Problems with 2005 Nissan Pathfinder POWER TRAIN

I was driving on highway at 45 mph and suddenly there was no more speed as if the vehicle was being driven on neutral, there were cars behind but it was fortunate that it was at a distance where they were able to stop suddenly without crashing into us or each other. this type of vehicle is intended to transport several passengers and in my case i had my children with me. we bought this vehicle used as being our only financial option for a family of six. this has created huge trouble for our family since all of our savings went to the purchase of this suv last year and we have no money to do repairs at time which are approximately $4,000.00. *tr

Coolant leaking into transmission. well-known nissan issue. vehicle started rumbling intermittently going between 4th and 5th gear around 40 and 60 mph. the rumbling will last between 2 and 5 seconds until the accelerator is depressed hard enough to force the vehicle to downshift which results in a loud banging noise and a jerk. also noticed what looks like curdled milk all around the radiator cap. i have an appointment with the dealership, nissan of saco, on 08/28/2012 and am almost certain they will try and get out of covering this under the "lifetime powertrain warranty". *tr

Recently my transmission has failed on my 2005 nissan pathfinder. after reading up on it on the internet forums, i have found that many people have experienced the same problem due to a coolant leaking into the transmission fluid causing transmission damage and failure. i feel that nissan should stand by this because it is a factory defect. *tr

2005 nissan pathfinder. consumer states problem with vehicle transmission *tgw the consumer stated while driving, the check engine light illuminated, as well as the 4-wheel drive light. the vehicle started hesitating. when the consumer called the dealer, they advised her to open the gas tank, to see if a puff of air came out. once she told them no, she put the vehicle in drive and it would not move, she then put it in reverse, and it still did not move,. the dealer then advised her to disconnect the battery for a half hour. she reconnected the battery and drove around the block and it stalled. the consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer. an inspection revealed a problem with the transmission. the dealer stated a gasket between the radiator broke and anti-freeze leaked into the transmission. the dealer informed the consumer, it would cost $6,000 for the repairs. *jb

As i was pulling out onto a busy street the transmission slipped and my two small sons and i nearly got nailed by angry oncoming traffic that honked, yelled, and inappropriately gestured at us to get out of the way. we could have been seriously injured as well as others. this happened more times than i can even remember. it also shudders and slips while driving at 40-50 mph. it is dangerous! why doesn't anyone do something! i had been trying to figure out the problem since 65,000 miles and at 80,300 miles we found trani fluid in the radiator. after googling the issue and learning that it was a part a of a classaction suit i was pissed that i hadn't been notified. i am a struggling mother of two and i am still paying for a car that i haven't been able to drive for the last year because i can't afford to fix it! i feel this is unacceptable and there should be a recall in place!!!! lives are being endangered! *tr

I was driving my 2005 nissan pathfinder on august 11th, 2012 with my entire family inside the vehicle. we were rolling in traffic at about 40 to45 mph when the vehicle all of a sudden stopped accelerating. i was able to safely pull over to the side of the road. while inside the vehicle trying to figure out what was going on, a passerby told me he saw a fire under the vehicle. i immediately got my family out and called 911 to have the fire department come out and look at it. by the time the fire department got on scene, the fire had died out. i had my vehicle towed to a transmission shop because a fireman suggested it was an issue with my transmission. the repair shop told me a cooler under the radiator busted causing coolant to get inside my transmission, which caused transmission fluid to get on my catalytic converter which started the fire. they quoted me $4900 in repairs, telling me i needed to have my transmission and radiator replaced. i am extremely upset because for one, my entire family could have been killed or injured including myself, my wife, and 3 sons ages 3 9 & 13. secondly, i've only had the car for 5 and half months at the time and still making payments on it. in fact, i owe just about $1000 more on the loan for the vehicle verses the cost of repairs. so now i am left with no vehicle, no way to take my kids to school, and the ugly fact that i am not the only person who has experienced the same issue with this vehicle. after a little research via the internet, it looks like this is a normal occurrence with this model. in closing, i am just looking for any sort of help i can get to help give me and my family some relief of this tragic and dangerous situation. things could have ended up much worse and i really feel this vehicle presents a safety hazard to our roadways. *tr

While driving on the way to pick up my kids, my check engine lighted on. then at a traffic stop light, when the lights turn green for go, i did release my foot on the brake but no movement on the car. i press on the accelerator but hesitant and jerking. after a while it moves gradually. i straight away went to the dealer to have it check. they did put a small instrument to check and i heard him ask another guy what 1754 is. after a while he came to me and said that he had the check engine lighted off and if it lights on again, it might be a costly repair. i asked him what might be the problem. he said most probably the transmission. then a week later, the check engine lights on again, and i tried a second opinion, so i went to a non dealer transmission shop. he asked me what's wrong. i told him i had a check engine light on and there is hesitation on the vehicle after a stop. he asked for the year of the vehicle. the moment i said 2005, he knows already the problem. he had previous cases of the same year and model of my car. he still did some checking and he was not wrong. he told me its a transmission problem. he said coolant from the radiator is leaking to the transmission. this is causing damaged to the transmission. he said he had to rebuilt the transmission to the tune of 4500. its a huge amount for repair. its the only vehicle we use for work and for kids going to school. with an unsafe vehicle like this, you are putting yourself and your family in grave danger. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the engine rpm reading began to increase as the vehicle shifted hard. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced because radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. there was an investigation under nhtsa action number: dp12004 (power train) that could have been related to the failure. the vehicle was repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 78,241.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle began to loose power and would not accelerate over 30 mph. the vehicle was taken to a mechanic for inspection where they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 110,000.

I was parking the car in a carport a low speed when the car lunged forward and hit a metal pole and dented my front bumper. several weeks before the incident i noticed the car lunges forward (a few times) as i accelerate from a complete stop. this incident happened a few more times until the check engine light came on and the car would hesitate to accelerate. i took the car to universal nissan (where i bought my car and have excellent service record on my vehicle) on 08-21-12 and they informed me that the radiator water was leaking into the transmission and it would cost anywhere between $4-5k to be repaired. they also informed me that this is a known problem for pathfinder, xterra and frontier due to defective radiator. i called nissan north america to see if they could help me with the problem. i waited for a 2 weeks for them to respond but they did not help me, a loyal costumer who have purchased 3 nissan vehicles in the past. this is a very serious problem that nissan chooses to ignore. since nissan does not want to fix their defective product please make them do something before this serious problem takes a life. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

We were traveling about 35 mph in town and heard a grinding noise. the nissan would'nt move and there was transmission fluid running out of under it. we had to have it towed home. where it still sits. *tr

My wife was driving along one day and our nissan pathfinder transmission broke down. this happened in fast traffic and with my baby in the back, not exactly the safest situation. this is a known issue, seemingly a crack happens in the radiator that spills into the transmission fluid rendering the transmission useless. so nissan extended the drivetrain warranty to 80,000 miles, problem is my pathfinder has 90,000 miles. call me crazy but why does a known design flaw become my problem ever? wear and tear is one thing, design flaws are another. i'm going from one of nissan's biggest fans to never wanting to buy a nissan again. nissan is failing to recall this known problem or at the very least help me not become a hater. what a lost opportunity. nissan failed. here's the kicker, i was about to buy a second nissan, obviously their reaction won't allow me to do that now. i called nissan to see what they can do and i have received nothing but juniors who are not allowed to deviate from a script. the supervisor is not interested in connecting with me, it's so obvious they are taking a head in the sand approach. is this really happening, especially after the toyota pedal recall implications. *tr

Per nissan dealership diagnosis: technician found anti-freeze/transmission fluid mix in both radiator and transmission (failure in radiator cooler) trans (tcm); no communication with other vehicle ecms catastrophic transmission failure. dealer recommendation: replace transmission and radiator. full transmission fluid and radiator flush of systems. *tr

In 2009, at 74,000 miles, i noticed the car "bucking" when driving. started doing research and found that the radiator coolant leaks into the transmission cooler destroying the transmission. nissan offered no help or recalls despite the fact that hundreds of the same vehicle were experiencing the same thing. shortly after my vehicle passed 80,000 miles, nissan issued a recall on only the radiator which doesn't help me. i immediately flushed the transmission and radiator to try to avoid complete failure of the transmission, bypassing the transmission cooler part of the radiator. the vehicle drove but the transmission constantly slipped in and out of gear at random times throughout the next 30,000 miles. last week, the transmission finally quit in the middle of a busy intersection. i had to push the car into the nearest parking lot. now the car is sitting in my driveway because it will cost me $6,000 to repair the transmission and radiator. nissan needs to step up and admit that this should be a recall. i love nissans (this is my 3rd) but after this problem i may never buy another one. *tr

Our radiator in our vehicle began mixing fluid with the transmission fluid. this caused erratic driving while on the highway and poor and very shaky acceleration. we were lucky to not have had the transmission seize on the highway causing a major accident. we brought the vehicle to the dealer where this was diagnosed and they told us the entire radiator and transmission had to be replaced. we filed a claim with nissan usa, but it was denied. the time frame for the warranty was covered, but we had slightly exceeded the mileage warranty. this has happened with multiple vehicles of the same type and a class action lawsuit is currently pending. i would like to make aware that this should be a recall by nissan for the problem as this is an extreme safety hazard. *tr

Stopped at red light once light changed green vehicle would not pull off. press gas to floor to get vehicle out of the way and crossed the street and pulled off over. turned vehicle off then turned it on it would drive forward but very slow was able to do this to get to store parking lot to canal for assistance had suv taken to transmission shop and was told coolant was in the transmission. *tr updated 1/29/2015 *js

Coolant leaked from the radiator into the transmission causing the transmission to go out (not an uncommon problem from what i have heard from my mechanic and have seen online after researching the problem). *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle jerked and decelerated. the vehicle would not accelerate so the contact maneuvered to the shoulder. the vehicle was then safely driven home at very low speeds. the vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the failure was due to the transmission and radiator. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 102,804.

Nissan has a recall on the transmission only up to 100,000 miles. i purchased the vehicle at 98,000 but did not know about recall. i contacted nissan and since it is over 100,000 they will not fix their mistake on engineering this vehicle. so i now have a vehicle that is setting in my driveway and will not run! the transmission is completely useless and i do not have $6000 to fix it!! i feel nissan should be liable for the faulty vehicles no matter what mileage considering it only happens in higher mileage. nissan has told me that they will not fix it and it is now my responsibility to do so. *tr

On 11/15/11 nissan flushed the radiator. on 7/11/12 the transmission went out due to the coolant leaking into the transmission. nissan should have 100% responsibility of this issue. nissan has know about this issue for years and they extend the warranties to the max of 100,000 miles. most of these issues occur after 100,000 miles. nissan needs to reimburse and or recall all 2005-2010 pathfinder's, xterra's and frontier's as this can be a safety issue when you are driving at high speeds and the transmission fails. my wife almost got rearended because this issue. i want to be reimbursed of the repairs that were done on my vehicle. *tr

Transmission failed. sent to nissan dealership and put me to another transmission place. the transmission was redone again. after that transmission failed again and the mech. noticed the mixing of radiator fluid in the transmission fluid. then i contacted nissan and nissan corp. they both pushed me aside saying that they could do anything do to the mileage. i increased the urgency to nissan corp. i am in the military with no car for my wife. i have expended over 5 k already and now needing to do more. *tr

I was traveling on interstate i-95-n near exit 7 at a high rate of speed, my transmission failed due to a crack(fault )in the radiator assembly unit. as i attempted to exit the interstate while losing speed, i was almost rear ended by a tractor trailer and hit by another car. eventually, after coasting down hill to an intersection of center of new england/ new london turnpike, had to get out and push the vehicle with help from other persons to nearest service station. nissan extended warranty on radiator assembly unit to 8yr/80,000. i have 6yrs+/92000, took extremely good care of this vehicle and am now being told i need to pay $6,500.00 to fix vehicle (while i still owe $12,000.00). should have been a recall before someone gets killed (if not already) and /or the warranty should be offered for at least 120,000 miles. what a poor attempt to cover up an obvious design flaw, while trying to hide from their obvious liabilities for this situation.

Going up a street with a low hill and the transmission didn't engage to gear making the vehicle to lose power and the was traffic in back of me, i was lucky enough to get room to pull to the side of the road. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that the vehicle was jerking and hesitating when accelerating. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the radiator was cracked. the failure caused the radiator and transmission fluids to mix together erroneously, damaging the transmission. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 87,151.

I was driving on the freeway when my transmission went out. i was headed on the 15 north up a small hill and was barely able to get it pulled over without causing an accident. when i had it taken to the shop to check what happened, the coolant had mixed with the transmission fluid and that killed it. this is a known problem from nissan and the only thing they did was extend the warranty to only 80,000 miles. mine had 84,000 when it happened and i am out of luck. nissan gave me a quote of around $6000 to repair something that was a design flaw!!! they would not even work with me to give me a discount as im so close to their extended warranty. sometimes a company should do whats right... nissan is not one of those companies. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while accelerating after decelerating, the transmission slipped and acceleration power decreased. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the contact was informed that the transmission fluid that is lead through the radiator to be cooled, allowed water into the transmission and caused the transmission to fail. the manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 102,916 and the current mileage was 108,000.

The vehicle began to shudder badly and lose power. thought smoke was coming from the undercarriage of my vehicle, but it was spraying transmission fluid. pulled off of the interstate and called a towtruck. had my five year old daughter in the back seat. scared us both. no one injured but could have been in heavier traffic. found out today that it's a common problem with these cars. *tr

Transmission failed at intersection leaving vehicle unable to move. problem was caused by radiator fluid mixing with transmission fluid. i contacted nissan about the issue and they denied any claim for repairs. nissan has known about the issue and settled the claims for a small number of people. they made it basically impossible to recover any damages because they require a deductible of $3000 before they pay anything. they also will not cover anything above 100,000 miles. *tr

Radiator leaked into transmission fluid. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that the transmission started to exhibit a loud noise when shifting gears. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the technician diagnosed that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. as a result, the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 99,000. *tr

Coolant mixing in the transmission system. some issues with slipping at first, mechanics couldn't figure it out. said they would have to take apart the transmission to figure it out since there were no codes being tripped. then the slip got worse and they happened to discover how bad the fluid looked by the u-joint underneath the car. it was only then that they discovered that the problem could have been related to the radiator coolant leak. they proceeded to fix the radiator and related components and flushed the system several times ($726.81) only 2 months later the transmission was acting up again and almost failed on the freeway, stuttering the engine and smoking a bit. fortunately, we where able to limp the vehicle home and get it to the mechanic the next day. vehicle was at the shop for 3 weeks, then the mechanic thought he had it fixed. we drove the car about 5 miles down the road, the vehicle started to stutter and slip again and the check engine light came on again. we returned the vehicle to the shop, they checked the codes and determined that the transmission would need to be replaced. this is ridiculous...... when you pay this much money for a vehicle, there is no reason why a transmission should fail in 94,000 miles. i can't believe all the horror stories i have read on the internet related to this nissan transmission issue. i feel a sick to my stomach right now just thinking about the financial impact that this has and will cause to my family. there is absolutely no reason that nissan shouldn't be responsible for this catastrophe. especially after they have identified that this is a known issue. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that when driving at any speed the vehicle would shake abnormally. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed but the contact believed that the transmission was defective. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 117,000 and the current mileage was 118,000.

I purchased this car as a "nissan certified" vehicle it had 35000 miles. thank god i purchased the extended warranty. the wheel bearings,fuel sensor, u joint, fuel gauge, timing chain, and many other small expensive annoyances had to be replaced and were covered on the warranty i bought, but most importantly the engine had to be replaced when i only had 100 miles left on my warranty. i thought i had replaced everything. but then this past june i was sitting in a drive thru and noticed a strong "wet" smell and noticed that my thermostat was buried into the red. i immediately pulled over and this pink ooze started pouring out onto the parking lot ruining the pavement.(the poor owner of the restaurant had to have it re-coated) after having it towed i was told that the coolant had leaked into my transmission. i had the radiator replaced and the transmission flushed 3 times to get out any ooze. now my transmission is slipping and i have been told by a mechanic that it needs replaced. i still owe 9500 on this car and they want 5000 to replace the transmission. i have started researching on the internet and am finding hundreds of consumers with the same problem and no solution from nissan. i purchased this car to go on vacations with my kids this car has space to move and a dvd to watch. unfortunately i have never been able to trust this car and have always had to rent cars to go on long distances. if i would have taken this car this summer on vacation my family would have been stuck 800 miles from home and no car to get back. nissan needs to make this right! *tr

The vehicle experienced loss of power while driving at 60mph in the freeway. after a few similar incidents i took the vehicle to the dealer for a recall that described a similar issue, a relay was changed.. the vehicle continue experiencing the jerking until a few weeks ago that it look like transmission fluid leaked in the driveway. i took the vehicle to the nearest shop for a check up. apparently coolant was leaked into the transmission. we took the vehicle to nissan we the hoped that they would honor a warranty extension, they asked as to pay for a test to confirm what we already new. we were told that we needed to contact nissan's 800 number corporate office cause there was a chance that they might want to extend the warranty. i understand that they extended the transmission warranty to 80k due to this common issue. they totally denied the extension cause my vehicle had 107,000 miles. thanks god that we have not had an accident as a result of this issue. now we have to incur the expensive cost of replacing the radiator and transmission. this factory defect should be paid by nissan and we need an investigation into this common issue. please let's not wait until a fatality occurs for your organization to initiate it. *tr

2005 nissan pathfinder faulty radiator leaked coolant into transmission, destroying the transmission.causes the vehicle to not accelerate. nissan is aware of this problem and has not issued a recall. i am just glad this did not happen in the middle of an intersection with my wife and daughter. terrible engineering, terrible vehicle, my last nissan. *tt

Complete transmission failure. radiator and transmission fluid mixed together destroying the transmission. vehicle will now not even start because of inline computer inside transmission.

While driving a normal hwy speeds, the car suddenly lost all forward speed and began to slow. engine continued to run, although, there was no propulsion to the rear wheels. had pathfinder towed to nissan dealer ( bankston lewisville, tx) where is was determined that this was a radiator/transmission contamination failure. opened case number with nissan requesting assistance with repair. awaiting a response, however, was told that "it did not look good" as we do not have a lot of service history with the dealership. i've owned 8 nissans over the past 20 years and obviously loyal to the brand. this is a dangerous failure, occurs without warning and could potentially be deadly. *tr

Experienced problems with the engine, the check light was on and the gears seemed to be shifting hard and engine running rough as it was in second gear. the recommendation was to first flush the transmission and apply an exterior coolant on to the radiator because of known issues with the radiator leaking into the transmission. this was a temporary band aid because the next time i was going on a long trip, the vehicle shifted hard while driving, jerked and when into 4wd automatically without me touching anything and the check engine light is on again. when you drive over 60 miles an hour the rpms tack up super high and the engine runs with a roar. had the transmission diagnosed again and the fault codes show a p1754, p1759, p1764,01731, p0102....basically they are telling me i need a new transmission or a rebuilt one to the tune of 4-5000 dollars, the source of the issue is the faulty radiator which leaked water into the transmission. this is a catastrophic issue to me both safety wise and financially wise and i'm not alone--there are pages and pages of complaints for this same problem you can find all over the internet. i wish i would have known before buying the vehicle but that's water under the bridge. nissan extending a warranty upto 80,000 miles is a mute point when most of these issues happens after that mileage, to me it's just ridiculous to have such a huge design/component flaw that can cause such a high dollar damage to the vehicle and not have it recognized by nissan as a recall. *tr

2005 nissan pathfinder...radiator cracked leaked coolant into transmission. common problem nissan will do nothing about. *tr

Radiator crack and leaked coolant into the transmission causing damage. this problem is well known to nissan. *tr

Radiator coolant leaked into my transmission, with cross contamination into the radiator at 96,000 miles. there is a known defect of radiators failing from the inside, leaking coolant, thus ruining the transmission. nissan extended radiator warranty to 80,000 miles but most failure is between 80k-120k. i had radiator replaced and a transmission flush for $900. i fear the transmission is ruined. nissan should have notified all owners of this potential problem rather than ignoring it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. the contact stated that while accelerating the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnose that there was a faulty valve body in the transmission. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 116,000.

My 2005 pathfinder was running fine until it started developing a case of thermostat fluctuation; it would almost go into the red and then drop all the way back down to the normal level. i took it to precision tune and they replaced the radiator hose assembly. a few weeks after that, the tranny started slipping. as i had already read from other consumers, i knew what was happening to my truck, and because the truck already had 120k + miles on it, i knew what nissan would likely say. sure enough, one afternoon, i got in the truck and it wouldn't accelerate forward. i immediately had it towed to nissan in april and began the fight to get it fixed; they quoted me $5100 to replace the tranny and radiator due to coolant leaking into the transmission case and transmission fluid leaking into the radiator. i contacted their consumer affairs, and not only did they tell me they wouldn't cover it, but referred me to the bbb (a very brazen move in my mind, to have a company refer you to them about them). they already knew the bbb wouldn't help because it was outside of the warranty. nearly four months later, it still sits at the dealer, because i can't afford to pay the repair cost (i still owe for two years on the vehicle), and nissan refuses to fix it, although they know the problem exists. someone has to die, i guess, before they pull their vehicles off the road and fix the problem. *tr

The check engine light came on in the vehicle and the car stalled or wouldn't accelerate after the gas pedal was pushed. we took the vehicle to the nissan dealership and were told that there was a crack in the radiator and were advised to have it replaced and also flush the transmission to remove any radiator fluid. paid over $1000 for the replacement. picked up the vehicle on 4/11/12. on the evening of 4/12/12 the car stalled and wouldn't accelerate again while in drive, check engine light came back on. we had the car towed to the dealership and now we have been advised to replace the transmission ($4700 repair). have not moved forward with the repair but found that other owners have experienced the same problem. hoping to participate in a lawsuit to avoid this issue for other owners in the future. on march 26 approx. we took the car to the dealership to address an issue we were having when we started the car. sometimes the car would jump at the start as if it were in drive. the issue couldn't be found by he service tech so they advised us to get a tune up. we paid over $500 that week for a tune up. the car was inspected at that service visit but nothing was mentioned or noticed about the radiator. we wondered how this catastrophic breakdown could appear out of nowhere. the problem happened a few days after the car was serviced and inspected. *tr

Driving at aprox. 55 mph motor lost power to move the unit due to transmission problems. error codes p1757 and p1759. this problem can cause a crash. *tr

The transmission started slipping/not responding/hesitation/car 'shaking' when shifting, etc so we took it to a nissan dealer to ask what happened. they said the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission and pretty much destroyed it. i asked if they had seen this before or if there was a recall for it and they said they had not seen it nor was there a recall. i then called another non-dealer transmission center and they knew what the issue was before i even finished explaining. they said they get 2005 pathfinders about 1 per week and currently had two on the lot -- all with the exact same issue. i called the dealership back with this info and they tried to act surprised but i could tell they knew exactly what was going on here. here is a full (and better) description from a pending lawsuit on this problem with the vehicles like we (and so many others) experienced: "transmission failure caused by cracked radiators - faulty radiators are causing coolant to leak into and destroy the transmission. an alarming number of nissan xterra, pathfinder and frontier owners are stepping forward with stories about their cracked radiators which are causing coolant to leak into the transmission. once mixed with the transmission fluid this lethal combination kills the valves, seals and torque converter -- rendering your entire transmission useless. this issue is currently contained to the 2005 model year, but we're keeping our eyes open for reports from other years. what's even more troubling is owners who have already had their transmissions "repaired" by an authorized nissan dealer are still reporting catastrophic transmission failure. through no fault of their own, nissan owners who are out of warranty are left to cover the hefty repair bill, which can be over $4,500 when all is said and done." *tr

I began to have trouble when attempting to accelerate, the car appeared to stay in low gear. took it to nissan they recommended to replace the radiator and transmission for $5,000! i bought this car on good faith knowing nissan is a quality product and this is now happening. nissan apparently knows about the issues with a leak starting in the radiator, and leaking fluids into the transmission, which causes the transmission to go out. nissan extended the warranty on the radiator till 80,000 miles knowing about this problem, but after doing research everyone having the problem is over 80,000 miles! nissan will not do a recall! this is unbelievable. i paid very good money for this car, and now have to spend another $5,000 to repair, with a known problem that nissan will not cover. i will never purchase another nissan vehicle, since they do not apparently care about their customers. *tr

The transmission started slipping when accelerating at all speeds. coolant was found in the trans fluid. the radiator and water pump had to be replaced. we had to also add a oil cooler as a precaution. now 8k miles later the transmission has failed and will not shift into 5th gear. best case scenario is a new trans valve assembly for $1500 or worst case new trans for $6500. *tr

Just over a year ago our 2005 pathfinder's transmission failed due to nissan installing a faulty radiator in the vehicle when it was made. due to the expense of getting it fixed, it still sets in the garage waiting to save up the money to fix the issue. over the year, nissan has admitted it was a problem but instead of fixing it, they say they will cover it if the vehicle has low millage. the radiator problem is not millage dependant. we drove our pathfinder and it was beyond the millage they would cover. so i guess i am being penalized by nissan for driving the pathfinder. i just wish nissan would do the right thing for its customers. *tr

2005 nissan pathfinder transmission seized while driving up a large hill with my family hundreds of miles from home on vacation. spent $250 to tow to the nearest nissan dealer where the confirmed the issue stating it was a faulty radiator component causing coolant to leak into the transmission, causing it to be destroyed. the service center suggested a repair bill of $5,000 for refurbished transmission, and this did this within 30 minutes, which i thought was odd. once i made it home i am finding this issue is running rampant, no wonder they confirmed the issue so fast! nissan needs to issue a full recall and compensate owners for all or at least a majority of this repair. *tr