The problem began some time in sept 2012. When slightly accelerating at about 40 to 45 MPH the transmission "shudders". Recently it has been happening at higher speeds (60 to 65).
2005 Nissan Pathfinder transmission complaints
Page 12 of 21: complaints 311 to 340 of 585, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the transmission failed. The contact stated that she tried to accelerate but the speed dropped to zero. The contact pulled the vehicle over and allowed the vehicle sit for a day. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer for inspection where they stated that radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 110,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Bought vehicle in april 2012 had transmission go out fixed that with warranty company. The transmission went out again in less than a month comes to find out the radiator was cracked sending antifreeze into transmission and transmission fluid into my radiator destroying my transmission computer. Got that fixed camshaft sensors then went bad cost me more money. After that the radiator was still messed up had it repaired and flushed system completely. The shop also had to replace the back flow reserve cap and thermostat for being bad. The vehicle worked for another two days and had a mechanic look at the vehicle for overheating and the diagnosis was fan clutch was working need to replace fan clutch completed that. Now nov. 8th two days later after being fixed still overheating. Do know what to do anymore???
This complaint is regarding a 2005 nissan pathfinder. It is common to this model and involves the intermingling of coolant and transmission fluid due to the faulty design involving these systems. The result is ruination of both the automatic transmission and the radiator, in addition to various associated components. Please, compel nissan to issue a fully-covered recall on this defect. It is an obvious design flaw and the fact that the consumer is currently forced to bear the significant burden of the substantial related repairs is absolutely ridiculous.
I was leaving a restaurant parking lot with my wife and kids. I pulled to the parking lot exit and turned right onto the 4-lane boulevard. I tried to accelerate to traffic speed in the near lane but the motor simply raced and would not propel the vehicle. As traffic caught me I heard tires squealing and horns blowing from the vehicles behind me. The traffic worked around me while I shifted the transmission into park and then back into drive and began to move at idle speed. As traffic allowed I worked over into the left lane and then the turning lane while gradually accelerating to driving speed, merged back into traffic and proceeded home, careful to avoid any stop lights in busy traffic. We are fortunate that we were not involved in an accident. I'm no expert, but I do know that a vehicle that suddenly won't propel itself in traffic is as dangerous as one with no brakes. This was the one and only time that we experienced this problem. There was no previous indication that anything was wrong. I took the car to the nissan dealer and they diagnosed the problem as a transmission coolant line failure which allowed transmission fluid and engine coolant to intermix in the radiator, engine block and transmission, which in turn caused the transmission to slip. I'm sure the federal safety agency has received many complaints about this problem. I'm hearing many of the same complaints just in my area and likely there are others that have not yet been reported. Hopefully no one will have to die or suffer serious injury because of this unsafe condition before a recall will be issued.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled numerous times while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed that located the failure at the radiator. The contact was advised that radiator fluid mixed with the transmission fluid and caused the vehicle to stall. The radiator and transmission was replaced however, the failure was not corrected. The check engine warning light illuminated as the heather and air conditioning unit failed to operate. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The dealer inspected the vehicle and located the failure as the radiator. The dealer advised the contact that the radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and denied assistance with the repair. The failure mileage was 130,841 and the current mileage was 144,121. Updated 1/7/13 *cn the consumer stated radiator coolant leaked into the transmission, twice. The first time, was in july 2011, and nissan replaced the transmission and radiator at a cost of $ 6,981.86. The second time it occurred was in september 2012, at a cost of $ 1499.19. Nissan replaced the transmission with an after market transmission and flushed the radiator. Updated 01/09/13
The car was being driven on a busy street during morning rush hour, at approximately 40 MPH. The car immediately stopped running and went to a crawling speed (around 1-2 MPH). Cars behind needed to move quickly to avoid collision, and because there was no shoulder, the car blocked traffic. The car was taken to a nissan dealership. Their first diagnosis was that it was a failure of the automatic transmission valve body, and they wanted to charge around $2400 for the repair. Three days later, after looking at it, the dealership diagnosed the problem as coolant leaking into the transmission, with a cost of repair of $7400.
My vehicle quit driving in the middle of traffic. It would only idle when I pressed the accelerator. I was notified that my radiator had an internal leak and the coolant was mixing with my transmission fluid which caused my transmission to shut down. I was notified when searching for a radiator, that this has been a common problem with the vehicles and is documented with complaints all over the internet. I am currently a nursing student, and I do not think it is fair that I must pay for repairs that are not my fault when I am not able to afford them. This has been an extremely costly repair and I have been forced to take out a loan to get my vehicle repaired so I will have transportation to school.
Transmission failure due to radiator leaking into fluid my transmission which has been ruined. I have 140 k miles on my 2005 pathfinder and was never notified by nissan about the faulty radiator and therefore this damaged occurred. Estimate to fix is $5600.00.
2005 nissan pathfinder. Consumer states problem with vehicle transmission *tgw the consumer stated while driving, the check engine light illuminated, as well as the 4-wheel drive light. The vehicle started hesitating. When the consumer called the dealer, they advised her to open the gas tank, to see if a puff of air came out. Once she told them no, she put the vehicle in drive and it would not move, she then put it in reverse, and it still did not move,. The dealer then advised her to disconnect the battery for a half hour. She reconnected the battery and drove around the block and it stalled. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer. An inspection revealed a problem with the transmission. The dealer stated a gasket between the radiator broke and anti-freeze leaked into the transmission. The dealer informed the consumer, it would cost $6,000 for the repairs.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle suddenly decelerated without any warning. The contact mentioned that the digital panel that displayed which gear the vehicle was in also went blank. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the radiator leaked coolant into the transmission, destroying the modulator. As a result, the transmission, radiator and modulator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who offered to pay for part of the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 96,000.
Many instances of the car jerking, jerking forward when trying to slow down or stop. The RPM revving up to dangerous levels for no reason and trouble driving uphill. My car has become a major safety issue. First the fuel gauge stopped working, which caused me to run out of gas and stalling in the middle of an intersection. Next, my car stalled for no reason while driving, that was repaired, something to do with a relay switch, now the transmission issues, possible radiator failure and the need of a new catalytic converter in a car with 100k miles.... That's insane !!! Someone is going to be seriously hurt or killed if they don't fix these vehicles and people don't have thousands of dollars laying around to fix it. So, no food, rent or bills being paid for over a month just to pay for repairs is even more of a hardship to families. Please help us before something happens. Thanks !!!
Radiator leaked into the transmission case completely destroying the entire transmission. Per nissan, the cost to fix is $5900 and requires a new radiator and transmission. First symptom was lack of acceleration.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the transmission responded extremely slow with slight hesitation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the defect was contributed to a crack in the radiator. The leaking coolant from the radiator caused severe damage to the transmission; however the radiator was replaced. In addition, the technician informed the contact that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70,225. The VIN was unavailable.
Was driving along and vehicle stopped pulling. Too it to dealership and was told by master mechanic at nissan dealership that is was engine coolant leaking into the transmission in which there is a recall. And then was told by corporation that they were not going to help me.
Coolant leaked into transmission causing transmission to fail.
Driving vehicle and suddenly lurched forward and wouldn't drive. Taken to shop and said defect in radiator allowed coolant into transmission ruining both components. This is a known complaint which nissan fails to address. They uped their warranty when problem was seen but mostly happens outside of the warranty. I spoke with a customer service rep and she said there was nothing they could do even though they are aware of the problem.
Radiator and transmission fluid mixed. Internal radiator failure caused damage to transmission. Causing loss of power when driving. Nissan is aware of this problem and refuses to step up to the plate. It is a defective radiator and it can become very dangerous if it happens on a very busy interstate. I have chosen to let my vehicle set. I don't want to cause a fatality to myself or my family. Please help not to let nissan get by with this. *tr updated ivoq 01/02/13
After starting our pathfinder in a parking lot and placing it into drive, the vehicle had lost almost all acceleration in first gear. After slowly climbing into second gear, the vehicle began to jerk and lurch almost causing our SUV to strike several parked cars. We immediately took it to a mechanic and were told after careful investigation that the transmission needed to be completely replaced due to damage caused by the leaking of coolant and water into the transmission from the factory installed transmission cooler. Extensive rusting and damage to the transmission had caused the failure. This is a very expensive repair ($4000) that could have caused us to get into a serious accident had we been traveling at a higher rate of speed in heavy traffic.
Was driving through an intersection and the car immediately slowed down and would not drive forward, cars had to slam on there brakes and we were almost hit from behind and the left side. We had it towed 20 miles to a transmission shop to have them tell us radiator fluid has leaked into the transmission and would be $3500 to fix, nissan offered no help or compensation, called both the dealer and nissan consumer affairs with no success, neither wanted or insisted any help was treated like I didnt exist, caused extreme pain for my family.
I had experienced some slight jerking around 60-70 MPH and dismissed it as the transmission just trying to decided between gears. Last night, while pulling away from a stop sign, the vehicle began to move forward then I heard a slipping noise and it felt like the transmission was slipping and wouldn't move. This occurred while I was in the midst of crossing an intersection with my pregnant girlfriend and a 5 year old in the vehicle. I immediately parked the vehicle to avoid any damage. The transmission fluid level was good, but seemed rather clear compared to fluid I had seen in the past. I had expected it to at the least, look dirty. After reading reports of issues online, my guess is the issue many others have reported of coolant mixing with the transmission fluid. I'm having a mechanic look into the issue as soon as possible.
Radiator fluid and water were found in the transmission box. Mechanic said this is very common with this year make and model and can lead to transmission failure and loss of driving ability at any time. Google searches indicate as such, and that nissan knows about this issue but isn't doing anything about it.
The transmission felt kind of jerky one day, and then the very next day it felt like it was slipping or not wanting to shift before it would slam into gear. It was at this point that the transmission finally let go.
The vehicle began to shudder badly and lose power. Thought smoke was coming from the undercarriage of my vehicle, but it was spraying transmission fluid. Pulled off of the interstate and called a towtruck. Had my five year old daughter in the back seat. Scared us both. No one injured but could have been in heavier traffic. Found out today that it's a common problem with these cars.
I bought my 2005 pathfinder in november of 2010 with 76k miles. Ever since I bought it ive been having issues with the transmisson that have slowly gotten worse. I went and got my transmission fluid changed at 98k miles and now it has left me sit. Still owing over 19k on the vehicle and paying over 400 dollars a month on a payment and now nissan wants me to pay for the problem that they have known they had on a vehicle. Not cheap eaither, apple nissan of york pa estimated over 6k to fix the problem. Complete bs. This needs to stop now and these problems need to be free of charge and recalled asap!! I will go as far as going to the district attorney generals office if need be.
I was driving with my 15 year old daughter from my home in sanford, fl to clermont, fl to visit my mom at the nursing home. While I was on the expressway 408 the vehicle began to stall and bog down causing the vehicles behind me to slowed down abruptly almost causing a chain reaction accident. I was terrified. I slowly made my way off the expressway onto state road 50 then the vehicle would not go at all. I called my husband and he told me to put my hazard lights on turn the vehicle off and then try again. This worked but I was only able to go 20 MPH, however the speed limit was 50 MPH. At one point I was on a hill and the vehicle began rolling backwards almost crashing into the vehicle behind me. I was able to make it to the nursing home where I parked the vehicle then my husband came and towed it back home where it now sits, we have to hold nissan responsible for their flaws. It's not fair that my life, my child's life and the life of other drivers were in danger because of nissan's irresponsibility. I want the transmission on my 2005 nissan pathfinder replaced with a new transmission.
I was coming home from work on main road at rush hour when I heard a loud clunk followed by hesitation and lights on my instrument panel going on. I was having trouble going even 20 MPH and motorists behind me felt I was going unreasonably slow, thinking I was doing this on purpose and even trying to pass me. I limped along to the next street where I could get off safely and called for help. Brought the car to closest dealer the following day and was diagnosed with transmission failure due to coolant contamination. My car which was finally paid off now faced certain doom. Nissan has failed to fix any of this so now the car must sit in my driveway until you issue a recall. Nissan knew of this issue long ago and isn't taking measures to warn any of their customers about this problem. These radiators need to be changed in all affected vehicles and those which suffered catastrophic damage put back on the road at their expense.how many more drivers need to go through this painful and potentially life threatening failure?
My pathfinder started having a vibration every time I drove it and after some research I found out about the problem they were having with their transmissions and that it was a well known issue. I have also had a pop and it lurches forward.
Due to unexpected transmission slip, I had a near miss at a 4-way stop intersection when my vehicle failed to accelerate as expected. Two other cars entered the intersection from the opposite directions and both had to stop when my vehicle failed to exit the intersection as they might have expected. My pathfinder very slowly accelerated and eventually cleared the intersection. I called the dealer and after initial investigation, they advised me that coolant had leaked into the transmission due to failure of the transmission radiator, irreparably damaging the transmission. The transmission had to be replaced as did the radiator. Aside from the high costs of repairs which I consider to be unacceptable for a vehicle at its stage of service life, I consider the failure mode to present an unacceptable safety risk.
I was parking the car in a carport a low speed when the car lunged forward and hit a metal pole and dented my front bumper. Several weeks before the incident I noticed the car lunges forward (a few times) as I accelerate from a complete stop. This incident happened a few more times until the check engine light came on and the car would hesitate to accelerate. I took the car to universal nissan (where I bought my car and have excellent service record on my vehicle) on 08-21-12 and they informed me that the radiator water was leaking into the transmission and it would cost anywhere between $4-5k to be repaired. They also informed me that this is a known problem for pathfinder, xterra and frontier due to defective radiator. I called nissan north america to see if they could help me with the problem. I waited for a 2 weeks for them to respond but they did not help me, a loyal costumer who have purchased 3 nissan vehicles in the past. This is a very serious problem that nissan chooses to ignore. Since nissan does not want to fix their defective product please make them do something before this serious problem takes a life. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
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