I have a 2005 nissan xterra, recently I have been experiencing a rumbling effect under the vehicle like the feeling of rumble strips, after looking around my vehicle and finding nothing wrong. Two days ago my vehicle suddenly stop going in/out of gear and after driving 3 miles to then gym and back I pulled my xterra in the driveway then suddenly a pinkish fluid poured out from under the carriage of the vehicle around the transmission. This cannot be safe whether on the highway or rural road, what has nissan done to mitigate this problem? I understand this is typical for 2005 xterras.
2005 Nissan Xterra transmission complaints
Page 14 of 15: complaints 371 to 400 of 412, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated the transmission began slipping and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. The dealer advised that anti-freeze was leaking into the engine because the intake valve gasket was bent. The dealer stated that the valve gasket was bending because the intake valve and radiator were made of plastic. The failure mileage was 86,000 and the current mileage was 95,000. Updated 05/03/11*lj the consumer stated due the defect with the radiator, anti-freeze leaked into the transmission fluid and caused the transmission to fail. Updated 08/04/11
I noticed in the spring of 2010 my 05 nissan xterra began to stall and sputter at various times. I began to notice a pink/rose colored substance on the ground underneath the front of my truck. In july car wouldn't drive at all and jerked when it finally did move. I took it to a shop and got a diagnosis of a faulty radiator. Had that replaced at a cost of $1200.00 was informed that the coolant and transmission fluid mixed causing the breakdown. I drove for another few months when the truck gave out in the middle of traffic had to have the truck towed to yet another shop for repair. I was informed that my transmission was toast due to the mixing of the fluids and would need to be replaced/rebuilt at owner's expense. Nissan has yet to admit that the 05 xterra's have radiator faults and recall said vehicles. To get the transmission rebuilt at a cost to me of $2500 and yet I am still having issues with the truck. I received a recall notice for the ECM relay and had that corrected due to "can cause the engine to stop running while the vehicle is in motion, increasing the risk of a crash." my question is if the company can issue a recall for this matter then why not for the faulty radiators that lead to destroyed transmissions. I just got my truck out of the shop and just had the ECM replaced and yet my truck still stalls. When will nissan admit their mistakes and own up to it and recall all said cars and trucks affected and reimburse the consumers for the monies that has been shelled out so far. This is a major safety hazard as I don't wish to be driving along when my truck stalls and I'm rear-ended by another vehicle or by a tractor trailer god forbid. I would like for a solution to this problem and to see that all nissan xterra owners are validated in their concerns regarding this issue. I do hope that in the near future there will be some resolution to this issue as I am not made of money and don't own another vehicle to use at my disposable. Thanks
I just recently started experiencing a 'shudder' under mild acceleration between 40-60 MPH with my 05xterra, v6 4x4 (~120k miles). Feels like my rear wheels are going over a rumble strip and only lasts a few brief moments. Took my xterra back to dealer and they indicated possibility of transmission cooler leak allowing antifreeze to enter torque converter and transmission causing slippage; although they checked my fluids and no cross contamination was evident. They recommended replacing torque converter, transmission and radiator...to the tune of ~$5000...there's got to be better answer...and accountability on their part...I searched on line and found that I'm not alone with this issue... A number of folks have experienced the same issue...nissan has even acknowledged a problem and has extended their warranty on the radiator, but not the torque converter, but my mileage exceeds the extended period; if they know of the issue, why isn't there a re-call...if the torque converter fails while driving, it will most certainly cause an accident...problem is getting worse and more frequent...there needs to be action by nissan to correct this condition before someone is seriously injured due to a known problem...
On february 07, 2011 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.
Multiple complaints: at approx 55k miles, engine would rev out before shifting gears, at approx. 72k miles started vibration when at steady speed (approx 45 MPH), so purchased new tires. At approx. 76k miles temperature gauge would fluctuate and vibration and gear slam increased. At approx. 79k miles blower stopped working and temperature gauge would go up and down. At 80,532 mi. Had radiator replaced and coolant flushed and two transmission flushes done, as coolant and transmission fluids mixed due to radiator leaking. Transmission continued vibration and began slamming again 3 mos. Later. 6 mos. Later engine overheated , had towed. Engine was bad due to overheating from radiator assembly fault nissan describes. Rebuilt engine, new timing chain and timing control valve, and new radiator. Still cannot drive vehicle- severe transmission slamming gears, vehicle stalls when you take foot off gas, oil pressure gauge goes to bottom when foot off gas and up when you depress. Since, nissan has extended warranty to 80k for radiator assembly can crack and internal leakage of coolant mixes with transmission fluids. I am not covered they say, but if I had been notified of this 2 years ago I would have been. Their letter specifically states that it can occur at "higher mileages". I want nissan to reimburse me costs incurred and fix my transmission. I have been without a vehicle on and off for 8 mos. Of the past two years, and do not think this vehicle will ever run properly due to their negligence to notify owners of the potential problem. I've seen hundreds of complaints. Also have had engine light go on and off for last 2 years- due to fuel sending unit problem, nissan has extended warranty for this to 72k. I now have 94k - these issues need to be recalls and owners reimbursed- please investigate warranty extension issue! Also had squeaks, battery issue, no start even w/new battery, cleared electronics/radio blown, cds don't eject, driver window won't go up unless pulled.
On my 2005 nissan xterra, radiator warranty extended from 36,000 miles/36 months to 80,000 miles/96 months in 2011. However, my radiator was replaced at 40 months/88,000 miles in 2009. 11 months later (2010) I had to replace my transmission because of their defected radiator. Why was my data excluded when nissans extended their warranty? I have spent over $10,000 in repairs since I have bought my 2005 xterra brand new.
Just bought a 05 xterra for my wife for x-mas. Needed 4-wheel drive due to the area we live and kids to be safe. 3 weeks after buying it has started to rumble and not shift to od. At aprox. 40-60 MPH it is constant when keeping and steady speed or while cruise control is on and at a slight acceleration. Read thousands of complaints with same issues and all have had radiator and trany fluid mixing problems causing both needed replaced. Mine has 70,000 miles on it. Nissan recommended a trany flush like the thousands of complaints I have read. This just temporarily stops the problem. Pretty much till ur warranty is up and they can steal ur money.
Driving of vehicle has resulted in the failure of the automatic transmission. There appears to be a design flaw in the cooling system to leak onto the transmission causing failure. The only option is replacement of the transmission.
My 2005 xterra with 82k miles started vibrating badly when accelerating over 50mph. It felt like I was driving over rumble strips. I called nissan assist on 12/29/2010 and was told my radiator had failed, leaked into the transmission and totally destroyed it. My only option was a $4600 replacement of the radiator and transmission. The nissan assist guy then told me that nissan knew about the problem, but instead of issuing a recall, they simply extended the warranty from 60k to 72k miles (this was an error on his part, because the extension was actually to 80k miles). Regardless, it didn't apply to me because I was at 82k miles. Nissan is trying to ease the pain with extending the warranty however, they make no attempt to contact you about it. You either need to find it yourself or your screwed.
While driving down a steep hill, I turned off the overdrive and the dashboard display showed the vehicle had shifted into 4th gear but in fact is was still in od (5th) gear. Upon activating the button to shift back to od, the vehicle now shifted down into 3rd gear but displayed that it was in od (5th) gear. I live in the san bernardino mountains of southern california and I need to downshift to slow the vehicle when going downhill and to avoid overheating the brakes with a possibility of brake failure. I have visited two different nissan dealers on a total of four occasions to resolve the problem and they tell me that is the way the vehicle functions and there is nothing that can be done to fix it. Although I thought I was buying a vehicle with five gears, in fact when going down hill it does not have a 4th gear. Updated 02/14/11
Beginning summer 2010 2005 nissan xterra (purchased new in 2005) began making rumbling noise (as if going over rumble strips) while driving. Incident occurred frequently at differing speeds for the next several months. No other problems were evident at that time. In november 2010 while driving on freeway vehicle began overheating, blowing hot air through air conditioner, and registering hot on gauge. Vehicle was immediately taken to local mechanic who was unable to determine problem. The next day vehicle was taken to dealership where car was purchased and told that the transmission needed to be replaced due to radiator fluid leak. After research and finding that this is a common occurrence the owner decided not to have the vehicle fixed at her expense and is not driving the vehicle until an agreement is made with nissan. While there were no injuries or accidents in this incidence research shows that there have been numerous reports of transmission failures in traffic either causing or almost causing accidents. Nissan's failure to alert 05 xterra owners of this problem that they are well aware of is negligence and risks health and safety. Further, it can be found that the problem cannot be fixed by simply replacing the original parts as the parts and design were defective to begin with. Research has shown that after being "fixed" by the dealership the problem has occurred again.
On saturday december 18, 2010 I noticed a vibration in my 2005 nissan xterra. The following monday I took it to a dealer for service. I was told that my radiator had failed and that it had leaked coolant into my transmission, causing both components to need immediate replacement. The mechanic told me that the failure is a known problem and that it occurs with no warning...no check engine light, no noticeable deterioration of performance, it just happens. He said that in a worst-case scenario, the vehicle's transmission could seize causing an immediate stop and loss of control. When the problem occurred on my xterra, I was on the interstate traveling 60-70mph. Nissan knows about this problem and has extended the warranty on the radiator by 20,000 miles (to 80k from 60k) but they refuse to issue a recall even though this problem affects all of their mid-sized trucks and suvs manufactured in 2005. Furthermore, nissan issued this extension to dealerships and not directly to consumers. I was never notified of the change or any potential problem. As such, I have been driving a ticking time-bomb that luckily did not go off and harm myself or my family.
The engine in my 2005 nissan xterra (4wd) began making a slight whining noise. I was notified that the noise was a drive belt. After replacing that item, a slight knocking could be heard. As I was traveling along a major highway my vehicle shut off and forced me to avoid a collision and coast off the roadway. I learned that the noise was from a timing chain inside my engine. The mechanic advised multiple nissan vehicles had been getting the timing chain replaced, and that this was very unusual for a vehicle like mine with only 70,000 miles. The repairs for this cost over $1000 including a tow charge, rental car etc.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra 4.0. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated on the instrumental panel indicating that there was a problem with the transmission. The vehicle was inspected by a independent mechanic who informed the contact that he needed a new transmission. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 62,100.
First problem - when I had 53,000 mi on it, it was still under warranty, it started cutting out and wouldn't accelerate at all, had to have it towed to the dealer to find out that the transmission was bad. They said that he radiator leaked, flooding my transmission with coolant and ruined my transmission. They refused to honor the warranty stating that "the tranmission did not fail - the radiator did (which was not covered under warranty) therefore the transmission was not covered". I had to let them replace the radiator and flush the transmission 3 times - it cost me $1,400 out of pocket - now here I am 30,000 miles later and my reverse will not work at all, my transmission needs replaced. So I had paid 1,400 just to buy myself an year & a half and now I need a new transmission. 2nd problem - I have the fuel gauge/sensor problem, also. I filled up one day, got in my car and gauge read empty & check engine light was on. I had a rip-off mechanic charge me $170 to replace the sensor - nothing ever changed, gauge is still broke and light is still on. Nissan is so wrong for not handling their problems, consumers deserve to be treated fairly. There should be a class action suit against them - just read these complaint boards. Somehow I have both of the most common problems with these vehicles.
2005 nissan xterra 4wd--vehicle has vibration in steering and gear shift accompanied with a low rumble; mechanic reports problem is in front u-joint;-best to replace both u-joints; also being reported by nissan service department -- most likely will be a recall; entire drive shaft must be replaced, not just the u-joint; additionally nissan service department is reporting part is not available. I have a car with a problem in drive train that needs to be fixed, a manufacturer reporting a potential recall and no parts available. My options are--park car until parts are available (no eta on the parts), drive car with a potentially dangerous problem, or have a used part placed into the car.
2005 xterra se. When driving at 1.5 to 2 rpms truck rumbles underneath like it is going over the rumble strips on the side of the highway. Acceleration or deceleration stops the noise. Rear differential issues have been raised on many nissan and truck forums discussing the later 2000 xterra models. Nissan said I need the new rear differential. Curious if this is a wide range problem.
2005 nissan xterra- transmission failure due to leakage of radiator fluid from transmission cooling line infiltrating into transmission and causing it to fail. Transmission when fails will cause severe vibrations or will seize up. Dealership has no specific information about technical bulletins but service persons (off record) confirm increasing number of units being presented for repair.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact was accelerating 5 MPH from a traffic stop when the vehicle abnormally lost power and would not accelerate. The vehicle was parked and left. One week prior to the failure, the vehicle was taken to the dealer in regards to an unusual rumbling in the vehicle. The dealer advised that transmission fluid was leaking into the radiator. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 58,500.
Problem as described by nissan service tech: xterra was towed to us with the concern "my xterra is slipping, will not go backwards, will not drive in drive, only drive in 3rd, hooked up to computer and came up p1716". We confirmed the car would not move in reverse, as it was towed in and parked so that backing up was the only option. The code p1716 is related to the transmission turbine circuit not functioning properly. Upon further diagnosis, we removed the radiator cap to find the radiator filled with the milky combination of coolant and transmission fluid. The radiator is a sub-level radiator, where the top portion is for coolant and the bottom portion is for cooling the transmission fluid. The radiator cracked internally causing the fluids to mix. The transmission and radiator need to be replaced to rectify the problems. New transmission is $3215.71 with the estimated arrival date of tuesday, september 21. The new radiator is $538, currently in stock. The labor estimate is $1442.70. The estimated completion of work is wednesday, september 22, with estimated total bill coming to $5560.16 tax included.
Radiator cooling system for transmission fluid causes malfunction of transmission causing unpredictable shifting and acceleration / deceleration nissan dealership charging customers over 900 dollars for repairs......knowingly this engineered defect exists with most 2005 nissan xterra vehicles.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. When the vehicle stopped the contact tried to shift the vehicle into park and was unable to do so. He was unable to remove the keys from the ignition and was forced to shift into neutral gear. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but know the failure had become progressively worse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they were unable to duplicate the failure. The failure continued to occur and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who stated that there was nothing they could do about the failure. The contact was unable to provide a VIN. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 31,000.
2005 nissan xterra has a part which allows the transmission fluid to pass through and be cooled in the radiator. This part breaks, allowing the transmission fluid and radiator coolant to mix. This ruins your radiator, but more importantly, it burns up your transmission, because the coolant released into the transmission through the busted line does not have the constancy to lubricate the transmission parts properly. Over a very short period your transmission is ruined. This leads to slipping, shifting late, and can lead to the car not taking off at the anticipated speed from a stop sign or light, possibly causing an accident, because of being stranded in the intersection. Other symptoms can be temperature gauge reading hot when stopped, A/C blowing warm when stopped. I know this is not an isolated incident. By simply doing a google search for "2005 nissan xterra radiator transmission". The top results contain links with titles such as "2005 nissan xterra faulty radiator destroys transmission" and "2005 nissan xterra radiator causes transmission failure". I know there are others (many) out there. We need to organize and get results for this issue. My mileage may be relatively high, but many others were in the 50,000 mile range when the failure occurred. I have already spent $500+ on this issue. Now that I have to replace my transmission, it could be $5,000! Help!
2005 nissan xterra faulty radiator destroys transmission. I have a 2005 nissan xterra which I purchased new in january of 2006. My transmission just failed and I was informed that the radiator fluid was mixed with the transmission fluid because the radiator failed. The system began stalling on sunday and as I pressed the gas the RPM would increase but the car would not accelerate. I took the car to the nissan dealer on monday and they thought it was not the transmission but the ipdm. It worked for them fine and I was able to drive it home fine. As I attempted to drive to work on tuesday the same thing happened. I managed to get the car to my driveway. On wednesday I barely made it to the nissan dealer and the by the time I arrived the car would no longer go in drive or reverse. I received a call stating that it was the transmission and upon further inquiry learned that the radiator had gone out and leaked fluid into the transmission - at no fault of my own. I've since done some research and see that this has happened to many people that own the 2005 nissan xterra. This is obviously a major problem for nissan that has not been addressed. I certainly don't have 5k to repair a car that I am still paying a note on.
2005 nissan xterra with 69000 miles began shuttering every now and again when driving around town. It started getting progressively worse during the next few weeks. Thought it might have been the tire balance and had it checked. Balanced the tires, the shuttering was still there and began to get worse when driving at higher speeds I.e. 60mph. The rear end would shutter very hard to the point where we couldn't drive it any longer. Taking it to the shop revealed that the transmission had radiator fluid in it which was caused by cracked radiator lines leaking into the transmission. The fluid was into all the transmission gears. Come to find out that this is a common problem with nissans and the only way to get around this problem is to place an external cooler to the transmission. Since the 5yr/60k power train warranty ran out, nissan has no interest in assisting a well known problem of theirs. There complaint dept takes the info and places it into a database. Well the damage has already been done to the transmission and had to be replaced and an external cooler was installed which we had to go out of pocket on ($4100.00).
Faulty radiator leads to transmission failure nissan has know of this problem and done nothing about it cost of repair 5000 to 6000 many 2005 nissan xterra and pathfinders owners I know have had this problem please help!
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving at 45 MPH, the contact stated that vehicle would not accelerate when he depressed the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The current mileage was approximately 97,000.
I have a 2005 nissan xterra. The transmission had vibration intermittently. Transmission finally went out due to a faulty radiator. This vehicle is equipped with two coolers one air and one water cooled. I have read of many complaints for this. Nissan knows of the problem and should recall it. I bought this vehicle used from pat peck nissan with a warranty. At 6mos I received a letter that the warranty was not valid on this vehicle and they reimbursed the cost of the warranty. I feel that they knew this was a problem.
2005 nissan xterra started vibrating while shifting gears and then went into "safe mode" where driver has little control of vehicle. Turns out the automatic transmission cooler lines run through the radiator. The connection failed and leaked coolant into the transmission causing it to fail and need to be replaced ($4500 fix). This seems to be a common problem with 2005 nissan trucks/suvs.
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