Problems with 2008 Nissan Pathfinder POWER TRAIN

2008 nissan pathfinder stopped shifting into reverse. went to dealer. they claim that the transmission and coolant fluid are mixing and said it needs a new transmission and radiator. cost: $3000 until it reaches 100, 000 miles; then it will be $9785.88. i have taken this vehicle to the dealer for all service appointments and no mention of this defect was made. car is now unusable until i can get the 3000.00. *tr

I was traveling at highway speeds going about 60mph and the car suddenly jerked nearly giving me whiplash. i then looked down at the gauge cluster and no lights were on and everything seemed normal, and in about 5 seconds it did it again... i slowed down as fast as i could to merge over and get out of traffic and as i went to pull off the car shut down and i could not get it restarted. i had to have it towed to my house and parked it for a few days. the battery went dead from trying to start it so much so i took it to a o'reily and found the battery to be bad so it was replaced. the car then started up and i drove slowly around my nieghborhood and it seemed ok. the next day my wife took it back to o'reliy to have the alternator tested and it was fine. i thought maybe it was something wrong to cause it to shut down like that and as she was driving home it did the same thing again. after much research it seems that this is a known issue with nissan pathfinders and that they did not let the owners know about the issue with the radiator fluid mixing with the tranny fluid and rendering the vehicle useless. i called nissan today and was told that i am out of luck since the vehicle is out of warranty. *tr

After months of searching for a good used car, i researched, verified, test drove, and got an independent mechanics check on a 2008 nissan pathfinder sold by a private seller as "in perfect and excellent working condition" bought it on a saturday nite, drove it 20 minutes home, then drove it for the next first time two days later on a long 200 mile trip out of country. i began to hear the strange high pitched noise along the way. when i arrived to my destination,i immediately contracted a mechanic who diagnosed the problem as internal, recommending i take to nissan for accurate diagnosis. i also called 4 diff nissan dealerships, and who diagnosed the timing chain issue over the phone,.i also called nissan corp and opened a claim was advised to get formal diagnosis from a dealership. i anxiously drove back the 200 miles and took it to dealership. fyi, i contacted original seller who stated again she knew nothing of the problem but could not help. i now have formal documentation of the timing chain problem and repair estimate $1,650, also, i was advised to immediately replace my radiator due to a well known, documented problem with leakage into the transmission on this car. i also did more research finding hundreds of documented complaints regarding the two above faulty and well known problems with the pathfinders and a class action lawsuit! my new $10,500 car is sitting in my driveway, after only driving it one time im looking at $3000 worth of necessary work, and i will still be afraid to put my 3 daughters into this vehicle uncontrolled acceleration! nissan has yet to get back to me, it is unbelievable that nissan has no responsibility for these serious issues. many complaints have been reported .when will the government make nissan take responsibility? i saved and hitched rides to find and buy a car, and now i have none and no money~! *tr

Radiator crack caused the coolant and transmission fluid to mix causing the transmission to fail. *tr

Nhtsa action number : dp12004nhtsa recall campaign number : n/a vehicle make / model: model year(s): nissan / frontier 2005-2010 nissan / pathfinder 2005-2010 nissan / xterra 2005-2010 manufacturer(s) : nissan north america, inc. component(s) : power train power train:automatic transmission power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm, pcm) power train:automatic transmission:cooling unit and lines power train:automatic transmission:torque converter date investigation opened : june 11, 2012 date investigation closed : open. *tr

Noticed a shutter during acceleration. service dept suggested replacing the radiator due to faulty radiator that leaked fluid into tranny so i did.i felt the shutter on my way home from the dealer! i did research and found the class action suit regarding this problem. i placed a claim with consumer affairs and was told i was 1500 miles out of warranty sorry. will eventually need a transmission. *tr

Upon driving at 25mph the rpm's increased without any power. no matter how much gas i gave it o would only crawl and could barely exit the intersection. i was able to pull over and shut the car off. i tried to turn it back on and it would not. i brought it back to the dealer and was informed the radiator and transmission are bad. i then learned that this is a problem with many nissan suv's. *tr

Car suddenly stalls and will not drive in "reverse". per mechanic, there is a crack in the radiator which is allowing coolant from the radiator to enter into the transmission. apparently, there has been a previous lawsuit against nissan for this same issue. a recall on these "cracked radiators" must be issued immediately. *tr

I started feeling my car slip gears when it reached certain speeds, as well as the vdc, slip and engine lights came on. within the next few days, as i was driving, my car overheated and the antifreeze poured out of it. the radiator was cracked and had leaked into the transmission. when my husband called nissan and told them our issue, and that our mileage was 103,000, they said we were no longer under warranty and it would cost approximately $6,000 (obviously knowing what the issue was from all the other transmissions that were ruined from their error). my husband's friend, who is mechanic, replaced the radiator and flushed the transmission fluid. it seemed to run fine for the next few months, with the occasional flush of the transmission fluid. within the last week, the car began slipping again. by yesterday, it would not come out of second gear. my transmission is shot and needs to be replaced. i am extremely disappointed with nissan, as we have been loyal customers for the last 14 years. i loved my pathfinder, and would think that after spending $36,000 on a car, it would hold up longer than 6 years. it is absolutely unacceptable that nissan will not take responsibility for their manufacturing error and that they do not stand behind their product. i am so disappointed and disgusted, i will never buy another nissan. *tr

Radiator fluid leaked into transmission fluid causing vehicle to violently shimmy at about 40 mph. the repairs came to $1,334.55. they had to replace the battery ($119.21), radiator ($266.95), radiator hose ($14.35), serpentine belt ($29.95). they used a transmission flush kit ($29.95), a cooling system flush kit ($29.99) and a global extended life coolant ($29.92). they used $50.00 in shop supplies and labor was $587.00. tax was $87.31. *tr

There was a leak in the radiator that contaminated the transmission fluid. the radiator and the transmission both need to be replaced or rebuilt. nissan will not cover warranty since the vehicle is over 90k miles. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that the vehicle was jerking. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. the mechanic informed the contact that the way the radiator was built allowed the fluids to leak into the transmission as a result the radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 102,000. the vin was not available. updated 9/12/14*cn the consumer stated there was a class action suit for the radiator/transmission defect. the consumer would like the vehicle repaired free of charge. updated 02/05/2015*js

The radiator cracked sending the fluid straight to the transmission and damaged the transmission and the radiator so now i need both new parts estimate about 5,700 from nissan dealership. *tr

The radiator fluid has been leaked into my transmission. nissan says that i must pay $2500 to have it repaired because i am 1000 miles over their cutoff. they have known about this problem and never informed their consumers of the potential problem. i would have had it checked sooner if i was informed. i now cannot drive my vehicle for fear that the transmission will give out and cannot afford to have it repaired. i have now sent a demand letter to nissan in an attempt to get them to own up to this problem and have it fully covered. *tt

My 2008 nissan pathfinder began shuddering whenever i would coast to 40 mph and then accelerate. i took it into the local nissan dealership to have the issue checked out. they informed me there was an issue with the torque converter in my transmission that was caused by leakage from the radiator. they said this was evidenced by rust that had formed on my transmission fluid dipstick. they quoted me a repair price of over $4,500 but informed me i would only be responsible for $3,000 due to a class action lawsuit settlement. after researching the issue, i realized that this is a very common problem with nissans. further, i'm convinced there was evidence of this issue existing in my vehicle long before i took it in for service. i get my vehicle regularly serviced at the nissan dealership and had my last oil change there about four months ago. it takes a long time for rust to form - so if there is rust on my transmission fluid dipstick today, then there was probably evidence of the issue just four months ago. it was in nissan's best interest to not mention the issue to me since they needed me to be over the 90,000 mile mark so that i'm responsible for more of the repair. this is a huge safety issue - imagine what would happen if the transmission fails during my drive to work on the interstate one day. and it's infuriating that nissan won't correct the issue. i love my pathfinder and would have been a lifelong nissan customer, but you better believe i'll never spend another dollar there. *tr

Transmission failed causing a sudden deceleration and lack of a forward motion resulting in a near rear end collision with a tractor trailer. only after the event did i learn of the issue with the transmissions in the nissan models frontier, pathfinder and xterra 2005-2010. i am 15k miles outside of the extended warranty but was not aware of any potential issue with safety. i never received notice or advice of such an event being possible. had i known i would have taken proactive action. nissan needs to extend this repair issue through a recall and repair the issue at their entire cost. this is a design flaw. the public safety is at stake! *tr

I own a nissan pathfinder 2008. the problem was noticed when the vehicle's radiator began to run hot. we took it to a repair shop and was told that the coolant was mixing with the transmission fluid. we replaced the radiator in hopes that the damage had not extended to the transmission. while out of town on a trip, the transmission went out in the pathfinder. the truck was transported to the local dealer who advised that the transmission was gone, and it would require replacing. i have previously called nissan and was advised that there was some type of recall, but my vehicle had too many miles. the defect is a manufacturer's defect, not one of my own doing. nissan will not stand behind their vehicles. please investigate this matter. there are alot of people dealing with the same thing. *tr

I am the one owner of this vehicle which i purchased new in quincy, massachusetts in 2008. i began to sense a clunk or slippage in my transmission about two weeks before the incident. i immediately took the car to an oil change place and had my transmission and differential fluids replaced. cost $150. attendant noted magnetic plug had metal shavings and some discoloration in transmission fluid but nothing conclusive to work on. approx two weeks later while driving up a grade, i experienced a serious "clunk" and immediately pulled into the next service station i could find. i was 100 miles from home. after leaving the car for diagnostic work, i went online to find other similar complaints concerning radiator coolant leaking into the transmission and causing catastrophic failure with no warning. i called the mechanic to report what i had found and asked him to check this condition first. he reported back that this is exactly what happened and i may have caught the defect in time to save the transmission. the mechanic worked on the car for two days to fix the problem. cost $1100. i have put about 300 miles on the car as of this writing and i now have only an occasional/minor "clunk." i believe this is clearly a defective nissan part and note that other people are finding nissan uncooperative in taking responsibility for this defect. i have receipts for my work done and will provide them if needed. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Fuel gauge does not register correctly, have no way of knowing how much fuel in vehicle, causes sensor light to show up, and car will not pass inspection, there was a recall on this, but as others have stated mine wasn't one of them. also had problem with transmission on this car, which again mine wasn't one of them, but we had a 100,000 mile warranty provided by the dealer on this. if really seems to me, how do they know what nissans are defective, and what ones aren't if the problem is happening to so many of us. we had nissans since 2000, but no longer and never again. i gave this vehicle to my son, and now he has to pay for the repair, as car will not pass inspection. *tr

Car abruptly overheated while driving and came to near complete stop in traffic. diagnosed as engine coolant leaking from defective made radiator into transmission and transmission fluid leaking into radiator causing both systems to fail. *tr

Vehicle starts to jerk, vibrate, and has power interruption during acceleration, on inclines and while towing. transmission shop told me it was due to bad coolant lines in transmission and transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $7000 by nissan dealership. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that there was a strong vibration in the vehicle when driving at various speeds or when the vehicle was parked. the contact stated that she took the vehicle to a certified mechanic and he advised her that the radiator was cracked and the fluids between the radiator and the transmission were mixing. as a result, both components needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified but provided no assistance. the failure mileage was 81,000.

I was pulling out into oncoming traffic when my car lost power and wouldn't move . the transmission bucked and kicked back in and i was able to drive . i brought vehicle to my mechanic the next day and he found the radiator coolant was in my transmission . after further look he found coolant line was were leaking into transmission which had caused failure . my vehicle is past the nissan warranty because of miles but this is a continuing problem on all nissan suv's made in these time frames . this isn't a warranty issue, it is a recall issue . nissan needs to stand up for their mistake and submit a recall. *tr

My 2008 nissan pathfinder has a radiator that failed causing engine coolant to mix with the automatic transmission fluid thus causing a total failure of my transmission. in researching after the failure i have found this is a very common problem with nissan pathfinders, frontiers, and exteras from 2005-2008. it is to the point where people have taken the transmission line out of the coolant system loop prior to the radiator failing in attempt to save the transmission from the inevitable failure. these radiators need to be recalled to prevent another transmission from total failure and thus prevent serious accidents resulting in injury or death in the future. this is a safety concern! in my instance while driving my wife and my 7 day old first born son to his doctors appointment my nissan pathfinder began to hesitate and slip, then catch, and slip, and lock up, and jerk, and then only slip. i was forced to push my vehicle a distance while vehicles proceeded to pass me at a high rate of speed. all the while my wife and 7 day old infant inside. i then needed to have my car towed to the dealership. after calling the nissan dealership i was told that is fairly common and they were not surprised. 2005-2008 nissan pathfinders, exteras, and frontiers have faulty radiators that are causing catastrophic failure to the transmission and are extremely unsafe for the passengers of these vehicles. does someone have to die before nissan admits to and fixes this avoidable problem?! this is very common knowledge for all transmission repair shops as well as nissan dealerships.

My 2008 nissan pathfinder has a radiator that failed causing engine coolant to mix with the automatic transmission fluid thus causing a total failure of my transmission. in researching after the failure i have found this is a very common problem with nissan pathfinders, frontiers, and xterras from 2005-2008. it is to the point where people have taken the transmission line out of the coolant system loop prior to the radiator failing in attempt to save the transmission from the inevitable failure. these radiators need to be recalled to prevent another transmission from total failure and thus prevent serious accidents resulting in injury or death in the future. this is a safety concern! in my instance while driving my wife and my 7 day old first born son to his doctors appointment my nissan pathfinder began to hesitate and slip, then catch, and slip, and lock up, and jerk, and then only slip. i was forced to push my vehicle a distance while vehicles proceeded to pass me at a high rate of speed. all the while my wife and 7 day old infant inside. i then needed to have my car towed to the dealership. after calling the nissan dealership i was told that is fairly common and they were not surprised. 2005-2008 nissan pathfinders, xterras, and frontiers have faulty radiators that are causing catastrophic failure to the transmission and are extremely unsafe for the passengers of these vehicles. does someone have to die before nissan admits to and fixes this avoidable problem? this is very common knowledge for all transmission repair shops as well as nissan dealerships. *tr

Couple years ago around 60,000 mile or so ago started to notice hesitancy when shifting around 40mph. nissan stated that was due to how i broke the car in. so i let it go thinking that it was okay... then it started at 60mph and kept getting worse at every gear, sounded like i was driving on rumble strips. so i take it to a mechanic they inform me that it was caused by the radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. which i see now that is an ongoing problem! i contacted nissan and they said there is nothing they can do because i was over the miles on the extended warranty now. if it was an ongoing problem why was i not notified? they had no answer so i am just informing you that this is still happening and to get it on record. *tr

In february of 2013, my 2008 nissan pathfinder started vibrating and shaking while driving at a low speed of 40 mph. at first i thought it was rough road but it continued and got worse. the suv slips alot and it jerks forward even when i brake. it has become scary to drive, but it is our family's only car. i need something safe to transport my young kids in and this definitely is not a safe car. i took the suv to the dealership and they said that the transmission is bad do to a faulty radiator and that both needed to be replaced but since i was barely over 80k miles i would have to pay $2500. i did research and found that this is a common problem on nissans part and that many people have been affected by this issue. i bought the suv in 2010 as a certified pre-owned that already had 48k miles on it. i also have a 84 month/100k miles limited warranty on the car that covers the transmission, but i was told that this warranty would not cover my transmission since my transmission was damaged by nissan's faulty radiator. this makes no sense at all. nissan is the worst! *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the coolant and transmission fluids were mixing and as a result, the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 91,000.

Radiator leaked into the transmission, both will need to be replaced $4500-4800 fix. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle jerked. the failure occurred constantly when attempting to accelerate over 40 mph. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician stated that the radiator and transmission would have to be replaced. the vin was not available. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 98,000.

Transmission slips due to radiator fluid entering transmission. transmission shifts rough and does not let vehicle get up to speed. *tr

My car started making a jutter type sound when i would be going approximately 40 mph and would cause my car to rumble like i was going over a rumble strip. the car would lose acceleration when this would happen. *tr

My 2008 nissan pathfinder suddenly stopped while driving. i had it towed to the dealer and they said that the radiator cracked and fluid got into the transmission. there were no signs that jy car was having any problem prior to this. because my car is 1000 miles out of warranty they refuse to warranty it even though this is q known problem. my car is leased and i can not turn it in until i have it in working condition. in order to fix it the dealer wants to charge me $9,000. *tr

Your website would not allow me to put in the transmission and radiator as affected parts. my vehicle with 77,000 miles on it had a slipping issue with my transmission and was brought to the dealership, along with the warranty upgrade notice provided by nissan, for service. i notified the dealership of the transmission slipping and of the warranty notice, and that i wanted it looked at. they came back to me and verbally stated that there was no issue with my transmission. dealer did not note it on the work order that they test drove and said there was no issue. nissan is known to have radiator problems that lead to transmission failure for my type of vehicle. there is a class action lawsuit out right now about the issue. nissan refused to do the work unless i paid for the $3000 co-pay, and paid for the timing chain shoes, another nissan known issue, another $1800. my vehicle is a 2008 pathfinder with 92000 miles on it now. just want nissan to stand behind their product properly and replace the items required at no charge to me. both of the issues could lead to a failure and cause a major accident. *tr

I took my certified pathfinder in for a faulty window switch and while it was there had them check the power train for a noise i was hearing every initial 1st to 2nd gear shift after start up. dealer notified me that the transmission fluid was contaminated or incorrect fluid. i was then told i would have to cover the cost of replacing the fluid. i contacted nissan consumer affairs, as not only is the vehicle covered by the nissan certified pre-owned program, but i also bought their security plus warranty. the transmission service is not due for another 6,000 miles, and the fluid should not be contaminated or be the wrong color and have the viscosity of water, per the dealership service dept. they are not even advising a standard transmission service, they want to replace all the fluid, as what is currently in the system is unusable. nissan cpo is denying my claim to have the transmission fixed, taking the stance that they do not warranty fluids. i am not asking them to warranty the fluid, standard maintenance is my responsibility. however there is an issues as to how/why the fluid got contaminated and is no longer usable, and needs to be flushed. nissan does not want any part in addressing that issue, even though their cpo and security plus warranties are supposed to cover the engine and drive train. as it turns out there are several other having similar issues, apparently there is an issues in the radiator, which also has the transmissions cooler build into it, allowing coolant to seep into the transmission fluid. knowing this nissan is still taking the stance that they do not warranty fluids and is refusing to service the transmission. they are basically asking me to replace the fluid and hope it does not get contaminated again and hope no other issues arise from a transmission operating for who know how long with bad fluid that was the incorrect viscosity. *tr

Cracked radiator allows fluid to leak into transmission, causing erratic operation, potential sudden failure. transmission has to be replaced. *tr

Thought i was having a problem with my transmission. took it to get checked. my radiator leaked causing fluid to leak into my transmission. as a result have to get my transmission & radiator replaced. come to find out from the repair shop. they were seeing alot of nissan trucks with this issue. i was told there was a class action lawsuit against nissan fro this issue. i think nissan should issue a recall & reimburse people who have this issue. *tr

Our nissan problems started years ago. in 2010 i started noticing noise and shuddering coming from the transmission. i brought it in to the dealer and they said it was nothing more than it needed a flush of the transmission fluid. so i paid the $150, had it done and went on my way. in 2011 is started doing it again, had it checked and they said nothing was wrong with it i must have been hearing things. they test drove it numerous times and 'never heard anything'. eventually they had a specialist come and look at my car. he determined that my a/c unit needed to be reset. everything seemed to be fine and we went on our merry way. flash forward to july 2013. on the way home from a road trip, about 3 hours from our house we started noticing it was getting hot in the car. sure enough the air just started blowing out hot air. everything still worked on the a/c, just blowing hot air. so we drove home sweating our a$$ off in mid-summer in fl. a day or 2 later we are driving down the road and the service engine light came on (1st time ever in this car). husband thought he should shut the car off...well, that was the last time my car ever worked. we had it towed to a mechanic where it sat there for 2 weeks. first he determined it was a blown fuse - great, $10! - went to pick it up and it blew again. he then determined it was a broken computer told us to tow it to nissan. we did. it has been there for a week and we were just told that the trans & radiator fluids mixed and caused trans to seize causing a/c and electrical issues as well. they claim they've never heard of this before...yea, right! nissan won't do anything but has told us to call the class action lawsuit # and file a complaint...oh and they'll give me $500 for a car that's worth $6,000+. they knew about this issue and never told me about it in the years that i brought up the issue. beware of nissan!

Vehicle trying to lunge forward while stopped at redlight, stopsign, or in traffic. transmission vibration at low speeds when going into overdrive. engine revs during travel, without accelerator being pressed. as well as apparent malfunction, there are too many instances of safety issue with no control over when it happens, and we now understand the complexity of the problem with nissan and the "recall that should have been." we dont remember being notified of an extended warranty. we wish to complain, that a company we had faith in, and trusted, exposed our family to safety issues that could have been terrible, had circumstances been worse, as some have experienced. nissan should fix them all. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. the contacted experienced failures while he shifted gears the vehicle slowed down, and when he attempted to stop it the brakes did not respond immediately which caused him to increase the breaking distance. he thought it was drivers error, because the vehicle was new. he took the vehicle to the dealer who replaced the front shocks; the repair did not correct the failure. the manufacturer took report 6887492; however, the manufacturer advised that they could not assist with the transmission failure, because the routine maintenance wasn't done at the dealer. the failure mileage was 12,000 and the current mileage was 87,000.

The computer system in the 2008 nissan pathfinder malfunctions and all gauges, speedometer, and warning systems stop working. this happens when driving. the cruise control will cause the cars to accelerate. *tr