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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,472 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.
Wife was driving home from work. Was in middle lane of traffic stopped at red light. Tried to accelerate but transmission would not engage. Eventually transmission worked for a few seconds. Pulled off road. Inspected vehicle. All gears (including reverse) do not engage. Did some online research this evening and looks like this is a very common problem. Why has there not be a recall for this problem?
Tried to sell the car and the buyer pointed out that the radiator must of cracked and mixed with the transmission fluid. He did not buy the car and now I am being told that I have to replace the transmission and the radiator. Apparently this is a huge problem on these cars and they need to fix this. Very upset and will never buy a Nissan again.
Contamination of radiator and transmission fluids. Should have been a Nissan recall to fix the problem. Now 10,000 to repair and I put the bill and tell me to take home and park it. Transmission could go out anytime. Why no recall and where is justice here. I trade cars when my finances allow me to, not when I have to, so this is my complaint will Nissan be held accountable? I know there's many more people out there with the same problem and Nissan should be accountable because it could have been corrected.
I was driving yesterday night when my car started jerking and stopped suddenly on the highway, thankfully the cars behind me were able to stop avoiding a crash because there was lots of traffic, but otherwise, this would have been a fatal crash. The car would not move for several minutes, people had to help push it off the highway. Then after a while it started moving again. I was able to drive the car, jerking all the way back to my house. I had previously noticed a jerking whenever I am accelerating or decelerating, I took it to the dealership and they informed me that it was an issue with the transmission of Pathfinders owing to a defect in manufacture that causes radiator fluid to mix with coolant affecting the transmission. They flushed the transmission but the jerking continued. I was searching the internet on this and saw many complaint on this. This issue need to be resolved. I am glad I was spared but life's are being put in danger.
Took my car in for brand new tires..mechanic attempted to start my car, but failed. Had to get my car towed to a Nissan dealership and they stated 24 hours later after receiving my car I will need a new transmission and radiator although my car was maintained and always serviced. They stated I will need to pay $6,000 for repairs to drive my car. Right now I am paying a car note and can't drive my car.
- Snellville , GA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
My radiator failed and possibly leaked radiator fluid into my transmission, via an internal radiator cooler. This is a widely known problem with this model and year. Involving a class action lawsuit. My mechanic caught this problem early enough that my transmission wasn't completely destroyed. The resulting repair was $900 plus $200 for a transmission flush as a safeguard to possible radiator fluid that may have gotten into the transmission. I was outside of the mileage extension for warranty and since my transmission wasn't destroyed I didn't qualify for any help from the class action lawsuit. The repairs on this vehicle are staggering I currently have a fuel sending unit issue that is the subject of a recall but my vehicle is outside of the warranty extension. This is a poorly made vehicle that has cost me thousands in repairs. Nissan needs to be held accountable. Nissan will not take responsibility and keeps telling me to go to a dealer to get my vehicle repaired. So frustrating.
I purchased a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder from a dealer less than 1 year ago. At the time of purchase I noticed a slight jump in shifting. I brought this to my sales mans attention and he assured me that this was common in "trucks". considering I never owned a truck I took this information as factual and purchased the vehicle. My vehicle now not even 1 year later is shifting worse and shaking at about 45 mph. We took our vehicle for another option at a local mechanic and he notified us of a class action suit against Nissan for the same issues we are experiencing. It was told to us that our coolant via the radiator is leaking into our transmission causing our transmission and radiator to be swapped. We do not have the money for this. We were told by Nissan Consumer Affairs that because our vehicles mileage was now over 90K that our co-pay for the repair would be $3000. This is unacceptable considering we just purchased this vehicle. We need your help to push for a recall as it appears there are thousands of cases online of the same exact issues happening in the same model & year. Please advise. Please help. Thank you kindly
This vehicle's timing chain, automatic transmission, and radiator need to be replaced due to premature mechanical failures. The radiator is faulty and the radiator coolant now mixes with the transmission causing transmission failure. Repair costs are around $8000. A quick look at "Nissan radiator/transmission cooler litigation" on the internet reveals class action lawsuits filed for these same complaints via thousands of consumers. This is a widespread problem known by Nissan and they have not issued any recalls or warned the consumer of these problems. Nissan has offered some owners extended warranties but nothing above 100,000 miles for those with consequential damage to their transmissions due to their knowingly defective radiators. Clearly, Toyota's recent acceptance of a $1.2 billion federal fine for deliberately concealing auto defects and safety risks from its buyers and general motor's current regulatory woes because they cynically judged their vehicles defects not recallable when they clearly are, these are signs that enough is enough. To have faulty products is one thing, but to not inform a consumer of a faulty product that will further destroy their vehicles is reprehensible.
Car shudders and shakes at low and high speeds. At stops car will rev high before accelerating. Engines stalls on both freeway and highway. Had ECM replaced a week ago. Had a 6 point inspection and was told all is fine. Vehicle is very dangerous.
Noted that transmission was slipping when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear as well as issues with radiator fan coming on at idle along with no heat at idle. Took vehicle to two separate car repairs to identify the problem and was told that vehicle had failed transmission cooler which allows coolant to mix with the transmission fluid, causing internal damage to the components. Was advised that repairs would be upwards of $3K to replace transmission.
Sudden jerking in vehicle when traveling at highway speeds. The problem has been diagnosed as a failed transmission cooler which allows coolant to mix with the transmission fluid, causing internal damage to the components.
2006 Nissan Pathfinder - took in for tune-up and was notified about broken seam on radiator. Coolant was leaking into the transmission. Ended up spending over $1,000 on a new radiator and repairs and may need a new transmission. Researched the defected parts and discovered that this is a common problem with Nissan Pathfinders. Nissan needs to issue a recall for this problem. They know it exists, and it is irresponsible of them to do nothing about it. It is a safety concern.
Was told my tony autoplex that my coolant is leaking into the transmission and need to be replaced. Was told there was an extended warranty on it but because I am over 80,000 they can't help me. I called customer service and I was told that because I am over 100,000 they can't help me. I am upset because both places told me that its a common problem. So why wasn't I notified to get it checked before the 80,000 & 100,000 mileage? that's what pissed me off. A huge expense, inconvenience, and no accountability to help fix a problem they already new existed..now I have to wait till someone from the regional office calls me back regarding my complaint because the person in customer service is in the philippines.....could not get most of my questions answered...poor service and support...
I am having a very hardtime with this vehicle. Just bought on June 2013 from used dealership. It is mixing the antifreeze with transmission fluid. I have no other vehicle. And need to get around. My family depends on a good useful vehicle. That will not break down just anywhere. And will not cost thousands to repair.
Had been experiencing some issues which I thought was transmission. I took car to dealer April 2013 and was told car was in good mechanical order. On January 28, 2014 while driving 40 mph on indian head highway with my elderly parents the car made a loud noise and speed significantly reduced. I was not able to increase speed or shift to another gear. I was able to drift to shoulder and stop car. I had the car towed to dealer and was told that the radiator had a crack causing coolant to leak into transmission thereby ruining (forever) the transmission. After research discovered that this is a known problem of the 06 Nissan Pathfinder. This issue should have been recalled. If I was on the highway going at high speed this could have caused a major accident.
I was driving on interstate 75 in atlanta, ga at the beginning of rush-hour when my vehicle suddenly started jerking. This is a 6 lane highway and I was riding in the center lane. While attempting to work my way to the right shoulder, I was unable to accelerate because my transmission was unresponsive. I had to hit the accelerator really hard to get out of the way of 18 wheelers and other fast moving vehicles. Thankfully, I was able to get the vehicle out of the way of on-coming traffic without incident. I had my vehicle towed to town center Nissan, which is where I take it for regular servicing and was informed on Friday 1/24/14 that the transmission 'was shot.' Not willing to take their word for it, my husband and I visited an aamco transmission location and was told by the technician that there was a class action law suit against Nissan due to radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. He stated that he had serviced 8 - 9 Pathfinders with the problem. My husband contacted Nissan Corp and the dealership about our discovery. Nissan initially denied any responsibility, but stated that they would investigate. We were contacted by Nissan Corp yesterday informing us that our problem was not due to cross-contamination, but due to an issue with the transmission fluid, in other words, it is our fault. What is most interesting is that this is our regular service site, so any issues with the transmission should have been reported to us by them. That is what we have been paying them for. They have quoted us $4500 to replace the damaged transmission. They also made a point of stressing the fact that they would not have addressed it anyway due to the fact that we have over 100,000 miles on the vehicle. Yes in 2014 we have 118,000 miles, but we were well below that number when this mess surfaced in 2010. What's worse is we never received a notice from nmac.
On Thursday 1/23/2014 at 9:30 and 9 degree in queens New York I started the engine of my 2006 Nissan Pathfinder and started out for my appointment for the day which I failed to mark because of my car. I did not get to my destination because about two blocks from my house I stopped at the stop sign and as soon as I proceeded to move my engine light came on and my vehicle started losing power, I drove 10mph to the Nissan dealer which is not too far from where I was. The dealer inspected the car and told me that there is a problem with the radiator which cause damage to the transmission. They told me they recognize the problem but it was not yet a recall issue, I guess other people had the same problem with that model. The representative said Nissan will fix the problem but I have the pay $2500 +tax for the deductible, I also had to rent a car for $300 to get to work until my car was repaired. I think I should not have to pay anything because it is the manufactures fault and Nissan is aware of it. I am very disappointed with Nissan, I should not have to pay for something that I did not cause.
My family and I were on the highway close to home, in traffic when our car made a pop noise and our car completely shut down. Luckily no one hit us or hurt, as like I said we were in a heavy commute. Our car was taken to our local mechanic were we found out the transmission failed due to radiator fluid leaking into the system a $5,500 repair we can not afford. We also found out this is a common problem in certain makes of Nissan, they have numerous complaints which we were never informed about. All Nissan owners should have been notified of the problem and a recall to all models!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA