Problems with 2005 Nissan Frontier POWER TRAIN

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. while parked, the vehicle failed to start. the vehicle was towed to a dealer, who diagnosed that there was contamination by the engine coolant. as a result, the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 104,000.

Nissan has admitted to faulty radiators in their 05-10 midsize vehicles. mine being a frontier but also used in xterra, pathfinders and i believe titans.these radiators when they go, take the transmission with them. 4700 dollar bill later nissan says i'm 2 months beyond my 10 years and will not honor any help, even though i'm 10k under the 100k mile limit. so because i kept my miles low and have taken care of my pickup i am still at fault for their faulty equipment. my family will ***never*** own another nissan as long as we live. at anytime they could have said hey for $275 we won't recall these radiators but they are $275 to replace you should do it before it goes and takes the transmission too. [xxx] you nissan.... poor business. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

There was a class action lawsuit settlement alleging nissan north america concealed from consumers a cross-contamination of engine coolant and transmission fluid for 2005-2010 frontiers. on june 18, 2015 my truck lost power and stopped working, in the middle of an intersection, almost creating an accident. i towed my truck to get it repaired, i paid $120 and $1800, they fixed half of the problem. since my truck was still not working i did some research and found out about the extended warranty. i towed my truck to buena park nissan where i had to pay $3000 to fix my truck. i contacted nissan na to see if i could get a refund for cost i had already made, they told me to send them invoices of what i had paid. later they said that they could not reimburse me since it was not repaired at a nissan dealership. i have paid a total of $4920 for a problem nissan created, knew about and concealed from customers.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. while attempting to drive, the vehicle would not accelerate. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission failed. while repairing the vehicle, it was discovered that the transmission could not be installed because sections of the subframe were rusted and corroded. no further information was available. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 93,000.

Engine coolant is leaking into the transmission and vice versa

My 2005 nissan frontier has cross contamination between the radiator and the transmission. nissan new about this problem years ago. to fix the problem they extended the warranty out to 10 years. now i need a new radiator and transmission. my cost 3000 dollars. i only had a month left before i was [xxx] out of luck. i have been driving for 35 years and have never had to replace a transmission that only had 67000 miles on it. poor design and the consumer pays. they wanted to know if i was going to fix it. i told them i had 2 choices fix it or set it on fire. they gave me a strange look. i told them to repair it and i would but toyota next time. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*tr

Due to a defect known by nissan, the radiator coolant leaked into the transmission causing transmission failure. nissan knew about the defect and did nothing to correct it. instead they added an "extended warranty" that most people will not be able to take advantage of due to years/mileage limitations. i made it into the last bracket, where my co-pay for the repair is $3000 instead of the full $5800. the dealer did not research the warranty and tried to have me pay full price. i will never buy a nissan again due to their decision not to take responsibility for a known defect. *tr

Radiator leaked into transmission and both need to be replaced. this is an ongoing problem (class action and many other complaints) for nissan and they refuse to be accountable. bought used from nissan dealer and issue was never mentioned even thought they have serviced several cars with same problem. *tr

I own a 2005 nissan frontier. at about 84365 miles, the transmission started slipping badly. the mechanic said that my transmission cooler had ruptured inside the radiator and coolant had gotten inside the transmission. my transmission was basically destroyed and it cost over $5000.00 to fix it. after reading other articles about nissan owners with similar experiences, i think this is outrageous and nissan should be held accountable for these failures. *tr

Vehicle wouldn't shift into a high gear. this after hesitation, stuttering, and other issues. transmission cooler failure resulting in transmission failure and radiator failure. common defect. local nissan dealers as well as nissan consumer affairs department unwilling to fix or to "good will" a solution. 3700$ at a local licensed garage to fix. *tr

Transmission began to shudder at speeds 40-50 mph a few weeks ago, feels like going over shallow rumble strips. did research online and found that the issue is coolant leaking into the transmission fluid.this has been a major issue with all 2005 nissan frontiers. my truck has 103,xxx miles. outside the warranty now. never new of this warranty and now i'm stuck paying thousands of dollars out of pocket for new transmission and radiator. *tr

Vehicle made a noise what sounded like driving over a rumble strip. it then failed to accelerate and i was forced into the breakdown lane on the highway. i had vehicle towed to shop and was informed of the radiator and transmission issue with these vehicles. radiator fluid leaked into the transmission and now its junk. it will now cost me $3400 to replace the transmission and radiator. i can't believe there isn't a recall out for this issue. this is a complete disregard for consumer protection. *tr

Check engine light came on, got scanned at auto zone, all codes referenced transmission & sensors (i.e. cam shaft)...took to geurlich's auto for an inspection and transmission was suggested to be replaced...took it to aamco for an inspection/2nd opinion and same diagnosis, replace/re-build transmission. finally accumulated the funds to have a mechanic rebuild our transmission and upon return of our vehicle, and unbeknownst to us, he mentioned the know issues/investigation stemming back to 2012 with the radiator leaking into the transmission and causing it to fail, which is ultimately what he felt happened. since we purchased the vehicle on 08/08/2012 with an odometer reading of 100,340. we would have been entitled to none of the repair options or concessions nissan offered under the proposed class action, since all were offered only up to 100k miles. the date the investigation was opened according to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ was 6/11/2012, 2 months prior to our purchase. the dealer at the time should have been well aware of the open investigation and provided us information on it so that we may have made a more informed decision. i feel that this purchase, although 3 years post purchase, falls within the lemon law statutes and warrants reimbursements to us of the cost to re-build the transmission, replace radiator, etc.

Driving along at 65 miles per hour seemed like transmission went into neutral and engine revved up. rolled to side of road. truck would no longer move. had truck towed to garage where they informed me that the transmission had coolant in it and had wiped it out. to replace trans and radiator was 5300 dollars.

I was driving my truck notice the service engine light had came on and while driving the accelrationwas very weak.i had the code check and it came back as tcm and valve body problem and came home and researched to be a common problem with this truck type. *js

Radiator/transmission failed, caused transmission to fail, had to be replaced

Vehicle shudders bad in 5th gear clunking in and out of gear, and unable to maintain speed on highway. hard up shifts from gears 1 to 2 and 2 to 3. hard down shift clunk from gear 2 to 1. coolant leaked into transmission fluid causing catastrophic failure of transmission and new radiator needed as well. *tr

Transmission began to shudder when in overdrive and at speeds 40-50 mph. shuddering gradually grew worse and worse. occasional clank sound when shifting from reverse to forward. diagnosed at dealer as ruptured heat exchanger in radiator which allowed coolant to enter and contaminate the transmission. *tr

I was driving on the highway and my truck shutters like going over shallow rumble strips for about 3 weeks. i realized it was my transmission and searched on transmission issues with my truck and found the big one (coolant leaking into the transmission fluid). i immediately flushed the coolant and the transmission fluid, performed the at cooler bypass operation and refilled. i'm now saying my prayers, taking my vitamins, and exercising hoping for the best. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. while driving approximately 40 mph, there was water leaking into the transmission. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission and the radiator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 120,000.

While driving at speeds of approximately 40 mph the truck made a sound as though it was driving over rumble strips and it feels as though the transmission is slipping or about to fail. this will last 5 to 10 seconds and then it will seem normal, and then after a short while the sound and slippage will again occur. i am concerned that the transmission is experiencing the problem which has plagued other 2005-2010 nissan models where transmission fluid becomes contaminated with antifreeze from cracks which develop in the transmission cooling line where it passes thru the radiator. i have called nissan to report this. it was assigned case #[xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

At oil cooler internal component of the radiator failed causing transmission fluid to go in to the radiator and coolant to go in to the transmission. destroying. *tr

I purchased a used 2005 nissan frontier se crew cab with 86,000 miles for $13,300 november 29th 2013. no warning or indication that this vehicle was part of a class action lawsuit over the radiator cooled transmission problems. there was no indication that this vehicle may exhibit symptoms that seem unrelated. on august 6th 2014 at 99,978 miles i took my truck into a ase certified mechanic to check out the transmission because of shuddering while shifting. they ran a diagnostic, checked the fluids, and sensors. at that time they assessed it was a dirty sensor and sent me on my way, and followed up after a few days. the vehicle was still having the same issues and i brought it back in. upon further inspection of the transmission oil there was a significant amount of radiator fluid in there and the problem was identified. the current mileage is now 100,600 miles. i then made a claim to nissan consumer affairs department regarding the issue. at this time i now found about the class action lawsuit settlement and the extended warranty. free up to 70k or 80k and a co-pay after. i was never informed of this until now. tuesday august 19th i was informed that nissan was not responsible for divulging any of this information to me and that they would not cover even the co-pay. it is august 20th and my truck is currently at the ase certified mechanic awaiting the parts to come in to replace my transmission and radiator for $5,100 which is much less than the nissan quote of $6,700. i now have a truck purchased 9 months ago with a $5,100 mechanic bill. i have 28 $400 payments to make for the truck in addition to replacing the poorly manufactured transmission and radiator. *tr

The radiator cracked and leaked coolant into the transmission, mixing with the transmission fluid creating a toxic fluid that irreversibly damaged everything around it. the vehicle was being driven when first noticed. i had the radiator replaced and the transmission flushed at my local nissan dealership. i could not afford to replace the transmission so flushing it was my only option. it lasted for a few years but now it needs to be replaced. this is a defect that has affected thousands of customers.

On my truck i experienced a sudden loss in power and throttle response while driving without warning, as the transmission failed to shift gears properly. after spending $100 for a diagnostic from a mechanic it was found that my transmission cooler reservoir is leaking in my radiator and caused cross contamination between my antifreeze and atf. the antifreeze is getting into my transmission and boiling once the transmission reaches operating temperatures. the antifreeze vapor is then causing the transmission clutches and bands to not be able to engage correctly, and therefore not being able to shift up and down through the gears properly. i just about got hit trying to turn left out onto the road in front of cross traffic. i avoided an accident, but this happened with no warning. this fix is going to cost me anywhere from $500 to $5,000 to fix depending on the extent of the damage the antifreeze in my transmission caused. i just read that a few years ago nissan extended the warranty due to this, and i am past that point, but this is still unacceptable at only 102,000 miles. nissan should have recalled this and fixed it when it was just a couple hundred dollars for a new radiator years ago. lastly, my truck without issues was worth nearly $8k in its condition, now i'll have trouble getting a dealer to pay anything in trade-in value if i choose to not fix the truck. *tr

My transmission on my 2005 nissan frontier completely failed and left me stranded on the interstate highway. after towing it and a little research i found out that this was a problem that nissan was well aware of and neglected to notify me or do anything about. the transmission cooler had cracked leaking engine coolant into the transmission. i learned that they extended the warranty to 90,000 miles with a $3000 dollar deductible which is laughable, considering that this was a problem that is going to cost about that to fix on my own. nissan states on their website that they extended the warranty for customer satisfaction, in reality they got sued and that was the settlement. nissan should have recalled these trucks years ago like a morally responsible company would have and i would not have to be running up credit card debt to fix it now. *tr

If transmission in these trucks are not fixed then someone is going to have an accident due to it. i am lucky i didn't have one thank god for that we are safe. radiator leak cause failure in transmission radiator was fixed a year ago and was still have some issues with it but was told they think it is normal to feel it slip gears when driving. i trusted them and lost my torque converter while driving on the highway going 100km an hour and had no pickup speed from it. nissan told me as long as light is not on don't worry about it. while light didn't come on until i had no gears at all. i am not happy about risking my life my husbands life and the life of 2 small kids. one day if nissan don't take fault for this someone is not going to be so lucky and get hit by another car before they can drifted to safety. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. while driving approximately 50 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission, the torque converter, and the radiator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the timing change needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 93,000.

Original manufactured radiator deffect caused automatic transmission cooling line to mix with coolant causing transmission failure with no warning signs. a catastrophic failure of the transmission almost resulted in a crash do to vehicle stalling at high speeds. not covered by warranty. the warranty denies the radiator as part of the warranty resulting in the owner having to pay for fixing damages.

Noticed transmission "rumble." took vehicle to local dealership where i was told there was cross-contamination between the radiator and transmission. apparently a known issue with this make and model. informed it would be over $6000 to repair. i have owned the vehicle since 2005 and was never informed of the defect or the pending class-action suit. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. the contact stated that while the vehicle being serviced, the independent mechanic advised that the radiator fluid had leaked into the transmission. the mechanic replaced the radiator and flushed the transmission however, the engine warning light remained illuminated after the repairs. the vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic for a diagnostic testing, who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 103,677. updated 9/8/14*cn the consumer requested to be reimbursed for the transmission. updated 1/13/2015 *js

While getting on the freeway, i accelerated to merge with traffic but was unable to gain speed so i got off on the first exit ramp. had plenty of engine power but lost torque. first thought, must be the transmission slipping. got home and checked the transmission oil level and it was fine, the oil did not look like transmission oil, it was discolored and had a different feel to it. was able to get the truck to dealer and was told it needed a radiator and transmission. coolant had leaked into the transmission. did my research and found there have been many complaints about this problem. as for the warranty,by which i still have to pay over $2500, i believe nissan should have had a recall on the 05 frontier, pathfinder, and paid for the whole repair for their use of what i call defective parts. ( radiator & transmission cooler ). *tr

I found out a faulty engineered control valve assembly caused radiator and transmission failure in my vehicle. it happened less then a month outside & 7000 mi over the extended warranty. extension for the warranty to 80,000 was put in place for a class action law suit for this item back in 2010. in 2010 my vehicle did not even have 50,000 so none of this applied to me! nor did nissan do the right thing and recall my truck prior knowing this part fails after 80000! all the people this happens to after this law suit went down are out of luck because too much time has passed. so, i as a consumer who takes care of their vehicle and keeps low miles, has to pay big money to fix this problem! i called nissan headquarters to do the right thing. they said because of the judgment of the class action law suit, they can not honor my request to do the right thing. i have to pay $2500 to fix my truck! i asked if i had to sue independently and take to twitter to help my cause? the gal on the other end of the phone (highest person up the chain i could reach) said; "yes mam, i'm sorry mam, but i guess that's what you have to do. my hands are tied by this judgment i can do nothing for you"! i feel completely ripped off and deceived by nissan!!! is there a possibility you can come to my aid and direct me how i may get this covered? this has become a major hardship! *tr

2nd time a solenoid went out resulting in all loss of power and power staring was unmanageable, unable to restart vehicle. another $1500 fix. *tr

I was at a stop light and when it turned green my truck felt like it was stuck in neutral and wouldn't get into gear. with hesitation, it finally jumped into gear but was very sluggish with hardly any power. it was quite dangerous with a line of vehicles behind me i thought i was going to get rear-ended. thankfully i was only 2 minutes from my office where i was able to pull in the parking lot and unload my two children and call my wife to pick us up. i had to have my car sit there over the weekend because i didn't feel safe driving it. on the following monday i had it towed to a transmission repair shop where they diagnosed it as a cracked radiator head with coolant leaking into the transmission causing this failure. i then had it towed again to the nissan dealership where they diagnosed it and confirmed the first diagnosis. they said unfortunately i was over the mileage and to call the national nissan dealership and petition for assistance. after looking up all the information i find it discerning that nissan hasn't done the right thing and recalled this to make it right. *tr

A crack in the radiator has caused coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. this has resulted in catastrophic failure of the transmission requiring the replacement of the transmission and complete radiator replacement. i have been quoted a total cost of close to $5000. *tr

Transmission demora en aplicar, esta vaga, no desarrolla velocidad se encontro que la guagua mezcla aceite de transmission y coolant en la barilla de aceite y en el radiador. se llevo al dealer y se nos notifico que era un desperfecto de la guagua y tuvimos que pagar 3,287.88 ya que la guagua tiene 9 anos y la garantia era 80,000 millas o 8 anos lo que surgiera primero. entiendo que no es justo ya que no es nuestra culpa del desperfecto que tiene la guagua. *tr

Radiator leak into the transmission fluid, causes transmission to fail and requires a rebuild. expensive $3000 repair. current litigation and court case does no good to most of the customers experiencing this problem. no warning from nissan that the radiator is flawed.

at the approximate speed of 5 to 8 mph, and accelerating, the "service engine soon" signal light up. immediately i had to turn 5000 rpms to reach a speed of 20 mph. i drove the vehicle approximately 5 miles to home and parked it their. contacted my mechanic and took the vehicle to his garage the next morning for a total of 8 miles in addition to the 5 for a total of 13 miles driven while in warning. upon completion of a diagnostics check, it was discovered that there had been a transmission radiator valve failure. this valve fails to operate, and does not allow coolant and lubrication of the transmission to continue. the valve is connected to the transmission radiator, located within the confines of the cooling radiator. the radiator was replaced, and upon test drive it was discovered that the transmission was deficient or had burned up 3rd and 4th gears. the totality of the repairs to include replacement of a transmission, radiator, fluids and labor was in excess of $4,000.00. a vehicle with less than 130,000 miles of highway use, with all maintenance performed as prescribed within the owners manual, service recommendations should not have failed. a single valve is/ was the responsible culprit. i have previously owned a ford ranger, took care of it as i have the frontier, and had in excess of 200,000 miles on the ranger upon trading it in. i never replaced a transmission in my life on any vehicle. nissan needs to acknowledge the issue at hand and take the appropriate corrective action, respect the customers that have respected you over the years. *tr

I was at a stop light , waiting for light to change. as light changed applied pressure to gas pedal but the vehicle would not move the engine would just rev up, finally moved slowly. i drove it like that for couple blocks then i parked for an hour or so, after that i was able to get home without a problem. i reserched online about it and found out that it is a common and known issue of cooland mixing with transmision fluid that ruins the transmision due to a defect on the radiator. took it to the dealer and they confirmed that the transmision need it to be replaced as well as the radiator which it would cost over $8,000. the extended warranty (8years/80,000miles) was already expired for 8 months with only 73,800 miles on the truck, so i had to pay $2,500 copay which i found it outrageous for a known factory defect. at least they should let owners of these vehicles known that this could happend to their cars. *tr

I was driving along on a major interstate at 65 mph when my engine was revving up to about 3500 or 4000 rpm but my speed was dropping. i pulled over to the right hand side of the road, stopped and turned the vehicle off. had i not been in the right lane of the major interstate when traffic was very light, i could have had a major accident. everything seemed normal except the low coolant level in the reservoir bottle. there did not appear to be any problems with the engine so then i placed the truck into drive and moved the vehicle forward. as the vehicle picked up speed and at about the 35 to 40 mph the truck engine would rev up but the transmission was slipping and not allowing the truck to move any faster. when i took the screw off the transmission dipstick to see that fluid level was too high for the proper level in the automatic transmission. also, i noticed that the fluid had a greyish milky appearance which is a clear indication of contamination with a water based material such as engine coolant.i find the fact nissan clearly knew that was a problem and failed to notify me as the original owner of the vehicle annoying. they would rather pay to have vehicle repaired after the fact than take care of a potential safety problem before it occurs. this is extremely troublesome when a manufacturer places profits and the bottom line ahead of customer safety. upon further research, i have learned that i could have replaced the faulty radiator with another product from koyorad for about $120 retail and prevented this problem. so for a couple hundred dollars, nissan is willing to jeopardize my safety and all other nissan owners safety. as the national safety agency, i implore you act immediately and order a recall on these nissan vehicles before people get hurt. it is your duty to protect the people of the nation from safety issues when manufacturers fail to do so. *tr

Nissan knew a defect was in the transmission cooler built into the radiator tried to cover it up or at least not acknowledge the issue. now 9000 miles after nissan told me i was good, i have an issue where the transmission fluid is contaminated with coolant and vice versa. nissan says this is a small percentage of vehicles. this will occur with all vehicles with the defective radiator. the cost of repair is ruining peoples lives and is a safety issue with seizing of transmissions while driving. please address this nhtsa. *tr

The transmission cooler line leaks coolant into the transmission causing a failure. nissan has known of this problem for many years and has not notified owners of the need to replace the radiator. *tr

I only had a year since i purchased my used 2005 nissan frontier from a nissan dealership and my transmission failed, with no warning whatsoever, one day i felt the gears where getting a little stiff every time i shifted and the next thing i know im at the shop, and im being told its going to be 4800.00 to fix my transmission, i am a single mother of two, still have a loan on this vehicle and had to scrap up money to buy an additional car because i cannot afford to fix it. then i find out this is a know problem by nissan and they refuse to help out the consumer and their lame warranty covers nothing because my car exceeds the 100k mile warranty... this blows, never buying nissan again. *tr

Transmission slipped and loss power while driving down the highway. dealership service department claims issue is a common complaint with this vehicle. actually has an extended warranty because of it. *tr

While driving on the interstate my truck began a small intermittent shudder, as if driving over rumble strips. this occurred 2 or 3 times. the next week the shuddering recurred. scheduled and appointment with my local nissan dealership. they very quickly diagnosed the problem. they indicated it was a common problem with this vehicle where the transmission cooler fails and intakes radiator coolant into the transmission. the indicate the transmission will in all likely hood need to be rebuilt. *tr

Transmission failure related to coolant leaking into the transmission from the radiator oil coolant assemble. nissan will not cover the complete cost of this know defect. *tr

The transmission started jerking very bad when it hit 1700 rpm range while driving, so i slowed down...scared. i went and had it checked only to find out it is very common with this truck - fluid in transmission caused from the trans fluid running through the radiator and the heat exchange leaks water into the trans fluid. this is a well documented problem i learned. the repair is not covered by nissan and is a 5000 dollar repair at nissan dealership, a total transmission and radiator replacement is needed. *tr

The radiator failed causing the the transmission fluid to get contaminated with coolant. this caused the transmission to fail resulting in a nearly $5,000 bill. *tr

Exited side street onto frontage road, right turn, car shuddered and stopped moving. transmission was erratic causing car to lurch forward at times and remain immovable at others. fortunately oncoming traffic was able to stop and alleviate a possible t-bone scenario. was able to limp car through light and into service station. *tr