CarComplaints.com Notes: While there are fewer "radiator leaked into transmission" complaints for the 2008 model year, they are starting to pile up. Buyer beware.

Nissan has extended their radiator warranty on 2005-2010 Pathfinders to 8 years/80,000 miles. However the average mileage for transmission failure for earlier model years is 95,000 miles, which conveniently (for Nissan) is just past the limit of their extended warranty. Owners beware.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
105,967 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.

2008 Nissan Pathfinder drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 Nissan Pathfinder Owner Comments (Page 2 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #134

Dec 182018

Pathfinder

  • 138,800 miles

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

Bought the truck used at 123,000 was running great till 6 months later at 138860 miles all of a sudden truck did not want to start. No crank nothing. Had been serviced one month before and come to find out radiator fluid leaked into transmission. Bad radiator by Nissan and transmission needs to be replaced/rebuilt

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #133

Aug 172018

Pathfinder

  • 148,000 miles
Experiencing jerking at or above 40 mph, changed transmission fluid, fluid was contaminated appeared pink and milky at draining, hard shifting.

- Burlington, NC, USA

problem #132

Apr 012016

Pathfinder

  • 108,000 miles
Transmisson inner cooler tank in radiator leaks, getting water in transmisson. Ruining transmission /computer etc. Had to be rebuit. Nissan wanted over $5, ooo. Got it repaired at other shop over $3,000 with still having to get it programmed at Nissan. Poor design and faulty tanks in radiator. I had shop place external transmisson radiator and new radiator to never let this happen again. Nissan was trying to buy my vehicle for $800 and was worth over $6,800 at the time. Happened while driving vehicle normal city driving 15-70 miles a day at the time. Per Nissan and the other repair shops this is a known issue and have many repairs due to this issue. Approx on date

- Burleson, TX, USA

problem #131

Sep 052018

Pathfinder

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the transmission failed to function properly. The gears were slipping and not changing normally. An independent mechanic flushed the transmission, which provided a temporary remedy. A second independent mechanic diagnosed the transmission failure and installed a rebuilt transmission. The vehicle was repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA action number: DP12004 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was not available.

- Sellersburg, IN, USA

problem #130

Jul 142018

Pathfinder

  • 97,697 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate and lost power. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact looked under the hood and noticed oil in the radiator fluid. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that water was in the transmission. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (mossy Nissan national city, 2700 national city blvd, national city, ca 91950, 619-474-7011) where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 97,697.

- San Deigo, CA, USA

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problem #129

Jul 102018

Pathfinder

  • miles
I am having issues with the car slipping gears. I took it to a reputable transmission repair shop where I was informed there is a "crack" in the cooling part of my radiator and my radiator and transmission and both need replaced. Also that the radiator fluid and the transmission fluid are mixed together.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #128

Jun 192018

Pathfinder

  • 112,000 miles

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

I bought the car from a used car dealership with 109,000 miles on it. Not even a month after buying it, the intercooler line cracked causing the transmission fluid and coolant to mix. This completely destroyed my radiator, which I had to replace, along with flushing the entire cooling system. It also caused my transmission to fail. To repair my car will cost me about $5,000. I went to Nissan about this and was told they could not help me because the car has over 100,000 miles on it. I was able to temporarily fix it, but now my transmission is completely junk and I can't afford to fix it or give it back to the bank. All of these issues occurred while I was driving the vehicle.

- Dracut, MA, USA

problem #127

Jul 062018

Pathfinder

  • 105,113 miles
Turned a corner, driving below speed limit on city street, all lights within the dashboard that should have been off (4WD, service engine soon, etc.) went on, and all readings that should have been on went off (odometer, and so on). Stopped at red light; turned off vehicle hoping to reset before driving home and it would not turn on; lights, radio, A/C were still active so it was not the battery. Only able to shift to neutral with vehicle off to roll to a parking space on the side of the road. No previous issues or warning prior as I perform regular maintenance as recommended by dealership - happened suddenly. Had to have it towed to dealership the following day as it was already after midnight. This followed two attempts calling my warranty company and being disconnected; ultimately called family in the area to assist who helped me rolled the vehicle into a parking lot across the street. After tow and diagnosis, dealer found failure in the radiator (leaked coolant into transmission) and there for failure of tcm (transmission control module). Dealer claims no recall prior to this incident yet there was a class action lawsuit for this exact recall and model in the national database when I researched further after the extended warranty adjuster denied my claim for coverage. This process alone took 7-9 business days; I have been without my vehicle for 3 weeks.

- West Haven, CT, USA

problem #126

Jul 262018

Pathfinder

  • 110,000 miles
Car begin having issues while shifting, made clunking sounds while driving, not shifting correctly both on highway and city driving. We took it to a repair shop where they discovered coolant from the radiator had leaked into the transmission and caused it to fail. Repair shop quoted us for radiator replacement and transmission service but warned if the transmission was too contaminated it could need a whole replacement of that as well. Upon searching online for this issue we found it is a known problem for Nissan Pathfinders of this age and with this radiator type. It can cause the transmission to seize up while driving and render the car unable to be controlled.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

problem #125

May 072018

Pathfinder

  • 139,627 miles
On Monday May 7,2018 my car went into reverse as I was leaving my drive way but was very hesitant on moving. So I put my Pathfinder back in drive and it started hoping back into the driveway. I tried to reverse again but the car would not move. I contacted the dealer and took the vehicle in. After being there all day they told me that the radiator had leaked into the transmission and both parts needed to be replaced. My vehicle had 139,627 miles on it so there was no warranty on it. I came home researched the problem and found out that there was a lawsuit against Nissan for the issue back in 2013 but I cannot file to get any money from this lawsuit so I called the corporate number for Nissan. When I spoke to the lady on the phone she informed me that there was nothing they could do to help with the cost of fixing both parts to my vehicle. She said because I wan't the original owner (mind you that I bought the car certified used from mossy Nissan with 30,000 miles on it) that there was no record of me owning the vehicle. I sent her a copy of my title to show I was the owner of the vehicle but yet she said since I had gone over mileage and the time frame for any warranty that there was nothing that could be done. I ended up having to pay the full amount of $4697.18 for my Pathfinder to be fixed. What makes me upset is I always have my vehicle serviced at Nissan and yet no one in the last 8 years has told me to replace the radiator for this issue. When I asked the service representative about this he said they aren't allowed to mention this issue unless that vehicle has a code. Absolutely ridiculous Nissan is the worst! I honestly would have changed the radiator at my own cost if I would have known this was an issue. Instead I ended up having to open up a credit card for their company to pay for the repairs that could have been completely avoided.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #124

Feb 022018

Pathfinder

  • 150,000 miles

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

This particular year and make of vehicle has a known manufacturers defect that causes the transmission fluid to mix in with the radiator, which in turn ruins your vehicle and causes about $5,000+ in repairs. A class action lawsuit was settled regarding this, and all Nissan did was extend their warranty. Unfortunately, this defect doesn't always breakdown prior to the warranty ending, in my case, it happened shortly after the warranty was up. So now I'm stuck with a vehicle I purchased 2 years ago, that doesn't work, and I still owe money on it, all because of this known defect.

- Montrose, CO, USA

problem #123

Mar 012018

Pathfinder

  • 128,000 miles
Coolant is in my sons transmission. We went to get it it fixed and we were told don't. to drain and flush it we will kill the transmission!! that Nissan new that this was happening and they had a recall. We called them today but they said they won't fix it to bad. How sad. Not right and I'm not happy

- Johns Creek, GA, USA

problem #122

Jan 172018

Pathfinder

  • 209,000 miles
On 17 January 2018, I was driving westbound on I-20, I was taking my niece and nephews to school, there was an accident a few miles ahead, so traffic was crawling luckily. It started when with the vehicle wouldn't respond when I pushed on the gas pedal. It would take a while for the vehicle to gain speed. Then I started smelling oil coming from the air vents, so I turned off the heater and tried to make my way to the shoulder of the highway but was unable to do so because of the heavy traffic. I had to turn the heater on again because it was cold outside and I had the kids in the car. As I was trying to make it to the side of the highway, all traffic stopped, and I smelled the oil again and saw smoke. I immediately turned off the car and popped the hood to check what was smoking or where it was coming from. As I was looking under the hood, I heard fluid leaking, so I started looking around, and when I looked at the passenger side of the car, there was a huge oil spill. Later I found out it was transmission fluid and it was milky white attached are the pictures of the oil spill and when I pulled the transmission dipstick and saw it was milky white also. Upon doing my research, I found out that I was not the only one to have this problem with this particular model and year of vehicle. There was a class action lawsuit, and all they did was extend the warranty, they have not issued a recall, people continue to have this issue. I contacted Nissan Consumer Affairs, and they said they would not fix the issue repair costs are nearly $6000

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

problem #121

Jan 212018

Pathfinder

  • 96,000 miles
At about 94000 miles the radioator cracked causing the antifreeze to mix with transmission fluid. Which is a know problem with these vechiles. So took to dealership and had to have transmission replaced and radiator as well. Now at 128000 the Pathfinder is doing the same thing again. The radiator is fill of the milky fluid that is the result of the two fluids mixing. So with in two years do to the same problem I have to have the transmission replaced but this time I have to pay the whole thing cause the Pathfinder is over the 100000 mile marker. Last time I had to pay the first 3000 dollars of the bill. How is this problem not being recalled on these Pathfinders.

- Scotia, NY, USA

problem #120

Dec 182017

Pathfinder

  • 70,000 miles
Radiator coolent leaked in to transmission at 70000

- Belair, MD, USA

problem #119

Dec 182017

Pathfinder

  • 150,000 miles
Strawberry milkshake-like fluid leaking from the radiator infiltrated the transmission, causing catatrophic failure of the transmission. This problem was widely publicized in other states but not California. I was almost involved in an accident because of the car's failure to accelerate while entering onto the freeway. Shame on Nissan not to extend warnings nationwide.

- Rancho Murieta, CA, USA

problem #118

Dec 012017

Pathfinder

  • 101,111 miles
The transmission started slipping and the radiator fluid is mixing with the transmission fluid. The transmission was replaced once, and now the transmission needs to be replaced again.

- Modesto, CA, USA

problem #117

Apr 052017

Pathfinder

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. When the contact attempted to start the vehicle, it failed to start without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. In addition, the contact stated that the tire pressure monitor sensor (TPMS) indicator illuminated. The TPMS was replaced, but the sensor illuminated again a few weeks later. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #116

Oct 192017

Pathfinder

  • 138,000 miles
I am one of those unfortunate individuals who recently bought a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder le which was in great shape and maintained well with an almost impeccable carfax report. Just after having the vehicle in the middle of driving the vehicle got stuck in 4th gear loosing all access to other gears and nearly causing me to have a collision with other vehicles. I took it to a mechanic and they told me it was the fluid from the radiator in the transmission and will cost several thousand dollars to fix.

- Belton, SC, USA

problem #115

Aug 122017

Pathfinder

  • miles
Problemas con la transmision en sistema de enfriamiento SE dao el tcm de.la transmision... conozco varias personas que han tenido la misma situacin... deseo SE.investigue entiendo ES un defecto de fbrica

- Hormigueros, PR, USA

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