The 2005 nissan frontier nismo 4x4 that I was driving started slipping and missing causing my engine to shut down while driving. The engine became very jumpy and could not be controlled. Had there been other people on the road, there could have been a very serious accident.
2005 Nissan Frontier transmission complaints
Page 7 of 10: complaints 161 to 190 of 262, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My 2005 nissan frontier has a problem with the radiator that allows coolant to enter the transmission which is causing major damage to the interior parts of the transmission causing it to not shift through the gears. Nissan is only willing to extend the warranty to 100,000 miles and $3000 for the repairs of their defective products.
My truck began displaying symptoms of catastrophic transmission failure. For example, gear slippage and shuddering as if rolling over rumble strips. I took it to a mechanic and they found the coolant had transformed into a thick pink substance. It was determined that a seal had failed in the radiator causing coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. This then baked inside the transmission. We replaced the radiator and so far have delayed the inevitable replacement of the transmission. I called local nissan dealerships and they know about the problem but declined to offer significant information. I contacted nissan and because of language barriers, etc., they would not address my issue. I contacted the bbb and a nissan representative eventually called me, but in the end disregarded my issues with mock concern. I contacted the mn attorney general and they said I might take them to small claims court. It seems that nissan has concocted a warranty that only benefits people who experience the problem at a very premature stage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the transmission slipped gears. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was determined that transmission fluid was leaking. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.
Transmission failing sounds and feels like driving over rumble strips. Also noticed cabin heater does not work when at a stop. Signs indicative of radiator/transmission seal failure and radiator coolant in transmission.
I noticed at driving speeds of around 45 MPH the truck would shake very bad. Also my heater would only blow cold air. When I took the truck in they said the transmission fluid looked like a strawberry milkshake. $6000.00 later and looking online seeing all the other people that have had the same issues I am trying to figure out why nissan is not being held responsible?
While traveling at highway speeds my 2005 frontier began shuddering and then lost power which could have resulted in a rear end collision. An independent service technician determined that the transmission fluid is contaminated. It appears nissan has been long aware of this issue, with the numerous complaints across the board from the 2005 - 2010 frontiers, pathfinders and xterras nissan should be responsible for the replacement of the radiator and transmission. This is a catastrophic defect in design known to nissan and should be made right by nissan to protect the safety of the customer.
Loud clanking sounds coming from under vehicle; my mechanic says its the transmission, again; eight year old vehicle, going on its 3rd transmission... I paid $1,500.00 for the last one (2010)... Why do these keep going bad? Please help.
Transmission atf is contaminated with coolant cause transmission to deteriorate. Transmission rattles at speeds over 45 miles per hour when shifting into and out of overdrive. Becoming noticeably more jerky over time in lower gears. Heat does not work while engine is idling and takes a long time to warm up while moving. Cold air blowing across windshield on cold days has caused windshield to fog up from the inside making it difficult to see. Vehicle currently has under 113000 miles and nissan dealership has given me an estimate of $5119.42 to replace the transmission/radiator assembly.
Found out today that my 2005 nissan frontier is affected by defective radiator that is causing coolant to mix in with the transmission fluid thus fatally damaging transmission. Understand that this a wide spread problem for this year and model nissan. Radiator has to be replaced at a cost of $1400.00 that nissan won't pay for because mileage is over 100,000 miles. I don't know yet if transmission is damaged. This is a defect that nissan knows about and they should replace at no charge no matter what the mileage is. This is their problem, but unfortunately now its mine. Please help and issue a recall. Thank you.
Just bought an 05' nissan frontier and upon getting onto a highway I sped up to 55-60mph to feel a vibration like going over speed bumps and a loss of power. It turns out that the intercooler from the radiator broke inside the transmission causing a leak of antifreeze inside the transmission. Which caused something in the transmission to breakdown. I am not very proficient in car repair so I am not sure the exact part this causes to malfunction inside the transmission. All I know is that I need a brand new transmission and radiator which is going to cause $6000.00 at least. I also know that this is a widespread thing and a lot of people are having this happen to 05-10 nissan frontiers, xterras and pathfinders. This seems like a safety issues; if I'm on a highway with my family and try to pass someone and experience a loss of power to speed up to pass them I could get in a head on collision.
The transmission seems lack it trying to lockup while driving at a speed of 45 miles per hour. It has got so bad that I have park the truck at home because the transmission may lock up while I am driving. And may cause someone to get killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 280,000.
Experienced sudden jerking when traveling at highway speeds. The problem was diagnosed as a failed transmission cooler which allowed coolant to mix with the transmission fluid, causing internal damage to the radiator and transmission. Prior to this, there was nothing amiss with the operation of the vehicle. Apparently this is common and even though several complaints have been filed to the federal safety agency, nissan still claims that there is no defect. Based on the number of complaints regarding the exact same issue, please consider issuing a recall. I just bought my truck in dec. 2012 with about 81,000 miles and 4 months and 2,000 miles later, I am on the hook for this defect.
The coolant is mixing with the transmission fluid. It's a known and widespread defect yet nissan ignores it. We paid $14,000 for the truck less than a year ago, but nissan has squeezed us out of any rebate because the truck is over 100,000 miles. Now we have to pay another $7,000 to fix it. That's wrong. They should fix it no matter how old.
Coming home from work the truck started to overheat and the transmission started to skip. I had to turn on the heater to keep the truck from overheating and then the transmission started to engage and disengage. The problem is that the antifreeze is leaking in to the transmission. This is a known problem with nissan, but they are not fixing the problem. I have three children that are in the truck with me. If that transmission breaks and can cause major problems. Nissan needs to replace the parts.
$6219.70 for a remanufactured transmission because I'm ~2000 miles out of their recently "extended" warranty. Transmission and radiator/cooling system were recommended to be replaced by nissan today because of contamination of transmission fluid by a (known but not recalled) defective transmission cooler line. At approximately 98,000k the truck began to experience vibration with overdrive engaged. It felt like driving over rumble strips also, the truck had no heat when idling. I took it to a qualified local mechanic and had the radiator flushed. That corrected the heat issue. It was recommended to take the truck to a transmission shop to look at the issue. I drive the truck daily to/from work and travel with my 3 daughters to and from school. My next opportunity was about 6 weeks later and I took it to nissan. There was a recent class action suit regarding this issue and "an extension was offered which would repair the issue for $3000.00. This covered cars up to 100k. Because nissan did not diagnose this issue until I was at 102,200 miles, a low level call center denied the repair. Rather than drive the 10,000 miles per year that is apparently acceptable to nissan, I drive roughly 12,750. That extra 35 miles per day makes it so that I have to pay an additional $3219.70 for something that I should be paying nothing for. The fix for the issue that destroyed my transmission is actually a roughly $500 repair or less than $100 for a diy'er. Nissan was aware of this issue and should have issued a recall before their "customers" transmissions started destroying themselves.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the slip warning lamp illuminated. The contact mentioned that he was able to restart the vehicle immediately after the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the radiator coolant hose was leaking and the cam shaft position sensor was defective. As a result, both components were replaced however, the remedy failed to repair the problem. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic, who stated that there was transmission fluid found in the radiator and due to the failure, the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that they would cover a portion of the repair cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 74,494.
Radiator leaked into the transmission. We had to replace transmission. Nissan would not stand behind anything since it happened at 111k miles rather than under 100k.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, he attempted to accelerate but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact mentioned that there was an increase in engine rpms and the maintenance required warning message illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 106,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that radiator fluid had leaked into the transmission. She was also informed that the radiator and the transmission would both need to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 123,000.
My vehicle has developed a vibration while I am driving which has been very uncomfortable, however, nothing major in the performance of the vehicle, however, now my vehicle has decided to randomly turn off while driving. This is extremely dangerous and could cause an accident. I took it to the nissan dealership and they said that they found trans fluid mixing with coolant due to leaking trans cooler in radiator and the total cost would come out to $5,000. I am unable to afford this bill so I have not been able to repair my vehicle.
I was in the turning lane, needing to cross the intersection, light turned got a flashing yellow light , pressed gas and heard a big bang, then the truck was just stopped in the middle of the lanes with cars approaching. Luckily the approaching drivers were aware of my presence and no vehicles hit us. When it was ok to move the truck, myself and 2 other drivers helped push it clear. After examining the vehicle I noticed mustard yellow substance in the radiator overfill and one of the guys that help push looked at the transmission fluid to find a strawberry milkshake color fluid in there. After being examined by a mechanic it was determined the radiator was leaking fluid into the transmission. The nissan dealer said the truck doesn't fall into any warranty, so it will cost me 7000 to fix.so needless to say this situation could have been extremely dangerous to me, my family and to the other drivers if they hadn't been paying attention. It's sad to say that nissan is letting this happen to its drivers, over a 100 dollar radiator costing us thousands of dollars to fix and how long before someone is killed.
My vehicle began jolting at highway speeds due to the transmission slipping gears. I had fears that my trucks gear would lock up on the hwy so I took it to the shop. This occurs nearly every time I take the vehicle on the highway. Just found out from my mechanic that it is common in these trucks to have coolant leak into the transmission and destroy it. Appears to be the issue with my truck.
At about 85,000 miles on the truck, while cruising at around 40 MPH the gears dropped and stuttered. I brought it to the dealership and they documented my concern and the incident. They did a diagnostic and only came up with a fuel gauge malfunction and replace it for $475. At 90,000 miles I described the same concern, which they documented, at a lower MPH and they flushed/replaced trans and radiator fluid and replaced the radiator itself for $1600. I am now being told that the entire transmission needs to be replaced for approximately $6000. Nissan has to do something about this, it stands to reason that the cause of the transmission malfunction is due to coolant getting into a lubricant.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact was driving approximately 30 MPH when the transmission began to slip gears with hesitation. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and an independent mechanic for diagnosis, in which both advised the contact that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. Updated 04/24/13 *bf the consumer was informed the radiator was the cause of the problems with the transmission. Updated 06/13/13
While traveling on the #1 lane at approximately 70mph on the 60 east freeway close to the intersection of the 57 north freeway connector, I lost full power and was forced to make an emergency exit narrowly missing several trucks and cars in the process. After limping home and letting the vehicle sit for a few days, I took the truck to puente hills nissan complaining that I lose power once the transmission comes to temperature and that I needed them to asses the damage at a cost to me of $130. Their evaluation eventually concluded that the radiator had ruptured causing coolant to leak into the transmission thereby damaging it beyond repair. They quoted me approximately $4,500 for the repair which mainly included labor, tax, a replacement transmission, a new radiator, and all necessary hoses and parts. I was able to drive the vehicle but approximately 1.5 miles from my home, I lost power once again and was forced to have the vehicle towed the rest of the way. The vehicle is no longer safe to drive at all at this point.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan frontier. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle suddenly lost acceleration power. The contact had the vehicle towed to a mechanic and was informed that radiator coolant leaked into the transmission and caused the failure. The failure and current mileages were 101,500. Mah
While traveling in rush hour traffic my 2005 nissan frontier started to loss power and I was almost hit by 3 other vehicles when the truck stopped moving in the traffic. I had it towed to reliable mechanic and was notified by him that there was radiator fluid in the transmission and that this has become a growing issues with nissan between 2005-2010 model pathfinders, xterras,and frontiers. This is the third nissan frontier I have owned and I sing the praises of nissan to everyone I know, I am shocked to see how many complaints have been filed and still nissan acts irresponsible and refuses to recall this issue it is a $3800 repair and nissan knows it is rampant in these models. I am very disappointed in nissan this is no way to treat their loyal following makes more sense putting the $3800 towards a new toyota pickup.
My 2005 nissan frontier has had the transmission/radiator problems that are numerously evident from doing my research. It is in the shop at the present time. The minimum repair cost at this time is $3000.00. If certain other parts are needed to be replaced it could be quite a bit higher.
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