Another classic story of nissan pathfinder transmission failing due to engine coolant leaking into the transmission fluid cooler system resulting in catastrophic failure of the transmission.
2006 Nissan Pathfinder engine complaints
Page 4 of 12: complaints 71 to 100 of 331, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The transmission fluid and the radiator fluid are mixed up due to vehicle design issues. Nissan is conveniently getting out of the complaint by putting in stuff that there is no warranty on the vehicle.
I purchased my 2006 nissan pathfinder in 2013 with 109k miles on it. I loved it for 1yr and a half. 2 months ago it started shifting rough, I took it to a local place to be looked at. I was told that nissan pathfinders have a faulty radiator that leaks internally into the transmission causing complete transmission failure! Would cost $3600 to fix. I called suntrup and was told by the service department that they had never heard of this before and to bring it in, which I did and $100 later they told me the same thing I already knew from the other place for free. They again said they had never heard of this happening before but they could fix it for $6800! I began searching (not too difficult since it is all over the internet!) I called around trying to find a more affordable transmission place and every single place I called knew about the nissans faulty radiators!! This is a prevalent problem for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 pathfinder, xterra and and frontier! Nissan refuses to do a recall stating it isn't a safety issue but there was a class action suit closing in 2013 (year I bought my car) and would fix the transmissions up to 100k (I bought mine at 109k. The national transportation safety board is looking into this issue. I did contact suntrup and talked to the sales manager who said to come in and they would "try and help me". Their solution is to roll the $4,000 I am upside down into a brand new car causing my payments to go up exponentially! (also as a single mom of 3 kids in car seats a car isn't helpful, neither is super high payments). You can not tell me that they didn't know about this nissan transmission issue being a nissan dealer! They didn't know about the class action suit, the year I bought the car?!?! Perhaps there isn't anything that can be done in my case but I do not think it is ethical to continue selling these models and years!!
Purchased vehicle from car lot feb. 28, 2015. Drove this vehicle 5 times and the coolant leaked. Flushed system notice there was stop leak in radiator. Now my transmission slips and truck shakes during acceleration. This was a previous issue before I bought the vehicle because the shaking occurred when driving home. I thought this was just the tires needing to be balanced, but after research I know that it was from the coolant previously leaking into the transmission, and now I am left to deal with it.
Leak in radiator causing cross contamination between radiator and transmission fluids. This is causing hesitation in power during operation of vehicle. Per the nissan service provider we took it to, the cars needs a new transmission and radiator at the cost of $6000 or it will soon die. We believe this is a manufacturer 's defect and a known flaw- many other complaints are posted by other owners.
Fluid cross contamination from radiator to transmission causing hesitation during operation of vehicle. Per nissan service department,unless transmission and radiator are replaced this is unfixble and car will soon die. Repairs estimate is 6,000 dollars.
The transmission started to slip, which needed to be taken out of overdrive from time to time. After a few months the transmission gave out completely on the highway. It will rev up, but will not drive. Apparently they are famous for the gasket leaking engine coolant with the oil. They should have all been recalled.
Car shut down on dart train tracks, transmission failed to work, radiator had oil and leaked into transmission.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan pathfinder. While driving between 35-45 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 138,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The car is not heating up. The transmission fluid and radiator fluid is mixing together making a pink color.. We have had it only for less than a year. We have loan on the car. I keep seeing online that even after replacing the transmission. More problems keep happening. I looked up the VIN number and it's saying our car make is recalled for the air bag? Is there anyway you can help us or could we just trade to get a different vehicle. I would much appreciate someone to help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan pathfinder. While the vehicle was at the dealer for an unrelated issue, the technician discovered that the vehicle needed a new transmission. The contact stated that the radiator leaks coolant onto the transmission, which caused corrosion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000.
My nissan pathfinder was not heating/ defrosting...also, there was excessive noise when the truck was shifting gears. I brought it into my mechanic who told me coolant was leaking into the transmission, and the transmission and radiator would need to be replaced at a cost of approximately $4400.
Transmission went on the car. Coolant from the radiator leaked into the transmission.
Check engine light indicated a problem. After review by a nissan dealer, there is a crack in the radiator assembly that will cause fluid to leak into the transmission, rendering the vehicle inoperable. Nissan knows about this issue and a class action lawsuit was brought against nissan. A settlement was made giving only an extended warranty, not a recall. Data shows that it breaks on most cars after the so-called extended warranty time. Leaving most with no help from nissan to fix this issue. This should have been a safety issue not a money issue.
Radiator failed and cross contaminated transmission with anti-freeze and transfluid. Replaced radiator and flushed transmission in sept 2014 and three months later dec18, 2014 the transmission failed. Repair center said it will cost $4500-$5000 for repair of transmission.
When I purchased my 2006 nissan pathfinder from a dealer in 2012. Vehicle was inspected and deemed safe to drive. I noticed my tire pressure sensor stayed on all the time. Even after filling to the recommended psi. Didn't think much of it. Went on to drive the vehicle with no issues until the next year when I would get this shaking and rumble at about 2500 RPM. Took it to a local mechanic and he couldn't find anything wrong except for needing new brake pads and engine tune up. Had that done but still my car continued to rumble when I would accelerate. It was intermittent on and off until it got so bad that I had to pull over and let my engine cool before it would do it again. Recently I took it to a different mechanic and had them look at it. She ran a test on the computer and the car gave codes that linked back to the transfer case. She then had it looked at by her transmission expert and he discovered coolant and fluid inside the transmission. Only then was it linked to all other occurrences that fall back on nissan. I read online that there is a class action lawsuit against nissan for failing radiators and transmissions. It was never brought to my attention when purchasing the vehicle even though this was during the height of the dispute. With it being out of date for any coverages under the lawsuit. I'm now left without a vehicle and a hefty $3,600 repair bill that should have never been there to begin with. I hope nissan has a plan to fix this issue without the consumer paying out of pocket. If not I will be pursuing a case against the dealer for selling me a car that is unsafe to drive.
While in motion in a very busy traffic, the vehicle suddenly started stalling prompting my pumping of the gas pedal in panic, as well as deployment of the hazard light. The energy generated from the engine, while pumping the gas pedal, is not being transferred to the transmission. Eventually the vehicle rolls to a complete stop with the engine dead in the busy traffic, effectively putting me in harms way. I turned the ignition and the engine started, after about a quarter mile it will stall and quit again. This process repeated several times and eventually the vehicle quit for good. It will not start again. I had a wrecker tow the vehicle to the nissan dealership where the service agent told me, approximately 24 hours later, that the problem resulted from a cracked radiator that leaked antifreeze into the transmission and subsequently damaging or destroying the transmission. The agent told me that it will cost several thousand dollars since it will entail installing new radiator and transmission.
Transmission failure due to radiator coolant mixing with transmission oil: reading other similar complaints about 2005-2010 pathfinder on carcompalints.com, I am wondering if there is a $90 solution to bypass the original setup and have a separate radiator for transmission, why couldn't nissan do it or atleast inform all owners about it so we could have avoided spending 4-5k on repairing something that is manufacturing design defect. I am in no way claiming to be a mechanic, but I am assuming other vehicles also have a similar setup, even other nissan models. How come this is the problem only for pathfinders? This is a design flaw and there should have been a recall instead of a class action lawsuit, but I guess our government is too busy looking out for special interest lobbyists. I am disgusted in nissan's conduct and also the conduct of the federal safety agency & cas who did not do anything when there was class-action lawsuit to prove these were not isolated issue with a few vehicles, but a design flaw. As is evident from multiple complaints on www.carcomplaints.com, this problem mostly occurs around 95k+ mile mark and by that time the extended warranty offered by nissan as part of their class action lawsuit is over. The settlement is an admission of fault on nissan's part and the federal safety agency/cas should force nissan to issue a recall or have them pay for the full repair of all affected vehicles and have them provide a remedy such as separate cooling system for transmission for vehicles which have not experienced this problem yet.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan pathfinder. While driving 2 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the traction control, check engine, and the ABS warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.
I am the owner of a 2006 nissan pathfinder with current mileage of 106,000. I just learned today that I will have to replace the transmission and radiator for $6000. Due to this known product defect. I am infuriated as I read through all the post by people like myself who have been told nissan will do nothing since the vehicle is over 100,000 miles, especially since the problem does not show up on average until 95,000 miles or more. It would appear nissan who just reported billions for their earnings could have done the proper product recall of all units manufactured/effected regardless of mileage and fixed the issue!
Transmission went out all of sudden as I was driving on busy highway. Was unable to get speed, coolant is gone as well.
Transmission cooler inside radiator cracked and allowed coolant into transmission fluid, causing complete transmission faliure....cost to repair 5,000 dollars.
Leaking coolant caused transmission failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the radiator fractured and as a result, the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission causing the vehicle to decelerate. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.
I was driving down a residential street and came to a stop light. Once the light turned green I eased off the brakes and push the gas. It jerked and it moved very slowly making a loud noise. I started smelling something burning. Had to get it towed to a shop and the mechanic called me yesterday afternoon and told me the transmission was gone. Now I'm looking to have to pay $3000 for a transmission.
Coolant leak into transmission rendering vehicle useless. Out of pocket cost was 2500.00 based off of class action suit. Nissan picked up rest. Found hundreds if not thousands of similiar complaints in this regard.
From dead stop at stop sign, pushed on gas with resultant "grind" of transmission. Happened 3 more times over the course of 2 weeks. Took into dealer. Transmission failure due to cracked radiator leaking coolant into transmission. Known problem with certain nissan models. Nissan only did an extended warranty that tapered off every year/10,000 miles. After 100,000 miles no help. This was not a result of worn out transmission, this was a result of engineering/manufacturing defect and should have been covered by nissan 100%.
Without warning the radiator leaked coolant into the transmission cooling part of the radiator and caused an almost instant burning of the transmission failure that was found to be ruined before I could even safely stop and have it towed. The car lost temporarily lost power to the rear wheels and stranded me in a dangerous intersection where I was almost t-boned. There was no prior symptoms until the transmission failed.....
Catastrophic failure while on the road occured and car began to shake, causing other drivers to sway off the road to avoid collision. Car driveable after, but deteriorating due to coolant leaking into transmission case. This is a well-known problem throughout the nissan organization, but remains unaddressed sufficiently. This places a major cost on 2006 nissan pathfinder owners and action needs to be taken so this negligence cannot persist. I am willing to pay for some of the damage caused by this and for some of the replacement cost, but nissan motor corporation should fulfill its obligation per the class action lawsuit in 2012.
I have heard that several people are having problems with their transmission fluid getting radiator fluid in it. The classic signs and symptoms that have started with my 2006 nissan pathfinder are: 1. Horrendous shuddering when pressing on the gas to increase my speed, 2. Occasional banging when my automatic car shifts into gear, 3. Delay in speed when I attempt to pass. Since all of this had started right after 100,000 miles a new transmission is not covered. I am a single mom who is a hospice nurse, I drive all day, having a reliable car puts food on the table for my kids. I don't have $3,000 to fix this problem. I could cry, I don't know what I am going to do. Right now I just keep driving it knowing it is going to break down any day. I was informed by so many people that nissan was a great company and manufactured a great vehicle when I decided to by this pathfinder. I am soooo disappointed!!! I will never buy another nissan vehicle, I'm sorry, for the amount that I originally paid for this vehicle, it should not start falling apart at 108,000 miles.
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