Two problems related to transfer case have been reported for the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder based on all problems reported for the 2005 Pathfinder.
My wife picked up our two young kids (4, 6 at the time) from school and while on the way back home our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder totally shutdown as she was passing through a busy intersection. Thankfully, she made it through the intersection before being hit but was broken down in the street. Unfortunately, I was out of town for work that week so she called our neighbor and he helped get the truck back to our house. After discussing the situation with me on the phone, she called several transmission specialists and had one of them (a+ transmission) pick up the SUV the next day. After a running a diagnostic test and determining the severity of the transmission problem, they had to pull the transmission to do a complete inspection. They determined that the radiator had leaked into the transmission and transfer case and that the whole transmission including the radiator needed to be replaced. We opted for a rebuild since transmissions from Nissan were on 6 month backorder due to other Nissan's having the same issue. We spent almost $4,000 to fix this problem with no help from Nissan. After some research online, we found many complaints regarding this issue and the lack of a recall by Nissan. This is a significant safety issue that Nissan has failed to adequately address. I hope that someone will make Nissan do the right thing.
Courtesy copy of a letter from consumers written to Nissan north America re problems with their 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The consumer stated the vehicle was defective. There were numerous problems with the vehicle. The radiator was replaced, the transmission had a whistle up shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, the tires were feathered and an alignment was needed, the door panels creaked, the brakes made a clicking noise, the drive belts were replaced twice because of a noise the consumer heard, the plastic finisher on the running boards kept popping off, the strut on the rear hatch leaked due to a poor seal, the transfer case leaked, there was hesitation when accelerating from a stop, the 4-wheel drive light illuminated on the dashboard, the dealer stated it failed due to internal failure. The rear shocks leaked, the front pinion seal and oil pinion seal were replaced and the rear hatch window leaked. Updated 04/06/10.