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:
$3,980
Average Mileage:
114,550 miles
Total Complaints:
232 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace radiator and transmission (152 reports)
not sure (42 reports)
replaced radiator and transmission (17 reports)
replaced radiator (13 reports)
bypassed radiator, added an external tranny cooler (2 reports)
bypass trans cooler/add external cooler/replace pcm (1 reports)
Nissan Settlement - Please visit this website to see if you qualify for reimbursement or for nissan to pay for so much of the damage.
Radiator Assembly Customer Satisfaction Program - Nissan has decided in the interest of customer satisfaction, to further extend the warranty for the Radiator Assembly on all 2005-10 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions.
On a small percentage of vehicles, an internal crack on the oil cooler tube may occur leading to internal leakage of engine coolant. While the majority of vehicles will not experience this issue, for customer satisfaction purposes, Nissan has decided to further extend the coverage of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty on the radiator assembly, subject to certain customer co-pays that vary with age/mileage.
The New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage on applied vehicles for the Radiator Assembly (original terms 3 years/36,000 miles) will be extended from the current extension of 8 years/80,000 miles to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever occurs first), including damage, repairs, replacement, and towing resulting from this issue.
With the additional extension, the following warranty coverage and corresponding customer co-pays will now apply:
Up to 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first): No customer co-pay
After 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $2,500
After 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $3,000
As with the prior extension, this extension of warranty on the radiator assembly will cover damage caused to other affected components, including the vehicle transmission, as a result of an internal leakage condition in the radiator assembly. However, existing powertrain coverage applicable to the transmission (5 years/60,000 miles) otherwise remains unchanged.
Nissan Radiator Assembly ATF Contamination 2005-2010 Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder - Have you filed a complaint with the US Dept of Transportation, the number is 888-327-4236 and the website is safercar.gov, according to the representative I spoke to the issue of the ATF fluid contamination is still under investigation but more complaints and data are needed to issue a safety recall involving the radiator assembly and transmission contamination. If you have not done so please file a complaint. Nissan needs to take responsibility for the defect rather than passing the repair cost to the consumer and dodging the issue!!!
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2007 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 2 of 12)
I bought this 2007 Nissan Pathfinder @ the Manheim Auction in Hattiesburg Mississippi, paid $2670. for it, thought I was getting a good deal, until I drove it home! The "slip" light message came up on the instrument cluster. I took it to a transmission shop the following Monday 8-29-16 (St Tammany Transmissions) in Slidell, La. where I was informed of the extremely common problem of the cheap radiator cracking and leaking anti freeze into the transmission, causing a TOXIC blend that destroys the transmission! I was quoted a price of $3800.!!! l had just bought a new set of tires to replace the totally bald ones on this SUV 2 days earlier! I now have well over $3000 invested in a SUV that needs $3800. worth of work to be driveable! NEVER BUY ANY NISSAN !!!! They were once good (prior to mid -year 1993,) BUT then they started assembling them in America (with Japanese parts) and they turned into GARBAGE!!!! NO FAULT OF AMERICA, just another victim of NIssan's GREED!!! This is ONLY ONE of the MANY MANY problems associated with these vehicles. Mine is throwing 6 CHECK ENGINE CODES as we speak!!!! If you want a good foreign car,....BUY A KIA !!! STAY away from NISSAN, they will only get worse!!!!!
Same as everyone else enjoying our pathfinder one afternoon and went to pass a car and it would not kick inot passing gear. When we stopped I could smell that it was hot, but could not find a leak. After letting it cool, I checked the coolant level and found that grey froth in the radiator. A quick check on the internet lead me to me worst fear. I am still in the process of flushing radiator and getting quotes. Local Aamco guy said that transmission is doomed, and they see a lot of these. $4,000 - 4500 to rebuild. So much money for such an easy repair had I known before the radiator gave up. No more Nissans for this family!
Ok, This whole process has been going on for almost a year now and I have put so much money into my truck and it is a complete nightmare. It all started when my truck was starting to stall and over heating. Also, the overflow was starting to leak a grayish fluid. Took it to a garage and they told me that I needed a new radiator and that it needed to be flushed out. This process cost me over 1000. then the problem kept occurring and took it to another garage and they put an outside cooling system on my truck attempting to fix the problem and flushed it out all over again. Once again, this was a costly process. Now a few months later, my truck will not go into reverse and I am told that I need a new transmission. I have come to find out that this is a common problem with these pathfinders. That will cost me approx. 4,000-5,000$$. And that there was a recall on pathfinders for this same problem on years 2003-2006.. But I have also found out that this same problem is still occurring in Pathfinders up to the year 2010. But Nissan will not take care of it and there were class action law suits. I am not a happy girl, to put it mildly.. This has been nothing but a complete headache and has cost me upwards to $7000 within the past year. I have been a loyal Nissan owner, this now being my 4th Nissan vehicle and I will NEVER again purchase anything from Nissan.
Before vacation I checked my fluids and notice the radiator antifreeze was a little low, which was unusual, so I added some. While on our trip the check engine light came on, shifting became more ruff, and it wouldn't shift into overdrive. Pulled code P0717 which indicated a sensor or computer was out. Took to the shop and they found where a radiator line cooling transmission fluid had cracked and mixed with antifreeze. Issue with $200 radiator caused $4200 in repairs.
I purchased my pathfinder from a dealer and bought the extended warranty. I noticed something with the transmission within days. Realized then why it was traded in. So the dealership gave the transmission a flush and said all good. NOT I brought it back several times and then printed out a book of what I found on the internet and asked if they ever heard of the problem, was told no several times and then I demanded they look into what I found and low and behold they agreed to change transmission and radiator under my extended warranty. What a freaking experience that was. And then they said wow you were right transmission full of coolant and was all bad. That was about $8000 of work that was covered and SHAME ON NISSAN !!! YOU DAM WELL KNOW THERE IS A PROBLEM. I will never ever never never buy another Nissan and cant wait to get rid of this one.
- agil367279,
Dagsboro, DE, US
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We purchased this vehicle in May 2016. The day after it immediately had issues and we took it right back to the dealer. Of course being used, they said we bought it "as is". We are still fighting this issue. Yes we bought it as is however the dealer advertises the "Right Way Promise", which means they should have fixed this vehicle or not sold it to us at all. They replaced the radiator however the problem continues, which means it probably ruined the transmission by leaking radiator fluid into it. The first time we brought it immediately back to the dealer,all they did was power was the engine. Then it continued and still continues to be an issue. They need to do the right thing and give our money back or fix they vehicle. Since we bought this vehicle at a Toyota Dealer, I contacted Nissan and they said there is nothing they can do because it was not purchased from a Nissan Dealer. What a bunch of crap! It is still a Nissan Vehicle...what does it matter where it was purchased from?? Nissan needs to stand behind their vehicles and issue a recall for the all the vehicles that have submitted the same complaint. We now have a vehicle which we cant drive and have had only 2 months. I will continue to fight with the dealer we purchased it from....something has to be done!
In 2014, My 2007 Nissan Pathfinder has a leak in the radiator. The Nissan Service Manager told me that it was leaking into the transmission. They replaced the radiator and transmission in December 2014.
yikes! Wish I would have researched this vehicle before I bought it. Obviously a common problem that Nissan dealership is taking zero responsibility for. Stuck in the position of either ditching a $7,000 car I just bought 6 months ago, or spending $5,000 to fix it...given Nissan's "helpful attitude" I think they will never get another dime from me again!
DO NOT BUY a piece of sh*t era 2007 Nissan Pathfinder, BUYER BEWARE
This vehicle is equipped with BOTH an external trans cooler and an internal, it is across EVERY search engine out there, nissan KNOWS about it but wont fix it, the internal radiator trans cooler cracks and starts pumping radiator coolant into the auto trans, this specific trans has the shift computer also mounted in the pan, it is NOT water proof, once coolant gets into the trans, the computer kills itself, first thing to go is overdrive, then the vehicle will fail to start and you will find a blown 5 amp fuse up in under hood fuse box, the starter signal grounds through this now underwater computer and blows the 5 amp start fuse..........draining/flushing WILL NOT REPAIR..............
If you have one of these...........IMMEDIATELY BYPASS the radiator cooler and run ONLY on the external cooler or install one if yours doesnt have one.
Pull the tranny dipstick, 10mm bolt holds it in, look to see if you have a "strawberry" milkshake on it...........if you do, its over or very soon over, be ready to spend $3500.
I personally feel like driving the damn thing through their pretty glass at the show room packed with the old shot tranny and telling them to kiss my damn ass................
F*CK YOU NISSAN, itll be the last motherf*cking nissan this family owns FOREVER............you c*cksucking bastards.
And they told me at the dealership, uh, well its got 117,000 miles on it, what do you expect?
91 s10 ALL ORIGINAL 303,000
91 c1500 283,000
98 Honda Civic 380,000
I EXPECT a f*cking vehicle that will go more than 120,000 for $20k+................you sorry excuse for assholes.
This is a known problem in the 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. It leads to a much bigger problem in that the mix leads to messing up your transmission which will then need to be replaced. The class action suit settlement was a slap in the face and of course my problem arrived well after the suit was closed, so I'm stuck with the full cost of the repair. These cars should be considered lemons and Nissan should cover the full cost of repairs.
TALK MY 80 YEAR OLD MOTHER INTO BUYING THIIS VEHICLE LESS THAN A YEAR TRANSMISSION STOPS WORKING LOOK INSIDE RADIATOR CAP NOTHING BUT A GREY PUTTY INSIDE, THANKS NISSAN NOW I'M JUST SH*T OUT OF A CAR AND SH*T OUT OF LUCK
This is my last nissan. i called my local Dealer and asked about the price of replacing the radiator - 1500$, and asked about the worst case scenario transmission replacement - 8000$ not including radiator replacement. the law suit is useless to my situation and case. the dealers/service are great people but nissan corporation is destroying their hard work with this type of treatment and settlements, making it useless to try and fight for good services for the product they create - build - sell. to have life long customers or brand loyalist they type of treatment has to stop or at best service this problems. No More nissans for Me.
I couldn't get the extended warranty because the problem hasn't happend yet. When it did I was over the milage.I don't have $5K -$10K to fix my pathfinder and I just had paid off my vehicle. It's been a year and its still sitting in my garage until I can save money to fix it.
It is very disheartening as a loyal Nissan owner to have a car that you cannot drive and enjoy. This is my third Nissan. The manufacture knew /learned about the problems and left the consumers to eat up the cost of replacing parts and labor. The company should rectify the situation by allowing repairs to be made at a Nissan service center if the car meets the year criteria at no cost to the consumer. There should be a monetary settlement given for repairs and inconvenience for this matter. Let us keep Nissan first among foreign cars.
I love my Pathfinder but noticed it wasn't behaving quite right. I took it to a Nissan dealer and was told of the KNOWN problems with coolant leaking in to the transmission and that it would "only" cost me $2,500 + Tax to have the problem resolved. My gripe is that Nissan should have notified owners of the potential as I would have had the radiator and transmission replaced years ago (on their dime of course). I called Nissan Canada to complain and was told that even if there was something they could do they wouldn't do it because I no longer own the vehicle. Huh??? What??? Since When??? It's sitting in my driveway!!!! I'm quickly losing faith in my favourite brand.
So i just had this vehicle computer replaced, 6 months later, now its a cracked radiator, next from what I am reading, its going to be a new transmission, THIS THING IS MY WORSE CAR BUY EVER! STAY AWAY FROM NISSAN, NO ONE BUY NISSAN, CHEAP JUNK THEY SELL YOU! and THEY KNOW IT!
Nissan should have issued a recall on these radiators and transmissions..... THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM.....Even if you're still covered under the extended warranty, you're still out of pocket $thousands...
Just purchased this vehicle 11 mouths ago from SANDY SANSING NISSAN, Pensacola, Florida. I'm a single mother with a small business need a SUV to be my mobile office. I love my Pathfinder but this has put me in a big hole. Why would a dealership sale me this when in less then 15,000 mile it would break down on me. I don't have the money for this to be fixed..
About 2 years we had to fix the engine oil coolant it was leaking oil. 2 years have passed my transmission gives out and leaves us stranded. There is obviously something wrong with the engine cooling system on these vehicles. Do people have to die like with Toyota before Nissan does anything to correct their error? I was a very proud Nissan owner but not anymore just like other people I will not buy Nissan again. I have older vehicles that still have same transmission and work perfectly. Very disappointed customer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I bought this 2007 Nissan Pathfinder @ the Manheim Auction in Hattiesburg Mississippi, paid $2670. for it, thought I was getting a good deal, until I drove it home! The "slip" light message came up on the instrument cluster. I took it to a transmission shop the following Monday 8-29-16 (St Tammany Transmissions) in Slidell, La. where I was informed of the extremely common problem of the cheap radiator cracking and leaking anti freeze into the transmission, causing a TOXIC blend that destroys the transmission! I was quoted a price of $3800.!!! l had just bought a new set of tires to replace the totally bald ones on this SUV 2 days earlier! I now have well over $3000 invested in a SUV that needs $3800. worth of work to be driveable! NEVER BUY ANY NISSAN !!!! They were once good (prior to mid -year 1993,) BUT then they started assembling them in America (with Japanese parts) and they turned into GARBAGE!!!! NO FAULT OF AMERICA, just another victim of NIssan's GREED!!! This is ONLY ONE of the MANY MANY problems associated with these vehicles. Mine is throwing 6 CHECK ENGINE CODES as we speak!!!! If you want a good foreign car,....BUY A KIA !!! STAY away from NISSAN, they will only get worse!!!!!
- Karen R., Slidell, LA, US