Problems with 2005 Nissan Xterra ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Radiator corrosion leaking fluid into transmission. replacing radiator and transmission. replaced vaporizer solenoid and the ipdm unit (voluntary recall) which caused stalling while driving. fuel sensor replaced. mandatory recall on the ecm unit. no notification on voluntary or mandatory recalls. *tr

I was driving my son to a soccer game and could not get the car to go past 20 getting on the highway. i had the car in the dealer a few months earlier b/c i was having trouble getting past 45mph. they told me they could not properly diagnose and to continue driving. my car had 72000 at that point. they did not advise me of the potential radiator/transmission problem or let me know the warranty had been extened from 60000 to 80000 miles. *tt

Driving vehicle when transmission dropped into lower gear and would not upshift. cause found --- radiator cracked and leaked coolant into transmission- . which ruined the transmission. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated the vehicle started making a rumbling sound after having the oil changed at the dealers. the contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and was told that the transmission was slipping and coolant was leaking from the radiator into the transmission. the vehicle would need both the radiator and the transmission replaced. the failure and current mileages were 85,000.

Transmission failed due to a a known defect in the nissan cooling system for 2005 xterra's - this defect allows anti freeze to leak into transmission and cause failure. *js

Defective transmission cooling design causing 2005 nissan xterra leaking coolant into transmission resulting in transmission and radiator failure. nissan has not corrected the design problem for consumers resulting in putting consumers risk of harms way and extreme costs to repair. *kb

My nissan xterra started making a vibration sound around august of 2011. it sounded like your vehicle was running over a "rumble strip". it was infrequent at first so i ignored it. i did notice some other warning signs of potential trouble (at hindsight). the vehicles heater would never heat the interior of the vehicle at idle, but would do it at speed. nissan knows the issue is a defect but refuses to take responsibility. several times while i have been driving the vehicle it would shudder and almost result in a accident. i have only narrowly avoided a collision on 3 separate occasions. nissan extended the powertrain warranty to 80,000 miles because they know of the issue, but refuse to admit its a defect. had i been informed about the warranty extension i may have been able to have it services while within the warranty period. my vehicle is currently at 83,000 miles, but within the 96 month portion of the warranty. i'm currently afraid to drive the vehicle on the highway because i'm worried the transmission will fail at high speed and result in a serious accident. *tr

Faulty radiator leaked antifreeze into transmission which rendered the transmission useless. *tr

05 nissan xterra radiator leaked antifreeze into the transmission causing the vehicle to not move until rpm's reached a certain speed. car had been vibrating prior to incident which was thought to be tires. car was towed to transmission shop and at a cost of $4800 for repairs. i understand this is a problem that multiple owners have had and that nissan is not accepting responsibility for. i was put at risk as i drive 35 miles each way to and from work and a majority of this driving is done on the highway. my drive time is very early in the morning and very late at night. if the car had broke down i would have been stranded on the side of the highway. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that he heard knocking coming from under the hood while driving approximately 30 mph. the contact also stated that the temperature gauge would display that the vehicle was overheating. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose a failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 80,000.

2005 nissan xterra- routine maintenance found radiator full of transmission fluid. transmission approx one quart low. defective radiator known by nissan for some time now. only extended warranty to 80,000 miles from what i learned. my car has 90,000 miles. received no notice or warning prior. numerous owners complained. some required transmission change costing thousands of dollars. *tr in 2010 i bought another nissan, frontier, it has the same radiator apparently. if i would have known earlier, i would have never purchased another nissan. why is there no recall on these nissans, 2005 and subsequent? it is costing taxpayers millions out of pocket. i was lucky, i was spared a transmission change. i had the transmission fluid cooler in the radiator disabled and i installed a separate transmission cooler in stead. it did cost me a loss of my road trip vacation though. *tr

My 2005 nissan xterra suddenly developed a lack of acceleration nearly causing an accident at a stop sign. when taken to my mechanic i was told that the trouble code indicated the tcm and or the front brake solenoid, both of which are in the transmission and they would cost at least $2000 to fix. the dealer would not talk to me or return my calls after letting me know that a fix would cost @$5000+ i cannot afford to replace this and after finding that it happens with nearly all 05 xterras i will not. *tr

Radiator failed and leaked into transmission and problems with fuel system. truck shook and would not speed up going on to highway. family almost got hit by truck. *tr

2005 nissan xterra. highway driving and car began to shake violently. it was hard to stay in control for a bit there. hard to figure out what it was but i have. nissan xterra's have a problem with the radiator failing and leaking coolant into the transmission, thereby ruining it. my car has been overheating and the transmission giving out while i'm traveling at highway speeds with my wife and two children in car seats. nissan voluntarily extended warranty on the radiator. that is no help to the consumer as once the radiator fails you also have a bad transmission. please make them accountable for their unethical dodging of a serious problem --- and a dangerous one! thank you. *tr

Transmission failure caused by radiator leak, which causes vibration in vehicle which can be hazardous and costly. internet comments suggest problem is known by manufacturer but warrantees have not been extended, and dealer quoted full price for repair: $5,000+ on vehicle worth $11,000. *tt

Radiator failure causes transmission and engine coolant to mix causing catastrophic transmission failure. nissan knows about this problem but has decided to turn their backs on their responsibilities and hope fending off class action lawsuits will be less expensive than fixing the issues they have caused. this is ignorant and arrogant on their part. not only will this hurt those of us who are scraping by, but it will hurt nissan in the long run, as nobody who is experiencing what i and many others are going through currently through will ever, ever but their products again. i submit that the president of nissan usa be forced to attempt to drive my xterra to and from work or school with his family . when he about causes a wreck or endangers his family, maybe he will see then the fatal errors of his faulty money hungry calculations. this is absolutely ridiculous that our great country hasn't forced these people to do the right thing, since they obviously cannot do it on their own. *tr

Was driving while my transmission went out. dealer said the transmission and radiator fluid were mixed. my vehicle had 99,000 on it. had it fixed then at 140,000 it happened again. nissan wants me to pay 5500.00 but i refuse. this vehicle needs to be recalled. *tr

Faulty radiator design allowed a crack that caused cross contamination of coolant and transmission fluid. caused transmission to fail. *tr

In march 2011 my wife was driving my son home and the xterra began to shake as if she was driving on rumble strips. i quickly scheduled an appointment at a nissan dealer and in anticipation of the scheduled appointment, i googled 2005 nissan xterra, rumble strip. literally dozens of web pages popped up revealing that a defect in the radiator was causing coolant to leak into the transmission, thereby ruining the transmission/radiator. the testimonials detailed my exact experience and also described instances where transmissions would lock-up while driving. i raised my suspicions to cochran nissan in pittsburgh, pa, and they performed a full service check which confirmed that coolant had leaked into my transmission. cochran explained that the transmission was salvageable, but that the radiator needed replaced which i later found out had its warranty extended to 80,000 miles. the problem was, however, that my xterra currently had 101,000 miles, making me a victim of circumstance and the extended warranty of no benefit to me. cocharan replaced the radiator and flushed the transmission at a cost of approximately $830.00. now in february 2013 again as my wife was driving (our two kids), the transmission slipped causing the xterra to stall and lock up and again i am looking at a substantial repair costing well above the $830 previously paid. nissan has known about the problem with the radiator/transmission for years (possibly 2007) and has done nothing about it. damage resulting from a design defect is not something for which preventative maintenance from the owner could rectify. selling a product with design and/or manufacturing defects to unsuspecting buyers that places persons in danger is unethical and nissan should be forced to stand by their product and to do the right thing. please help and protect the consumer. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated was driving 30 mph when the transmission slipped. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the transmission fluid abnormally mixed with the radiator coolant. the radiator initially malfunctioned and caused the failure and the dealer advised replacing the transmission. the contact called the manufacturer yet the manufacturer did not offer any further assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 84,000.

My 2005 nissan xterra se with 82k miles had the radiator fail, leaking coolant into the transmission. this is a common problem with nissan suvs and trucks for at least 2005-2007 model years. nissan voluntarily extended their warranty to cover this type of issue to 80k miles, but it seems typical form the many online message boards addressing this issue that the problem arises after 80k miles. nissan refuses to cover any of the costs of repair. *tr

Radiator failed leaking coolant into transmission. radiator had to be replaced and transmission rebuilt at an out of pocket cost of $3,800. *tr

Radiator failure causing fluid to drain into transmission. this caused damage to the transmission and torque converter. i was left stranded without warning in the middle of an intersection. *tr the transmission was rebuilt, the torque converter was replaced, an external transmission was installed. cost of repair: $2,852.

I own a 2005 nissan xterra. my problem started with the fuel leveling system and my check engine light coming on. it was the fuel leveling sender. my fuel was not registering correctly at all. next came stalling of my suv. i would be driving and it would act as if it was running out of gas and cut off. that turn out to be the emc, in which i paid for but was reimburse because nissan issued a recall for the emc. this did not fix the fuel leveling sender problem. a few months later, my suv was having a "hard crank". it just did not want to turn over. it would stall while driving. i would just cut off. i took that to a dealership and they said it was the cam sensors. so, i had the cam sensors replaced and i had the fuel level sender replaced. it was recommended that i have a mult-point inspection, so i had everything with that replace. i spent a $1000, only for my check engine light to come back on the next day. i took it back to the dealership for them to tell me now it is the catalyst converters and both needs to be replace. the price for both parts alone was $1300. i do not understand why so many xterra owners are having these types of problems and nissan are not responsible for fixing them. they will offer an extended warranty after the fact, but by the time the problem occur a 2005 does not qualify for the extended warranty. the catalyst converters affects the clean air for your vehicle. this is a safety issue. *tr

The car began to have a shaking feeling like you were driving over a rumble strip about 4 months ago. we took the car to dealer and they determined we had the issue that nissan had reported may happen where the radiator fails and coolant gets into the transmission. the dealer said the entire cooling system and transmission would have to be replaced and the cost would be $6500.00. nissan had sent us a letter last year stating they had extended the warranty on the radiator and all of its corresponding parts to 80,000 miles/96 months. our vehicle has 94,000 miles on it. i called nissan and they said they would do nothing. we are currently fixing part of the problem by fixing the radiator and flushing the transmission. when we have more funding we will have the transmission rebuilt because we cannot afford to purchase the new transmission. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign id number: 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs. after leaving the dealer, the driver noticed that all the interior lights were flashing on and off abnormally as the vehicle stalled. the vehicle would not restart and was towed back to the dealer. the dealer then advised that they repaired the recalled component only and that they were not able to assist in any other way. the vehicle was not further repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

Twice in the last day the car has accelerated in an uncontrolled manner. first was in moderate traffic about 30 mph after driving for about 40 minutes. stepping on the brakes with full force barely slowed the car. went to breakdown and just missed another car. second time this am. started the car put it in reverse and the engine took off at 3000 to 4000 rpm. fortunately it was on snow in driveway and no one was behind. could not stop the wheels from spinning. eventually got it into park. only work on this engine was recall work done 2 weeks ago involving the engine control module. this is extremely dangerous. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated while driving 40 mph the vehicle suddenly shut off. she pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and had it towed to a dealer. the dealer inspected the engine and stated the timing chain broke and the entire engine needs to be replaced. the contact had the vehicle towed to a local mechanic for a second opinion. the local mechanic informed the contact the engine does need to be replaced. the failure mileage was 131,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated there was a loud noise heard from the front of the vehicle intermittently. the authorized dealer was unable to replicate or diagnose the failure on several occasions. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where the timing belt was repaired however, the failure recurred. the contact was also advised that there was a leak in the engine. additionally, when the hood was opened the cap to the transmission overflow was missing and was replaced by the dealer. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer for further inspection and diagnosis. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 44,000. the current mileage was 65,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the transmission began to shake excessively. the failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in motion. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission was flushed. the mechanic also stated that the radiator was cracked and leaking transmission fluid into the engine. as a result, severe damage was being done to the engine. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

I just recently started experiencing a 'shudder' under mild acceleration between 40-60 mph with my 05xterra, v6 4x4 (~120k miles). feels like my rear wheels are going over a rumble strip and only lasts a few brief moments. took my xterra back to dealer and they indicated possibility of transmission cooler leak allowing antifreeze to enter torque converter and transmission causing slippage; although they checked my fluids and no cross contamination was evident. they recommended replacing torque converter, transmission and radiator...to the tune of ~$5000...there's got to be better answer...and accountability on their part...i searched on line and found that i'm not alone with this issue... a number of folks have experienced the same issue...nissan has even acknowledged a problem and has extended their warranty on the radiator, but not the torque converter, but my mileage exceeds the extended period; if they know of the issue, why isn't there a re-call...if the torque converter fails while driving, it will most certainly cause an accident...problem is getting worse and more frequent...there needs to be action by nissan to correct this condition before someone is seriously injured due to a known problem... *tr

my 2005 xterra with 82k miles started vibrating badly when accelerating over 50mph. it felt like i was driving over rumble strips. i called nissan assist on 12/29/2010 and was told my radiator had failed, leaked into the transmission and totally destroyed it. my only option was a $4600 replacement of the radiator and transmission. the nissan assist guy then told me that nissan knew about the problem, but instead of issuing a recall, they simply extended the warranty from 60k to 72k miles (this was an error on his part, because the extension was actually to 80k miles). regardless, it didn't apply to me because i was at 82k miles. nissan is trying to ease the pain with extending the warranty however, they make no attempt to contact you about it. you either need to find it yourself or your screwed. *tr

My husband and i purchased our 2005 nissan xterra, 17 miles young. exactly one month after we purchased, the rear differential went out and was covered under warranty. no problems for a few years, until we noticed that the gas gauge was not giving accurate readings, we had to watch our odometer count to make sure we didn't run out of gas, which is a very scary thought when you have two young children. this happened when we had approximately 80000 miles on the truck and $600 to repair. shortly after, the transmission was acting up and the heater wasn't working. no why wasn't that working? apparently, nissan thought it would be a cool trick to have the radiator leak into the transmission.... brilliant business plan they have. took the truck in and had to pay $5800 to have the transmission, radiator and computer all replaced. this financial hardship was in fact a hardship. one that shouldn't have had to happen had nissan provided quality parts and provided stellar service. i will sue nissan for this major safety issue, blog/facebook my little heart away about how insincere of a company nissan is and never ever-ever-ever give them a positive recommendation. *tr

Engine stopped while moving causing instant decelaration, cars following had to take evasive action found defective ecm unit by nissan dealership

Beginning summer 2010 2005 nissan xterra (purchased new in 2005) began making rumbling noise (as if going over rumble strips) while driving. incident occurred frequently at differing speeds for the next several months. no other problems were evident at that time. in november 2010 while driving on freeway vehicle began overheating, blowing hot air through air conditioner, and registering hot on gauge. vehicle was immediately taken to local mechanic who was unable to determine problem. the next day vehicle was taken to dealership where car was purchased and told that the transmission needed to be replaced due to radiator fluid leak. after research and finding that this is a common occurrence the owner decided not to have the vehicle fixed at her expense and is not driving the vehicle until an agreement is made with nissan. while there were no injuries or accidents in this incidence research shows that there have been numerous reports of transmission failures in traffic either causing or almost causing accidents. nissan's failure to alert 05 xterra owners of this problem that they are well aware of is negligence and risks health and safety. further, it can be found that the problem cannot be fixed by simply replacing the original parts as the parts and design were defective to begin with. research has shown that after being "fixed" by the dealership the problem has occurred again. *tr

Nissan xterra engine stalled on the highway abruptly two times on oct 27th 2010. car towed to dealer for repair on oct 28th, 2010. complete intelligent power distribution module replaced after a 10 day long wait with no feedback from dealer or manufacturer about recall of this part. manufacturer not returning calls to consumer regarding covering complete cost of services in spite of the condition clearly being a recall issue (campaign id 10v517000). *tr

I own a 2005 nissan xterra 4x4 off-road suv (vin#[xxx]), around 50,300mi. the incident occurred on nov. 5, 2010 around 11pm. my xterra started to stall on the freeway and i was able to pull over to the side of the road safely where the engine died. i tried re-starting it and the engine ran rough, so i turned it off. i tried re-starting it after 30 seconds this time the engine ran smooth, waited for a minute and then started driving back onto the freeway heading home. about a mile later the engine started to stall again and i had to pull off to the side of the road right away almost nearly hitting another vehicle because my engine had no power to speed up because it was dying. luckily no accident, just a near miss. i was able to re-start my xterra again and was able to make it home safely. i had to tow my xterra to the nissan dealership. from their diagnosis. the dealership service rep told me that i would need to replace my ipdm. he was checking to see if this part would fall under my powertrain warranty. he called me back later and told me it would cost $550 to replace it. i asked what about my powertrain warranty, he told me he have to get back to me because the warranty specialists was sick. just my luck. i will have to wait till monday to see if i was covered under the warranty. they didn't even offer me a loaner car over the weekend. i informed him about the recall on the ipdm nissan put out on oct. 28, 2010. the service rep said there was no recall on the ipdm. go figure! i'm going to bring him a copy of the recall notice from your website. as of right now nothing is being done to my car. very unsatisfied customer information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

In september, 2010 i was driving my 2005 nissan xterra at 55 mph on a two lane highway when it the temperature spiked overheating the engine after pulling over and checking it i discovered i had transmission fluid in the radiator. 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. the vehicle was towed to a garage and the radiator replaced and transmission flushed. while servicing my vehicle the mechanic discovered that the engine head had cracked. i incurred over 2,400 dollars in repairs...using a used replacement engine. nissan corporation after 9 weeks of waiting has informed me that they have opted not to assist in the repair of the vehicle nor provide reimbursement. on june 23, 2011, my transmission began to fail. *tr

Car overheating, wouldn't run on highway, jerking, couldn't catch speed, radiator blew due to coolant problem which went into transmission needing new transmission. holding up traffic, had to keep my hazards on. extremely dangerous driving conditions. radiator reimbursed by nissan but wouldn't pay for transmission despite clear documentation that it was due to a recall. had to pull over several times on highway to get out of harms way. *tr

Problem as described by nissan service tech: xterra was towed to us with the concern "my xterra is slipping, will not go backwards, will not drive in drive, only drive in 3rd, hooked up to computer and came up p1716". we confirmed the car would not move in reverse, as it was towed in and parked so that backing up was the only option. the code p1716 is related to the transmission turbine circuit not functioning properly. upon further diagnosis, we removed the radiator cap to find the radiator filled with the milky combination of coolant and transmission fluid. the radiator is a sub-level radiator, where the top portion is for coolant and the bottom portion is for cooling the transmission fluid. the radiator cracked internally causing the fluids to mix. the transmission and radiator need to be replaced to rectify the problems. new transmission is $3215.71 with the estimated arrival date of tuesday, september 21. the new radiator is $538, currently in stock. the labor estimate is $1442.70. the estimated completion of work is wednesday, september 22, with estimated total bill coming to $5560.16 tax included. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated the transmission began slipping and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. the dealer advised that anti-freeze was leaking into the engine because the intake valve gasket was bent. the dealer stated that the valve gasket was bending because the intake valve and radiator were made of plastic. the failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 95,000. updated 05/03/11*lj the consumer stated due the defect with the radiator, anti-freeze leaked into the transmission fluid and caused the transmission to fail. updated 08/04/11

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning causing the fuel pressure to fluctuate abnormally. the vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where they informed the contact that the fuel level sensor needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but shortly after repairs, the vehicle would not start and was taken back to the dealer. the dealer informed the contact that the ipdm was defective and would need to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired yet the failure recurred twenty minutes after repairs with the illumination of the check engine warning light. the dealer then advised that because the ipdm failed, it also caused the catalytic converter to fail and that would also to be replaced and advised the contact that there was no guarantee that the repair would remedy the failure. the manufacturer advised the contact to trade the vehicle in. the vehicle was traded in november 2010. the failure mileage was unknown.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, she heard a rumbling sound. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostics, where the technician stated that radiator fluid leaked into the transmission and the radiator needed to be replaced. there were also parts within the transmission that needed to be repaired, but the contact was unaware of the specific parts. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was not available.

Radiator cooling system for transmission fluid causes malfunction of transmission causing unpredictable shifting and acceleration / deceleration nissan dealership charging customers over 900 dollars for repairs......knowingly this engineered defect exists with most 2005 nissan xterra vehicles. *tr

2005 nissan xterra with 69000 miles began shuttering every now and again when driving around town. it started getting progressively worse during the next few weeks. thought it might have been the tire balance and had it checked. balanced the tires, the shuttering was still there and began to get worse when driving at higher speeds i.e. 60mph. the rear end would shutter very hard to the point where we couldn't drive it any longer. taking it to the shop revealed that the transmission had radiator fluid in it which was caused by cracked radiator lines leaking into the transmission. the fluid was into all the transmission gears. come to find out that this is a common problem with nissans and the only way to get around this problem is to place an external cooler to the transmission. since the 5yr/60k power train warranty ran out, nissan has no interest in assisting a well known problem of theirs. there complaint dept takes the info and places it into a database. well the damage has already been done to the transmission and had to be replaced and an external cooler was installed which we had to go out of pocket on ($4100.00). *tr

Faulty radiator leads to transmission failure nissan has know of this problem and done nothing about it cost of repair 5000 to 6000 many 2005 nissan xterra and pathfinders owners i know have had this problem please help! *tr

2005 nissan xterra has a part which allows the transmission fluid to pass through and be cooled in the radiator. this part breaks, allowing the transmission fluid and radiator coolant to mix. this ruins your radiator, but more importantly, it burns up your transmission, because the coolant released into the transmission through the busted line does not have the constancy to lubricate the transmission parts properly. over a very short period your transmission is ruined. this leads to slipping, shifting late, and can lead to the car not taking off at the anticipated speed from a stop sign or light, possibly causing an accident, because of being stranded in the intersection. other symptoms can be temperature gauge reading hot when stopped, a/c blowing warm when stopped. i know this is not an isolated incident. by simply doing a google search for "2005 nissan xterra radiator transmission". the top results contain links with titles such as "2005 nissan xterra faulty radiator destroys transmission" and "2005 nissan xterra radiator causes transmission failure". i know there are others (many) out there. we need to organize and get results for this issue. my mileage may be relatively high, but many others were in the 50,000 mile range when the failure occurred. i have already spent $500+ on this issue. now that i have to replace my transmission, it could be $5,000! help! *tr

My 2005 nissan xterra had just under 100,000 miles on it. the transmission began to slip and there would be no power. i had it towed to nissan and the radiator had leaked coolant into the transmission, destroying the transmission for about a 5,000 $ repair. nissan offered no explanation other than "it happens", and after further research, found that i'm not the only case of this happening. luckily for me, i was on a secluded state road when my transmission first slipped. had i been on a freeway, i would have lost all power in a busy and unsafe location. http://www.carcomplaints.com/nissan/xterra/2005/transmission/radiator_causes_transmission_failure.shtml. *tr

I have a 2005 nissan xterra. the transmission had vibration intermittently. transmission finally went out due to a faulty radiator. this vehicle is equipped with two coolers one air and one water cooled. i have read of many complaints for this. nissan knows of the problem and should recall it. i bought this vehicle used from pat peck nissan with a warranty. at 6mos i received a letter that the warranty was not valid on this vehicle and they reimbursed the cost of the warranty. i feel that they knew this was a problem. *tr

1. vibrations coming from rear of car at 35 mph. vibration get worst when accelerating to 40 mph, shifts hard,rpm's increase then decrease(jumps all over the place). occurs all the time. faulty lines between coolant system and transmission. coolant mixed with tranny fluid. replaced, radiator,flushed engine, flushed tranny 2 times. installed external transmission cooler and bypassed radiator, so this wont happen again, my have to replace transmission in future because of the damage done to it by the coolant mixing with tranny fluid. out of pocket expense $1463.12 parts and labor at a local nissan dealer. i was told that this is a common problem with nissan 4x4 vehicles. this should be a recall. and if my transmission goes i feel that nissan should replace it free of charge. *tr