2008 Nissan Pathfinder: jerking or lurching

Filed Jan 16, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 148,000 miles · NC

Experiencing jerking at or above 40 MPH, changed transmission fluid, fluid was contaminated appeared pink and milky at draining,hard shifting.

Filed Jun 14, 2018 · Acceleration · 179,800 miles · OH

"nissan pathfinder" my vehicle decelerates abruptly as a result to an issue involving the radiator fluid & transmission fluid mixing. This resulted in the need for them to be replaced for a cost of nearly $4000.00. This seems to be a factory defect and it is dangerous to drive the vehicle on the highway as it will begin jerking and slowing down without warning. The dealer should address this problem if a vehicle is under 200,000 miles. My vehicle was in motion and driving (in motion) with no issues along the interstate (highway) when all of a sudden it started jerking as if the transmission was failing. It caught me by surprise as I had no problems with the vehicle till that point. The issues occurs at various speeds and out of the blue. Nissan should reimburse owners or replace the transmissions and/or radiators at no cost since the defect was manufacture related.

Filed Apr 11, 2017 · Transmission · 108,000 miles · PA

Vehicle began lurching and shuddering driving a low speeds ~40 MPH in town, until gear shift occurred then sporadically at highway speeds. At first the shuddering/jerking was periodic and started to occur more often at random at that speed. The mileage on the vehicle was about 108,000 miles in fall of 2014. This occurred over a period of 6-8 months and then progressed to issues with cabin heater blowing cooler air when thermostat set to 90 degrees. Took to dealership to address issue with heater and upon test drive dealership determined that the issue was due to the radiator fluid leaking into the transmission causing the fluids to mix. Replaced both radiator and transmission to the tune of $5000.

Filed Jul 7, 2016 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 92,600 miles · NY

While driving my 2008 nissan pathfinder there was a hard shift when I put it in reverse, then noticed the check engine light was lit and steady, I then switched gears into drive which had a violent jerking motion & slight hesitation to accelerate. As I proceeded to drive on the county road the check engine light began flashing constantly & the vehicle had little power to accelerate & constantly hesitating causing me to immediately pull over. I believe the problem was created due to the entermix coolant in transmission as stated by the techician in the report I provided. This was a safety risk because at the time of incident I was driving across the road.

Filed Aug 8, 2015 · Transmission · 135,000 miles · AZ

Felt jerking while driving at 40-45 MPH to the point where it felt like I was losing control of the vehicle on the road. It felt like it would go to neutral and suddenly back into gear really hard so it would cause something like a torque pull. So, took to dealer service shop and was diagnosed as defective radiator cracked and leaked coolant fluid into the radiator cooler causing a catastrophic failure of the automatic transmission. Fortunately, didn't lose control while driving but it felt close to sometimes. I believe a less experienced driver could have lost control of vehicle.

Filed Jul 25, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · 102,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. The mechanic informed the contact that the way the radiator was built allowed the fluids to leak into the transmission as a result the radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 9/12/14*cn the consumer stated there was a class action suit for the radiator/transmission defect. The consumer would like the vehicle repaired free of charge. Updated 02/05/2015

Filed Jul 17, 2014 · Driver assistance, Engine · 124,000 miles · FL

I was traveling at highway speeds going about 60mph and the car suddenly jerked nearly giving me whiplash. I then looked down at the gauge cluster and no lights were on and everything seemed normal, and in about 5 seconds it did it again... I slowed down as fast as I could to merge over and get out of traffic and as I went to pull off the car shut down and I could not get it restarted. I had to have it towed to my house and parked it for a few days. The battery went dead from trying to start it so much so I took it to a o'reily and found the battery to be bad so it was replaced. The car then started up and I drove slowly around my nieghborhood and it seemed ok. The next day my wife took it back to o'reliy to have the alternator tested and it was fine. I thought maybe it was something wrong to cause it to shut down like that and as she was driving home it did the same thing again. After much research it seems that this is a known issue with nissan pathfinders and that they did not let the owners know about the issue with the radiator fluid mixing with the tranny fluid and rendering the vehicle useless. I called nissan today and was told that I am out of luck since the vehicle is out of warranty.

Filed Jun 29, 2013 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · TX

Vehicle starts to jerk, vibrate, and has power interruption during acceleration, on inclines and while towing. Transmission shop told me it was due to bad coolant lines in transmission and transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $7000 by nissan dealership.

Filed May 16, 2013 · Transmission · 97,000 miles · AZ

My 2008 nissan pathfinder has a radiator that failed causing engine coolant to mix with the automatic transmission fluid thus causing a total failure of my transmission. In researching after the failure I have found this is a very common problem with nissan pathfinders, frontiers, and exteras from 2005-2008. It is to the point where people have taken the transmission line out of the coolant system loop prior to the radiator failing in attempt to save the transmission from the inevitable failure. These radiators need to be recalled to prevent another transmission from total failure and thus prevent serious accidents resulting in injury or death in the future. This is a safety concern! In my instance while driving my wife and my 7 day old first born son to his doctors appointment my nissan pathfinder began to hesitate and slip, then catch, and slip, and lock up, and jerk, and then only slip. I was forced to push my vehicle a distance while vehicles proceeded to pass me at a high rate of speed. All the while my wife and 7 day old infant inside. I then needed to have my car towed to the dealership. After calling the nissan dealership I was told that is fairly common and they were not surprised. 2005-2008 nissan pathfinders, exteras, and frontiers have faulty radiators that are causing catastrophic failure to the transmission and are extremely unsafe for the passengers of these vehicles. Does someone have to die before nissan admits to and fixes this avoidable problem?! This is very common knowledge for all transmission repair shops as well as nissan dealerships.

Filed Apr 15, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 86,000 miles · PA

In february of 2013, my 2008 nissan pathfinder started vibrating and shaking while driving at a low speed of 40 MPH. At first I thought it was rough road but it continued and got worse. The SUV slips alot and it jerks forward even when I brake. It has become scary to drive, but it is our family's only car. I need something safe to transport my young kids in and this definitely is not a safe car. I took the SUV to the dealership and they said that the transmission is bad do to a faulty radiator and that both needed to be replaced but since I was barely over 80k miles I would have to pay $2500. I did research and found that this is a common problem on nissans part and that many people have been affected by this issue. I bought the SUV in 2010 as a certified pre-owned that already had 48k miles on it. I also have a 84 month/100k miles limited warranty on the car that covers the transmission, but I was told that this warranty would not cover my transmission since my transmission was damaged by nissan's faulty radiator. This makes no sense at all. Nissan is the worst!

Filed Mar 1, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 97,000 miles · AZ

My 2008 nissan pathfinder has a radiator that failed causing engine coolant to mix with the automatic transmission fluid thus causing a total failure of my transmission. In researching after the failure I have found this is a very common problem with nissan pathfinders, frontiers, and xterras from 2005-2008. It is to the point where people have taken the transmission line out of the coolant system loop prior to the radiator failing in attempt to save the transmission from the inevitable failure. These radiators need to be recalled to prevent another transmission from total failure and thus prevent serious accidents resulting in injury or death in the future. This is a safety concern! In my instance while driving my wife and my 7 day old first born son to his doctors appointment my nissan pathfinder began to hesitate and slip, then catch, and slip, and lock up, and jerk, and then only slip. I was forced to push my vehicle a distance while vehicles proceeded to pass me at a high rate of speed. All the while my wife and 7 day old infant inside. I then needed to have my car towed to the dealership. After calling the nissan dealership I was told that is fairly common and they were not surprised. 2005-2008 nissan pathfinders, xterras, and frontiers have faulty radiators that are causing catastrophic failure to the transmission and are extremely unsafe for the passengers of these vehicles. Does someone have to die before nissan admits to and fixes this avoidable problem? This is very common knowledge for all transmission repair shops as well as nissan dealerships.

Filed Feb 11, 2013 · Transmission · 98,000 miles · AL

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 nissan pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked. The failure occurred constantly when attempting to accelerate over 40 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the radiator and transmission would have to be replaced. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.