Coolant mixing with transmission fluid. The xterra would not shift gears correctly and therefore I investigated more by checking the fluid. I found brown coolant so I decided to do a drain/fill. It was running better and I researched further and found that this is a common problem. I took my xterra to a transmission mechanic who also drained it and repaired a valve that went bad due to the coolant fluid mixing. There was a transmission cooler added as well. He also drained and filled. I then had a transmission flush just to make sure all coolant was out. With all this done, it gave me more time but the damage was done and I am continuing to have shifting issues. I now have to replace my xterra transmission. I really enjoy my xterra and have taken care of it by regular fluid changes and keeping up with it maintenance. It has a strong engine with no leaks and constantly clean motor oil. It is unfortunate that I have had to go through the stress of all of this because of a design flaw that nissan is unable to remedy.
2005 Nissan Xterra transmission complaints
Page 2 of 15: complaints 11 to 40 of 412, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission radiator and low oil pressure failure
My vehicle lost all power. First started to shake and rattle, then all power was lost. Upon further investigation, my engine coolant looked like a milk shake. Call nissan, and they said it happens quite often that they have a name for it, "the milk shake". Appearently the inner tube, that cools the trans, broke causing fluids to mix, resulting in failure of transmission.
"transmission/radiator recall" I own a 2005 nissan xterra offroad v-6. I purchased this vehicle in sept. 2005. With the exception of an air intake problem within a few months of purchase, I absolutely loved this vehicle! Until it went over 90,000 miles in feb. 2014, the transmission just stopped and went into neutral while driving at highway speed in the fast lane on a busy interstate highway. Fortunately, I was able to pass over the other lanes of traffic and make it to the shoulder before the car rolled to a complete stop. I let it sit and cool and started it up again to find that I was able at least drive it to the dealer. It was then that I was first made aware of the radiator/transmission recall and subsequent issues. They "serviced" the cooling system by replacing the radiator hoses and clamps and flushing the system out and telling me that that will fix the problem. (at my expense of course) they checked the transmission and said that it was functioning normally with no problems. Fine. 2 years and 6,000 miles later while driving at highway speed on a los angeles freeway (it is sometimes possible) the transmission suffered a catastrophic failure and switches into neutral leaving me trying to and weave my way to the opposite side of the freeway where there is a shoulder before I loose momentum. Then the vehicle was non operational and I was stranded 100 miles from home. In the 2 years since, this vehicle has had a complete transmission rebuild, has been in the shop 4 more times and had 2 more catastrophic transmission failures while driving on the highway. The important point to be addressed here is that the investigation into this recall ended and it was determined not to be a "safety hazard". Well, when my vehicle failed on a blind curve on ca st hwy 74 (the corridor of death), with no median or shoulder, it became a real time safety hazard to me.
While driving my xterra would not move when I depressed the accelerator. The engine would rev high making a loud noise and the car would barely move. Service engine soon light turned on and stayed on. Took to a repair shop and was told that it showed a code for the transmission control module. I was told to replace it, over a $1,300. Mechanic disassembled transmission to reach control module and found transmission fluid mixed with water. I was advised to replace radiator and flush transmission. Looking at $2,000 in repairs. Nissan has been aware of a problem with the radiator cracking and mixing with the transmission fluid for awhile. No recall has been issued and consumers are stuck with the bill. They should at least issue a safety bulletin advising their customers of the risk. Instead nissan opted to stay silent and has failed to address a serious problem. Nissan has put profits before customer service. They should be fined and held accountable for this ongoing problem.
My 2005 nissan xterra trans just died on 5/10/2018. I was driving over the whitestone bridge queensbound on my way to work when it just stopped. My mechanic told me today, 5/18/2018, that the fan went inside the trans and would cost thousands to fix. Apparantly this is a common problem. I'm so angry.
While driving my car with just over 40,000 miles on it the clutch began to slip as I hit the gas. This caused the vehicle to slow down while in traffic and other drivers were forced to avoid my vehicle which could not safely maintain highway speeds. The clutch had to be replaced. This again just happened at over 80,000 miles. The clutch is wearing very quickly on this vehicle. Luckily none of these have caused any real safety concern but I want it documented that nissan is selling a vehicle with a poorly made clutch that could cause safety issue depending on where you are when the failure occurs. If a vehicle loses its clutch it may not be able to shift gears or lose motive power increasing the risk of a crash.
Purchased a one owner nissan in late 2016 w/ approx. 85-86k miles on it.got approx. 4-5 mths of use before it completely lost power & became inoperable(approx feb/march of 2017).my wife & I were driving home & basically lost all power w/o any warning.thank god we were on a side road @ the time & were able to safely pull over.it has been parked since early 2017 & rendered useless.$9000 down the drain.vehicle only has 89k miles on it & in immaculate shape inside&out.now we're faced with the financial burden of a $4000+ transmission rebuild + ECM/TCM module replacement. My mechanic picked up on the problem immediately.he checked the radiator & it looked like strawberry milk.I owned 1 other nissan before this & can truly say I will never,ever own another.I felt very confident in the vehicle mechanically. But if I'd known about this defect I'd have never purchased it.now I'm basically out $9000 or have a $4000+ repair to even be able to recoup any money & some of my losses.if I had any inkling of information about this defective part in nissan's I'd have never purchased it.I originally considered nissan a good car maker & ranked them closely w/ honda & toyota in performance & dependability.needless to say.all that's now changed.I cannot believe the federal safety agency did not demand that nissan publicly announce these issues as to protect the consumers & current owners. But I'd never heard a thing about it & I "work in automotive finance"!!! I will admit, nissan was successful in ripping many people off & without so much as an apology. Much less any potential financial assistance that they caused.nissan needs to wake up & do right by their customers or they wont have them long.trust me when I say.that day draws closer w/ every person who finds themselves in this similar situation.thanks & I hope you do something about this injustice that was allowed to happen on your watch!!!!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that the vehicle was slow to change gears and accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for servicing and to have the transmission replaced. The failure recurred. The service engine warning indicator kept illuminating and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic for further diagnostic testing. A dealer was contacted (massapequa nissan, 200 sunrise highway, amityville, ny 11701, (516) 799-2800). The vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling) and the federal safety agency action number: dp-12004 (power train). The manufacturer issued four technical service bulletins (tsbs) on the engine and four tsbs on the power train, but there was no remedy to provide a solution. The approximate failure mileage was 66,074.
Transmission will not reverse or change gears while leaving the house today
Takata recall...car was driving fine all day until I pulled up to a red light.when light changed and I pressed on gas, car would hardly go but eventually after soft coaxing it got up to speed. Was like I just lost first gear on an automatic transmission.subsequent red lights resulted in same problem. Researched online about any complaints with this type of problem and found hundreds of complaints on just one website.took vehicle to local transmission repair shop where it was diagnosed with the following problem: coolant box inside transmission burst causing transmission and radiator fluids to mix and ruining both transmission and radiator. Cost for this repair is $3800-4500.I have seen hundreds of complaints online about this very same problem. When I contacted nissan corporate I was told there is no recall for this because hundreds is minute in comparison to the thousands of vehicles they have sold.
Coolant leak causing transmission to fail. Nissan is aware of issue and fails to take responsibilty
My 2005 xteraa transmission and radiator needs replaced due to lines breaking and there is water all in the passenger side floorboard and the radiator has goo looking stuff in it and the vehicle will not go in drive at times. I just bought this car february 2016 for my daughter and still owe on this vehicle
Radiator leaked into transmission and both had to be replaced. Stoped woring on the cross bronx expressway. Very scary situation.
2005 nissan xterra. Consumer writes in regards to radiator hose ruptured and sent coolant into transmission. *smd the consumer stated the engine began racing but, there was no power. The vehicle lunged forward and then stopped. A hose in the radiator ruptured. This caused coolant to enter the transmission and transmission fluid to enter the radiator. The failure occured while the consumer was driving. The manufacturer was contacted, but did not offer any assistance.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power and stalled. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and restarted, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic who diagnosed that the radiator fluid mixed with the transmission fluid. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.
2005 nissan xterra - complete transmission failure at approx. 102,000 miles, caused by faulty radiator that leaked water into the transmission, which nissan knew about but refused to recall. I never received any notice about the radiator issue from the manufacturer or dealer!! It would cost approx. $300 for nissan (or the consumer) to replace the radiator, as opposed to $3800 to completely rebuild the transmission and replace the radiator upon failure; therefore, nissan let their customers drive dangerous vehicles in which the transmission could - and did - fail at any moment. This is an extremely dangerous situation. I was in rush hour traffic, stopped at a light downtown headed to the freeway entrance ramp. When the light turned green, I accelerated and the engine roared beneath my foot. I could not even travel through the stop light. The xterra would not go forward or backward. Had I made it to the freeway and been traveling at 50 - 60 MPH in heavy traffic, and accelerated to find I had no power - no acceleration, I (and others) could have very easily been injured or killed. When my xterra was towed to the transmission repair shop, they were very familiar with this issue and informed me that a class action had been filed and won, (and was already concluded) over this exact issue; however, the consumers in the class received a very small portion of the proceeds (approx. $800 at the high end). I am contemplating filing an action in small claims court against nissan and the local dealer in jackson, ms, from whom I have bought 3 suvs in the past 20 years. I tell everybody I see driving a nissan about this issue and have spread the word on social media. This is completely unacceptable, fraudulent, reckless endangerment by nissan, and something needs to be done about it to make the consumers whole. I will never buy another nissan.
Transmission failure due to coolant leak into automatic transmission. Engine overheating was what brought my attention to any issue, the overheating was a result of the transfer of transmission fluid into the coolant system as well. After making attempts to address the overheating issue the transmission began its quick decline, learning about the issue I was able to start attempting to have it repaired but with its high cost I have yet to be able to have it repaired completely.
Hope you are doing well. The reason of my message is to call to your attention an issue regarding nissan's radiator -transmission problem that has been reported before by other nissan drivers. I own a 2005 x-terra and it wasn't until this year that I had a serious problem with my car. It started earlier this year when my car simply stalled in a parking lot. After spending more than $200 in towing plus $1500 in fixing the transmission computer I thought the problem was fixed. In may, driving back from tampa to miami, the car started to act again but then it went away. About a month ago my car had another episode of 'loosing' power. I brought my car to a nissan dealer in miami for them to take a look and they suggested taking it to a transmission specialist as their protocol for cases like this calls for an expensive transmission change. The weekend of october 7th, I was headed towards my parents home and my car stalled again. I took it to a transmission specialist in coral springs and $4,600 later, I have a new transmission and radiator. He gave me the explanation about the radiator leaking into the transmission. My brother pointed to my attention that there was some sort of settlement with nissan regarding this same issue. I will like to know which are the next steps as it is my understanding that the federal safety agency continues to investigate this case. Thank you for your attention regarding this matter. Kind regards,
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after some time. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to diagnose or repair the vehicle. The vehicle was also taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was contamination of coolant in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 127,000.
Radiator coolant leaking into automatic transmission causing transmission failure. Started noticing issue around 136k at highway speed. I hear there was a class action lawsuit but the settlement is unacceptable. Nissan needs to step up and take responsibility for their design failure.
Antifreeze leaked into transmission causing irreparable damage to transmission and radiator replacement
Has 149 k mileage and has started to have vibration at speeds over 50 MPH. Radiator fluid has oil in it. Was told by mechanic it is transmission fluid.
Please see attached uploaded document.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact maneuvered the vehicle to the side of the road to a complete stop. The vehicle was driven home. The following day, the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that radiator coolant leaked into the transmission fluid chamber and the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000. Updated 10/18/16*lj
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving 4 MPH, the transmission failed and the vehicle stalled. It was diagnosed that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of this issue. The failure mileage was 111,326.
Vehicle was not driving well, we were having problems accelerating, and were hearing noises similar to when you drive over rumble strips. Our mechanic diagnosed the problem as radiator coolant missing with the transmission fluid. Vehicle was transferred to nissan dealership and we opened a case with nissan consumer affairs as vehicle only had 75k miles, however it was 9 years old and therefore subject to the $3,000 deductible. After reviewing our case for almost three weeks, we were informed that nissan could not help us. We paid the $3,000 deductible to have the transmission replaced, however feel that nissan should be held accountable for fixing the known defect with this vehicle that could have caused significant accidents and injuries if the transmission failed while we were driving on a busy roadways.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to shift into third gear and the vehicle decelerated. The check engine light illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that the coolant was leaking into the transmission and the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
125k much like several other customers the transmission started slipping and have been informed that the vehicles contains a defective radiator cooler tank that ruptures and forces coolant into the transmission through the cooler lines. When the coolant mixes with transmission fluid it creates a frothy liquid that eats valves, erodes seals and causes corrosion. Waiting to see what cost would be to replace system but have been told its around 5k and the car is not even worth that!!
Transmission failure (atf contamination). Odi received a petition requesting investigation of transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. The source of the contamination is a cracked atf line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Nissan Xterra?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history