Transmission Failure problems of the 2005 Nissan Frontier - part 1

My 2005 Nissan Frontiers transmission failed at 137,000 miles. I was driving on the freeway when it seemed to jolt out of 5th gear to 4th. Check engine light came on. I headed to Nissan but it seemed to only remain in a high gear (3rd or 4th). They diagnosed it as a failed transmission due to coolant leaking into the transmission. Its a known problem. I called Nissan headquarters and asked for help they said no. I had an extended powertrain warranty through aul, but because it was the radiator that leaked and not a transmission failure they won't cover it.

Total transmission failure due to a faulty transmission radiator , resulting in a total transmission rebuild.

Transmission failure diagnosed by repair shop as caused by radiator coolant contamination into the transmission. Total rebuild of transmission at a cost of 3,980. 00. I purchased this vehicle new in 2005 and was not made aware of this issue by Nissan. I have learned this is an ongoing issue the manufacturer has been aware of for years. My vehicle has 129,000 miles and more than 10 years since purchase. I find this matter disturbing that owners are now facing such an avoidable cost for repair and this could have been prevented by the manufacturer.

Leak in radiator into transmission has caused transmission failure.

Transmission cross contamination with coolant. 72,000 miles on odometer. Had transmission failure on the freeway driving full speed, forcing me to quickly move over 6 lanes with no high gear. Now I have a $4900 repair bill. I was in the Nissan dealership just 1 week prior for an oil change and have had the vehicle serviced at Nissan since it was new. I was never told of the recall or that I should bypass the radiator or beware of the problem.

Coolant contamination in the transmission causing transmission failure.

Complaint transmission failure with my 2005 Nissan Frontier. Is locked in 3rd gear in automatic transmission. Overdrive gear was gone due to coolant mixing with transmission fluid. Had replaced radiator & flushed transmission 3 months ago hoping to buy me some more miles before having to replace transmission. Didn't work. Told by Nissan that I was sol due to over 100,000 miles. ## VIN passed ## Nissan Frontier v6 4x4 2005 ##.

Radiator fluid mixed with the transmission and caused complete transmission failure.

Soon after passing the 103,000 mile mark in October, 2015, my 2005 Frontier 's automatic transmission (with the v-6 engine) started shuttering when I pressed the accelerator while the car was going 62 to 65 mph. It was quite startling and worrisome. The problem slowly got worse with shuttering occurring at different speeds and under different loadings. Within a week or two, I took it into a national transmission repair store (amaco) who wanted to charge me $180 for 2 hours of diagnosis to find out what the problem was. I ended up paying them for only 1 hour of their time. They said I had water in my transmission and that it would need to be rebuilt to the tune of around $5,000! they said I'd need to replace an internal computer. . . Along with the cost to rebuild the transmission. What makes me mad is that I took the car to amaco at around the 90,000 mile mark (in 2014) to get some major transmission work done that turned out to be a malfunctioning electronic/computer part in the transmission. This cost me around $1,600 to fix. At that point, there was no water in the transmission. However, they should have informed me I should replace the radiator at that point because the radiators were failing and would require the transmission be rebuilt. The repair shop could have informed me of the problem Nissan was having with the radiator. . . But chose not to tell me. I could have fixed the potential radiator problem for around $300, before it created the eventual transmission failure which cost $5,000. Nissan also knew, but chose not to advise me to replace the defective radiator before it failed. The dealer's failure to notify me about the radiator design flaw, which they knew about it in 2007, kept me from replacing it. I would have gladly done this to avoid spending $5,000 when the radiator failed. The estimated "date this happened" is 9/14/2015.

My radiator failed and contaminated the transmission with coolant causing the transmission to fail. The truck has 108,000 miles but the technician that replaced the transmission and radiator said that it had been mixing for a while so it is difficult to say how many miles the vehicle had at the time of the failure. It cost me $4750 to repair. This is a common problem with Nissan Frontiers.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. While attempting to drive, the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission failed. While repairing the vehicle, it was discovered that the transmission could not be installed because sections of the subframe were rusted and corroded. No further information was available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,000.

Due to a defect known by Nissan, the radiator coolant leaked into the transmission causing transmission failure. Nissan knew about the defect and did nothing to correct it. Instead they added an "extended warranty" that most people will not be able to take advantage of due to years/mileage limitations. I made it into the last bracket, where my CO-pay for the repair is $3000 instead of the full $5800. The dealer did not research the warranty and tried to have me pay full price. I will never buy a Nissan again due to their decision not to take responsibility for a known defect.

Vehicle wouldn't shift into a high gear. This after hesitation, stuttering, and other issues. Transmission cooler failure resulting in transmission failure and radiator failure. Common defect. Local Nissan dealers as well as Nissan consumer affairs department unwilling to fix or to "good will" a solution. 3700$ at a local licensed garage to fix.

Radiator/transmission failed, caused transmission to fail, had to be replaced.

While driving on the interstate my truck began a small intermittent shudder, as if driving over rumble strips. This occurred 2 or 3 times. The next week the shuddering reoccurred. Scheduled and appointment with my local Nissan dealership. They very quickly diagnosed the problem. They indicated it was a common problem with this vehicle where the transmission cooler fails and intakes radiator coolant into the transmission. The indicate the transmission will in all likely hood need to be rebuilt.

Transmission failure related to coolant leaking into the transmission from the radiator oil coolant assemble. Nissan will not cover the complete cost of this know defect.

The radiator failed causing the the transmission fluid to get contaminated with coolant. This caused the transmission to fail resulting in a nearly $5,000 bill.

Driving down the road at 50 and suddenly as im going up a hill the truck bucks like its running out of gas and then suddenly I lose all forward power no symptoms previously just up and stopped the engines still running but not power come to find out its a transmission failure from what my tech said its a very common problem with certain 2005 and newer Nissan models said the radiator transmission and transmission controller atm may need to be replaced. I would of never bought this truck if I new about this horrendous oversight in the manufacture of these vehicles and of Nissans continued lack of attention to this common and very painful problem.

The transmission failed caused by a ruptured seal in the radiator.

Transmission failed due to cross contamination with radiator. Transmission and radiator had to be replaced.

To whom it may concern: I own a 2005 Nissan Frontier se. On Saturday, June 15, 2013 the vehicle failed while I was approaching an overpass in a downpour of thunderstorms. It appeared the vehicle's transmission failed. I had to steer my vehicle off the road as the transmission seemed to have slipped into neutral. Thankfully, no injury or accident occured. After speaking with a Nissan of north american customer service representative, I had it towed into pat fisher Nissan in titusville on Monday morning, June 17th. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was taken to dealer where it was determined that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 280,000.

Transmission failing sounds and feels like driving over rumble strips. Also noticed cabin heater does not work when at a stop. Signs indicative of radiator/transmission seal failure and radiator coolant in transmission.

Sitting at a stop light with right foot on brake, waiting for light to change. As light changed applied pressure to gas pedal but the vehicle would not move the engine would just rev up. Put the vehicle in park and turn off the engine waited a moment then turned the vehicle back on and put the transmission in drive, vehicle began to move but the transmission acted like it was slipping. Drove vehicle to dealer and they said that the transmission had failed on vehicle and it would need a new one. Payed 5,321. 74 to have transmission replaced. Dealer said transmission failure was due to a radiator issue on vehicle.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle began to slightly jerk as the transmission failed to respond. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who stated that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

I purchased my 2005 Nissan Frontier at approx. 95k in February. The test drives were fine, the car sounded and drove perfectly fine for a few months. It recently began to start shifting roughly . The Nissan dealership I purchased the car from did something to cover up the issue which was obviously why they were trying to sell it before 100k and I got burned on it. I purchased the truck from marietta, GA at team Nissan. I didn't get it checked until now, but have since discovered the numerous complaints of a recall related to radiator antifreeze leaking into the transmission and causing failure of both. This is a safety issue and it really does baffle me that a whole generation of Nissan vehicles from 2005-2010 have this issue and that it could caused some accidents due to high speed transmission failure. I see this as being a safety issue on the same scale as the Toyota issues of a few years back. To have this be a limited warranty recall is disgraceful. You can believe Nissan knows exactly when these incidents are likely to occur so they extended their coverage up to that point and they fail thereafter. Not to mention that the current recall does not seem to include issues it causes to the transmission. My truck as you can see is out of the extended warranty for the radiator and was when I purchased it.

Was traveling at 55mph in my 2005 Nissan Frontier when it was as if the transmission was put in neutral. Had to stop in the highway, nowhere to pull off. As luck would have it was near my destination and managed to get there going about 10 to 15mph. It was at night so luckily not much traffic when it occurred. Towed to dealership next day and was told the radiator failed and coolant was allowed to enter transmission thus also causing transmission failure. Vehicle had exceeded the 80,000 mile warranty but also found out that warranty had been extended from the original 36,000 mile warranty because of problems. Only the radiator and transmission were issued the 80,000 extended warranty, but my vehicle had 95,994 miles thus no warranty coverage, and repair cost would run $6,900. 00. Contacted Nissan consumer affairs but was denied reimbursement. Although dealership worked with me and got the price down to $4,800. 00 this is a major expense to me on a vehicle that should have been taken care of by the Nissan corp. , due to the large number of complaints about this exact problem on vehicles with more than 80,000 miles. Have yet to find any consumer that has been compensated for this problem.

Nissan has a know radiator problem. Internal leakage into the transmission cooler. Causes catastrophic transmission failure. Pulling away from stop sign. Transmission shifted hard twice. Then had no forward motion, engine would rev up, but not move the vehical. Truck has 100,000 mile Nissan extended powertrain warranty. Was first told by the dealer. 100% covered. Less than an hour later, was told not covered. Cost $5000 plus. Contacted Nissan customer service. Gabby at Nissan siad they would look into it. Took a week for them to finally call back. They asked me to cover $2000. They would not cover the whole bill, even though it is a known defect. And the truck has the extended warranty. I paid $2192. 43 to have the transmission and defective radiator replaced. Asked if the radiator was an updated part. Waiting on a call to find out if it is a better radiator or just a new one with the same defect. Right now. Its a ticking time bomb, if the failure occured in traffic on an interstate, a major crash could have happened.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Frontier. While driving approximately 45 mph up an incline, the transmission failed to down shift. There were no prior warnings. The failure only occurred when driving up an incline. The contact replaced the radiator and there was no longer a malfunction with the transmission. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 145,000.

Transmission cooler failing and contaminating the transmission, repaired transmission cost was more that I can paid, fixed anyway but still not 100% good, haven't bought a new radiator, don't want the same problem again. I hope this will be a recall so I can have my transmission repair by Nissan and a radiator replace.

My 2005 Frontier started stuttering and not accelerating as normal. I was trying to get onto the freeway and my truck would not go past about 45 mph. I got off the freeway and took side roads back home. After numerous phone calls to Nissan to try to fix this problem I looked online and found out that the most common problem with this vehicle is transmission fluid mixing with coolant from the radiator and causing the transmission to fail. I took my truck to a Nissan dealership where they told me there wasn't a problem with my transmission fluid and it was fine. I then took my truck to another mechanic who told me the problem was the mixing of the two fluids. This problem could have potentially caused an accident on the freeway, as my truck's maximum speed was 20 mph less that the speed limit, and my truck could have potentially stopped all together. I'm just glad none of that happened, but I'm sure someone else is not going to be so lucky.

Experienced vibrations in the suspension at approximately 55mph. Over the next couple of months, the vibrations became progressively worse. I took the truck to the Nissan dealer for repairs. I was told this was a transmission failure caused by a design problem where the radiator fluid over time contaminates the transmission fluid. The Nissan dealer stated the repairs called for complete replacement of the transmission and radiator. The repairs were done at a cost of $5,375. 28. Since this transmission and radiator failure was caused by a design problem, I contacted Nissan consumer affairs to request that they compensate me for the cost of repairs. They refused to cover the cost of repairs, stating that the warranty period had expired.

I drove the Frontier to work that morning, then in the afternoon I began my 62 mile commute home. I came to a stop at a traffic light and then when I began to drive again the engine would rev high and accelerate slowly. I made it to a service station where the code p1754 was read on the onboard computer. I was told by the service station that it needed to be looked at, since he didn't see any mechanical issues. The code was cleared and I was able to drive it home. The next morning thinking the problem may have been a glitch in the computer I attempted to drive it down the road, approximately 2 miles into the drive a violent jerk of the truck and I could not accelerate, it was as though the vehicle was in neutral. I made it home and had the vehicle towed to the dealer I bought it from in 2007. They informed me that the transmission cooler had cracked and cross contaminated the radiator and transmission fluids and it would be a 6300. 00 dollar repair. I contacted Nissan after reading online about multiple issues with this and they said that they had sent a letter out in December notifying owners of the issue. The letter stated that the warranty had been extended to 80,000 miles. Due to the fact that neither the dealer nor Nissan had taken the time to update the vehicles info showing my ownership, I never received a letter and am beyond the 80,000 miles as are many of the other owners experiencing this issue. Nissan admits that the transmission cooler is suffering catastrophic failure in the transmission and radiators, but only on the phone. When you let them know that the transmission fails while on the highway in the middle of traffic, they only offer what seems to be the typical "I am sorry. " this problem needs to be corrected and not at the owners expense, since it is a faulty transmission cooler that was used that caused all of the damage.

I have a suffered a transmission failure due to a faulty radiator in my 2005 Nissan Frontier. Coolant has entered the transmission due to radiator failure, thus ruining it. I have had my 2005 Nissan Frontier in the shop for five weeks and it will cost $4,500 to repair.

2005 Nissan Frontier le (transmission failure). Driving at interstate speed (70mph), transmission failed causing sudden deceleration. Failed once, transmission must be replaced. Nissan service department is not able to repair due to high demand for parts. Possible consequence high speed collision due to sudden deceleration.