Problems with 2005 Nissan Xterra ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Noticed vibration and bumping while car shifted randomly. transmission is basically shot due to coolant leaking into the transmission cooler and mixing with transmission fluid causing total destruction of the transmission. radiator needs to be replaced due to failure. *tr

I had an issue approximately 6 months ago regarding my radiator. the coolant and transmission fluids were mixing due to a defective (known) issue. my transmission has now failed due to a rusted valve body in the transmission. in fact it completely failed as i was driving. after pulling into a parking lot, it would not go into gear, any gear. these issues are obviously directly linked but i am now left holding the bag due to the fact that nissan's extension of the warranty covers only vehicles with up to 100k miles. i am now nearing 115k miles. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle lost power and stalled. the vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and restarted, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to a mechanic who diagnosed that the radiator fluid mixed with the transmission fluid. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 99,000.

Approximately 4 months ago my engine light came on. we took it to nissan and it was the fuel pump. that was $700, then 2 weeks later the engine light came back on we took it to nissan and it was the catalytic converter, that was $1800. here we are 4 months later engine light comes back on we take it to nissan and now i'm told it is the radiator and transmission. this is going to cost $2500.00! i come to find out that there is a defect with the radiator and transmission and nissan has known about this since 2007. my complaint is if nissan knew about a defect, and in my opinion a safety hazard, then why didn't they recall the defected parts? why is the consumer being penalized for a defect? nissan needs to recall these known defective parts and fix them! *tr

While driving across country from california to virginia noticed the xterra begin to shake when switching to overdrive. a service shop in virginia determined that coolant from the radiator leaked into the transmission. notified the local dealership of the problem. they were familiar with the problem and stated that the radiator and transmission needed to be replace at an approximate cost of $6500-$7000. when asked if flushing the transmission would help, they stated that they have tried that on other vehicles with the same problem, but transmission failure ultimately occurred. contacted nissan about extended warranty but odometer reads 102k miles which disqualifies for the 9yr/100k warranty extension. *tr

I was driving on the freeway when suddenly the car stalled. pressed on the gas and car would not move just humming sound. i knew that it had to be transmission problem. had car towed to transmission shop. they notified me that there had been numerous complaints about the nissan. after looking at the car they saw that the radiator had a crack and that coolant had leaked into the transmission. after taking the transmission apart i was notified that the seals, valves, torque converter, including the computer were all damaged, the transmission would have to be flushed replaced or repaired, the radiator flushed replaced or repaired, the engine flushed. all this costing about $4,000. this problem has been known to nissan and i was never informed. i'm 65 and on fixed income. i need this car and need help. *tr

The transmission went out at an intersection. exit #407 in tennessee. 250miles away from home. the transmission never hesitated or slipped....just got to the intersection and it wouldn't go. it finally caught after almost causing an accident and i got to a parking spot but the transmission wouldn't go into gear after the fact. i towed the car home to bob richards nissan in north augusta and was told that the radiator cracked causing a mixture of radiator and transmission fluid. *tr

The transmission went out at an intersection on exit#407 in tn. 250 miles away from home. the transmission never hesitated or slipped..no warnings at all. just got to the intersection and it wouldn't go. it finally caught after causing other vehicles to stop and i got it to a parking spot thank god. i towed the car home to bob richards nissan in north augusta sc and was told the radiator cracked causing my radiator and transmission fluids to mix. nissan covers it 100% under 80k miles and would not help me at all since i am at 84,900....i can only hope to get reimbursed the $2500 co-pay. nisan never mentioned this defect and its a $100 fix. my 2008 frontier is also effected by the radiator. i will never buy another nissan. *tr

The car started to shake very badly apx 40 mph. i took it in for repair and found out that the radiator had malfunctioned and allowed coolant into the transmission. the damage was non repairable. my car is in the shop now waiting to have the radiator and transmission replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle began shaking excessively and would not accelerate. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the contact stated that the failure was caused by contamination of the transmission by the radiator. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 129,000. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the vehicle became hesitated and decelerated independently with the illumination of the check engine warning light. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was advised to the contact that radiator fluid had leaked into the transmission fluid, causing the transmission to fail. the vehicle was repaired but the problem persisted. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

Driving on freeway and transmission began to slip and within a matter of seconds had absolutely no power to wheels. have researched and found issues with this vehicle regarding coolant line for transmission failing and leaking anti-freeze into transmission. was wondering why it is that there is not a recall by nissan for this issue as it is undetectable, unpreventable, and expensive. *tr

The trans cooler and radiator has busted. almost caused us to wreck / vehicle started shaking badly. was not made aware by nissan that there could be a "mostly likely to occur" problem until this happened to us. fuel guage also quit working a few months back. nissan will not help because vehicle has over 100,000 miles. their hotline (in the phillipines) was of no help or concern. repairs , not including fuel gauge, are starting at $5600. nissan should have told us years ago that the radiators were mostly likely going to be defected so we could have spent the $600 or so then to replace !!!!! *tr

My 2005 nissan xterra transmission went out as i was driving across the causeway and almost ended up in the marsh. i searched online and this is a common problem with the radiator leaking into the transmission. nissan was involved in a class action lawsuit but it's to late for damages. i think this is a safety issue and nissan should have recalled these vehicles before someone is killed. *tr

Antifreeze mixes with trans fluid rendering the trans broken repair replace trans and radiator =$7000.00 repair at dealer. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40-50 mph, the vehicle began to shake without warning. the contact also stated that the radiator was cracked and caused fluid to leak into the transmission. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician advised that the radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance due to the vehicle not being included in any recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 80,625. the vin was not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that the radiator cracked and leaked fluid into the transmission. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and was informed that the radiator cap needed to be replaced. the failure recurred so the dealer replaced the u joints. the problem continued and the contact stated the vehicle began to shake while driving and the transmission failed. the dealer stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the failure mileage was 106,000 and the current mileage was 106,716.

I recently had to replace my radiator and transmission due to the known 2005 nissan xterra radiator problem. the problem started off as heavy vibration when gears shifted, and the heater was noticeably not as warm as it had been. after a short amount of time with the vibration issues, the transmission got to a point where the vibrations would last longer, meaning the vehicle was not shifting gears reasonably. this became a serious safety issue when i was merging onto the interstate one day and my overdrive completely missed, leaving me in basically neutral at approx 50mph with no ability to accelerate with a car almost slamming into the rear of me since it could not move out of the lane to avoid me. for this not to be considered a safety issue is very ridiculous. a failing transmission is most certainly a safety issue when it fails while you are driving. nissan may have agreed to have this repaired for free for vehicles under 80000 miles, but the likelihood of this problem occurring is past 80000 miles. nissan should not only be responsible for the cost of this repair, but nissan should also be responsible for letting owners know of the symptoms, problems, and associated safety concerns with a failing transmission. as far as i am concerned, nissan has failed in every aspect of dealing with such a costly issue. *tr

My nissan xterra started vibrating violently while traveling at high speed on the interstate. i sent the vehicle to the dealership to have it fixed. the cause of the problem is a faulty transmission cooler that leaks water into the transmission. after some research i find that this is a common problem with this model vehicle. here is the reference # dp12004. *tr

Radiator broke down which causes the transmission fluid to be mixed with radiator fluid. this kills both the transmission and radiator. this was a well known and defined problem by nissan and they never did anything about it. total bill is well over $5k for transmission, radiator, labor. *tr

Our daughter was driving home, late at night, when the engine began making strange sounds and lurching at about 50 mph. she was only a few blocks from home, so drove home very slowly. on later inspection, my husband found the radiator/transmission issue and looked on the internet to see if others had this problem. we were horrified to discover that many, many, many nissan owners have the same exact problem of coolant in the transmission. (our xterra has just over 100,000 miles.) this is obviously a well known issue with nissan, but nothing has been done. we spoke with a regional manager with nissan who listened politely, said she'd look into it, and had her assistant finally call us over a week later (she promised four days) to say nothing could be done. something can be done! i encourage anyone with this same problem to write to nissan, send a cc to your better business bureau, and submit complaints to consumer awareness groups to document this problem and get nissan to act responsibly for their faulty radiator. this is a major, costly, potentially dangerous issue that should never have occurred in the first place. we love our xterra, faithfully change the oil, and have recommended it to so many other people. it feels like a slap in the face that nissan will not admit their role in this problem and do something about it! *tr updated ivoq 11/19/12

Having the same problem as the rest of the 2005 nissan xterra owners - transmission & radiator failed; coolant looks like chocolate milk....leaked into the transmission & i now have transmission failure! talked to nissan about this, they only cover certain vin numbers & mine was not one of them! seriously?!?!?! god willing, there will be no more nissan's for my household! *tr

My daughter drives this vehicle to college about 5 hours from home. on 9-4-12 it overheated and she had trouble driving it but made it the the dealership in lubbock. they said the radiator needed to be replaced because the old one had internal transmission cooler failure. the service advisor said the fluid from the radiator got in the transmission and the transmission fluid got in the radiator. they said the transmission would be fine after they did a transmission flush on it. we paid the $814 for the repairs. six months later as my daughter is driving home for spring break the xterra started vibrating really bad. luckily she was about 30 minutes from home so she could still drive it as long as she stayed around 40 mph. we took it to the dealership in arlington where it was purchased. the service advisor told us the radiator would have to be replaced again as well as the transmission. they said the lubbock dealership should have also replaced the transmission back in september since a transmission flush doesn't guarantee all the contaminants are removed. we have just paid $5600 more for repairs. nissan has obviously admitted this is a widespread problem by agreeing to make partial reimbursements to customers whose vehicles have less than 100,000 miles on them. unfortunately we are in the group of customers whose vehicles have over 100,000 miles who nissan has chosen to ignore. since nissan has not stepped up to do the right thing we will not be future nissan customers. *tr

Car hesitates going into gear, very rough shifting (it is an automatic). very dangerous at intersections and on highway- cannot drive it. brought in for service. when mechanic attempted to flush the transmission, it was discovered that the radiator fluid has been leaking into the transmission. class action lawsuit filed on this complaint, reimbursement only up to 100,000 miles or 10 years, whatever is less, and only costs above 3000k covered! this is at least a $5200k repair job and that may not event remedy all components that may have been affected. additional problem is that my mileage was 5k over what the lawsuit allows. there was no way to know when this problem even started occurring. *tr

Coolant leaking into the transmission ruined both the radiator and transmission. *tr

A crack in radiator assembly causes a transmission failure. *tr

I was driving along and check engine light came on. checked internet and found out that many people had this happen around 50,000 miles. this is supposed to be guaranteed for 50,000 miles and in practice most last a lot longer, but not in the case of the xterra. nissan has noticed the large number of incidents but although they have completely redesigned the system they refuse to recall it. many of the posts here take about the engine conking out at speed which is an unsafe condition. the dealer admitted today that they have seen 4 this month, its becoming a real problem and should be recalled. dealer quoted me $70.00 for the quote, $590.00 for the canister, and $90.00 for labor. i can't believe that nissan would know about the bad design, engineer a fix for it, and withhold the fix from the customer, unless they are willing to cough up almost $800.00 to fix their mistake. this scares me as suv accidents are usually pretty bad with far more rollovers than regular cars. please take the appropriate action before someone is seriously hurt. *tr

Transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. the source of the contamination is a cracked atf line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator. *tr

Car was acting funny so i took it to my mechanic. coolant was leaking into the transmission. replaced the radiator before it caused any major issues with the tranny but still cost me $1200. now a check engine light came on indicating something with the tranny. i am afraid it will fail now and i will have to put more money. nissan extended the warranty to 80k miles but this issues started happening after that. *tr

Radiator assembly failed causing antifreeze to leak into the transmission. *tr

Just as i was about to enter the 405 freeway in long beach, my xterra would not accelerate. the garden grove nissan dealer said it was due to a leak in the radiator that caused the transmission to give out. i was charged $5,000 to repair. i filed a claim with the dealer and that's when i first learned that i had been given an extra 20,000 miles warranty back when my xterra only had 60,000 miles. i was never notified of the extended warranty and i've been taking my xterra to the dealer for all maintenance since i bought it from the dealer. *tr

Transmission locked up on highway. evidently engine coolant had gotten into the transmission by way of failure of the radiator. could have been killed... *tr

Radiator failed allowing antifreeze into the transmission. *tr

Nissan's 2005 xterra has a major flaw in its cooling system and transmission. apparently the coolant in the radiator leaks into the transmission causing the transmission to fail. this is very expensive as the radiator and the transmission have to be replaced. flushing the system is not enough. this should have been recalled and repaired by nissan before the problem became costly. apparently nissan has known about this for some time. this is disgraceful. *tr

I have a 2005 nissan xterra which over the years my engine light would come on for all periods of time and then go off. the first time it came on i ran to the dealership because i could not afford to be broke down. no diagnosis was found (phantom light - $300 to tell no there was no problem) so after that i did not run to the dealer everything the light come one which was most of the time. starting in january 2012 my 2005 xterra would seem to have a difficult time changing over at certain speeds especially 40-45 and 55-60 mph. i mainly drive highway so i knew this was not normal for my car. since the car was still running and i had a state inspection coming up in march-april 2012 i wanted to wait because i cannot be without a car. the engine light remained on from january until april when i went to the dealership. finally in early april 2012 i realized that the heats was not working. at the april 10, 2012 inspection the dealership told me i needed a new radiator ($999.45). they told me the radiator leaked into the transmissions but they were able to fix the problem. the car seemed to work fine after the repair, no difficultly changing over at certain speeds until october 18, 012 when i left work and the car would not start. aaa came and tried to jump it to no avail. towed to local mechanic (not going back to dealership again) and found out about the transmission cooling problem ($1,950.98) and two weeks without a car and $100 towing bill. now i get a letter from about lawsuit with nissan but my vehiles diagnosis occurred 1,985 miles after the allotted mileage (100,000). so, i am out $2950.45 plus the cost of towing and rent a cars with the vehiile that i am never going to be able to trade in because no dealer would purchase it from me knowing the problems with 2005 nissan xterra. i will never buy nissan again.

I've noticed recently that my xterra started shuddering while cruising at highway speeds, and has been shaking while shifting between gears. additionally, there was a specific occasion where my vehicle stopped accelerating while merging onto the highway. when i took it to a local nissan dealership for to fix a separate recall notice, i was told that my transmission fluid had mixed with my coolant, which meant that i would need to replace both my transmission and radiator. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated while driving at low speeds the vehicle began to jerk. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the dealer inspected the vehicle and confirmed that the broken radiator welding caused fluid to leak into the transmission forcing the gear to improperly engage. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and denied assistance with repairing the vehicle. the failure and the current mileage was 104,000.

Radiator fluid leaked into my transmission, which caused transmission failure. *tr

Total transmission failure after engine coolant floods transmission, causing vehicle to lurch and stop. incurred repair costs at dealership of $5,968.89. nissan is aware of this problem on 2005 xterras, but failed to inform owners to replace faulty radiators which causes the transmission failure. nissan secretly extended the power train warranty to 80,000 miles because of this problem (owners not informed), but the transmission failure associated with this issue does not occur until after 80,000 miles. one website, caromplaints.com, as 23 pages of complaints from 2005 xterra owners documenting this issue. ref: http://www.carcomplaints.com/nissan/xterra/2005/transmission/radiator_causes_transmission_failure.shtmlnissan refuses to reimburse owners for the repairs. the nissan consumer affairs file no. for my complaint is [xxx]. please help. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*tr

My problems started in november of 2010 with whistling noise coming from the engine. after taking the truck to nissan dealer they said the timing chain needed to be replaced and nissan has sent out a service bulletin to the fact that there is a defect in the timing chain that causes the noise. after contacting nissan consumer affair for two weeks at the end, they ruled that since i was over the standard warranty of 60k, they were not to cover the cost of this repair even though they knew about this problem and never sent out notice to owners to have this fixed. so i had to spend the $1063 with i did not have to fix the repair. again this last december, one morning i was driving at 55 miles on the freeway when out of no where lost total power. i stepped on the gas and my truck went from 55 to 10 miles an hour. thank god it was close to a off ramp and i was able to get off the freeway and when straight to the dealer close by. the determined that the defect is the radiator the anti- freeze in leaking to the transmission and causing it to seize. after some research on-line, i found out that this problem is plaguing many other owners of nissan xterra, pathfinder from 2005-2010. nissan has issued a recall on this and extended the warranty from 60k to 80k. however i have not yet found one owner that did not have this problem happening before 80k. as far as i see it is nissan trying to hide the face that this is not a safety recall. i just came from nissan dealer and they gave me an esteemed of $4925.73 to fix the tranny & the radiator. i have contacted nissan and they have decided not to help me in this matter. so i have now have a truck that i can't drive or can afford to fix. i am going to look in to other options to deal with this problems. i will fight this to the end. *tr

Due to a cracked radiator line coolant leaked causing major transmission and electrical failure. this causes the car to shut off randomly or shake violently ( this happen to me on the freeway and i was stuck with cars zooming pass me at 70 mph) and transmission to jolt and shake when going through the gears. *tr

We have a 2005 nissan xterra that we had to have a transmission replaced on in 2007 because radiator coolant leaked into the transmission. again, the same thing has happened. recall these cars, please. they are dangerous and this repair is very expensive. i had read the complaint history and i am not the only one with this problem. *tr

While driving, the engine cuts off without warning causing all systems to shut down, including brake assist and power steering causing a near collision twice, once while navigating a curve at low speed with a ditch on the right side and once while navigating a curve at higher speed and nearly coasting into oncoming traffic. the issue is due to a known defect in the radiator causing coolant to spill into the transmission. this is a major safety concern that appears in vehicles without warning in any circumstance at any speed. please initiate a recall asap for our safety! *tr

Radiator cracked and leaked coolant into the transmission. both radiator and transmission damaged. estimated cost of repairs around $4700. *kb

Radiator failed and allowed coolant to mix with transmission fluid. both radiator and transmission need replaced at a cost of $6411.00 (includes labor). *tr

Vehicle failed during operation without warning secondary to faulty original radiator which leaked coolant into the transmission. transmission and radiator destroyed and require replacing. despite extensive documentation of this problem on consumer websites and a class action lawsuit, nissan america and dealership denied any knowledge of this problem and did not accept any financial responsibility. total repairs estimated at $5,000. notifying consumer of and/or replacing faulty radiator could prevent a costly destroyed transmission. *tr

it has come to my attention during a recent horrific event that my transmission has seized due to a failure of the radiator cracking and mixing coolant into the transmission. i had bought an extended warranty plan through my dealer when i purchased this vehicle in 2009. they had an adjustor from carefree car protection come out to look at the vehicle on friday november 11, 2011. with that being said; they stated they do not cover the radiator issue; and since it was the faulty radiator that caused the entire transmission to fail and ultimately seized, they will also not cover that or any other of the repairs. upon a bit of research on my own this is a known failure with this particular year/make/model of nissan. there are hundreds if not thousands of documented cases of consumers with the very same issue. there has been no recall made on this at all. yes, nissan extended the radiator warranty up to 80,000 miles but not the transmission. guess what; this happened in my vehicle at 89,000, so not only can i not fix the radiator issue but the transmission is also the same. the worst part of all this is; on wednesday november 9th my four year old daughter and i were almost killed due to this known malfunction. we were traveling on a very busy highway in mid-day traffic when the entire transmission seized in the middle of the highway. i have to say, if it were not for my extensive training in emergency vehicle operations by the state of massachusetts , i honestly do not believe my daughter or i would be alive today. the vehicle seized right on that stretch of highway and i had to veer into a ditch avoiding other vehicles, trees, guardrails and jersey barriers. i am thankful that we did survive that horrific even. now i am looking to nissan to do the right thing and make this right. updated ivoq 12/01/11 *tr

Recently i experienced a sudden loss of acceleration as i attempted to merge onto a highway. i was also very lucky that i didn't cause a serious accident. the problem was intermittent at first and then increased. nissan acknowledged a radiator design flaw and extended the basic warranty to lessor of 96 months or 80k miles. i contacted nissan consumer affairs to inform them my xterra was affected by the same problem. while under 96 mos, my vehicle has 89k miles. i requested an exception which was denied. nissan's failure to stand behind their products, particularly when the problem represents a serious safety concern and attributable to a design flaw, is inexcusable. nissan denies any safety concern. this problem (referenced by nissan in the radiator assembly customer satisfaction program description) pertains to 2005-2010 xterra, pathfinder and frontier vehicles equipped with auto transmissions. corrosion within the radiator leads to a crack and contamination of engine coolant with trans fluid, damaging radiator & transmission corrosion develops over time and most vehicle owners will likely exceed the 80k limit before problem presents itself. an internet search revealed 15 dedicated web threads to this problem and they are mostly 2005 vehicles. if nissan didn?t correct the design flaw before 2010, the # of failures will significantly increase over the coming years as model yr 2005-2010 cars age. how many accidents or fatalities need to occur during this period before nissan is held accountable for their negligence? the dealer estimate to repair my xterra is $6,760. this is a significant financial burden and hardship on any vehicle with just over 80,000 miles. how many nissan owners have to experience financial hardship before nissan is held accountable?? *tr

I was driving my 2005 nissan xterra at 55 mph on a two lane highway when it began to shake violently as if i had ran over spilled lumber or rumble strips. i braked hard as i thought i had ran over something. i hadn't, so after pulling over and checking for loose tires or driveline i continue on perplexed as to what happened. a few miles later it did it again. come to find out there is a known defect on 2005 thru 2010 nissan xterra's, pathfinders, and frontier's in which the radiators internally leak water into the automatic transmissions and causes the violent shaking at high speeds. nissan is aware of the issue and has only chosen to extend the warranty on the radiators and not recall the vehicles. in fact the letter sent to the consumers doesn't even reference the transmission (in which it destroys). while my family and i were not hurt, it was a close call and could have easily been worse at the speed i was going and the effect the failure has on the vehicle. *tr

I was picking up my children from school and my car just stopped driving in the middle of the intersection while i was making a left turn at a stoplight. i brought it to a trans shop and they said i have coolant in my transmission which caused it to fail. repairs are estimated at $4326 and i am just angry and sick over this situation. not only was it a scary situation to break down in the middle of the intersection with my kids in the car but i am very disappointed in all the reports i have been reading about in the 2005 xterra. i can not afford to fix this problem and this is simply not fair that nissan isn't taking responsibility for their negligence. please help!! *tr