T., Sacramento, CA, US

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