CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005-2007 Xterra 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.
The same defect exists in the Pathfinder & Frontier as well. And 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:
105,549 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.
I was driving down the highway and all the sudden the SUV started loosing speed until it came to a completely stop in the middle lane of the baltimore beltway 695 which made a dangerous situation for me. Cars flying by on both sides of me. Had a police officer stop traffic so that I could drift it backwards down the hill to get it to the side of the highway. Found out it was the ddefaulty radiator/transmission that Nissan knew about. It didn't give me any notice that it was anything wrong. Except leaving me stranded on the highway. It costs me thousands to get a replacement radiator/transmission installed at the Nissan dealer. My vehicle had 105,000 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, there was an unknown pink fluid leaking from the radiator, without warning. The vehicle was towed to residence. The contact was informed by an independent mechanic that the failure was caused by fluid leaking from the radiator to the transmission. The contact called Nissan of St. Augustine (2755 us-1, St. Augustine, fl 32086, (904) 447-2960). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.
Catastrophic transmission failure.attempted to leave my home, put vehical in drive.applied accelerator, transmission will not hardly pull, put in reverse.operates in reverse properly, parked my vehical.turned engine off.attempted to start the engine to get my vehical to level ground to check fluids, attempted to start the engine, engine now will not turn over at all.
Purchased this vehicle July 2019 from owner. After 3 weeks transmission started acting weird while on vacation transmission seized due too coolant leaking from radiator cooler into transmission. Total repairs tow costs and rental car rental exceed $5000. I understand there was a recall on this vehicle for transmission and cooling system related problems. This vehicle only had approx. 100,000 miles on it when purchased. And only has approx. 128,000 on it. Now. Can I get any type of reimbursement for costs paid out of pocket"??"
The corner cutting design flaw that caused the issue commonly known as smod (strawberry milkshake of death, the transmission fluid and the coolant mix in both the radiator and the transmission) has caused the tcm to become damaged, the vehicle lost power to the wheels going up a hill then wouldnt start after turning it off, weve changed the filter, fluid and solenoids on the valve body, but the tcm still isnt working. We can start the vehicle and drive it around a bit, once it gets to 3rd gear it runs fine, but in lower gears (except for when in reverse) it struggles, then after shutting the vehicle off the transmission overheats because the tcm isnt working properly, this issue prevents the vehicle from starting again within about 1 hour of turning it off. As stated earlier this tcm issue came to light when the vehicle failed to go up a hill, if traffic were any worse than it was this couldve potentially led to a disaster that wouldve made having to wait about an hour for pickup seem like nothing. This issue was caused by Nissan cutting corners and its a common issue thats led to many owners of this vehicle having to cover repairs or just give up on the vehicle.
Transmission has been making a loud noise, a loud "clunk" periodically when in motion and more prevalent going uphill. The mechanic stated the transmission needs replaced due to radiator fluid leaking into transmission and has ruined transmission.he stand transmission fluid is contaminated.
All the sudden my Xterra would not accelerate and shut down. Towed to garage to find out collect leaked with oil and damaged transmission and radiator. Called dealership who provided no help and quote for $5800.
The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Xterra. While driving approximately 35 mph, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the transmission failed and needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
In March 2019 the transmission started getting sluggish while dropping my daughter at school one day. Eventually it would not switch gears as I pulled in my driveway from my 1.5 mile trip to/from the school. Eventually it wouldn't even start in my driveway even with good battery. Replaced a fuse for the transmission control module and was able to start the vehicle but it blew the fuse. Had my vehicle towed to our mechanic and he discovered discovered that the coolant mixed with transmission fluid and now I have to replace everything involved. Also, the mechanism that opens the tailgate/trunk door/liftgate will not stay open, especially in colder weather. It has hit several people in the head and is a definite hazard.
The radiator had failed and allowed radiator fluid to mix with transmission fluid. This ruined the transmission which will cost thousands of dollars. We always took care of our SUV so we should not have to be dealing with these problems. We currently cannot afford the repairs so we will have an SUV parked and that we cannot drive. We had to pull over in the middle of the highway due to the vehicle's extremely hot temperature.
I was driving down a busy city street when the transmission stopped shifting. The speed of the car decreased and left me right in the middle of the street. I than had it towed to a Nissan dealership and said it has been cross contaminated with the radiator and will be a $4,800 fix.
Transmission failure due to leak from radiator cooling system fluid intermixing with transmission fluid. Check engine light came on while driving, went to repair shop the code P0717 came up. Upon inspection by the repair shop it was determined that the transmission, radiator, and all hoses, etc. That interconnected the transmission and radiator had to be replaced.I live in California and the problem occured in Arizona.
Transmission failed while vehicle was moving. Research shows that transmission failure is due to a design flaw where engine coolant can leak into the transmission.
In 2015 my fianc truck broke down leaving her stranded. She had the truck towed to the local Nissan company where she purchased the SUV new. They did a diagnostic check and it showed where the radiator leaked into the transmission causing it to malfunction. She was told that the repairs would be more than $6,000. We were told to contact Nissan corperate. Nissan rep stated there wasn't anything they could dodo to the mileage on the vehicle. There's no way you can predict how long a transmission would last. We've reached out to Nissan on several occasions and were told that based on the age of the vehicle they won't pay for any repairs. My fianc travels due to her job so of course it would have high mileage.nissazn extended there warranty from 30K to 80K then 100K, again there no way you can predict a failure. Nissan needs to stand behind these faulty radiators and fix these vehicles. I am a Nissan owner ive had 4 Nissan this leaves a bad look on Nissan. I myself will not nor will I refer anyone else to buy or lease another Nissan product. I'm in nc and I've refferd at least 60 of, my friends and colleges to purchase Nissan. All the staff at deacon jones know me and know my reputation. I was told by a rep at cooperate to speak with the management to see if they would discount my repair. Management stated, they could only cover it if coorperate agreed to fix it. Please look into this case, its been ongoing. We've reached out to coorperate several times and each time we get the run around telling us that the vehicle is over 10 years old now. We've also asked to speak to management and continue to be told there busy or someone will contact us. Again no return calls. We have received emails surveys.
Loss of power due to leak of the radiator to the transmission, follow by transmission failure. The vehicle runs in one gear and the dealer suggested changing the transmission for $4,000 are they crazy..........2007 Nissan Xterra with low miles 89,000 one owner. I am never buying Nissan again
I was driving in an intersection when my gears slipped almost causing a multi-car collision because my car was shifting correctly. I wasn't sure what happened until it happened a couple of more times the same day. I knew immediately that something was wrong with the transmission on my automatic 2007 Nissan Xterra. I've had no issues with the transmission or car at all until then. The engine is strong and sound. Everything works except now the transmission has failed. I use this vehicle simply to drive to work and state to state highway traveling. I took it to my mechanic after the incidents and noticing a milky brown substance leaking from the radiator. Opened it up and the radiator was completely mixed with transmission fluid. Apparently, the hoses from radiator and transmission are intertwined from the factory manufacture build. This mistake is now going to cost me thousands of dollars and could have potentially costs human lives in a horrific accident! after researching online this seems to have happened to thousands of Xterra and frontier owners. These cars need to be recalled or else several highway/safety issues will occur. Imagine driving and suddenly you have no powertrain to redirect your vehicle from oncoming cars on a street or highway. Or in my case when yielding and turning in an intersection where vehicles are traveling towards you and you cannot move. Luckily some cars swerved out of the way. Also, the financial cost of the vehicle is absurd for something that could have been avoided from the manufacturing build altogether.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Baltimore, MD, USA