Problems with 2005 Nissan Xterra ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

*** ipdm and double catalytic converter failure in 2005 nissan xterra *** my 2005 nissan xterra engine once shut down as i am driving on a busy street; i had to let the xterra coast a short distance without power to pull over and stop my suv to the side of a safer section of the road. i could not immediately restart the car. after waiting about 15 minutes, i was eventually able to restart and drive the suv. the problem, however never went away. periodically the engine will shut off without warning. it finally got to the point where the car would not start at all. i had to have the car towed twice, including a tow to a nissan dealership in santa monica. the incident began in april 2010. in may 2010, the nissan dealer in santa monica checked the problem and indicated that the ipdm had to be replaced. this was an expensive repair. shortly after the ipdm was replaced, 1 of 2 catalytic converters in the xterra failed and had to be replaced. 6 months later (december 2010), the other catalytic converter failed. i believe the ipdm issue is severe. i believe the ipdm issue is also associated with (and likely to be the cause of) the failure of catalytic converters in the vehicle. in my case, it is double failure since both catalytic converters failed 6 months apart from each other. failure of the catalytic converter is an environmental concern. *tr

Like many other xterra of this year, the radiator was faulty and leaked antifreeze into the transmission. consequently i had to replace the radiator, have it serviced for 1177.00 dollars and then was told by the dealership that it was not covered because it was not a safety recall even with a high failure rate for this model. thinking the radiator was the root cause of the vehicle driving problems i was assured nothing else was wrong with the xterra. i continued to research this problem as i had continued trouble with the transmission and being towed several times. i was told that the radiator leaked antifreeze into the transmission rendering it inoperative and needing a full replacement. i then paid 3550.00 for a new transmission. again, i was told by nissan that this was not covered by any warranty and that they were aware of the problem with this model and year. after more research, i discovered there was thousands of people complaint of the same issue and nissan telling their customers that it was out of there hands and not in high enough incidence for a recall. i understand that there is a class action lawsuit for customers to be repaid for these repairs and my family and i hope nissan does the right thing and pay their customers back for their mistake and faulty parts. *tr

2005 thru 2007 nissa xterras and pathfinders made in these model years have a defective radiator. the transmission line corrodes and coolant leaks into the transmission line and contaminates the transmission. repairs have to made to the radiator, transmission and all associated lines.

My car would shut off everytime i went over a bump. the repair guy said it was the computer that went out in my care. then 2 months later my engine went out and my catalytic converter. my vehicle almost stopped in the middle of the busy freeway. *tr

2005 nissan xterra, radiator failure , causing transmission fluid to leak into coolant and coolant leaking into transmission, causing transmission to fail. repair cost about $5,000. a source within a dealership said it is common occurrence with 2005 xterras and pathfinders, if caught early it can be fixed ,however most customers don't know this until is too late. there is no notice from nissan on this problem or warning. *tr

Internal radiator failure that led to a transmission failure in the middle of the highway. i had the radiator replaced at a cost of $1,300.00 by the nissan dealer where they assured me that the transmission was fine. a month later i paid $5,000.00 to aamco to have the entire transmission rebuilt. this has happened to countless 2005 pathfinders and xterras. nissan will not provide financial assistance or make a recall. nissan needs to be held responsible! *cn

First problem - when i had 53,000 mi on it, it was still under warranty, it started cutting out and wouldn't accelerate at all, had to have it towed to the dealer to find out that the transmission was bad. they said that he radiator leaked, flooding my transmission with coolant and ruined my transmission. they refused to honor the warranty stating that "the tranmission did not fail - the radiator did (which was not covered under warranty) therefore the transmission was not covered". i had to let them replace the radiator and flush the transmission 3 times - it cost me $1,400 out of pocket - now here i am 30,000 miles later and my reverse will not work at all, my transmission needs replaced. so i had paid 1,400 just to buy myself an year & a half and now i need a new transmission. 2nd problem - i have the fuel gauge/sensor problem, also. i filled up one day, got in my car and gauge read empty & check engine light was on. i had a rip-off mechanic charge me $170 to replace the sensor - nothing ever changed, gauge is still broke and light is still on. nissan is so wrong for not handling their problems, consumers deserve to be treated fairly. there should be a class action suit against them - just read these complaint boards. somehow i have both of the most common problems with these vehicles.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and the service engine soon light illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the technicians stated the ecm filter needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. after the repairs were made the contact received a recall notice nhtsa campaign id number: 10v517000 (component: engine and engine cooling). the manufacturer was contacted in regards to reimbursement and informed the contact the vin was not included in the recall. the approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

Multiple complaints: at approx 55k miles, engine would rev out before shifting gears, at approx. 72k miles started vibration when at steady speed (approx 45 mph), so purchased new tires. at approx. 76k miles temperature gauge would fluctuate and vibration and gear slam increased. at approx. 79k miles blower stopped working and temperature gauge would go up and down. at 80,532 mi. had radiator replaced and coolant flushed and two transmission flushes done, as coolant and transmission fluids mixed due to radiator leaking. transmission continued vibration and began slamming again 3 mos. later. 6 mos. later engine overheated , had towed. engine was bad due to overheating from radiator assembly fault nissan describes. rebuilt engine, new timing chain and timing control valve, and new radiator. still cannot drive vehicle- severe transmission slamming gears, vehicle stalls when you take foot off gas, oil pressure gauge goes to bottom when foot off gas and up when you depress. since, nissan has extended warranty to 80k for radiator assembly can crack and internal leakage of coolant mixes with transmission fluids. i am not covered they say, but if i had been notified of this 2 years ago i would have been. their letter specifically states that it can occur at "higher mileages". i want nissan to reimburse me costs incurred and fix my transmission. i have been without a vehicle on and off for 8 mos. of the past two years, and do not think this vehicle will ever run properly due to their negligence to notify owners of the potential problem. i've seen hundreds of complaints. also have had engine light go on and off for last 2 years- due to fuel sending unit problem, nissan has extended warranty for this to 72k. i now have 94k - these issues need to be recalls and owners reimbursed- please investigate warranty extension issue! also had squeaks, battery issue, no start even w/new battery, cleared electronics/radio blown, cds don't eject, driver window won't go up unless pulled. *tr

On my 2005 nissan xterra, radiator warranty extended from 36,000 miles/36 months to 80,000 miles/96 months in 2011. however, my radiator was replaced at 40 months/88,000 miles in 2009. 11 months later (2010) i had to replace my transmission because of their defected radiator. why was my data excluded when nissans extended their warranty? i have spent over $10,000 in repairs since i have bought my 2005 xterra brand new. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission, causing the transmission to seize. in addition, the cooling system failed. the radiator and the transmission were repaired by a local mechanic but the cooling system was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 82,000 and the current mileage was 131,000.

Error code on 2005 nissan xterra - p0643 has shown up on many models with this engine. noted on an emission inspection for annual tx inspection. *tr

Service engine light and fuel sensor sending unit failure. *tr

There was a loud rumble and jerking while driving at 35mph. fluid was leaking badly also. i took the car to nissan on on april 21, 2008. they said they could not duplicate the problem. again, the car started jerking and making loud rumbles. i took it back to nissan and they said the u joints were bad and replaced them. as soon as i pulled out of their parking area, the car did the same thing. so, i took it back again. this time, they told me that the radiator was coming apart and leaking antifreeze into transmission. they charged me $1285.89 to replace the radiator and flush the transmission. it is now 2012 and the car is doing the same thing again. the problem was never fixed properly to begin with. i need a new transmission at a high price. anyone reading this should phone me at so that we can start a class action law suit against nissan. lets inform everyone who has had this problem. from what i have been reading, thousands of people have had the same problem. this is a safety issue as well as a costly problem. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt

I purchased a brand new 2005 xterra 1/2006 with 10 miles!!!! i paid 28,000 for this vehicle and worst vehicle i never had!!! i only service this vehicle at the dealership!!!! i had so many issues with this new truck!! the check engine light keeping on at from the very beginning and when i took it to the dealership said nothing was wrong! over time, this was a complete lemon!! the vehicle had to replace a radio, 6 batteries, 3 alternators, hoses leaking, oil leaking within 3 years purchasing a new truck, fuel sensor replaced, fuel pump replaced, 1 cal.conventor replaced, and worst of all transmission issues!! the truck will not go up hills and when i took it to 2 different places said that the radiator was leaking into the transmission and nissan knew about this and never said nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i only took my truck to the dealership and they never said a thing! i could replaced the radiator long time again to avoid the transmission going out!! 5,500 repair job!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is poor quality truck with all the issues i had since i brought it brand new !! my acura have 241,000 and never had any of these issues that i purchased used!! i contact the corp office and they will never do anything! the nissan dealerships around the country knows the issues with these nissan cars and never say a thing!! i will never purchase a another nissan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they will not stand behind their product!! 4 of my friends with nissan (xterra, pathfinder, and maxima) the transmission went out within 6 months of each other!!! *tr

3 months after purchasing vehicle i noticed that the car would squeal for 5-10 minutes when 1st starting, it did not matter if it was in the morning or mid-afternoon. i took the truck into the dealer and the drive belt was replaced. about 2,000 miles later the problem re-occurred, i took the truck back to the dealer and this time the auto tension pulley was replaced. about 1,000 miles later the truck was once again taken back and this time the lead tech assured me the problem would be fixed and the drive belt was replaced for a 2nd time. i have now had this truck for 9 months and again had to take in, this time i dealt with the service manager who was not helpful. they once again replaced the drive belt and stated this was a known nissan problem and that the problem will present itself again but they can not do anything until nissan issues a recall or tsb. i called nissan's 800-nissan1 number and spoke to a customer service rep. i was told that i would receive a call from the regional manager by the end of the next business day since i had taken the truck in 4 times for the exact same problem, i have yet to receive any calls from nissan's regional rep. i feel that both the nissan dealer and nissan are unwilling or unable to satisfactorily fix the re-occurring problem once and for all, and that i am just being given the run around. *nm