The transmission failed during heavy commute traffic hwy at 60mph creating a near miss multi vehicle collision. No injuries or accident occured because of the malfunction. The vehicle lost power and was pulled safely to the side of the road. The cause of the transmission failure was diagnosed to be transmission failure due to contamination from engine coolant. A common problem with this make and model as thousands of consumer complaints have been filed but ignored by the federal safety agency and nissan. The factory radiator has a known defect which caused the intercooler tubing from the transmission to the radiator to crack and fail thus causing cross contamination of tranmission fluid and engine coolant from the radiator to mix and destroy the transmission. The failure requires replacement of the radiator and replacement or rebuilding of the transmission at a cost of $5,500. In over 45 years of driving all makes,years and models of vehicles both foreign and domestic, I have never had one failure of this type before, even in vehicles with over 300,000 miles of use. In my humble opinion, this is nothing less than an engineering defect either purposefully designed as built in obsolescense, or overlooked and denied by nissan as a materials defect in manufacturing. Anyone can use a search engine on the internet to find that this is a common occurance but no recall has been enacted because there has been no deaths reported yet. Because my vehicle is out of warranty, but of this low milage, it was not a maintenance issue, as it is a 2 wheel drive vehicle not used for off road but standard paved roadway use. Oil changes and inspections were completed as recommended.
2006 Nissan Xterra transmission complaints
Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 268, newest first, as owners wrote them.
We were pulling a light 18 foot trailer up a steep hill, at low speed due to the grade. It was on hwy 89, about 5 miles w of garden city, utah. The RPM of the car raced up to 4,000, it lost power and lugged. We were fortunate that there was a turn off a very short distance ahead. We were also fortunate that the failure did not occur when we were turning left in front of on-coming traffic. The engine was smoking hot, even though the radiator didn't show any heat. It took a while to recognize the issue.
On sunday, august 30, 2015, while driving from maryland to virginia, on a speed limit of 55, vehicle slowed down and transmission wont engaged while accelerating the gas pedal, RPM was going to the higher number/red zone and car will not move faster up to the noted speed limit. When we stop at the light, and the lights turn green, the vehicle will not move and make loud noise and RPM going higher to the red zone numbers. This caused traffic behind us back up because of speed too slow in a 55-mile per hour speed. I was afraid it could have caused an accident. This happened several times during a 200-mile travel from maryland to virginia. I read that there were several complaints about nissan vehicles about radirator water leaks to the transmission and causing it to malfunction. According the price transmission experts, this is the same problem and the cost to repair will cost $4,400.00 I would like to have nissan pay the repair cost.
The first incident was a couple months ago when my car just decided to stop in traffic all the sudden. Just shut down. Then yesterday I was driving to work and a car in front of me decided to slow down. When I hit the breaks to slow down the car would not accelerate back up it decreased. I could not get it to go. I restarted the car and it turned on and went again. I looked at this website and saw all the complaints.I have had all the same issues with stalling, not starting, and no acceleration. I took it to a transmission shop and they could not detect anything wrong as no codes and of course it did not do it for them when they test drove it. I took my car to the nissan dealership showed them the print out from this site and told them I am having all those problems within the last couple months. They told me since my VIN was not included in the recall they basically could not help without charging me $900 for a radiator plus the engine control module $78. I had to pay $100 just for them to look at it. They told me a whole new transmission would be $9000. This is a horrible problem this vehicle is having and is very dangerous for your car to just turn off while driving. I have a small child in the car with me. Very scary would could happen. I do not care what the mileage is on the vehicle. Nissan needs to include all xterra's no matter what the VIN is for the time frame! All these complaints need action. I little to quinky dink they are all happening now! Nissan dealership told me they would recommend: ECM relay $78, radiator $740, plus some other maintenance stuff. When I went to leave after having them replace the. Ecm I had a lovely letter stating they did a complimentary appraisal of my vehicle. They did everything to confirm it is the problem, but offered no help unless I fork out the $$$$$.
Tramsmission was beginning to make noise and shifting roughly. I took it to the nissan dealer and they said the radiator was leaking into the transmission fluid causing damage to the transmission. They said it was not covered under warranty and it cost me over $3500 to repair.
I had just exited the interstate and was stopped at a traffic light. My transmission had been making a noise but I did not know why. When I attempted to pull away from the light my transmission would not engage into gear. My vehicle had to be towed to the repair shop where it was determined fluid from my radiator which had cracked the previous month had moved through the coolant lines into my transmission and causes its failure. If this had happened while still on the interstate I would have been at high risk for a fatal wreck to have occured
I am writing this in regard to the radiator cracking and leaking coolant into the transmission fluid. This problem completely ruins transmissions and there is no way to tell the problem is occuring. I have had the vehicle inspected regularly and maintained to all manufacturer specifications. I received zero notification from nissan about this issue. This is my primary vehicle I use to transport my child. I was left stranded on the side of a back road in extreme heat due to this defect. The cost of repairing this issue is well over the worth of the vehicle itself.
Cracked radiator hose caused coolant to mix with transmission fluid thereby ruining the transmission. Cost included radiator and transmission (used) replacement. This issue would have been proactively repaired / replaced the radiator prior to the issue occurring had nissan notified me of it. Instead, it cost an extra $3500 to replace both radiator and transmission. A totally preventable situation, never mind the potentially hazardous situation had the transmission failed at highway speeds. No excuse for nissan.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the nissan dealer where it was diagnosed that radiator coolant and transmission fluid mixed together and caused the transmission to fail. The manufacturer was notified and diagnosed the failure as "power transmission cross train". The failure mileage was 118,000.
As I came up to stop at a red light, the xterra began to shudder and the tachometer started rising and falling until I finally stopped, then the tachometer dropped below 500 RPM and the truck turned off. Restarted it fine, but it stalled again. I quickly figured out that although it is an automatic, I needed to drive it like a manual. So I put it in neutral, started it again, it did not stall, then I revved the engine to 2,000 RPM and put it into drive. Off I went, and it did not do it again that day. However, over the next month it became a growing problem, until it finally was occurring every single time I stopped unless I put it in neutral. I took it to the mechanic who spent 4 hours diagnosing it to be certain of the problem. Which they said was a failing torque convertor and plate. It failed due to coolant leaking into the transmission from a broken housing coming off of the radiator (apparently a very common problem for which nissan refuses to take responsibility). Not hard to verify their findings due to the presence of pink milkshake looking liquid in the radiator. Final verdict, at best it needs a new torque convertor and plate, but with the amount of effort to install those and unknown further damage from the coolant leak, a new transmission was recommended.
Driving down the road, vehicle RPM went up as the speed decease. I place the vehicle in the next lower gear to get to my location. Check the radiator later and it has a oily creamy thick mixture of radiator coolant and transmission fluid.
My transmission failed be cause of water entering through the cooling system account it is connected to radiator this has been a problem with this vehicle for some time.
Transmission, radiator problems. Car is a lemon.
I was on my way back from the mall when I heard my fan/belt start to squeal. Not thinking anything of it I kept on driving next thing I know I'm pressing harder on my gas peddle just to go faster. My rpms where going to high and I was only going 65. I was on the high when this happen so I didn't notice till I had to go up a bridge and that's when I really notice my engine struggling to get power, it sounded like it was doing a lot when it really wasn't. I knew I had to go to the mechanic to get it looked at they told me it was a lose bolt. Next thing I'm driving home and my car was doing the same thing again but this time it wasn't going into gear in drive, so I tried 3 gear still nothing so I went to 2 and it stuck. I parked it on a side street in ocean city and called trip a and had it towed to nissan of atlantic city to see what was wrong. Couple days later they called and told me my radiator fluid leaked into my transmission and messed all the gears up. After hearing that I looked up that problem on xterras apparently this is a pretty common occurrence on them. I was not notified of such problems by the dealer and apparently nissan want reimburse me so I'm out 7,500 because my nissan is sitting in my back yard.
Radiator, which was recalled and I was never notified about, cracked leaking coolant into the transmission ultimately causing the transmission to fail.
I was driving 15 MPH on the local street and the slip sensor light and vehicle dynamic control sensor light came on, then the transmission started to make a grinding noise. That's it, finished at 49k miles doa. Vehicle was always garaged. Radiator cracked leaked coolant into transmission nice truck, sorry to have to let nissan go. Truck was like new.
When it turned cold jan/feb 2105 our daughter told us the heat was not working. But she knew we did not have the money to repair so we did not worry about it. We own a 2000 chevy truck & the heat has not worked for years & we just live with it.so we never thought about the radiator/coolant being the problem. Then something major happened-our daughter was driving home from auburn al to our home in opelika al & she called us saying the car would not go over 25-30 MPH. We were out of town, it was 10 pm at night so we told her to keep driving and get home to a safe place (her life was more important than stopping on the side of the road--a young lady all by herself) she got home, parked it & when we returned home we took it to a local repair shop that we trust. He called us the next day & said I have devastating news. He told us about the service report put out on nissan xterras in regard to the major, well known to nissan problem of when the coolant/radiator cracks because of a faulty when in manufacturing radiator is put in it is a known by nissan bad one. It cracks & leaks into the transmission in which the coolant mixes with the transmission fluid & creates a toxic hell stew that destroys the transmission. He said your car is worth $5,000 but the cost to repair is $7,000. I called nissan they told me I had to take it to a nissan dealer for their diagnosis and the diagnosis is the same. My husband is very, very sick and we have huge medical, pharmacy, hospital bills and I have had breast cancer with chemo that has caused an autoimmune disorder (almost lost my left eye) and our 15 year-old daughter goes to children's hospital in birmingham al for rheumatoid arthritis. We thought we were buying a very dependable car for $14,000 only 3 1/2 years ago and now it is 4500 pounds of junk metal. If nissan had told us about the problem, we could have been proactive.
The xterra began overheating and driving in an unsafe manner at highway speeds. Diagnosis at a nissan dealer was a failed cooler line allowed coolant in the radiator and that both the radiator and transmission would have to be replaced at a cost of $5800. There was no prior warning to the failure. The vehicle is just outside of an extended 10k warranty/$3000 copay nissan offered as a result of a class action lawsuit for this issue.
Defective radiator leaked engine coolant into automatic transmission fluid (atf), causing cross-contamination of fluids that will ruin the re5r05a transmission. The engine coolant water contamination can short-circuit the low current electronic computer located on the valve body. This transmission was used in xterra; frontier; pathfinder and armada vehicles manufactured between 2005 and 2010. Fixing the radiator and replacing the contaminated fluid with fresh fluid does not alleviate the problem, as the transmission computer has been permanently damaged. The only way to fix a damaged transmission computer is to replace it with a new one, and they are only available from nissan as part of a new valve body assembly. (http://www.toptransmissions.com/nissan-pathfinder-xterra-armada) numerous consumer reports online show that the vehicle can suddenly lose power, or even lock up the driving wheels while driving the vehicle in traffic; therefore, this is a serious safety defect issue. Suburban transmissions of gaithersburg, md 20878 (ph. 301‑362‑4040 or 800‑353‑3477) reports that: "for most trucks and suvs, fixing the radiator problem and replacing the transmission fluid might correct this problem. However, on the nissan pathfinder and xterra and other models that use the re5r05a transmission?(w)e also recommend (along with radiator & transmission replacement) bypassing the radiator with an external transmission cooler to prevent this from happening again as replacing the radiator issue is likely to happen again." [web source: link shown above.]
Radiator coolant leaked into transmission fluid and ruined the transmission. Known issue.
The power steering fluid entered into the transmission causing a sudden loss of power of vehicle. Nissan recognized this a problem.
Faulty radiator and transmission nissan will not cover for damage ,vehicle suddenly dies while driving,very much known problem.
Driving home from work my vehicle started to tremble and shudder at speeds above 30-40 MPH. Eventually after much hesitation and loud engine revving I decided to pull over and turn the vehicle off. Turned it back on and got about a few hundred feet down the road when the same problem occurred. The transmission wasn't responsive with the engine causing me to cut someone off just to pull of the road safely. I have heard the common issue with nissan's transmission/coolant contamination and decided to look further into the issue after getting towed home. $100 down the drain. Sure enough my coolant reservoir and radiator cap were smothered in a thick goop known as the infamous "smod". There is trans fluid mixed into my coolant and more than likely, coolant in my transmission. This is design flaw in nissan. This problem should be resolved completely by nissan with no fault to their dedicated customers. Warranties need to be extended past 100k because that's when the issue is occurring in most xterra, pathfinder, and frontiers. I'll be damned if nissan only partially cover my cost repair leaving the bulk to me. I am a student working a full time job trying to pay for their education bit by bit. This is not what others in similar situation need to deal with and neither do I. Remember, nissan is only successful and wealthy because of us, the consumer. Give back to those who helped you build a reputable auto manufacturer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 nissan xterra. While driving at approximately 40 MPH, the transmission failed and the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator and the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 121,000. The VIN was unavailable.
For a cracked radiator the coolant leak into the transmission destroying it. The cost of repair is around $ 6,000. The nissan dealer to not want to assume that it is a manufacturer defect.
Transmission going out due to a problem that many others seem to be having as well. See link below for more information regarding coolant leaking into the transmission. *tr http://www.carcomplaints.com/nissan/xterra/2006/transmission/coolant_leaked_into_transmission.shtml
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.my 2006 xterra has had same issue.trans and radiator had to be replaced.
Upon turning a corner after coming to a complete stop at a stop sign in my neighborhood, I went to accelerate and match the speed of oncoming traffic. The gear failed to shift appropriately (transmission) and giving the car gas simply revved the engine. Luckily the approaching car responded well and slowed to avoid a rear collision while I eased off the pedal and then gently accelerated again to my local mechanic. Upon his examination of my 2006 xterra, he determined that the transmission fluid and coolant were mixing and destroying both my radiator and transmission. A quick search on the internet revealed that this dangerous problem is common among nissan owners! When I purchased the vehicle from smithtown nissan in 2010 and subsequently, there was absolutely no notification or recall regarding this dangerous hazard. This is unacceptable and life-threatening. There settlement of a class action lawsuit is insufficient (a $2500 - $3k) co-pay to replace the transmission and potentially have the same defect again! My wife and kids rely on my car every day and I feel fortunate that I did not wait any longer to have the car examined, but I am extremely disturbed by nissan's negligence.
The initial incident was failed timing chain tensioner guides. As indicated earlier nissan knowingly redesigned the parts since the originals were found to wear through, causing the timing chain to rub directly on the metal post of the tensioner and contact the housing cover. During the repair the nissan service department confirmed the failed radiator coolant contamination addressed in odi the federal safety agency action number: dp12004. The timing chain and guides were replaced; the radiator was replaced; coolant was flushed; transmission was drained, flushed, and filled. The service department also confirmed nissan, n.a. Would not offer any amount of repair assistance. Total cost was $2200. The day after the vehicle was repaired it suddenly decelerated from 55mph to 30mph and the RPM's increased to 4k+ while traveling on a multi lane dark country highway at 11pm. The section of highway did not have an emergency lane or shoulder. A vehicle was in the left lane and a semi-truck was quickly approaching from the rear in the right lane. Once crossing the bridge the vehicle was jerked to the shoulder, avoiding a rear collision from the approaching semi-truck. The vehicle was turned off and restarted. The RPM's returned to 1k, the transmission was in neutral, and the check engine was illuminated. The following day nissan service confirmed it was a failing valve body as a result of the coolant contamination. The wholesale repair cost was quoted at $1400. Again, nissan, n.a. Would not address the failure. At this time the repair has not, and will not, be completed.
Check engine light came on, took to mechanic for a check and found that we were leaking radiator coolant into the transmission fluid. Had to replace parts and flush transmission at a pricey cost.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2006 Nissan Xterra?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history