Problems with 2006 Nissan Xterra ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 50 mph, the radiator fractured and there was a transmission fluid leak. the contact, an independent mechanic, diagnosed that the oil cooler within the radiator was faulty. a dealer was not made aware of the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 77,000. *tt *jb

Tla* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 35 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle did not respond. the vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and towed to an independent mechanic. the vehicle was later towed to meadowlands nissan in hasbrouck heights, nj where it was diagnosed that the radiator leaked and caused the transmission to fail. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 108,000. updated 09/06/17*lj ..updated 09/11/17 *bf updated 09/20/17*lj *cn consumer stated the vehicle was repaired at an independent shop. transmission failure due to radiator leak. updated 10/4/18*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving 50 mph, the vehicle shook violently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission and radiator failed and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 144,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 75 mph, the vehicle shifted into neutral on its own. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and turned off the engine. the dealer diagnosed that the radiator fractured and contaminated the transmission. the failure recurred approximately six times. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was invalid. the approximate failure mileage was 91,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the radiator leaked fluid onto the transmission and both components needed to be replaced. there were no warning indicators. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 112,000.

My transmission failed be cause of water entering through the cooling system account it is connected to radiator this has been a problem with this vehicle for some time. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle lost power and stalled without warning. the vehicle was towed to the nissan dealer where it was diagnosed that radiator coolant and transmission fluid mixed together and caused the transmission to fail. the manufacturer was notified and diagnosed the failure as "power transmission cross train". the failure mileage was 118,000.

I was driving 15 mph on the local street and the slip sensor light and vehicle dynamic control sensor light came on, then the transmission started to make a grinding noise. that's it, finished at 49k miles doa. vehicle was always garaged. radiator cracked leaked coolant into transmission nice truck, sorry to have to let nissan go. truck was like new. *tr

The xterra began overheating and driving in an unsafe manner at highway speeds. diagnosis at a nissan dealer was a failed cooler line allowed coolant in the radiator and that both the radiator and transmission would have to be replaced at a cost of $5800. there was no prior warning to the failure. the vehicle is just outside of an extended 10k warranty/$3000 copay nissan offered as a result of a class action lawsuit for this issue. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving at approximately 40 mph, the transmission failed and the vehicle would not accelerate. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator and the transmission failed. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failures. the failure mileage was 121,000. the vin was unavailable.

for a cracked radiator the coolant leak into the transmission destroying it. the cost of repair is around $ 6,000. the nissan dealer to not want to assume that it is a manufacturer defect. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the contact discovered that the fuel tank was empty and the fuel gauge displayed incorrect reading levels. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was radiator coolant inside the transmission. the transmission needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. in addition, the contact mentioned that the air conditioner and heating system became inoperable. the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 10v075000 (fuel system, gasoline). the failure mileage was 102,000.

Upon turning a corner after coming to a complete stop at a stop sign in my neighborhood, i went to accelerate and match the speed of oncoming traffic. the gear failed to shift appropriately (transmission) and giving the car gas simply revved the engine. luckily the approaching car responded well and slowed to avoid a rear collision while i eased off the pedal and then gently accelerated again to my local mechanic. upon his examination of my 2006 xterra, he determined that the transmission fluid and coolant were mixing and destroying both my radiator and transmission. a quick search on the internet revealed that this dangerous problem is common among nissan owners! when i purchased the vehicle from smithtown nissan in 2010 and subsequently, there was absolutely no notification or recall regarding this dangerous hazard. this is unacceptable and life-threatening. there settlement of a class action lawsuit is insufficient (a $2500 - $3k) co-pay to replace the transmission and potentially have the same defect again! my wife and kids rely on my car every day and i feel fortunate that i did not wait any longer to have the car examined, but i am extremely disturbed by nissan's negligence. *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.my 2006 xterra has had same issue.trans and radiator had to be replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. the contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, a grinding noise emitted from the front end as the transmission overheated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the radiator fluid penetrated the transmission causing the transmission to fail. the transmission was not replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 198,400.

Faulty radiator and transmission nissan will not cover for damage ,vehicle suddenly dies while driving,very much known problem. *tr

Transmission, radiator problems. car is a lemon. *tr

Coolant from nissan's defectively designed radiator leaked into my transmission. the transmission, valve body, computer, and radiator needed to be replaced at a total of $4,000. while driving my xterra home up a steep grade it was having a problem shifting and its rpm was almost red lining so i stepped off the gas. the xterra was at times bucking, shifting up and down rapidly making it very hard to drive it home. my vehicle couldn't go over 40mph and i had some people almost run into the back of me while limping it home. this is a major safety hazard and i pray no one has been severely injured or killed in an accident caused by this issue nissan created. shame on them! *tr

This problem has been happening to my vehicle for awhile but i was unaware until last week. my truck was overheating and the antifreeze had a white substance in it. my mechanic told me it was mixed with transmission fluid. the radiator cracked and the trans cooler which is inside leaked. the two fluids mixed and has caused transmission problems. my radiator has to be replaced and the trans will be flushed several times. the extent of damage to the trans is undetermined at this time as it is still in the shop. i researched this problem and found it to be a very common problem with nissan xterras. the symptom's of others vehicles are exactly the same as mine. nissan has had a very poor settlement in a class action suit but it is very poor. this shows that they are aware of the poor engineering design and/or parts. this problem is leaving people with several thousand dollars in repairs ($3800 and up) for a problem that nissan is aware of. even though you have maintained your vehicle routinely this problem will still occur due to nissans poor design and parts. this problem should be covered under a recall and if an owner has fixed the problem they should be reimbursed for their expense to repair the problem. *tr

The radiator cooling water got into the transmission fluid. this caused strong vibration that we had to get off the road in the middle of a highway. the damage was required to replace the radiator and flush the transmission . it started other problems with the transmission safety switch that caused engine trouble alert. after few weeks the car stalled altogether and we now had to tow it to a garage. this is a problem that was reported before and i do not understand why nissan does not fix the problem and repair the damaged units. *tr

2006 nissan xterra. consumer writes in regards to transmission issues. *smd the dealer inform the consumer the radiator and transmission needed to be replaced, because coolant was leaking into the transmission. the consumer also stated it felt as though the tires were slipping when taking off from a stop. *jb

When driving the car at 40mph/around 1000rpms the vehicle began vibrating at the back end. upon acceleration, the vibration ceased. this behavior became consistent. a mechanic independent from nissan found that the transmission and radiator must be replaced per his conversation with the local nissan dealership. also advising independent mechanic that the dealership admits to having a floor full of transmissions that need repair. i investigated the class action suit filed in 2010 and already settled, but had no knowledge of this prior as nissan did not alert me to the persistent problem since 2005 i should expect my car to develop. *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

There was recall for vehicles similar in year as my car. the recall was # 10v517000 and was for the "intelligent power distribution module (ipdm)". i called nissan america, and although many vehicles of my year and make/model were affected, my vin # was not included. i should have been included on this recall because this is exactly what part was defective and exactly what i had to pay for to get fixed. i was even driving when it stalled out on me numerous times and i am thankful it was not on the freeway. if possible i would like to be acknowledged and potentially be reimbursed by nissan. *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

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

Engine cut off, rough idled, would not respond to acceleration. attempted to re-start, rough idled, check engine light flickering, required towing. at repair shop, no problem, bad gas was the diagnosis. repeated. would not start. required towing. tow operator tried a few resets, oxygen sensors, nothing. towed home. next day, started fine. *tr

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On 9/13/2013 i took my vehicle to alan webb nissan to investigate some transmission slipping that i had experienced the previous day. on 9/16/2013 i was informed that my transmission had become contaminated with radiator coolant and my transmission and radiator would have to be replace at the cost of $5300.00 plus applicable tax. i was further informed that this was known problem with this generation vehicle but that nissan only provided repair assistance for vehicles with less than 100k miles on them and i was therefor required to pay the full amount. it was only later through online research that i discovered that a class action lawsuit had been the only reason they provided any repair assistance. i also noted that the vastt majority of reported cases were for vehicles over the 100k mark. 1. if this was a known defect that affected millions of vehicles why wasn't nissan forced to perform a recall and replace the radiators. 2. why was i not as a minimum informed of the defect when i purchased the vehicle with 74k miles on it. with less than 80k on them nissan would repair the problem at their cost. 3. if the problems are not as a rule happening to vehicles until they go over 100k miles then why cap the assistance requirement. 4. now that it is recognized by the courts as a known failure why are the consumers paying anything to do these repairs whn it could have been avoided with a $200.00 radiator and an hours labor. i find this very dishonest that nissan was not forced by the courts or the nhtsa to do a full recall or disclosure to owners. if so many vehicles are on the road which can have a major transmission failure at any time why hasn't the nhtsa forced nissan to do something about it? this may not be as hazardous as fuel tanks rupturing but i would think that a vehicle that has a transmission failure at highway speeds should be of concern. *js

The transmission is failing due to the transmission cooler inside the radiator allowing coolant to get into the transmission causing a catastrophic failure. it is my understanding that this is a common problem and that nissan knew it was from a defect in the radiator. i've seen online that many people with a 2005-2010 xterra, frontier and pathfinder with the 4.0 v6 engine are having this problem *tr

2006 nissan xterra with 95000 miles. felt a vibration at 40 mph and after doing research online, took it in to have the transmission and radiator flushed. found out that the radiator leaked coolant which found its way into the transmission and has all but destroyed it. currently at the transmission shop looking at a $5k plus bill to replace the transmission and radiator. this has happened enough that the national transmission shop sells a package for nissan vehicles to correct this issue. not happy. was recently considering buying a second nissan but not anymore as they are failing to address this well documented issue. *tr