Problems with 2006 Nissan Xterra POWER TRAIN

I'm the owner of a 2006 xterra i was coming to a stop at a major intersection with no previous malfunctions of any kind. i have driven this vehicle across country 4 times and have meet all required preventative maintenance requirements and scheduled tune ups. now back to the intersection we came to a stop when the light turned green i depressed the gas pedal and it hesitated for a second and approached 10 mph and then it just revved as if the transmission was no longer engaged and the check engine light illuminated on the dash. i turned on my foreways and naturally proceeded to investigate the situation. to my surprise their was no evidence of external damage or tampering with anything underneath the vehicle. a police officer came to the intersection to assist myself and my family i entered the vehicle and shifted from park to drive and it took off as if there was never a problem. i drove 2 miles to my place of residence and decided to investagate. i looked up some information online to see if other people are having transmission problems with this type of vehicle and found that their is a common rupture at the base of the radiator that allows coolant to mix with the atf. i decided to drain some coolant and verify my assumption. i made a video of the processes and there was a good amount of atf in my coolant and then i proceeded to remove the transmission drain plug to extract a sample atf and sure enough a pinkish tint and very watery atf was extracted from the transmission. *js

Driving down the road and car started shuttering and over heated got out of car and there was milky trans fluid every were. *tr

While driving the vehicle at 40-45 mph and 1200 rpms or 60 mph and 1500 rpms, a vibration as if running over rip bars on the side of a highway happened. at first, it was thought to be a universal; however, after replacing the part, the vibration continued but happened at all speeds above 40 mph regardless of the rpms. research showed that there was a problem with the transmission coolant system cracking, causing coolant to leak into the transmission but no recall had been issued. a local dealership said they had no report of this type of problem. they suggested turning off the overdrive and if the problem stopped, the transmission needed to be flushed. this was the case, but before we could have the transmission flushed, it started having a roaring noise. when the transmission fluid was checked, it looked like a strawberry milkshake and so did the coolant in the radiator. both have been flushed but apparently when the initial leak happened, it also allowed coolant to leak into the computer for the transmission. while driving the car, up a steep hill, the rpms grew but the speed decreased. shifting down showed that the gear had been lost because the vehicle performed normally in the lower gear. another dealership out of the area said they had several hundred xterra's brought in for the same problem and that we would lose one gear at a time until we lost them all. this is a $3,500+ repair and if we lose gears in high traffic, we will be possibly rearended or stranded on a highway, which is not acceptable. it is now october and nothing has been resolved. a recall is needed before someone is in a serious accident! *tr

When my xterra was idling in park or at a stop light, the car was overheating. also while accelerating, the car was shuddering when changing gears. upon taking the vehicle to a repair garage, i was informed that this particular model nissan is notorious for faulty radiators being installed which caused coolant fluid to leak / mix in with transmission fluid, thus damaging the transmission, possibly to the point of having to be replaced as well as the radiator. my car is sitting at a garage now waiting for the radiator to be replaced and try to run the vehicle to see how bad the damage now is to the transmission. *tr

I bought a nissan xterra 06 in september 2013. it's now july 5 2014, not even a year after i bought it, and i'm having issues getting my car fixed. something in the radiator busted and caused the coolant to leak into the transmission which means that i now need a new radiator and a new transmission which is going to cost roughly 5,100 dollars to fix in which i cannot afford. i purchased an extended warranty when i purchased my car so that if i had any major issues, like this, i would be covered financially bc anyone knows that car repairs can be quite costly. i was told that, zurich, my warranty company, would not pay for the repairs bc the problem came from the radiator and it's not covered in the warranty which leaves me to pay for the costly repairs. i believe that the dealership i got my car from should pay for the repairs as i haven't had it a whole year yet. i feel as if i've been skrewed over. nissan also needs to issue a recall bc i'm not the only 06 xterra owner to have this issue. please help me, i have a 1 yr. old daughter and i need my car fixed and don't have 5100 dollars to fix it myself. thank you *tr

Transmission cooler ,located in radiator, cracked and allowed mixture of coolant and transmission fluid. this caused internal damage to transmission. vehicle had power loss during a merge onto a state highway, nearly causing an accident and potential harm to my wife and 4 year old son. nissan settled a class action lawsuit which clearly acknowledges there is a manufacture defect with the radiator. no safety recall was made which has the potential to injury others who experience this failure. research has shown this is a large scale issue and settlement is unacceptable, nissan has a responsibility where manufacturer defects can cause harm to their customers. *tr

Antifreeze in transmission causing smoke from under hood and transmission failure. *tr

Radiator fluid leaked into the transmission causing the transmission to fail and ruined the radiator. my xterra had 106,000 miles on it at the time of the failure. the cost to replace the transmission and radiator was nearly $5,000.00. the cause of the failure is the same factory defect mentioned in previous complaints. *tr

Car overheated while driving on the highway and wasn't able to accelerate any more... took to the shop and they flushed the transmission multiple times to try and save. radiator and hoses were replaced first. ended up having to go back for a failed transmission. costs were $5587.25 which i couldn't afford and had to take out a loan for. *tr

5/29/14 check engine light came on,transmission slipping.diagnosed as radiator contaminated with transmission fluid,replaced radiator,drained coolant, flushed multiple times. 7/12/2014 on family vacation out of state engine light came on,transmission slipping, low transmission fluid.filled fluid by beach ready auto. 7/15/2014 check engine light again on interstate highway traveling at 60 mph total transmission failure. rebuilt transmission put in out of state,8 days missed work,airline ticket home. my expenses for this defect in design by nissan is $5900.the fact that there has not been a recall initiated by nissan is completely unacceptable and dangerous. a failure on the company's part to stand behind their products wrong , but knowingly allowing their product to endanger people's lives is inexcusable. *tr

Radiator is leaking coolant into transmission. *js

Suv started vibrating badly while driving at speeds near 60 mph. this happened for about 3 months. took vehicle to sheehy nissan in annapolis, md to have investigated and was told coolant had mixed with transmission fluid due to a failure in radiator. i was told that a costly repair is my only option, and that while i can drive it now, a total failure at "some point later" is imminent. how can i drive this vehicle on the streets knowing that at any moment the transmission could fail??/ *tr

Update to nhtsa id # 10587080. filled out vin incorrectly. correct vin is above. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that the gears slipped intermittently while traveling at any speed. the failure recurred multiple times. an authorized dealer was notified of the failure more than once, who repaired the radiator and transmission to no avail. the contact had heard a humming noise when changing gears and also experienced the fuel gauge providing erroneous fuel level readings. the vehicle was included in nhtsa campaign id number: 10v075000 (fuel system, gasoline) but the local dealer and manufacturer both stated that the vehicle had exceeded the one year time frame to have the recall repair performed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 54,000. updated 08/11/14*lj the consumer would like to reimbured the payments made towards the deductible and the car rental. updated 08/18/2014*js

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that the gear would not shift into reverse. an independent mechanic noticed that the transmission fluid was mixing with the coolant and the coolant was leaking into the transmission. the contact was informed that the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 169,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the engine slipped out of gear and engaged from drive to neutral independently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who indicated that the radiator and transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the defect. the approximate failure mileage was 118,000. kmj

When the vehicle is traveling 45-50 mph, there is an occasional and sometimes violent shake in the drivetrain...like driving over rumble bars. also some loss of power while accelerating and hard shifting. this is from transmission failure due to cross contamination between the radiator and the transmission. *tr

Felt vibrating while driving. stopped at a light and had no 1st gear after. i was told water got into the transmission. called nissan after doing research to find out this was a big problem. i was told tough luck pretty much. nissan should recall all affected vehicles!!! *tr

Radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. the only fix is to replace both the radiator and the transmission at a cost of approximately $7,000. this is a known issue with several nissan models, years 2005-2010 and class action has been taken. the settlement provided no help to someone in my situation with over 100,000 miles on the vehicle and provided very limited financial reimbursement for those who qualified. this is a known, catastrophic issue and recalls or reimbursements were the proper, safe, ethical solution. this was not done, and now i am stuck with a fix that will cost 90% of what the car is worth. there was no solution given that could have prevented it, so i really had no option here but to wait for the failure and get stuck with the $7000 bill. fortunately, i did not experience any known safety hazards with this failure, but a failed radiator and transmission could potentially be dangerous. *tr

Car was not accelerating properly and was shaking. took it to the shop. the radiator had failed allowing coolant into my transmission and ruining my transmission. repair will cost $4102 + tax. *js

Well i was driving along and the vehicle started chugging and then it stopped moving, when i had a transmission shop look at it they told me the radiator cracked and leaked fluid into the trans and destroyed the trans, now it is going to be replaced or rebuilt. i cannot afford this but need to get it fixed since i borrowed money to buy it. i was told by the trans shop that this was a common problem and it is not supposed to happen since the trans fluid lines and radiator fluid do not come into direct contact with each other, but is a defective radiator and design that caused this problem. *tr

Transmission jerks and shudders at speeds around 40-60 mph when it shifts into overdrive. this occurs under light engine loading and while traveling up hill. also, have noticed it at lower speeds lately. during the winter, the vehicle failed to heat properly; adding more coolant alleviated this problem, but only for a short period of time. after inspection, it is found that engine coolant is leaking into the transmission cooler and transmission fluid, causing both the engine to run low on coolant (and cause a no-heat situation) and is most likely causing the transmission to fail. *tr

While on a business trip away from home noticed the heater stopped blowing warm air. a few minutes later engine temperature spiked but then returned to normal. 50 miles later heater started working again. took the car to a local mechanic and discovered transmission cooler within the radiator had failed, allowing the radiator coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. paid for the replacement of the radiator/transmission cooler, system flush. had the system flushed again 1 week after radiator replacement. transmission now acting erratically, particular when shifting between 3rd and 4th gear. initial assessments by mechanic suggests transmission and transmission computer require replacement. cost of replacement exceeds the value of car even though the rest of the car is in excellent condition. *tr

Transmission failure due to contamination by engine coolant. the source of the contamination is a cracked line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator. resulting in having to replace radiator and now the whole transmission. current there is a recall however i was never notified of recall. my car is under 8 years old and has approx. 152,000 miles, hence, does not fall under the settlement of class action suit ordering nissan to reimburse repairs. i am now out $4,000 even though nissan is aware this is a pure mechanical error on their part. i was driving with my young daughters in the car and almost caused a pile up! shame on you nissan! *tr

Nissan will not step up and fix their mistake, our car is at 87000 miles and the coolant is leaking into the transmission due to how nissan configured their system from the years of 2006 - 2009. when i spoke with [xxx] at nissan consumer affairs he intimated that nissan is not aware of this being a major issue, but interestingly enough stopped using this configuration in 2010. they claim that it will not happen to every nissan, we need more consumers to come forward, so that this will become a "recall". the system is faulty it may not happen at 80,000 / 90,000 / 100,000 , but count on it happening at some point. this is a very expensive repair. if nissan had communicated to us that the warranty covering this transmission failure was extended to 80,000 but of course why would they admit to a faulty system, and let their valued customers know. simple they do not value their customers, they lost this group. way to go nissan, somewhere down the line this will hurt you. signed-disgusted information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The transmission started to slip, turns out the atf was contaminated by the radiator failing and leaking coolant into the transmission. this was determined by the dealer and of course it was out of warranty. i replaced the radiator and the transmission is being worked on by a transmission shop to the tune of several thousand dollars. the contamination ruined at least all clutch plates, the bands, and the torque converter. *tr

I have warranty extension notices sent out by nissan. they are for a leak in the radiator they may go into the transmission..my radiator was replaced because the dealer said it had a leak. there was no fluid in my garage or driveway.. now my transmission had to be replaced 76993 miles. after dealing with customer service they told me it was not a related problem..there has been a class action in against nissan for this problem.the cost was $4500.00.if you need any other question answered please call me at [xxx]..i am looking for reimbursement for the cost of tranny repair..all work was done by mike barney nissan 3676 sheridan drive amherst,ny 14226. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Vehicle did not shift smoothly and was overheating. mechanic determined that the transmission fluid and engine coolant were intermixed due to a leak in the transmission line in the radiator. both radiator and transmission must be replaced due to the fluid mixing. *tr

Transmission went out. while driving on highway, rpms went up and car would not move. diagnosis was new transmission and radiator. seems to be a problem with 2006 nissan xterras with low mileage. *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

Transmission failure on highway. car stopped working going 65 mph. radiator fluid leaked into transmission. *tr

I have a 2006 nissan se xterra 4.0 4x2 automatic -i started noticing when gets speed up to 45 miles it is making a hard shifting and when slowing down making a hard down shifting as well. i mostly notice this when the vehicle is already warmed up and stop and go traffic is when it starts acting up, like a clunk noise and feel like it is loosing power in the transmission. it was a cold day and when leaving work and i backed up and then put in drive and started to move forward all of a sudden the service engine light came on and it felt like i had lost power to the transmission. (bogged down feeling) i had to press further down on the peddle to get the xterra to drive. i drove home slowly with my flashers on praying to god i would not break down within the 7miles. the next day i drove 2 miles to oriellys to pull the code p1754 with several others.i drove to a transmission shop and was given a "worse case scenario" charge of about $3300.00 -i still owe $6000.00 for it! i started to investigate the issue online with all of the forums/parts/rebuilds and such and found that the transmission is the issue with the coolant line in radiator cracking and leaking atf into transmission causing problems with corrosion in the valve body and transmission (o rings/seals) causing to be replaced which is (faulty engineered/manufactured highly expensive defect) at around 100,000 miles and cost is $1100.00 for body valve, rebuilding transmission ($2800.00-($5000.00 for new) and replacing the radiator $ 260.00 and lets not forget about the labor at about $110.00 an hour for around 13 hours. who has this kind of money for this repair?? i love my xterra but not at this cost since i found out that every 100,000 i will have to replace the $1100.00 transmission valve body (solenoids failing)!! i am very disappointed with nissan. *tr

While driving in traffic, automatic transmission slipped out of gear causing loss of speed and near collisions from following vehicles. diagnosis was a flaw in the radiator that allowed coolant to enter the transmission causing the transmission to fail. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle began to violently shake and was hesitant to shift into the next gear. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure and current mileage was 95,000.

My transmission began slipping all of a sudden and i lost all ability to accelerate despite my ability to rev the engine. luckily i coasted into my local "kwik kar" at the end of the street. they looked at the car and informed me that they believe the radiator is leaking into the transmission and that both the transmission and radiator would need to be replaced to make the vehicle functional again. had this occurred on the highway my life would have been in serious danger. *tr

We noticed a higher pitch noise from the vehicle in august 2013 during all running times (cold start, warm running, etc) in my pregnant wife's car with about 90,000 miles on vehicles (inspected fluids, belts, and engine area without notice to any issues- assumed it was the sub-freezing temperatures ~5-16*f). regular maintenance has bee conducted on the vehicle since purchase (original owners), had the heater core repaired and vehicle inspected at nissan dealer in texas in 2011 without knowledge of transmission problems (heater core is leaking again 2yrs later). there was no impact to driving at the time. figured it would only need a tune-up back from colorado to georgia before finally getting it checked and was diagnosed with transmission and engine coolant cross contamination requiring $4,500+ in repairs (now at 103,000 miles -dec 2013). automatic transmission was completely flooded/contaminated with engine coolant ruining the internal components. mechanics stated that is a known problem with nissan xterra's and other models, that they didn't know how our transmission didn't already fail with the amount of exposure, and it would be a short time before the transmission becomes completely in-operational. after some research, we have discovered that many people have had a similar issue across nissan models, and we do not qualify for the class action law suit (which you had to claim by jun 2013 and have document/diagnosed transmission contamination >100,000 miles). nissan should be required to recall/fix their design flaw and safety hazards for protection of the consumer! *tr

driving south on the florida turnpike, our nissan x-terra would not change speed at 40 miles per hour and it appeared that the transmission could not change. the slip indicator light went on. this situation happened approximately three times, after each incident we had to stop on the side of the highway. finally after the third attempt the vehicle picked up speed. when we got home, i checked the transmission fluid and it had what appeared to be water. i checked the radiator cap, and instead of liquid the mixture seemed to be a creme paste, like it had oil. searching in google, i found that there was a lawsuit brought again nissan for this defect. however today at bill seidle's nissan in miami, i was told that there is a co-payment of $2,500.00. this is outrageous, since the problem was created by nissan and not by the owner of the vehicle. *tr

As i was driving along the highway, i felt a jerk from the vehicle. the vehicle then over heated. pulled over and let set for a minute. restart and limp to work place. after calling dad found radiator fluid in transmission. the rest is history!!!! *tr

On december 06, 2013, while merging onto the highway, my gray in color, 2006 nissan xterra, completely lost all motive power & failed to shift gears, simply revving out in 2nd gear. it should be noted, my 2006 nissan xterra is the 4x4, automatic transmission & had around 99,950 miles at the time. the incident put myself, my wife, and my eight month old baby girl in danger due to the fact we had no where to exit the highway & were quickly slowing down in traffic. this incident almost caused an accident because i was unable to accelerate to get out of the way of the faster highway traffic. it has since come to my attention that nissan is aware of this issue and that it is caused by the radiator leaking coolant into the transmission causing the transmission fluid to mix with the radiator fluid, effectively destroying the transmission. i was able to slowly work the rpms up & get the transmission to shift up a few gears so we could make it off the highway. i then contacted my local nissan dealer who advised that nissan was aware of the issues and have extended the warranty to 100,000 mi. he informed me that to replace the transmission & the radiator it would cost approximately $7000, however, if i was under 100,000 mi, i would only have to pay a $3,000 deductible. because i had passed the 100,000 mile mark by driving my vehicle back home, i was no longer eligible for this extended warranty. i've owned my nissan xterra for over 6 years & have made sure to stay current on all the routine maintenance. the fact that nissan is not only aware of these issues (which have allegedly affected thousands of nissan owners), but also that they have failed to take any corrective action, is simply unacceptable & also downright dangerous. it is one thing for nissan to not stand behind their product, but it is wrong for them to knowingly allow their product to put people's lives in danger. *tr

Financing and noticed the loud whining gears when car was cold. almost like a after market racing tranny. truck being quick and having a powerband it seems, i went with it!! we've had truck just over a year. 6 months ago, heater only blew heat when in motion. it still does both of these things but periodically the heat works like normal. yes, this truck is still running!!!! but when i leave in the morning, it feels like the e brake is on when its not!! serious restriction. and on freeway, over 50 mph, grinding sound gets louder by the day. the loud vibrating that if windows are up, your head seemingly could explode!!!! all the same symptoms of coolant in the tranny. best part is, it was sold to us by a dealership with symptoms obviously nissan knows about. heading down to trade it in for one over 2010!!! please make it there xterra!!!! wow. it still gets up and goes tho. red light with a new v8 titan, green means go, xterra wins !!! sad day because we loved this truck. buh bye baby *tr

Coolant fluid has gotten into the transmission making it slip or is no longer working

The vehicle would stall or rather the transmission would not shift mostly out forth to fifth, or even third to forth. the engine seems fine. pull the transmission dipstick, the fluid is dark and smells burnt. *tr

Transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. the source of the contamination is a cracked atf line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator. resulting in having to replace radiator and now the whole transmission. current there is a recall campaign # 10v517000, however i was never notified of recall. my car actually is 8 years old and has approx. 105,000 miles, hence, does not fall under the settlement of class action suit ordering nissan to reimburse repairs. *tr

I was coasting on the freeway at around 50 miles, was in low rpm about 2500. i hit the gas to change lanes and as soon as i did, i have no power to the back wheels. my engine rpm shot up and felt as if i was in the neutral. eased off immediately and tried gassing it very lightly. i was able to make it off the freeway; however, i could not gas it past the 2500rpms . very scary on the freeway, lucky i have great reflexes to avoid an accident. took it into the shop and verified it is a leakage from the radiator to transmission problem. *tr

I was driving on the freeway when all of a sudden my car would not accelerate. i tried to quickly merge to my right shoulder. i had plenty of gas and my car would not provide any power past the 2300 rpm. as i was merging, i noticed the car in the next lane behind me was approaching fast. i tried to accelerate and could not, he had to quickly move to the next lane and i think he hit another car. at this time i was already in the exit lane when i looked over, got lucky i wasn't hit hard and barely made it out of freeway. *tr

Engine coolant started mixing with transmission fluid due to broken line from transmission to radiator. now my car shutters when your push the accelerator and is having problems shifting gears. jerks at times when it gets hotter. company is doing nothing about it because it has over 100k miles even though they knew of the defect. this should be a recall definitely!!!! *tr

My xterra experienced the dreaded " cracked radiator leaked into transmission" problem that many other nissan trucks have experienced. it happened all of a sudden while driving through a parking lot, and the car down shifted and would no longer excel. because it happened at a little over 92,000, i had to pay the $3000 deductible that was determined from the class action lawsuit earlier this year. that money covered a "reman" transmission (not even a new one) and hopefully a new radiator (it was not specified). the radiator should have been a recall from the get-go. *tr

My 2006 nissan xterra's transmission has been significantly damaged due to the issue of contaminated transmission fluid / radiator fluid. it started to exhibit symptoms shortly after reaching 100,000 miles, which is just out of reach of the extended warranty. *tr

Transmission was having hard time to engage, took it to jb automechanics in des plaines, ill to find out that transmission fluid is mixing with coolant on the radiator and had possible transmission damages. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle came to a complete halt as all the warning lamps illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 83,400 and the current mileage 83,487. updated 11/13/13*lj the consumer stated while driving, the transmission went into neutral and the vehicle stopped moving. all the indicator lights on the dashboard began flashing. he shut off the vehicle and re-started it. the vehicle began moving, but it was stuttering badly. he stopped put it in reverse and backed up and the lights began flashing. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. an inspection revealed an extensive repair was needed. a new transmission was needed as well a computer. updated 11/19/13