When driving at highway speeds, vehicle would start to shudder and thud into gear. Had vehicle checked out and told there was a defect in which the connection between radiator and transmission malfunctioned and coolant mixed with transmission fluid, thereby destroying the transmission and radiator. I have found that this is apparently a very common problem of nissan xterras from 2005 to 2010 that I had no idea about. This really should be recalled on all affected vehicle, because it is such a common problem and if one has over 80k miles they still pay half for the repair and if over 100k miles there is no warranty coverage from nissan. The warranty extension was the result of a class action suit but is not enough when full repair can be $6000 and there has been no warning from nissan that this is a potential problem to look for.
2005 Nissan Xterra transmission complaints
Page 6 of 15: complaints 131 to 160 of 412, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Transmission has a jerk, and it turned out to be due to the oil and coolant mix in the transmission. This has been an ongoing issue and several complains have been filed, no extended warranty,dealer or anybody is covering the cost. It is a very expansive repair and I can not afford to fix on this financed vehicle. Nissan must pay for the repair.
I was driving on an interstate highway where the speed limit is 70mph. Car begins have a large rumble. Can't tell if it the rear end, the drive shaft or transmission. There is no pattern to the rumble and it continues for several weeks, so I take it to an auto repair shop. They tell me that I have water in my transmission fluid, which was caused by a cracked line in the radiator. I am told to check on the internet, because this is a big problem that lot of nissan xterra owners are facing. So, I check it out and the issue is huge. I bought the xterra about 2 years ago and during that time was never contacted by anyone warning me of this issue. Now, at the time I find that there was a settlement, my vehicle has over the 100,000 mile limit. From what I read, the majority of the vehicles are over the 100,000 mile limit when the problem occurs. My vehicle still will drive and only get the rumble occasionally, but I now know it's fate. It's ashamed that I could not have been warned by nissan before facing costly repairs. Nissan could have saved us lots of headache and money if we had know and been able to be pro-active before the damage was done.
Transmission locked up intermittently, then stopped shifting all together. Replaced transmission, but quit again after only a week of driving. Turns out the cooling system was leaking into transmission and causing parts failure. Had to replace radiator, and, multiple transmissions parts for 2nd time.
Transmission failure while merging into traffic almost causing a crash.vehicle was running fine then suddenly would not accelerate. Vehicle has no indications of problems prior to this incident. Transmission fluid was contaminated with engine coolant according to the shop that repaired it.
The vehicle doesn't move,despite acceleration, no engine light. Went to the dealer and after diagnosis they said the radiator was cracked and the transmission was leaking. The cost comes to $7500. Contacted nissan they say its not within warranty. Theses is a defective design on the radiator. Updated 05/01/14
Internal radiator transmission cooler cracked leaking coolant into the transmission and destroying it, rendering it useless. The transmission failed on me while I was driving and the vehicle gave me absolutely no warning lights or any indication of an issue occurring with the transmission. I had no advance notice so I was unable to avoid any damage to my transmission.
Transmission failure due to a problem well known by nissan. Coolant entered through a failed radiator and causes failure of the automatic transmission. Timing chain failure also well known by nissan.
I took my car into the shop because of a rumbling noise and shake that was happening while driving. It feels like hitting the safety strips on the edge of the road by the shoulder. The mechanics pulled things apart and identified that there was radiator fluid and engine coolant leaking into my transmission. There were also metal shavings mixed in with the fluids.
Radiator coolant and oil mixture and due to that, the transmission makes the car vibrate to an undrivable point affecting the driver ability to conduct a safe operation on the road including busy highways.
I was driving down a mountain in tennessee on a family vacation, when my transmission failed because the coolant was leaking into the transmission fluid. In order to get to a safe location I had to drive in reverse to a driveway which could have caused me to be in an accident with a young child and my fiance in the car. Upon further research I realized that nissan has over 500 complaint on the same issue and it was never resolved. I paid 4800 dollars out of pocket in order to replace the transmission and radiator.
The transmission became stuck in 3rd or 4th gear and would not accelerate. Then it worked for a few days. After that it got stuck in 1st and would not shift. It is currently stuck in 3rd or 4th again. The transmission fluid is a red brown foamy color. It is giving a code of p1754.
There is a manufacturer's defect with the radiator in which it cracks and leaks fluid into the transmission, which then destroys the transmission. When we called nissan to ask if they were going to stand by their product, they told us there was nothing they could do for us.
My 16 year son was driving home at 11:00 pm on the interstate when, with no warning, the car lost all acceleration power. He was able to get the car to the side of the road and turn the car off and on and got it into 3rd gear. It would not work in drive. He proceeded very slowly for a short distance until he would lose acceleration power. He had to continue to turn the car off and on the highway multiple times to get it home that evening. He continued very slowly with his flashing lights on. It subsequently had to be towed. Thankfully, it did not result in a crash on the interstate. The car is black and it was very dark. It would've been very difficult for someone immediately behind him to react on the interstate. My son's safety was severely compromised. The problem turned out to be the radiator/transmission problem nissan is already being investigated for (the federal safety agency action number dp12004). It required a new radiator, a new transmission and a new transmission computer as this was all ruined with the catastrophic failure of the radiator. The cost of repairs was $4632.97 including the tow charge. Nissan has been aware of this problem for quite some time and even settled a class action lawsuit for this very issue a few years ago. Had they voluntarily recalled the vehicle and fixed the problem, my son would not have been put in this dangerous situation and the costs would have been minimized. I desire for nissan to be held liable for this - you have received literally hundreds of the very same complaint. Please conduct a recall on the xterra, pathfinders and frontiers you know are impacted. We were fortunate not to have a crash resulting in injury or death; the next family may not be so lucky.
I started to notice a problem while driving on the highway and thought it may be a engine oil issue. I knew there was something wrong because it did not feel right when driving the car it on the highway. Attaining the speeds on the highway was difficult and slow. When braking it was also slower to react. I took it too nissan thinking it an easy fixed, I paid $700 dollars to fix whatever they could analyze. I thought the problem was solved, but no. Then I was hit with a $3000 to replace the transmission and radiator, which was known about back in 2010. What a rip off nissan, you knew there was an issue and you neglect to inform your customers. I hope you go bankrupt now!
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the transmission began to slip gears before becoming inoperative. The engine was turned off and upon restarting, the vehicle resumed normally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the transmission fluid had turned into a dark brow, almost black color. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
Automatic transmission fluid was cross contaminated with coolant due to faulty radiator. This is a know problem with nissans xterra and pathfinders. Nissan is aware of the problem but refuses to take responsibility for the problem. Nissan sold products with poor manufacturing quality that cause this catastrophic malfunction. Current nissan owner are stuck with a repair bill for 5 to 6 thousand dollars or with a truck that they can't drive of sell because nissans refuses to take care of its customers.
Transmission died and needs to be replaced, due to the radiator issues of the xterras from the year.
While driving and in flow of traffic vehicle lost all power, but rpms would still increase due to faulty transmission in the xterra. Faulty transmission leads to mixing of the radiator and transmission fluid causing loss of acceleration. Almost caused an accident with another vehicle.
Engine coolant leaked into the transmission, causing transmission failure. Replacement transmission is required.
Driving 35 MPH, vehicle suddenly stops. By reading all the other complaints in regards to the transmission, the coolant mixing and contaminating the transmission fluid. Sounds exactly the same issues. Will be bringing to get final diagnosis. All other recalls have happened to my xterra, and I am the original owner.
When I am driving on the highway doing 65 or 50 miles an hour the car would slow down and cars behind me would almost hit me. This car was on a recall for the transmission and was fixed. The same problem came back on the transmission and nissan would not fix it. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I had my transmission and radiator replaced in my 05 nissan xterra in dec 2010 at 69,000 miles due to defect of radiator leaking into transmission which caused me to brake down on a 2 lane highway. The nissan service/dealer in kingston ma where we purchased the vehicle tried to tell us all that was needed was a radiator and transmission flush but we had already contacted nissan corporate and found out we were entitled to a new transmission and radiator assembly due to a recall. They unwillingly replaced both assemblies. I have now experienced a 2nd brake down on an on ramp entering the highway and could not move my car as the transmission again failed at 153,900 miles. I had it towed to the nissan service/dealer in kingston ma and was informed the transmission we had put in 2010 was only under warranty for 1 yr/12000 miles and I am responsible for all repair costs. I have to think that the original repair was not done properly and the same problem existed in the new assemblies that were put in as a new transmission should last longer than this. I feel my safety and the safety of other motorists was put at risk due to these problems as severe accidents could have occurred due to the fact that the my vehicle lost the ability to move at all on the highway in two different incidents. Nissan should be held responsible for not fixing the initial problem properly.
I have a 2005 nissan xterra and I'm having a problem with the transmission I place it in gear and heard a pop and then the vehicle did not want to go anywhere. After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that there are many others having the same problem. If nissan knows this is a problem they should be held responsible for repairs no matter what the mileage is on the vehicle. I will not be buying another nissan if they don't want to stand behind there products. A couple of years ago the fuel sending unit went bad and it cost me 1200.00 dollars to have it fixed and it was also a known problem.
Coolant leaked into the transmission, causing transmission failure. Estimate of $5800 to repair.
While accelerating, after pulling from a county road onto a state highway, my vehicle "stuttered" and immediately lost power to the drive train. Discovered that I had water in my transmission.
The car had been driving fine and then all of a sudden it would not shift into a higher gear. The rpms would just increase. At times the car would not even go into any gear what so ever. Finally managed to get it to a dealership where they told me it was the transmission fluid mixing with the radiator fluid. Told me I needed both replaced and quoted over $6500 for the fix. Check engine light was on at the time, but I was also having a problem with the fuel gauge (also another known problem in xterras).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the engine rpms increased excessively but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact mentioned that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the radiator fluid was mixed with the transmission fluid. As a result, the transmission would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 116,208.
When driving at various speeds I began to notice the engine bogging down when changing gears. Upon taking it to my mechanic I was told that there was a leak between the transmission and engine coolant systems. The fix would require a replacement of both systems totally approx. $6000! Apparently this is a "known issue" with 2005-2010 xterras. Upon contacting nissan I was told that since my vehicle was over 100,000 miles that there was nothing that they could do for me. If this is a known issue, and a rather major one at that, I'm not sure why there hasn't been any recalls or some kind of fix.
My daughter was driving our 2005 nissan xterra and suddenly the car would not accelerate, she floored it and after a while it got back up to speed enough for her to pull off the highway through 3 lanes of traffic and onto the side road. The car now sits in my driveway because it will cost over 6,000 to repair (the car book value is a bit less than that). The transmission/radiator will need to be replaced because the fluid has gotten into the transmission. Nissan is aware of this issue and still continues to let their customers bear the brunt of their defective product. Thank god my daughter was not killed on the highway due to the sudden loss of speed/control. I hope it does not take someone dying from this defect in order for them to recall and pay to replace/repair this issue. Perhaps someone already has but no one knows yet. I had to drive the car home from the mechanic shop just a few miles and was unable to accelerate several times and was almost hit twice. We have bought her a new car (not a nissan) and are trying to find someone to purchase the nissan and fix it themselves or sell it for parts. We now have a useless auto that is no longer worth a dime and we are out several thousand in resale value. How can this be legal? When will this finally be taken seriously?
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