I took in my pathfinder this week after weeks of hearing a deep noise coming from the engine when I tried to accelerate around 2000 RPM. Turns out the radiator wall cracked and came apart allowing the coolant and transmission fluid to mix together. Apparently this has been a problem in pathfinders, especially the 2005 model. I had the radiator replaced (total cost $1,671.61) but was told this is probably a band-aid fix because there's no way to tell how much damage has been done to the transmission.
2005 Nissan Pathfinder engine complaints
Page 11 of 16: complaints 281 to 310 of 433, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Internal components of the radiator fail allowing coolant to leak into the transmission via the tranny cooler. This ruins the internals of the transmission and cause irreparable damage.
I took my vehicle into sierra nissan, birmingham alabama on 11-11-2011 for service due to experiencing problems. I was told that the cooler from the radiator had leaked into the transmission and the transmission fluid leaked into the radiator and both needed to be replaced. I was not told by anyone in the service dept of the radiator assembly issue with nissan 2005-2010 frontier, pathfinder, and xterra. I found this information by surfing nissan website. I did this because I was being told by every repair shop in the surrounding area of birmingham that nissan is well aware of this issue and should do a recall on it. I called nissan consumer affairs on 1-10-2011 about the information that I discovered. I was told that I needed to take my vehicle back to the nissan dealership to access the repairs a because it had been over 30 days since I took my vehicle into a nissan dealership for service. Then, my request would be reviewed by consumer affairs to see if nissan would pay for the repairs. I explained to the representative that I did not have another $100 to have the service dept to tell me the same thing again. I got an email 2 weeks ago from nissan for a survey and never heard anything back. When I purchased this vehicle in 2008 I also purchased the extended warranty with nissan, which now is expired. I could not afford to pay $5,695 for repairs so I went out and found a license transmission shop that could do it at a lesser amount. The transmission shop told me that they are having a difficult time with nissan and ordering parts for the transmission because nissan can not produce the parts fast enough due to the high demand for repairs for this issue. Even though, I have 114,700 miles on my vehicle I am asking nissan to do the honorable thing and stand behind their company vision "enriching people lives", by paying for the repairs of this vehicle.
I was not told by anyone in the service dept of the radiator assembly issue with nissan 2005-2010 frontier, pathfinder, and xterra. I found this information by surfing nissan website. I did this because I was being told by every repair shop in the surrounding area of birmingham that nissan is well aware of this issue and should do a recall on it. I called nissan consumer affairs on 1-10-2011 about the information that I discovered. I was told that I needed to take my vehicle back to the nissan dealership to access the repairs a because it had been over 30 days since I took my vehicle into a nissan dealership for service. Then, my request would be reviewed by consumer affairs to see if nissan would pay for the repairs. I explained to the representative that I did not have another $100 to have the service dept to tell me the same thing again. I got an email 2 weeks ago from nissan for a survey and never heard anything back. I am paying for a vehicle I have not been able to use since november of 2011. When I purchased this vehicle in 2008 I also purchased the extended warranty with nissan, which now is expired. I could not afford to pay $5,695 for repairs so I went out and found a license transmission shop that could do it at a lesser amount. The transmission shop told me that they are having a difficult time with nissan and ordering parts for the transmission because nissan can not produce the parts fast enough due to the high demand for repairs for this issue. Even though, I have 114,700 miles on my vehicle I am asking nissan to do the honorable thing and pay for the repairs.
On 2/1/12, I had one incident when my car was stopped and when I accelerated and it gave me a push/pull slow to move. On 2/2/12 the same thing occurred multiple times. My check engine light eventually came on and then my car eventually would not accelerate after being stopped. I towed it to midas, who said they were unable to fix it. I brought it to lee miles transmission and they told me the radiator fluid mixed with antifreeze fluid causing corrosion and contamination within the transmission. I picked it up on 2/6/12 and it was fine driving home. While on my work on 2/7/12, the same problem occurred in which I was not able to accelerate. I had it towed back to lee miles and it's possibly the torque converter that was replaced with the transmission.
Know issues by nissan not being addressed... Radiator/oil leak - warranty extended but does not cover our vehicle. Timing chain failure in nissan vehichles - no warrant extension covered. More info available upon request. Letter sent to nissan on 1/15/2012 detailing all of the issues.
The radiator failed causing coolant to leak into the automatic transmission. Bother were ruined and had to be replaced. The repairs cost $5000+ this issue is well documented on top shelf internet websites including edmuands.com and others. Many folks are under power when the engine stalls, at any speed.. Nissan is not offering recall. A class action lawsuit is underway. This is a dangerous design defect (cooling the transmission via the radiator) and people may be injured or worse. Maybe it has already happened to some?
My car had 1/4 fuel, I filled the tank to full, the gas gauge do not set the car to full tank, I read the book and made the instructions but the gauge do not change, when I run the car for 2 hrs. And I turn off, it began to change to full tank. The other issue was when I had a 1/2 tank of gasoline...I stop for 5 minutes and I leave the car on, when I returned saw the gas gauge in empty... Actually I have the check engine light on for some days and off for the others days.
Noticed that fuel and oil pressure gauges would not register fuel or oil levels correctly, the miles till empty will not work. We have no idea when we are going to run out of fuel, started getting worse, than notice the check engine light came on, had vehicle diagnose, turned out that both the fuel and oil pressure sending units needed to be replaced, there are numerous pathfinders with the same problem but there are no recalls on these issues. This repair is very costly and is dangerous to be driving without the fuel and oil sending units. Why are there no recalls? Please help!
Car make a noisy when speed and smell very bad ,after the noisy started increase more and more. I know other people they got the same an exactly problem.
2005 pathfinder wouldn't go in gear intermittently and I had to maneuver out of traffic to the side road and then was unable to backup no reverse! I turned the car off and back on and I was then able to to drive home and park the vehicle. This happened again the next day when taking it to our mechanic to have the vehicle diagnosed. The mechanic had issue of this while test driving. Received a call from the mechanic and was told to take it to a nissan dealer for repair. There have been numerous complaints to nissan about a defective radiator issue and over time leaks into the transmission. Nissan has been aware of this issue and has refused to make this right for their consumers. We took the vehicle to the nissan dealer and was told they would contact nissan to see if they would help with repair. Nissan refused to assist or repair the issue that started with a known defective part. I am assuming by the response received from nissan that they are ok with a consumer that can't afford to repair their vehicle with an issue that is from a known defective part have to take their chances in driving to and from work safely until they can make enough money to have the repair done. Thank you nissan.
Radiator core is cracked, which is causing the radiator to leak. It is undetermined at this time if any antifreeze has leaked into the transmission; however, over the past several months, I have on a few occasions experienced the automatic transmission operating erratically (e.g., down shifting or not shifting into passing gear when under full power). The vehicle is scheduled to have its radiator replaced on 11/30/2011, and at that time, I will have the transmission fluid analyzed to determine if any antifreeze has entered the transmission. I pray it has not!
Radiator leaked into transmission causing the vehicle to stop. Major problrm on 2005 pathfinders and nissan won't respond to the problem.
Fuel gauge not working,radiator fluid leaking into transmission damaging transmission,front passenger seatbelt getting stuck.
We had to replace the ipdm in november 2010, the truck stopped running in middle of the road, we had 118,000 miles on vehicle. In july 2011, we were on vacation in indiana and on our way to see family in ohio. We were on the interstate and the vehicle would not excellerate over 40 - 45 MPH., we stopped at an autozone to test the vehicle to see what the problem was and it cleared it. Since that time, the engine light would periodically come on. On september 15, 2011, the truck would not start. The truck is still at the mechanic to be repaired, we were advised the problem is the radiator leaking into the transmission causing transmission to fail. Cost is $6,000 to repair and truck has 127,000 miles on it. This is a consistant complaint of owners of this vehicle, however, nissan does not want to do anything to correct the problem. This is my first and last nissan.
Radiator leaks fluid into transmission, nissan knows this is a flaw and they will only flush your transmission, just to put it off until you are out of warranty. I started taking my nissan in at 52,000miles for this problem and they kept telling me that they are unfamiliar with the problems I was experiencing and they couldn't find anything wrong with the truck. Now I'm out of warranty and my transmission needs replaced. Nissan also has a problem with they fuel gage, sometimes it shows gas levels, and sometimes it doesn't. I have ran out of gas 3 times now, on the highway! Again, nissan knows this is a problem, they even sent an "extended warranty" to cover this problem specifically. But, only if you are under a certain mileage. And they didn't send me the notice until I was under the mileage limit by 300 miles! Please help!!
First time- transmission failed- new one installed under extended warranty- has gone bad again last week- they tell me the coolant is leaking into the transmission and has ruined it, the gas tank needs replacing, new radiator, new catalytic converter, new u-joints for the second time. My extended warranty has expired- they are telling me that I need $8000.00 worth of repairs to fix the problems. That is more than the vehicle is worth with 155,000 miles on it!!! Please help.
My 2005 nissan pathfinder was losing speed especially when passing vehicles on the highway, the 2005 nissan pathfinder would not go into reverse. I noticed that the car was not running properly for over 3 weeks. I took the pathfinder to a transmission expert and they did diagnostic tests and the expert said that the radiator had a hole in it and radiator fluid went into the transmission and the transmission was gone. He showed me the transmission stick that showed me that radiator fluid mixed in with the transmission fluid. The transmission expert said that they have seen a number of nissan pathfinders with the same problem. A week later, I took my 2005 nissan pathfinder to another transmission expert for a second opinion, this expert did the diagnostics and confirmed that the radiator had a hole in it that allowed for radiator fluid to go into the transmission. He also stated that they have seen a number of 2005 nissan pathfinders with the same problem and he recommended that I go to a nissan dealership to see what they say. I went sheehy nissan in glen burnie, md in which they did a diagnostic test and found that coolant mixing with the trans fluid causing improper shifting. The recommendations were to replace the trans assembly, radiator, and trans cooler. The service manager told me that nissan had an extended warranty on the radiator for 80, 000 miles or up to 2013. I had 85,000 miles on my 2005 nissan pathfinder. I called nissan USA and told them the problem and faxed the diagnostic invoice to them. Two weeks later they told me that they would pay for the parts and I would have to pay for the labor. Luckily, my insurance company paid for the radiator, trans, and trans cooler. Nissan has known about this problem for and refuses to do a recall on the radiator and this is unacceptable! This affects 2005-2007 nissan pathfinders and this is a safety hazard if the vehicle trans stalls or shuts off while driving on highways and roads. A recall is needed!
2005 nissan pathfinder radiator assembly & transmission defect my 2005 pathfinder was diagnosed with the nissan noted radiator assembly defect. Radiator coolant and transmission fluid are mixing.
Crack in the radiator assembly occurred leading to internal leakage of the engine coolant. 2005 nissan pathfinder with automatic transmission began hard shifting in the fall of 2010. This was a constant daily occurrence if the driver forgot to take the pathfinder out of overdrive. It sounded like the old 1970s ford universal joint as it shifted into gear. At times the car felt like the back-end was being pulled in the opposite direction. At cruising speed, the back wheels would sound like they were running over the corrugated concrete near a toll booth or lane dividers on a highway and the transmission would cause the car to shudder. It would seem to fall out of gear while the car was moving at speed. Going uphill, the pathfinder would hard shift and hesitate to engage into gear. Accelerating on to the freeway was never an issue, but it would not immediately shift into the appropriate gear at highway speeds. On several occasions, it would stay in neutral when shifted into reverse. The most common symptom was the shuddering noises at 30 MPH. If the overdrive was turned off, all symptoms would diminish or disappear completely. Took it to the dealer in december and they could not duplicate. Took it to the dealer in may and they could duplicate, but not consistently and saw no mixing of coolant and transmission fluid. Towed it in to the dealer in august, the damage is done, the fluids have mixed and the transmission computer has shorted out. Repair recommended is to replace transmission (including computer) and radiator and hoses. Customer cannot afford the $6,000 price tag on the repair. Nissan north america will not assist as pathfinder is out of warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the engine began to rev, but the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact stopped the vehicle on the shoulder of the road. After placing the vehicle in park and switching the gear back into drive the failure did not continue. The contact also stated that the vehicle would idle and lose power. The failure would occur intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostics, where the technicians stated that there was a leak in the transfer case. The vehicle was not repaired at the dealer and was instead taken to a transmission technician. The technician stated that the radiator was cracked and leaked water into the transmission, causing the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 58,500. Updated 2/22/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated the transmission on the vehicle failed twice. The contact stated the transmission began to function with some resistance. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told the radiator failed causing coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. The failure and current mileages were 124,128. The consumer stated the design of the cooling system on the vehicle allowed for cross-contamination of the transmission fluid with the engine coolant. The valve was defective, and ultimately failed.
Transmission/radiator coolant cross contamination causing the pathfinder to stop in the middle of the highway. My 2 year old son was in the child seat in the back seat of the vehicle.
Premature wear of timing chain and timing chain guides. In the nissan pathfinder 4.0l v6 engines, the timing chain and timing chain guides are wearing out prematurely. Our vehicle was identified by nissan dealer service at 62,000 miles and the required fix action was to replace the timing chain and timing chain quides out of warranty at a cost of $1500.00. These parts do not have a recommended service interval as they are supposed to last the life of the vehicle however nissan has identified this as a problem in the pathfinder and other nissan vehicles that use the same engine and has issued two separate service bulletins to correct the problem at customer expense. This appears to be an engineering deficiency and should be addressed by nissan at their expense.
Radiator leaks into transmission causing transmission to mess up. Nissan is aware of the issue and told me it happens on higher mileage pathfinder but they only extended the warranty to 80,000 miles. I researched the 2005 nissan pathfinder and found that this is an ongoing problem that occurs with this year and model. I feel there should be a recall on this problem and nissan should be held accountable.
I am filing this complaint since nissan does not do anything with the problem to be fixed, I have a 2005 nissan pathfinder, when were on the road our car is having trouble shifting starts jerking, and were so scared that will not make it home because the way its acting we finally made it home and the ca would not reverse we look online and search what' causing the problem and read a bunch of complaint with the consumer at automotive.com stating that the reason for the problem is the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission that causing the transmission to burn, called around with a bunch of auto mechanic and when I mention that I need my transmission replace the mechanic immediately said you know you need your radiator replace because that is causing your transmission problem I filed a complaint with nissan and denied the complaint this should be in the recall because this is dangerous if you weren't aware of the problem if your on the road hope you can help us with this problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the radiator failed. The vehicle was repaired by a local mechanic, but the failure recurred. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 90,000.
Tl* the contact owns 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle transmission and radiator failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission coolant had leaked into the radiator and the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. As a result, both the radiator and transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was out of warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 150,000. The VIN was not available.
2005 nissan pathfinder radiator coolant leaked into transmission, ruining it. They need to recall this. The way they designed the radiator ends up ruining the transmission, which is not the owners fault.
2005 nissan pathfinder internal radiator leak causing the transmission to fail started with strong vibration between 40-45 MPH. Dealer inspection states internal rupture of the oil cooler contaminating the oil in the transmission.
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