I stopped at a stop sign, when I accelerated it was like my vehicle was not getting any gas. I almost got hit due to the lack of power. I took my xterra to the dealership where they informed me that my transmission fluid and coolant mixed due to a crack in the radiator. The radiator and transmission are ruined. I was advised that it will cost around $8000.00 to fix. At least I didn't have a wreck, although it was close.
2006 Nissan Xterra engine complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 209, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Same problem as many others. The transmission fluid and coolant mixed and it is all toast now. This is due to a crack in the radiator.
The transmission fluid and engine coolant are mixing causing my transmission to lock in 1st gear.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH the vehicle began to overheat. The contact shut off the vehicle but was unable to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for diagnosis where the contact was advised that coolant was leaking into the transmission. As a result, the transmission and coolant system would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 60,000.
Like hundreds of other xterra owners, our radiator line leaked coolant into our transmission and it totally destroyed the transmission, as well as the electrical component. All told, $4,000 to repair (and that was with a hefty discount from aamco). It happened on at highway speeds, and we were lucky not to end up in a wreck. In the two days it took aamco to fix our car, we spoke with two other people who had the exact same thing happen to their xterra's. I am amazed that this is such a common problem and has not been addressed in a more satisfactory manner by nissan. I hope this investigation helps drive nissan to do a recall on these parts before someone gets seriously hurt.
On feb. 8th my wife and I were moving into a new place just miles away from our old home. When cruising in between 40-50 MPH the vehicle was experiencing extreme vibration in the rear end of the vehicle. It was then that I assumed it might be a universal joint and/or the drive shaft. So when I had the money I brought the vehicle to aamco transmissions to have it checked out. I had to drop it off but later that afternoon the mechanic called me and told me it was the drive shaft and the frontal u-joint. He replaced the u-joint and re-balanced the drive shaft. I thought the problem was solved but just a few miles down the road I realized it hadn't. So I brought it back and they took a second look and told me it may be two things. Either the torque converter is bad or the coolant hose busted and the antifreeze was draining into the transmission which would cause the transmission to blow out. They then told me to fix the transmission would cost me around $6,000 which to me is worth more than the actual vehicle. When I got home I did a little research and found that sure enough the antifreeze was leaking into the transmission. The antifreeze looks like a green apple milkshake if you can imagine. I don't know what to do because I know that there are no recalls for this issue nor warranty coverage. Hundreds of people have complained about this exact issue. I'm at a loss, and now there's absolutely nothing I can do with my only transportation.
Told the timing chain tensioner plastic part failed; only indication is a whine sound from the engine. Nissan issued a tsb to their dealers about this issue, but nothing to the consumer. If the timing chain fails it will cause a catastrophic failure of the engine and a possible crash. An unknowing consumer has no idea about what this sound means (just sounds like a noisy engine) and might have little warning prior to a timing chain failure. This is a common issue on the type of engine in the xterra, it affects other model also, and at a very low mileage 50-60k mi. Consumers need to be notified of this defect and to listen for the noise. Not everyone takes their vehicle to the dealer. Most mechanics know that timing chains are supposed to last well over 100,000 - 200,000 miles and would never suspect the defect. A safety recall or at least a notification to consumers would be advisable.
Due to a cracked radiator, coolant leaked into the transmission system causing the transmission to fail. Luckily, was able to take vehicle out of service before more damage could occur, as a result the firth gear was deemed inoperative. The cracked radiator was replaced, and a new transmission will have to be installed. The vehicle is drivable, but gas mileage has significantly been reduced because of the loss of the fifth gear. I talked to numerous repair and transmission specialist, and this is a very common problem. Researching on the federal safety agency website a active investigation was found under the federal safety agency action number # dp12004.
Due to a crack in the internal radiator, my transmission failed. I was almost side swiped pulling out of a parking lot because my xterra wouldn't go into 1st gear. The crack in the coolant cord is a manufacturing defect, but nissan refuses to pay for the cost of this product defect and correlating damages.
Transmission fluid leaked into the cooling system requiring the complete replacement of both major components. Total cost of the work was over $5000 after checking with numerous repair facilities. Apparently this is a known issue as every repair shop I talked to said this is an extremely common problem and that every customer has complained about nissan's response.
Engine began to make a whining noise. Was not noticed by the dealership while still under warranty, however, it was noticed after the warranty was up. Was told that the engine noise is due to the plastic timing chain guides that wear down and then the timing chain begins to rub on metal. Failure to change out the entire timing chain kit may result in the timing chain breaking and rupturing the oil pan. I was told by the service department of the local dealership that the plastic guides were a faulty part but it was not a recall, if the car was still under warranty they would have fixed the problem. I don't think any car with less than 100k miles should need such a pricey "wear and tear" fix and I believe this part is faulty and should be recalled. In addition, since I have purchased the car in 2010 I have had a differential seal leak and a rear axle seal leak. All of which I have been told are normal "wear and tear" with a repair price tag of a few thousands of dollars.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and fluid was leaking from under the hood. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed that there was a coolant leakage which sipped into the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was 104,000.
Was driving my vehicle on the freeway and all of a sudden the vehicle began to lose speed. Pulled off the freeway and the car would just roll. Upon acceralting the vehicle the engine would just rev. Took car to transmission shop and the mechanic advised me that the entire transmission was ruined due to radiator coolant being leaked into the transmission. Prior to this I had the radiator inspected on several occasions in the last couple of years since the extended warranty had been placed on the vehicle and I had already surpassed the mileage of the warranty. The radiator showed no signs of wear and tear.
-fuel system has a problem registering the amount of fuel in the tank, the problem is associated with a faulty fuel level sending unit that nissan refuses to recall. -whining noise coming from inside the engine, noise comes from a faulty timing chain tensioner guide that nissan refuses to recall.
Break in transmission cooling coil inside radiator caused coolant to flow into automatic transmission. Transmission slippage at highway speeds caused vehicle to slow. Loss of coolant in radiator caused engine overheating. Result: vehicle undrivable at highway speeds, no acceleration due to slippage, costly replacement of radiator and transmission.
The vehicle has a whining noise. When taken to the dealership, it was diagnosed as a worn down tensioner for the timing chain. If neglected it could cause engine damage and malfunction. The dealer claims the repair includes removing the tensioner and replacing with an upgraded part as they know the original part is faulty. Nissan is aware of the issue and issued a service bulletin in 2009 ntb07-042a, but refuses to fix this part in their vehicles. This should be recalled!
Purplish fluid in radiator, took to dealer, transmission line inside radiator had broken and coolant had mixed with transmission fliud. Paid $1300.00 to get new radiator, transmission fluid flush, radiator flush.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle and took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. The dealer advised that that there was a recall for the electronic control module (ECM) relay under the federal safety agency campaign id number 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was repaired under the recall and a few days later, the catalytic converter failed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they informed the contact that the cause of the catalytic converter failure was due to the ECM relay failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and they offered to pay a percentage of the costs for repair. The failure mileage was 79,000.
On june 7, 2012, nissan told me that my radiator failed causing my transmission to fail. I have 3 children ages 7 weeks to 5 yrs and count my self lucky that the problem was diagnosed before a potentially life threatening transmission failure on busy los angeles county streets or freeways. I was later appalled to find out that nissan knew of the issue, but covered it up as evidenced in a ny times article dated 8/24/2011. The service advisor at the dealer informed me that my car situation was an issue that he had seen before. I am now being told that it will cost me $4000 for my car to be repaired due to a known defective radiator that would have cost a fraction of that to replace. I am still without a car after 11 days.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under the recall associated with the federal safety agency campaign id number 10v517000 (engine and engine cooling). Two days later, the vehicle staled while being driven at 45 MPH. The contact also stated that on another occasion, both headlights failed to illuminate while driving. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic. The mechanic stated that the ECM failed and needed to be replaced for a second time. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 8,302 and the current mileage was 8,350.
We brought our nissan 2006 xterra in to the boardwalk auto center. Redwood city, ca - nissan to have them check on what we thought was another transmission issue (nissan replaced the transmission, at their expense over $8000, once and the fuel gauge twice plus a couple of other recall items). When we picked up the car they told us we needed a new timing chain for about $2000 (we have heard these are not normal items to be replaced and should last the lifetime of the car). We can't believe there is yet another major expensive problem part with this car! When does this car become a lemon and how many major items are going to need to be replaced? What is happening to nissan? Has the timing chain issue been investigated and how many other people are having this problem?
Secondary timing chain shoe failure. Known problem with multiple nissan vehicles due to inferior quality product, as explained by service technician. Technician stated that multiple nissan vehicles come in to the shop weekly with this issue. It occurs so often, the service technician had examples of the inferior and worn parts in the cabinet to show customers. Expensive and timely issue to fix. If left unfixed, will cause serious damage to engine.
Coolant leaked from the radiator into the transmission and caused transmission failure.
I recently had my recalled ECM relay replaced after it failed, the very next day my service engine light came on. I found a p0430 code saying that the catalyst efficiency was below threshold on bank 2 (failed catalytic converter). I called the dealer to tell them what trouble code I had found and to see if the ECM failure was related. He said he would look into it and call me back. During that time, I did some research and found sites where people had discussed having the same issue. When the dealer called me back I told him what I had found, it was at this time, he told me that it was a common issue & that he would look into trying to get it covered under warranty even though my mileage was just over the 80,000 mile limit. When he called me back, he said that he was getting resistance from his end and that I should contact nissan directly. I called nissan, explained my issue, and then waited for them to get back to me with their decision. When they called they said that they would cover $300 of the $1300 cost to replace the catalytic converter. I said, only $300?? I feel that nissan should be covering 100% because it was the failure of the ECM that caused the catalytic converter to fail. Nissan said, our engineers have not determined that the failure of the ECM caused the failure of the catalytic converter, but if at some point they do determine that, we will refund all of your repair costs. I know the cat failure was directly related to the ECM failure and feel nissan should cover the entire cost of replacement. I called nissan back today (12/22/11) to see if I could get them to discuss this issue further & was told that since I did not accept their offer of $300 that the issue had been closed and that I could do nothing more. Nissan will now cover none of the cost to replace the cat because I did not accept their $300 offer. This is wrong!!!
I was driving thru a intersection and my xterra lost the ability to go due to a faulty radiator assembly causing failure to the transmission the issue started at around 92,000 miles and nissan will not do a thing to fix it saying I am out of the extended coverage! Well this is a a huge safety issue had it been a night me and my wife could have not been seen and had a very serious accident!
My 2006 nissan xterra is showing symptoms of the timing chain wear that so many other xterra owners have filed complaints about. I called nissan with reference to their technical service bulletin #ntb09-128 that acknowledges there is a problem with the timing chain. They told me they couldn't find it in the system and I would have to take my car to the dealer and have it replaced (at cost to me). I do not know why this is not a recall - if the timing chain snaps it will cause catastrophic engine failure that could lead to significant bodily injury if the car was driving.
At 64,765 miles, my timing chains need to be replaced, per my nissan dealer. I was told when I purchased the vehicle, brand new, that this would never be an issue.
Premature timing chain wear before and after 60,000 miles. Premature wear is caused by faulty design, specifically teflon coated guide-chain tensioner. Failure to the timing chain will result in engine failure and possible accident if operated on roadway. Nissan refuses to acknowledge problem and or recall. Prior service bulletin circulated by nissan (ntb07-042a) and generated on 4/17/2009 verifies same problem with this make and model and several other nissan years and models affected. Respectfully request investigation into this issue.
Radiator is separated at top of radiator. Radiator can't support pressure when running at top temperatures.
I have a 2006 nissan xterra and driving my car it started driving like in neutral so I had my car towed and the shop told me there was a crack in the radiator hose that caused fluid to go into transmission and ruined it. I had my car towed to a nissan dealer and they said yes they knew about this and had issued an extended warranty to 80,000 miles my car has 100,000 miles on it so it wouldn't be covered. I felt since they clearly had a design flaw in the radiator hose connection that could cause the transmission to give out and be dangerous it should have been a recall issue. It shouldn't matter how many miles you have on the car it was a defective design by nissan and should have been corrected. All you have to do is search on the internet and you will find many many pages of complaints about this issue. I find it hard to believe that a car company could be aware of a design flaw that is more likely to occur than not but not stand behind the vehicle and take care of it regardless the miles. It is over $5,000 to fix and it is wrong for nissan not to have recalled this. Why when it is repaired does the new radiator have a different hose connection?? Because they know it was a defective design first time around. Just wrong, I will never buy another nissan again.
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