2005 Nissan Pathfinder: whining or grinding noise

Filed Jun 15, 2018 · Transmission · 175,000 miles · WI

Was sitting at a red light on the way to work. Light turns green tries to accelerate and hardly anything happens besides a whining noise. Radiator fluid has leaked into transmission fluid causing a milkshake like fluid mix. Now nissan dealer wants me to replace radiator, and transmission on my on dime. I have seen several forums where this has been the case. Now nissan has not recalled this vehicle for any safety fixes of the nature.

Filed May 21, 2015 · Engine · 172,000 miles · NH

The vehicle started to make a whining noise under throttle but was not initially identified as a significant problem. It was assumed to be a belt or belt pulley. Approximately 2 weeks after the noise started, the timing chain developed a problem and loud rattling noises could be heard from the engine. The sound was a sloppy rattle consistent with a timing chain tensioner or guide broken.

Filed Feb 5, 2014 · Engine · 148,000 miles · CT

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!!!

Filed Jan 25, 2014 · Transmission · 82,300 miles · NJ

On 1/17/14,while driving my 2005 nissan pathfinder on a busy highway, the service engine light came on without warning and the vehicle immediately slowed to a crawl.I was able to pull off the road and avoid a serious accident. I live close by and was able to make it home. We took our vehicle to our dealer the next day. They told us they would look at our vehicle on monday. In four hrs., the svc.rep.called and said the radiator failed and damaged the transmission.they found a whining sound and said the timing chain needed to be replaced. The cost would be $3,200 for the transmission and $2,000 for the timing chain. Why did they rush to inspect the SUV? We wonder if they jumped on the opportunity to make a large repair. Prior to this, we took our SUV in for scheduled maint.in 8/13 at this dealer. We were told everything was fine and no repairs were needed. The mileage is now 82,300 miles, and we planned to keep it for many more years. We called the nissan hotline and spoke with the reg. Cust.svc.rep. She said there was nothing nissan would do and offered no assistance. We discovered that nissan was involved in a class action suit that was recently settled regarding the transmission problem. The nissan radiator/transmission cooler litigation, case no. 10-cv-07493. Why weren't we notified by nissan about this problem immediately? Per the suit, the cost for repairs over 80,000 miles is $2,500. If this problem was identified during our scheduled maint. We would have avoided all these problems and expenses. This makes us wonder if nissan and the dealer conspired to keep this info. Quiet until after the vehicle passed 80,000 miles. We also discovered a new class action suit filed on 6/26/13 involving the premature failing of the timing chain. We will pursue every opportunity to get reimbursed for these problems that nissan was aware of.

Filed Feb 15, 2011 · Engine · 49,977 miles · CA

I own a 2005 nissan pathfinder and have been doing all the required maintenance on it in a very timely manner. It is a very well maintained SUV and had only 49,997 miles on it. I got a safety recall notice on it for the ECM relay issued and took it to the dealer. I was also experiencing some whining noises. The service dealer advisor at the dealership told me that my timing chains had a problem and needed to be replaced. He said this was a serious issue and could lead to engine damage and is a potential road hazard. He also said it needed to be fixed immediately, as this was a known problem, that had been experienced by a number of other customers and that nissan motor co. Had issued a service bulletin ntb09-128 regarding this problem. I am really surprised that nissan did not think it was necessary to communicate this piece of important information to all its customers. My son who is 21 years old drives this SUV on ski trips and I am really alarmed that this defect which was known to nissan could have lead to some serious road hazards. Nissan has acted in a very callous manner because they did not inform their customers about the possibility of such a serious issue which can lead to road hazards. They did not issue a safety recall to fix the issue. I request you to kindly investigate this issue and ensure that nissan communicates this serious flaw to all owners of 2006 nissan pathfinders and any other model which has the same issue. Updated 03/07/11

Filed Jul 22, 2008 · Transmission · 61,000 miles · CA

The dealer pointed out that there was a buzzing / whining noise coming from one or both secondary timing chains and camshaft sprocket areas. I had to replace both secondary timing chains and both secondary timing chain tensioners at 61,000 miles. Cost: $2,148.00. Please see nissan technical service bulletin: classification: em07-001 ntb07-042. Reference: date: july 17, 2007. I believe this item should be a recall. This is obviously a mistake on nissan's behalf when they used inappropriate and unsafe parts. I asked nissan to cover this item under warranty, which they quickly refused. I was 1,000 miles past my drive train warranty but this had begun way before that point. I find it both amusing and convenient that nissan never mentioned this problem to its customers, and me specifically until I was out of warranty; the service report is dated july 17, 2007, exactly one year prior to my vehicle needing repair. I believe this is a clear admittance of guilt on behalf of nissan.