I am driving a group of co-workers out for lunch. I pull in the turning lane to wait for an opportunity to turn. When it was time to make the turn, I pressed the gas and the truck did not move. I pressed the brake again to check and make sure I had not accidentally hit the gear stick. Everything looked right so I tried to give it gas again. The engine revved loudly but again there was hesitation in movement. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the truck slowly turned. I tried to drive back to the office but had the same issue. I would stop and as soon as I pressed the gas, it would take forever before I would actually take off. The truck moved at a very slow speed as if I was pulling a large load. Turns out it is my transmission. How upsetting when I had no previous warning. More upsetting when I begin to do my research and found out a co-worker with the same year pathfinder has the same problem and looking online it appears everyone with this model truck has had this issue or will eventually. Why is nissan not doing something about this beyond continuously extending the warranty with huge co-pays that at the end of the day do not really help the consumer? Nissan needs to do something about this. How long will it take for this complaint to be reviewed?
2005 Nissan Pathfinder engine complaints
Page 5 of 16: complaints 101 to 130 of 433, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2005 pathfinder transmission failure due to coolant leaking into transmission. I had to pay a deductible for something that nissan was aware of for years. I also did not receive a recall letter stating a deductible would be required. My letter stated extended warranty if the above happened 96 months or 80, 000 miles. I have 72,000 miles. Nissan would not pay in full because of the 96 months had expired. Problem is that the time starts from the date when the dealer first purchased for dealership. This was not stated in the letter. Problem with letters received is that none of them are dated and I did not receive the extended warranty letter until 2012. By the time the problem was identified and customers notified, I had less than an additional 8 years. If the first notice went out in 2007, customers should have 8 years from the notification date or 80,000 miles. Nissan put me and my family at risk with car stalling in heavy traffic. This really should have been a recall and not a warranty extension. Also, I never received the notification letter for the deductible. My letter doesn't mention a deductible.
Radiator failed and leaked antifreeze into the transmission causing it to fail.
After having the transmission and radiator replaced twice (3/12 and 10/12) as I was driving 65 miles per hour on the highway, all lights on dashboard came on, car died. I had no power and somehow managed to get to the side of the highway slowing for the length between two exits until I could steer into guardrail to stop the vehicle. Car was smoking, coolant system mechanic thinks let go and engine cracked, nissan refuses to buy back car that was a lemon in the first place. This is a safety issue that they did not fix.
Driving 35 MPH, approaching stop sign. Service engine light went on. Stopped at stop sign. No apparent issues until I pulled out onto hwy and the car would barely move. It was as if it was taking off in second or third gear (it is an automatic transmission). Since the car would not gain speed, I pulled over as I could not gain speed to avoid the oncoming traffic in the lane. Could not drive vehicle over 20 MPH and revving at almost 3000 RPM, just barely moving. This happened again after having transmission rebuilt on 1/28/14 at a stop and car would barely move, but rpms were near 3000. Took back to repair shop. This happened a third time after it had appeared to be fixed on 3/14/14. Luckily, all times I have not been in serious traffic and was able to pull off the road without injury. Have been told that there is now evidence of radiator leaking into the transmission. The recall notice for this does not extend to the mileage I have on this vehicle since it is now at 164,000, and the recall only covers 100,000 miles or 10 years. I have only had this car since 2009, but it does not qualify for the recall. Dangerous vehicle. It appears to be running just fine, and then it starts dragging and cannot gain speed. Have had three close calls.
My transmission is going out took it to the dealership and they change the transmission oil and a month later is still doing the same. Take it to another mechanic and he said the transmission oil was black and smelled old. The dealership ask when did I last change the oil and I had forgot the I had the quick lube place flush the transmission a couple of years ago. Call them back and told them what the other mechanic said and I took it back to the dealership and he said that not to bad we can only get so much out. The other mechanic flesh it and change the oil. I'm still having trouble with my transmission it goes real slow when backing up. I have keep my car up real good because I don't have the money to keep buying a new car.
I purchased the vehicle from carmax in 2012 w/ 76k miles on it. No warning about possible radiator issue. In may of 2013, radiator fluid had leaked into the transmission and resulted in transmission failure at 96k miles.(thankfully, I was not merging onto a highway). Paid $3k co-pay to have transmission and radiator replaced. February 4, 2014, transmission hose blew while driving on the highway. Was assured that it was not related to the previous repairs. Paid $262 to have it fixed. March 9, 2014, was driving on highway, rpms spiked, acceleration was sluggish, made it to nissan dealership - transmission failure (less than 1 year later) - 105k miles. I was very fortunate that these transmission failures did not occur while attempting to merge onto a busy highway.
Not even 3 months after we purchased our used nissan pathfinder.I had just dropped my older children off at school and my car started to have a hard time. I knew I had to get my vehicle to safety. As I approached a intersection intersection on a very busy main route the car would not move at all. I was scared because the speed on that street is 50+ and I was stuck in the middle of the road with my 7 week old. After being towed and transferred to coastal nissan in norwell ma. We were told about the "recall" and forced to borrow $2500 so that we could pay to have the vehicle repaired. Nissan told us it wasnt a safety complaint. I beg to differ! I was stranded on a busy street with a newborn if we were struck the outcome could have been horrific. I hope someone will finally do something about this problem!
I had transmission failure while driving. I lost all but 1st gear with no warning. I had it towed to a transmission shop whom stated that there was coolant in the transmission fluid. They advised me that the cooler in the radiator had broken and allowed coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. I have not got a bill yet but it will be upwards of $3500. I had gotten two letters from nissan that extended the warranty but both times I was to high of a mileage. Seems that if they extend a warranty for a problem twice than they know they have a problem and should do a complete recall. I also had the fuel sending unit go out and I repaired that due to nissan wanting a high dollar amount to fix it. I have had it with nissan and them not doing anything to help the customers when they know there is a major problem.
Transmission is in safe mode due to radiator fluid leaking into transmission. Transmission and radiator need to be replaced.
The vehicle engine timing chain had made a slight "whirring" sound for many months - nothing really loud enough to cause alarm, but noticeable. Then when idling the vehicle in my driveway, the engine began to whine loudly, and then all of a sudden the engine lost power and began to emit a loud slapping/ clunking sound. The problem is that the timing chain has failed and the chain is slapping around inside of the timing cover. I was lucky that the vehicle was idling in my driveway at the time! There are thousands of reported incidents to be found on the internet where nissan owners have reported that timing chains have failed, and some owners in california have filed a class-action lawsuit to force nissan to acknowledge this factory defect. Nissan knows about this problem - there are factory service bulletins to repair this problem, but no recall. This engine defect is dangerous - engine failure on busy ny / nj / ct highways can be life-threatening!! Why is the nissan timing chain defect not deemed a mandatory factory defect recall?? As a former mechanic, I can say with confidence that modern vehicle engine timing chains can be reasonably expected to last the life of the engine! Timing chains are not considered a regular maintenance item! Not only does timing chain failure put the vehicle passengers in extreme danger, but is very expensive to repair. Why should consumers have to bear the financial responsibility to repair a factory defect? At this time the vehicle is sitting "dead" in my driveway - I do not have $2000 required to repair the factory defective timing chain assembly! Please force nissan to recall and repair their defective timing chains!!!
Radiator fluid leaked to the transmission which cause transmission failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle began to vibrate and would not accelerate over 50 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where the contact was informed that the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000. Updated 03/31/14*lj
Radiator fluid has leaked into my transmission, due to a factory defective radiator. My transmission is damaged and will not shift into 5th gear. The transmission will have to be repaired or replaced along with the radiator.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic, who performed a diagnostic test and notice a defective ems relay. The mechanic replaced the defective ems relay. After the repair the contact noticed the federal safety agency campaign I.d. 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact called the manufacturer to see if the vehicle was included however, the manufacturer stated that the vehicle was included in the recall. The contact never received notification for the recall. The failure mileage was 122,648.
I noticed that the temperature gauge was reading a little high so I took it to a friend and he said there was oil in the radiator when the cap was removed. He recommended that I take the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer said I had to pay a co-pay of $2500.00 to replace the radiator and the transmission because the warranty had expired.
Vehicle revved erratically, then jerked then cut off . Took vehicle to dealer who diagnosed the problem as "radiator full of oil and transmission fluid and smells burnt-fluids mixing-need transmission.
While traveling down the highway at approximately 40 miles per hour I felt like I was riding over rumble strips in the road. The road was smooth, so that was not the problem. I later found out that I had a transmission problem. Upon further investigation, I found that the radiator coolant fluid leaked into the transmission and destroyed both the transmission and radiator. Upon further investigation I found that this is a problem experienced by many other nissan pathfinder owners (years 2005 - 2010). This is definitely a manufacturing defect not recognized by nissan.
Purchased this SUV from a private owner who replaced the radiator and transmission cooler years ago, had it confirmed from their mechanic and when I drove this pathfinder it has a bump in the trans. Was told by nissan of paducah, autozone of paducah that it was the cat converter was plugged. Replaced the cat converter, still has the bump/slip in the transmission. Found out through several websites and forums that nissan needs to do a recall on this problem. I've been part of z clubs in the USA for over 25 years and a loyal nissan owner and can't believe nissan won't take care of this problem in their SUV's and small trucks...
Transmission failed at intersection leaving vehicle unable to move. Problem was caused by radiator fluid mixing with transmission fluid. I contacted nissan about the issue and they denied any claim for repairs. Nissan has known about the issue and settled the claims for a small number of people. They made it basically impossible to recover any damages because they require a deductible of $3000 before they pay anything. They also will not cover anything above 100,000 miles.
I was driving the car and when on the onramp of the freeway, the car lost power and shut down. Nissan dealership said the radiator leaked fluid onto the transmission causing it to loose power. They said I need a new transmission and radiator but will not cover the warranty which was settle in us district court of new york. They want to charge me $5300 for the repairs. This is clearly a faulty design of the nissan pathfinder series and website searches verify that the problem exits for thousands of nissan pathfinders for the years of 2005-2010 in relations to a radiator crack and fluid leaking onto the transmission.
Lost all acceleration power; barely moved with full gas. Diagnosed as radiator fluid leak into the transmission.
Transmission just out of no where starts jerking and over heating took to the dealership and they told me that coolant/transmission fluid cross contamination due to internal radiator/transmission fluid cooler failure to fix the problem it will cost 4700.00 after doing some research have found that there is more nissan owners having this very issue please nissan you need to do a recall on these transmissions if not ill never buy a nissan ever again. I mean who has that kind of money to spend on a part that is internal and not able to be maintenanced how do we know its going bad? Oh yea it just stops working I have a family of 5 and we travel the interstate alot im glad I wasn't on the interstate at this particular time. Could have been very tragic if some one hit us because of a malfunction like this.
Failed transmission due to contamination from radiator fluid.
Transmission went out as I was driving it on the highway.
I am an owner of a 2005 nissan pathfinder. On 12/05/13 the transmission and radiator on my car failed with no warning on a deserted road. I had my car towed to nissan where they told me that it would cost 5,100 dollars to repair. I later learned that there had previously been a lawsuit against nissan for transmission and radiator failure and the make and model of my car was included. After learning this information I called nissan back and they stated that they only covered it up to 100,000 miles and my car is at 136,000 miles so it would be my responsibility to fix it. After doing research on line there are so many other people that are having these exact same issues and nissan will do absolutely nothing about it and they are not willing to help with cost in any way.
Nearly got into an accident on the interstate when my car started jerking out of control and then slowed down drastically to less than 30 MPH miles away from an exit ramp. My pathfinder had to be towed to the dealership I purchased it from. Less than 100,000 miles and still under extended warranty. When I called to ask the service department to confirm what needs to be replaced, they said the my transmission has to be replaced from the damage by the coolant. A flush would be a patch fix that may not work, and only last a month best. My radiator has to be replaced- my car is overheating because of the failure. And my engine has to be completely flushed out- if not totally replaced because of the coolant flowing into the engine as well. Over $4000 possibly as high as $8000 according to the dealership. They said they can't even repair it because its so bad my car has to be sent off. Warranty company denied the claim because the issue is caused by faulty part "transmission cooler" which everyone is aware of and not covered under warranty. I paid $20,000 cash for my vehicle a year ago! Nissan lost a class action law suit earlier this year for thousands of dollars in damages, and I am too late to file. I can't believe the government hasn't forced a recall on this. Thousands of people and vehicles are affected and quit honestly its dangerous! I almost got killed on the interstate with my children in the car when everything failed. This happened on multiple years and the government is okay with this? The dealership and warranty company refuse to cover my claim. Someone needs to hold nissan accountable. This is unacceptable!
I was coming back from the store and was waiting at a red light when my light turn green I had trouble going I press the gas and it was like pulling then it king of jump and the service engine light came on. I had a shop check my car and sure thing it was the cooling/ transmission problem. I have not driven my car since I have no money to pay for the repair, yes I take it out to turn it on and move around my block, but is that fair its my family car we have not gone anywhere else because we do not fit in to our. Smaller cars I did receive the claim form for this problem but I did not had the problem then the claim expired june 7th 2013, right before my problem. Please help us.
My family and I were driving home. We live in the mountains of wnc and as we were heading up and incline the transmission slipped and after much research I believe I am the owner of a nissan vehicle with the transmission/coolant issue involved in the class action lawsuit in ny. However, because my vehicle has 154,000 miles on it and the issue just occurred I am unable to join the lawsuit. I still want you to be aware that this issue has no deadline on it and nissan should be held accountable for every defective vehicle still on the road regardless of age and mileage. If the problem is specifically attributable to the defective radiator and nissan has not fixed it then nissan sold a defective vehicle, period. Had this defect not been built into the vehicle I am sure it would be operational right now. I also own a 2001 chevy cavalier with over 200,000 miles and it is still running!!! Shame on nissan!!!!
I was driving from work to pick up my kids from school and felt my vehicle begin to jerk, my service engine light came on so I pulled into a gas staion near by. When I got out of my vehicle I saw a huge puddle of radiator fluid gushing out. I called my local nissan dealership and they told me to bring it in but keep my eye on the h & c gauge and make sure it doesn't reach up to h by any means. So I go and pull out of the gas station and go about 2 blocks away and immediately the gauge was rising to h quickly, so I pull over and shut the truck off and called a tow-truck to have it towed to the dealership. After nissan looked at my truck I'm to replace both radiator and transmission! I looked up my problems with my truck and found out that like I, many of other american people are having or had the same problem and nissan doesn't want to acknowledge that this is a serious problem for any nissan owner and issue a full recall on these specific problems. Instead I'm stuck paying a $3,000 co-pay of a warranty that doesn't help me out at all.... I can't come up with that type of money spontaneously. My vehicle is my lifeline and now I'm without that due to on-going issue with nissan pathfinder trucks. Something has got to give seriously if I would've known that this was eventually going to happen (and it does happen) I would've never bought this truck plain & simple... I advise the consumers to stay away from nissan unless they don't mind all the repairs and driving hasards nissan has to offer.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Nissan Pathfinder?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history