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.
2.1
hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
73,279 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.
Radiator leaks to the transmission and fume like white milky coming out of the radiator when we open it and the same stuff found inside the transmission. License mechanic was consulted and he found that radiator was leaking to the transmission which damage both radiator and the transmission and I will need new radiator and transmission. Nissan should recall this 2006 Pathfinder and resolve the problem.according to my internet research on this particular 2006 Pathfinder many people complained expriencing the same problem.
Radiator leaks to the transmission and fume like white milky coming out of the radiator when we open it and the same stuff found inside the transmission. License mechanic was consulted and he found that radiator was leaking to the transmission which damage both radiator and the transmission and I will need new radiator and transmission. Nissan should recall this 2006 Pathfinder and resolve the problem.according to my internet research on this particular 2006 Pathfinder many people complained expriencing the same problem.
On 8/11/2015 I contacted Nissan regional to file a complaint, 19756783, about a possible issue with my truck. I was told to take the truck in to a Nissan dealership to have a diagnostic. I called the dealership but was told I had to pay a $139.99 diagnostic fee. I didn't have those funds at the time. My truck is now starting to show signs of jerking while driving. A month ago, I was told the transmission and radiator fluids may be mixing together. Auto mechanic said the fluids looked milky. I drive my four children, ages 11 months to 8 years of age on a daily basis to and from school and after school activities. We have family in the kenosha, Wisconsin area which we often frequent. I am extremely concerned that the transmission will fail while driving on the highway at a high speed. Whenever I have to go far, I drive our sedan which seats 5 passengers, yet there are 6 people in our family. I am aware this is not safe, however I feel that it is safer than driving my truck which can stall at any time now. At this time, our children are our first priority and we want to prevent any mishaps to happen. We don't want to be stranded with our four children. I have my truck maintenanced quite often because I take pride in driving a Nissan. I don't want to my experience from Nissan to go from positive to negative. Nissan, please listen to my concern as well as others. I can't afford to pay the $3,000 deductible you are asking for to have the transmission and radiator replaced. We are on a fixed income as my husband is the only bread-winner in our home. Please help.....
I'm currently financing a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder which I purchased June 2012 at 78000 mi. In February of 2014 I went to get an oil change and the mechanic informed me that there is oil in the antifreeze compartment. A few days later I noticed that my car "shuttered"every time I shift gear to reverse or to drive. I noticed my vehicle "losing power" when I accelerated. At one instance I was driving up a hill and the vehicle basically lost power and it started to reverse backwards without the gear being shifted into reverse. I immediately stopped the car with the emergency brakes and turned the car off. Scariest experience of my life. I immediately called a tow truck and I sent it to a Nissan dealership. They informed me that there was a manufactured defect with the make and model of my car. The engine coolant is leaking into the transmission causing the transmission to become damaged. After months of calling Nissan North America they basically told me there's nothing they can do. I found that absurd seeing there was a settlement for this issue my car was experience. I ended up paying $4000 to repair the transmission/radiator and other issues causes by this manufactured defect through a Nissan dealership in April 2014. A year goes by and I'm now I'm experiencing the same "shuterring" issue when shifting gears and I noticed that my transmission is slipping once again. This is my first ever vehicle. It's absurd what Nissan has done. There has to be justice for Nissan owners. Never again will I buy a Nissan modeled car. Never!!!!!
Beware 2006 Pathfinders radiator problems then transmission dies. Our transmission went suddenly as we were on a MINItrip. We got stuck several times trying to get home. Very dangerous. Thank god we did not get into an accident and no one hit us as we were stuck in the middle of a busy highway. We were lucky we got home safely but it was a scary and dangerous experience. We did not know what was wrong with the car. We then get it towed and of cause its the transmission. Same problem everyone is having with these cars. Nissan should of had these cars recalled or extended the warranties so that no one has to deal with this problem and go through the hell we went through on our MINItrip trying to get home safely. They are risking people's lives.
- Old Bridge, NJ, USA
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Check engine light came on. Took it to the Nissan dealership and they told me my radiator leaked fluids into transmission and both need to be replaced. I found out there was a class action suit against Nissan for this problem. This is really terrible they won't admit manufacturers fault in this. So now still have to make payments for the car we can't even drive for another 2 years and the repairs came at over $7000. Car is a necessity to people to make a living for their families. We have 3 small children that have to get to school and daycare so thanks Nissan you lost another customer. Hope everyone stops buying your cars.
My cars radiator cracked and leaked into the transmission. The mix of coolant and transmission fluid damaged the transmission and quite possibly damaged my engine. Nissan knows about the radiator because they extended the warranty on it. The repairs for this incident are high the Nissan dealer I took it to quoted me $4,591.43 to replace the transmission and the radiator and that is with the warranty they claim they have on it. The dealer also told me any other damage caused by this faulty radiator would not be covered and I would have to pay for the repairs to any other components as well they told they me might be an additional $2,000 so nearly $7,000. I had know choice but sell the car off as scrap as the repairs would cost more than the car itself. A failure of all these parts at once is a safety hazard to everyone.
Transmission failure due to radiator hose leak. Class action lawsuit milage limits exceeded. I had the car in multiple times this was never disclosed to me. Vehicle paid off 12/2012- failure 3/2013. Total cost for new transmission/radiator was $7,000. I had to borrow the money since this vehicle was my only form of transportation to and from work.
Transmission was failing on the way to the repair shop to get it looked at. In the middle of the intersection, it refused to go into gear and caused me to slow down considerably, resulting in a near accident with the car behind me and the car going around me. The radiator had leaked into the transmission, a known problem in this particular year of Nissan Pathfinder.
The transmission of my Pathfinder went bad because of defective radiator. It mixed transmission oil and antifreeze in the transmission. It will cost me 6K+ to repair. I read a lot of people had this problem and I want Nissan to fix it.
I was driving up a mountain road when suddenly my vehicle began to shake and lose power. The engine then began to rev and the vehicle began to roll backwards. I applied my brakes and put the vehicle in all available gears including reverse and the engine continued to rev. The police were called and I was almost struck by passing vehicles multiple times. After 55 minutes the police arrived and requested an expedited tow. Vehicle was then towed from the roadway. After paying the $135 tow bill to the local tow yard I was able to call aaa and have them tow me the almost 90 miles back to my home in NJ. This was of course the Saturday of memorial day weekend so nothing was going to be open until Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning I had my vehicle towed to a local, reputable transmission place. Ultimately they told me that water had gotten into my transmission and it would cost $3,188.60 to fix. The transmission place told me that they have seen many Nissan with this type of problem. After going home and googling Nissan Pathfinder transmission I was appalled to see all the complaints about Nissan Pathfinder (and other model Nissan) transmissions. I was literally taken back by it and could not believe it. I then contacted my Nissan dealer and was told that my vehicle would have been covered before November 14, 2014 or if I had less than 80,000 miles. My truck had just over 84,000 miles. I then called Nissan North America. They advised me that in order for them to determine whether they would cover any of the expenses incurred due to this problem I would I have to tow my truck to the dealer and have them take a look at it. Once completed with that, they would submit a report to Nissan North America to determine whether any or all of the incurred expenses would be covered...potentially taking several weeks or months with no guarantee that anything would be covered.
Radiator fluid has leaked into the transmission causing it to fail. The dealership has issued a fix where the radiator coolant is bypassed from the transmission but then that has not helped. The fix was for $500+ the repairs for the transmission are at $4700/- now. This is ridiculous the amount of repairs is more than the cost of the vehicle now.
Our Pathfinder started making a noise like you are driving in the rutted pavement on the side of the road that is intended to wake people up who've fallen asleep. It only did this occasionally at first, but got worse quickly. We have taken it to our mechanic and he has discovered that it is a result of liquid from the radiator somehow leaking into the transmission. He has also discovered that this is not an uncommon problem with our make and model of Nissan. There is no recall on this, but it is a very costly and serious issue that Nissan should be paying to repair.
While in gear, traveling approx. 40mph, vehicle stopped moving without warning (no engine light, no overheating) and had to coast during heavy freeway traffic, which caused several other vehicles to suddenly slow or stop. Car was towed & code evaluation was performed. Radiator and transmission had to be replaced due to a defective radiator which leaked coolant into transmission for $5347.52.
Radiator coolant went into the transmission. Causing it to stop running and stuck in 4th gear..... almost making it off rte 22 so I won't get into an accident.....
During driving the transmission popped and would not accelerate. After reviewing different websites this is a common problem that my 2000-2006 Pathfinders have. This issue is due to transmission fluid mixing with engine coolant. It is a failure due to a thin wall in the radiator that wears out over time and is a very expensive fix if not caught soon enoigh the prices I was quoted was anywhere from 4,000 to 12,000 depending on what all needed to be replaced.
Transmission is failing especially in reverse, it shakes and slips. I took my truck to a transmission expert who informed me that these trucks have this manufacture issue and my truck should be under warrantee by the dealer, I did my research and I am now aware of the radiator issue and the extended warrantee will cover vehicles under 80K miles my truck just reach 60K miles which is when these issues start according to the internet. I took my truck to the dealer for repairs. They told me that my radiator was fine and I do have a transmission problem but not related to the radiator and wanted to bill me for a service fee. I called the expert I had been talking to and he advised me that this was bs and to ask if they did a glyco test which they did not and ask how they knew it was not mixing. The service manager stated to me that it will look slushy and mine was simply black or dark. Now I am no expert but antifreeze is green and trans fluid is red. Even a child knows that if you mix red and green you will get blue or a dark color, which to me explain why it is dark. The dealer just does not want to fix my truck for the price that the manufacturer will pay them which is approximately 2K so they rather tell me that it is not covered and try to bill me for 5K+ taxes so they can make a profit of 3K of which the service manager probably will get a 1K commission. I don't know what check they did but whatever it was my truck now leak antifreeze which was not an issue before I took it to them.
Spontaneous loss of power due to transmission failure. Radiator coolant fluid found contaminating the transmission fluid. New transmission and new radiator required for repair.
Rough shifting prompted a check of the transmission fluid at the dealer. Was told the radiator cracked and leaked coolant into the transmission and both components needed to be replaced immediately. They offered refurbished parts for the out of warranty repair for $5480. An independent repair shop offered new parts for $5200. N
While driving down the street at approximately 45mph the vehicle suddenly loss forward moving power but the engine would rev to a high RPM, causing a dangerous situation with the other traffic on the road while we attempted to coast to the side of the road. Upon taking the car to the dealer, I was informed that the radiator had experienced an internal failure causing antifreeze to enter and contaminate the transmission causing that to become damaged beyond repair. Although the power train (which I imagine includes the transmission) was still under manufactures warranty up to 60,000 miles, I was told it would not qualify for a warranty repair since it was determined that the radiator was the cause of the transmission failure and the radiator was only covered under a 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty. The repair costs for both were quoted to me from the dealer to be ~$6,000 for a new radiator and transmission. It is also my understanding Nissan has recently started to extend the warranty on certain Pathfinders faulty radiators (based off of VIN number) and would also reimburse anyone who already had to pay for this repair out of pocket. I have not received a letter from Nissan to-date stating my vehicle has qualified for this plan. Even though it is obvious to me (and the Nissan dealer) that my radiator was faulty therefore causing the damage beyond repair to my transmission as well. I feel I should be reimbursed for this very expensive repair since it was caused out of no fault of my own. Due to the extremely high dealer quote, I opted to have the vehicle repaired at an independent certified repair shop for ~$4,000 for which they installed a newly warranted transmission and radiator package. I was told they only sell the replacement transmissions with the radiators included, confirming to me that this type of failure is known to the industry as a combined failure.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Duluth, GA, USA