Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that he heard knocking coming from under the hood while driving approximately 30 MPH. The contact also stated that the temperature gauge would display that the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, but they were unable to diagnose a failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
2005 Nissan Xterra engine complaints
Page 9 of 10: complaints 221 to 250 of 280, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle failed during operation without warning secondary to faulty original radiator which leaked coolant into the transmission. Transmission and radiator destroyed and require replacing. Despite extensive documentation of this problem on consumer websites and a class action lawsuit, nissan america and dealership denied any knowledge of this problem and did not accept any financial responsibility. Total repairs estimated at $5,000. Notifying consumer of and/or replacing faulty radiator could prevent a costly destroyed transmission.
My husband and I purchased our 2005 nissan xterra, 17 miles young. Exactly one month after we purchased, the rear differential went out and was covered under warranty. No problems for a few years, until we noticed that the gas gauge was not giving accurate readings, we had to watch our odometer count to make sure we didn't run out of gas, which is a very scary thought when you have two young children. This happened when we had approximately 80000 miles on the truck and $600 to repair. Shortly after, the transmission was acting up and the heater wasn't working. No why wasn't that working? Apparently, nissan thought it would be a cool trick to have the radiator leak into the transmission.... Brilliant business plan they have. Took the truck in and had to pay $5800 to have the transmission, radiator and computer all replaced. This financial hardship was in fact a hardship. One that shouldn't have had to happen had nissan provided quality parts and provided stellar service. I will sue nissan for this major safety issue, blog/facebook my little heart away about how insincere of a company nissan is and never ever-ever-ever give them a positive recommendation.
My nissan xterra started making a vibration sound around august of 2011. It sounded like your vehicle was running over a "rumble strip". It was infrequent at first so I ignored it. I did notice some other warning signs of potential trouble (at hindsight). The vehicles heater would never heat the interior of the vehicle at idle, but would do it at speed. Nissan knows the issue is a defect but refuses to take responsibility. Several times while I have been driving the vehicle it would shudder and almost result in a accident. I have only narrowly avoided a collision on 3 separate occasions. Nissan extended the powertrain warranty to 80,000 miles because they know of the issue, but refuse to admit its a defect. Had I been informed about the warranty extension I may have been able to have it services while within the warranty period. My vehicle is currently at 83,000 miles, but within the 96 month portion of the warranty. I'm currently afraid to drive the vehicle on the highway because I'm worried the transmission will fail at high speed and result in a serious accident.
It has come to my attention during a recent horrific event that my transmission has seized due to a failure of the radiator cracking and mixing coolant into the transmission. I had bought an extended warranty plan through my dealer when I purchased this vehicle in 2009. They had an adjustor from carefree car protection come out to look at the vehicle on friday november 11, 2011. With that being said; they stated they do not cover the radiator issue; and since it was the faulty radiator that caused the entire transmission to fail and ultimately seized, they will also not cover that or any other of the repairs. Upon a bit of research on my own this is a known failure with this particular year/make/model of nissan. There are hundreds if not thousands of documented cases of consumers with the very same issue. There has been no recall made on this at all. Yes, nissan extended the radiator warranty up to 80,000 miles but not the transmission. Guess what; this happened in my vehicle at 89,000, so not only can I not fix the radiator issue but the transmission is also the same. The worst part of all this is; on wednesday november 9th my four year old daughter and I were almost killed due to this known malfunction. We were traveling on a very busy highway in mid-day traffic when the entire transmission seized in the middle of the highway. I have to say, if it were not for my extensive training in emergency vehicle operations by the state of massachusetts , I honestly do not believe my daughter or I would be alive today. The vehicle seized right on that stretch of highway and I had to veer into a ditch avoiding other vehicles, trees, guardrails and jersey barriers. I am thankful that we did survive that horrific even. Now I am looking to nissan to do the right thing and make this right. Updated ivoq 12/01/11
Recently I experienced a sudden loss of acceleration as I attempted to merge onto a highway. I was also very lucky that I didn't cause a serious accident. The problem was intermittent at first and then increased. Nissan acknowledged a radiator design flaw and extended the basic warranty to lessor of 96 months or 80k miles. I contacted nissan consumer affairs to inform them my xterra was affected by the same problem. While under 96 mos, my vehicle has 89k miles. I requested an exception which was denied. Nissan's failure to stand behind their products, particularly when the problem represents a serious safety concern and attributable to a design flaw, is inexcusable. Nissan denies any safety concern. This problem (referenced by nissan in the radiator assembly customer satisfaction program description) pertains to 2005-2010 xterra, pathfinder and frontier vehicles equipped with auto transmissions. Corrosion within the radiator leads to a crack and contamination of engine coolant with trans fluid, damaging radiator & transmission corrosion develops over time and most vehicle owners will likely exceed the 80k limit before problem presents itself. An internet search revealed 15 dedicated web threads to this problem and they are mostly 2005 vehicles. If nissan didn?t correct the design flaw before 2010, the # of failures will significantly increase over the coming years as model yr 2005-2010 cars age. How many accidents or fatalities need to occur during this period before nissan is held accountable for their negligence? The dealer estimate to repair my xterra is $6,760. This is a significant financial burden and hardship on any vehicle with just over 80,000 miles. How many nissan owners have to experience financial hardship before nissan is held accountable??
I was driving my 2005 nissan xterra at 55 MPH on a two lane highway when it began to shake violently as if I had ran over spilled lumber or rumble strips. I braked hard as I thought I had ran over something. I hadn't, so after pulling over and checking for loose tires or driveline I continue on perplexed as to what happened. A few miles later it did it again. Come to find out there is a known defect on 2005 thru 2010 nissan xterra's, pathfinders, and frontier's in which the radiators internally leak water into the automatic transmissions and causes the violent shaking at high speeds. Nissan is aware of the issue and has only chosen to extend the warranty on the radiators and not recall the vehicles. In fact the letter sent to the consumers doesn't even reference the transmission (in which it destroys). While my family and I were not hurt, it was a close call and could have easily been worse at the speed I was going and the effect the failure has on the vehicle.
I was picking up my children from school and my car just stopped driving in the middle of the intersection while I was making a left turn at a stoplight. I brought it to a trans shop and they said I have coolant in my transmission which caused it to fail. Repairs are estimated at $4326 and I am just angry and sick over this situation. Not only was it a scary situation to break down in the middle of the intersection with my kids in the car but I am very disappointed in all the reports I have been reading about in the 2005 xterra. I can not afford to fix this problem and this is simply not fair that nissan isn't taking responsibility for their negligence. Please help!!
Faulty radiator design allowed a crack that caused cross contamination of coolant and transmission fluid. Caused transmission to fail.
I was driving my son to a soccer game and could not get the car to go past 20 getting on the highway. I had the car in the dealer a few months earlier b/c I was having trouble getting past 45mph. They told me they could not properly diagnose and to continue driving. My car had 72000 at that point. They did not advise me of the potential radiator/transmission problem or let me know the warranty had been extened from 60000 to 80000 miles.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated the vehicle started making a rumbling sound after having the oil changed at the dealers. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and was told that the transmission was slipping and coolant was leaking from the radiator into the transmission. The vehicle would need both the radiator and the transmission replaced. The failure and current mileages were 85,000.
Faulty radiator leaked antifreeze into transmission which rendered the transmission useless.
Driving vehicle when transmission dropped into lower gear and would not upshift. Cause found --- radiator cracked and leaked coolant into transmission- . Which ruined the transmission.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, she heard a rumbling sound. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostics, where the technician stated that radiator fluid leaked into the transmission and the radiator needed to be replaced. There were also parts within the transmission that needed to be repaired, but the contact was unaware of the specific parts. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was not available.
Defective transmission cooling design causing 2005 nissan xterra leaking coolant into transmission resulting in transmission and radiator failure. Nissan has not corrected the design problem for consumers resulting in putting consumers risk of harms way and extreme costs to repair.
Radiator failed and leaked into transmission and problems with fuel system. Truck shook and would not speed up going on to highway. Family almost got hit by truck.
05 nissan xterra radiator leaked antifreeze into the transmission causing the vehicle to not move until RPM's reached a certain speed. Car had been vibrating prior to incident which was thought to be tires. Car was towed to transmission shop and at a cost of $4800 for repairs. I understand this is a problem that multiple owners have had and that nissan is not accepting responsibility for. I was put at risk as I drive 35 miles each way to and from work and a majority of this driving is done on the highway. My drive time is very early in the morning and very late at night. If the car had broke down I would have been stranded on the side of the highway.
Transmission failure caused by radiator leak, which causes vibration in vehicle which can be hazardous and costly. Internet comments suggest problem is known by manufacturer but warrantees have not been extended, and dealer quoted full price for repair: $5,000+ on vehicle worth $11,000.
The car began to have a shaking feeling like you were driving over a rumble strip about 4 months ago. We took the car to dealer and they determined we had the issue that nissan had reported may happen where the radiator fails and coolant gets into the transmission. The dealer said the entire cooling system and transmission would have to be replaced and the cost would be $6500.00. Nissan had sent us a letter last year stating they had extended the warranty on the radiator and all of its corresponding parts to 80,000 miles/96 months. Our vehicle has 94,000 miles on it. I called nissan and they said they would do nothing. We are currently fixing part of the problem by fixing the radiator and flushing the transmission. When we have more funding we will have the transmission rebuilt because we cannot afford to purchase the new transmission.
In september, 2010 I was driving my 2005 nissan xterra at 55 MPH on a two lane highway when it the temperature spiked overheating the engine after pulling over and checking it I discovered I had transmission fluid in the radiator. Come to find out there is a known defect on 2005 thru 2010 nissan xterra's, pathfinders, and frontier's in which the radiators internally leak water into the automatic transmissions and causes the violent shaking at high speeds. Nissan is aware of the issue and has only chosen to extend the warranty on the radiators and not recall the vehicles. In fact the letter sent to the consumers doesn't even reference the transmission (in which it destroys). While my family and I were not hurt, it was a close call and could have easily been worse at the speed I was going and the effect the failure has on the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a garage and the radiator replaced and transmission flushed. While servicing my vehicle the mechanic discovered that the engine head had cracked. I incurred over 2,400 dollars in repairs...using a used replacement engine. Nissan corporation after 9 weeks of waiting has informed me that they have opted not to assist in the repair of the vehicle nor provide reimbursement. On june 23, 2011, my transmission began to fail.
My 2005 nissan xterra suddenly developed a lack of acceleration nearly causing an accident at a stop sign. When taken to my mechanic I was told that the trouble code indicated the TCM and or the front brake solenoid, both of which are in the transmission and they would cost at least $2000 to fix. The dealer would not talk to me or return my calls after letting me know that a fix would cost @$5000+ I cannot afford to replace this and after finding that it happens with nearly all 05 xterras I will not.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the transmission began to shake excessively. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission was flushed. The mechanic also stated that the radiator was cracked and leaking transmission fluid into the engine. As a result, severe damage was being done to the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
2005 nissan xterra- routine maintenance found radiator full of transmission fluid. Transmission approx one quart low. Defective radiator known by nissan for some time now. Only extended warranty to 80,000 miles from what I learned. My car has 90,000 miles. Received no notice or warning prior. Numerous owners complained. Some required transmission change costing thousands of dollars. *tr in 2010 I bought another nissan, frontier, it has the same radiator apparently. If I would have known earlier, I would have never purchased another nissan. Why is there no recall on these nissans, 2005 and subsequent? It is costing taxpayers millions out of pocket. I was lucky, I was spared a transmission change. I had the transmission fluid cooler in the radiator disabled and I installed a separate transmission cooler in stead. It did cost me a loss of my road trip vacation though.
Car overheating, wouldn't run on highway, jerking, couldn't catch speed, radiator blew due to coolant problem which went into transmission needing new transmission. Holding up traffic, had to keep my hazards on. Extremely dangerous driving conditions. Radiator reimbursed by nissan but wouldn't pay for transmission despite clear documentation that it was due to a recall. Had to pull over several times on highway to get out of harms way.
2005 nissan xterra. Highway driving and car began to shake violently. It was hard to stay in control for a bit there. Hard to figure out what it was but I have. Nissan xterra's have a problem with the radiator failing and leaking coolant into the transmission, thereby ruining it. My car has been overheating and the transmission giving out while I'm traveling at highway speeds with my wife and two children in car seats. Nissan voluntarily extended warranty on the radiator. That is no help to the consumer as once the radiator fails you also have a bad transmission. Please make them accountable for their unethical dodging of a serious problem --- and a dangerous one! Thank you.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated was driving 30 MPH when the transmission slipped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the transmission fluid abnormally mixed with the radiator coolant. The radiator initially malfunctioned and caused the failure and the dealer advised replacing the transmission. The contact called the manufacturer yet the manufacturer did not offer any further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 84,000.
My 2005 nissan xterra se with 82k miles had the radiator fail, leaking coolant into the transmission. This is a common problem with nissan suvs and trucks for at least 2005-2007 model years. Nissan voluntarily extended their warranty to cover this type of issue to 80k miles, but it seems typical form the many online message boards addressing this issue that the problem arises after 80k miles. Nissan refuses to cover any of the costs of repair.
I own a 2005 nissan xterra. My problem started with the fuel leveling system and my check engine light coming on. It was the fuel leveling sender. My fuel was not registering correctly at all. Next came stalling of my SUV. I would be driving and it would act as if it was running out of gas and cut off. That turn out to be the emc, in which I paid for but was reimburse because nissan issued a recall for the emc. This did not fix the fuel leveling sender problem. A few months later, my SUV was having a "hard crank". It just did not want to turn over. It would stall while driving. I would just cut off. I took that to a dealership and they said it was the cam sensors. So, I had the cam sensors replaced and I had the fuel level sender replaced. It was recommended that I have a mult-point inspection, so I had everything with that replace. I spent a $1000, only for my check engine light to come back on the next day. I took it back to the dealership for them to tell me now it is the catalyst converters and both needs to be replace. The price for both parts alone was $1300. I do not understand why so many xterra owners are having these types of problems and nissan are not responsible for fixing them. They will offer an extended warranty after the fact, but by the time the problem occur a 2005 does not qualify for the extended warranty. The catalyst converters affects the clean air for your vehicle. This is a safety issue.
Radiator failure causing fluid to drain into transmission. This caused damage to the transmission and torque converter. I was left stranded without warning in the middle of an intersection. *tr the transmission was rebuilt, the torque converter was replaced, an external transmission was installed. Cost of repair: $2,852.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign id number: 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs. After leaving the dealer, the driver noticed that all the interior lights were flashing on and off abnormally as the vehicle stalled. The vehicle would not restart and was towed back to the dealer. The dealer then advised that they repaired the recalled component only and that they were not able to assist in any other way. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
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