Transmission Fluid Leaking problems of the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder - part 2

My vehicle quit driving in the middle of traffic. It would only idle when I pressed the accelerator. I was notified that my radiator had an internal leak and the coolant was mixing with my transmission fluid which caused my transmission to shut down. I was notified when searching for a radiator, that this has been a common problem with the vehicles and is documented with complaints all over the internet. I am currently a nursing student, and I do not think it is fair that I must pay for repairs that are not my fault when I am not able to afford them. This has been an extremely costly repair and I have been forced to take out a loan to get my vehicle repaired so I will have transportation to school.

We had started to notice some rough shifting at low speeds. This past weekend my wife was trying to drive with our kids in atlanta freeway stop and go traffic. At speeds around 15 mph the vehicle would start to buck and lurch and it would kill the engine. It is an automatic but was behaving like a manual if someone didn't push in the clutch when coming to a stop. This was very hazardous in stop and go traffic on a 10+ lane freeway. The mechanic said the transmission is failing because radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission and that he had seen a number of Nissans with this problem. We are having to replace both the transmission and radiator at $4,000. That is better than having the transmission lock up at highway speeds. If you remember last year, montoya's nascar transmission locked up sending him into one of the jet driers at the track causing a fiery collision. He had no control at that time and he is a professional driver. Nissan knows this is a problem. I now know that I am not alone and that too many Nissan owners have made this complaint and Nissan will not voluntarily protect their customers.

Radiator cracked causing coolant fluids to leak into transmission and transmission to slip and not drive.

Vibrates violently when shifting, on9/15/12 I was on the freeway and it started jerking and shaking back and forth and I had to let of the gas to get it to shift and going again. Since then it has got worse. Took it too a transmission place and they looked at the fluid and coolant had leaked into the transmission. $4200. 00 is the estimate. I don't have the money and will now have to get a loan to get it fixed. Nissan warranty is expired at 80k miles. I have a warranty in place with naviss which they have denied the claim stating the radiator is not a covered part and the fact that is the cause of the problem so it is not covered. I have a wife and two kids and the vehicle is not safe to drive. My wife will not drive the vehicle. I can't believe Nissan knows that this an issue yet they won't take responsibility and fix the problem. The transmission place said they fix 3-4 a month, and have yet to see Nissan cover any. I hope that the class action lawsuit goes through so we can get our money back. ## VIN passed ## Nissan Pathfinder 2005 ##.

Recently my transmission has failed on my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. After reading up on it on the internet forums, I have found that many people have experienced the same problem due to a coolant leaking into the transmission fluid causing transmission damage and failure. I feel that Nissan should stand by this because it is a factory defect.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the engine rpm reading began to increase as the vehicle shifted hard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician advised the contact that the transmission would have to be replaced because radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. There was an investigation under NHTSA action number: dp12004 (power train) that could have been related to the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 78,241.

Radiator leaked into transmission fluid.

Coolant mixing in the transmission system. Some issues with slipping at first, mechanics couldn't figure it out. Said they would have to take apart the transmission to figure it out since there were no codes being tripped. Then the slip got worse and they happened to discover how bad the fluid looked by the u-joint underneath the car. It was only then that they discovered that the problem could have been related to the radiator coolant leak. They proceeded to fix the radiator and related components and flushed the system several times ($726. 81) only 2 months later the transmission was acting up again and almost failed on the freeway, stuttering the engine and smoking a bit. Fortunately, we where able to limp the vehicle home and get it to the mechanic the next day. Vehicle was at the shop for 3 weeks, then the mechanic thought he had it fixed. We drove the car about 5 miles down the road, the vehicle started to stutter and slip again and the check engine light came on again. We returned the vehicle to the shop, they checked the codes and determined that the transmission would need to be replaced. This is ridiculous. . . . . . When you pay this much money for a vehicle, there is no reason why a transmission should fail in 94,000 miles. I can't believe all the horror stories I have read on the internet related to this Nissan transmission issue. I feel a sick to my stomach right now just thinking about the financial impact that this has and will cause to my family. There is absolutely no reason that Nissan shouldn't be responsible for this catastrophe. Especially after they have identified that this is a known issue.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the transmission started to make a loud noise when shifting. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission. As a result, the transmission and radiator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 99,000. Pm.

The vehicle experienced loss of power while driving at 60mph in the freeway. After a few similar incidents I took the vehicle to the dealer for a recall that described a similar issue, a relay was changed. . The vehicle continue experiencing the jerking until a few weeks ago that it look like transmission fluid leaked in the driveway. I took the vehicle to the nearest shop for a check up. Apparently coolant was leaked into the transmission. We took the vehicle to Nissan we the hoped that they would honor a warranty extension, they asked as to pay for a test to confirm what we already new. We were told that we needed to contact Nissan's 800 number corporate office cause there was a chance that they might want to extend the warranty. I understand that they extended the transmission warranty to 80k due to this common issue. They totally denied the extension cause my vehicle had 107,000 miles. Thanks god that we have not had an accident as a result of this issue. Now we have to incur the expensive cost of replacing the radiator and transmission. This factory defect should be paid by Nissan and we need an investigation into this common issue. Please let's not wait until a fatality occurs for your organization to initiate it.

My 2005 Pathfinder was running fine until it started developing a case of thermostat fluctuation; it would almost go into the red and then drop all the way back down to the normal level. I took it to precision tune and they replaced the radiator hose assembly. A few weeks after that, the tranny started slipping. As I had already read from other consumers, I knew what was happening to my truck, and because the truck already had 120k + miles on it, I knew what Nissan would likely say. Sure enough, one afternoon, I got in the truck and it wouldn't accelerate forward. I immediately had it towed to Nissan in April and began the fight to get it fixed; they quoted me $5100 to replace the tranny and radiator due to coolant leaking into the transmission case and transmission fluid leaking into the radiator. I contacted their consumer affairs, and not only did they tell me they wouldn't cover it, but referred me to the bbb (a very brazen move in my mind, to have a company refer you to them about them). They already knew the bbb wouldn't help because it was outside of the warranty. Nearly four months later, it still sits at the dealer, because I can't afford to pay the repair cost (I still owe for two years on the vehicle), and Nissan refuses to fix it, although they know the problem exists. Someone has to die, I guess, before they pull their vehicles off the road and fix the problem.

I began to have trouble when attempting to accelerate, the car appeared to stay in low gear. Took it to Nissan they recommended to replace the radiator and transmission for $5,000! I bought this car on good faith knowing Nissan is a quality product and this is now happening. Nissan apparently knows about the issues with a leak starting in the radiator, and leaking fluids into the transmission, which causes the transmission to go out. Nissan extended the warranty on the radiator till 80,000 miles knowing about this problem, but after doing research everyone having the problem is over 80,000 miles! Nissan will not do a recall! this is unbelievable. I paid very good money for this car, and now have to spend another $5,000 to repair, with a known problem that Nissan will not cover. I will never purchase another Nissan vehicle, since they do not apparently care about their customers.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that when driving 40 mph or above, the engine would flood, causing the vehicle to hesitate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was advised to the contact that radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission and causing the transmission to fail. The dealer stated this is a known problem, but the manufacturer was not going to cover the cost of the repair unless the vehicle had been serviced by a dealer for all maintenance issues in the past. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 110,000.

My wife noticed acceleration decreasing and then when she change the gear to drive the car didn't move. Then, it finally went into drive. We took it to dealership and they stated the radiator and transmission will have to be replaced due to radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. We heard about this issue happening frequently with other Nissan Pathfinders. Therefore, we contacted 1-800-nissan1 to see if we could get some kind of help. I talked to a representative named [xxx] from a company that creates a case with the hope that Nissan will cover the costs. After two and half weeks a decision was made not to cover the cost of repair due to the car was bought used and it is over the 80,000 mile extended warranty. If it is a defect, isn't the manufacturer responsible. This is not caused by the consumer and is not wear and tear. I have a Nissan altima with over 230,000 miles and the transmission is still producing. I loved Nissan cars up until this very moment. I have been researching to purchase another Nissan, but after this my mind has changed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Our transmission started shuttering, pulling, and lagging while driving at speeds of 40 mph or more and eventually failed. As a known factory defect and design flaw, Nissan failed to notify current owners about transmission failures due to radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. Instead of sending a letter out to all Nissan owners about this issue, they decided to offer an extended warranty up to 2013 or 80,000 miles. Since most of the cars will have problems well after 80,000 miles and no owners were notified of this extended warranty, consumers were left unaware as Nissan evaded the problem. As our only family car, this issue could have caused a major injury or death if the car's transmission failed while driving on the highway. I have tried to get answers from Nissan north America, but they said they are not willing to help me because I am past the 80,000 mile mark and that I am not a loyal enough customer. I have owned three Nissans and I don't know how I could possibly be more loyal, especially since I had major issues with my Nissan titan a couple of years ago which Nissan denied to fix even while it was still under the factory warranty. This should have been resolved with a factory recall long before I had this issue. Now I am facing a repair bill from Nissan for $5,380. 00. Leaving consumers with this kind of burden and hazard makes me wonder if Nissan is waiting for someone to be seriously injured or die from this very common and inevitable outcome for most Nissan suvs and their owners. This problem still exists, it will not go away on its own, and there are hundreds of people like me with the exact same complaint. Something needs to be done to hold Nissan accountable regarding this matter.

While driving the "service engine soon" light came on the car stopped shifting up or down. The nearest diagnostic center obviously pointed to the transmission and they said to take the car back to the dealer. I did this on 29 February 2012. Their analysis was that the transmission fluid and coolant had intermixed due to a leak in the system and the transmission and radiator system had to be replaced, their estimate is $5000. They are awaiting delivery of a rebuilt transmission. I have contacted Nissan and been given a file number, 7392063, with no further follow up as of today, 4 March 2012. Approximately 1. 5 years ago, my son had the same issue with an identical Pathfinder. He drives more than I do and reached the 90000 mileage sooner. He replaced his transmission for a similar cost. Based on similar complaints I have been researching, Nissan is aware of this design flaw but has not satisfactorily addressed it. In virtually every complaint I have examined, the transmission failure due to this leakage occurs after 90000 miles.

Within a week had check engine light for catalytic converter failure and transmission starting skipping. Found fluid to be strawberry colored in transmission. Stopped at a transmission shop and they advised that the radiator had failed and leaked coolant into the transmission. This has caused permanent damage to the transmission. Basically having to buy the car all over again or cut my losses and send it to the scrap yard. I will never buy another Nissan product. They know of this problem and refuse to correct their mistakes.

2005 Nissan Pathfinder transmission problems took my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder to the dealer for transmission repair. The Nissan advisor and I noticed transmission fluid in multiple places. Coolant container was muddy with transmission fluid. Vehicle had just enough miles below the 80,000 miles. Hopefully the Nissan company will cover the repairs. Technician said the 80,000 miles warranty will be good until sometime in the year 2013. I was in the freeway driving and the transmission started to slip. This is very dangerous because I could of been in an accident if I was making a left turn in the highway and the opposite driver could of hit the truck in the passenger side. The Nissan advisor told me this problem is happening to many vehicles from the years of 2005 to 2007. Just today he registered 5 vehicles for repairs. The majority had 83,000 to 91,000, so the warranty will not cover. Be very careful with these type of vehicles. Transmission repair for a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder runs from $4,000 to $6,000 plus other parts. Nissan should extend the warranty to at least 100,000 miles and repair the radiator problem. The Nissan advisor informed me that the radiator gets damaged and antifreeze mixes inside transmission,"this damages the transmission and many other parts due to the excessive leaking and splashing of the transmission fluid. ".

Radiator fluid leaked to the transmission which cause transmission failure.

Radiator coolant leaking into transmission fluid, causing transmission to fail. Safety issue is it causes delay in forward propulsion. This is a common problem and has been well noted on Nissan Pathfinders but Nissan is not willing to accept responsibility for the problem.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that radiator fluid leaked into the transmission, causing the transmission to fail. A local mechanic repaired the radiator but the transmission also needed to be repaired. The dealer flushed the radiator after it was replaced by the local mechanic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. The transmission was not repaired. The approximate failure and the current mileage was 96,000.

Radiator core is cracked, which is causing the radiator to leak. It is undetermined at this time if any antifreeze has leaked into the transmission; however, over the past several months, I have on a few occasions experienced the automatic transmission operating erratically (e. G. , down shifting or not shifting into passing gear when under full power). The vehicle is scheduled to have its radiator replaced on 11/30/2011, and at that time, I will have the transmission fluid analyzed to determine if any antifreeze has entered the transmission. I pray it has not!.

I took my vehicle into sierra Nissan, birmingham alabama on 11-11-2011 for service due to experiencing problems. I was told that the cooler from the radiator had leaked into the transmission and the transmission fluid leaked into the radiator and both needed to be replaced. I was not told by anyone in the service dept of the radiator assembly issue with Nissan 2005-2010 frontier, Pathfinder, and xterra. I found this information by surfing Nissan website. I did this because I was being told by every repair shop in the surrounding area of birmingham that Nissan is well aware of this issue and should do a recall on it. I called Nissan consumer affairs on 1-10-2011 about the information that I discovered. I was told that I needed to take my vehicle back to the Nissan dealership to access the repairs a because it had been over 30 days since I took my vehicle into a Nissan dealership for service. Then, my request would be reviewed by consumer affairs to see if Nissan would pay for the repairs. I explained to the representative that I did not have another $100 to have the service dept to tell me the same thing again. I got an email 2 weeks ago from Nissan for a survey and never heard anything back. When I purchased this vehicle in 2008 I also purchased the extended warranty with Nissan, which now is expired. I could not afford to pay $5,695 for repairs so I went out and found a license transmission shop that could do it at a lesser amount. The transmission shop told me that they are having a difficult time with Nissan and ordering parts for the transmission because Nissan can not produce the parts fast enough due to the high demand for repairs for this issue. Even though, I have 114,700 miles on my vehicle I am asking Nissan to do the honorable thing and stand behind their company vision "enriching people lives", by paying for the repairs of this vehicle.

I noticed a consistent vibration when the automatic transmission shifted around 40 mph. An initial flush of the fluid temporarily corrected the problem, but it reappeared several months later and progressively worsened. The transmission is now erratic at almost every shifting juncture and is pronounced at high speeds. An inspection at a Nissan service center confirmed that the problem is due to radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. This is a well documented Nissan design flaw that Nissan will not take responsibility for. The vehicle is to the point where it is unsafe to drive, especially at highway speeds.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving, the contact stated that the vehicle would drag or hesitate while shifting into the next gear. The dealer diagnosed that the radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission, causing it to fail. The transmission and radiator were both replaced, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and assisted with the initial repair. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 112,000.

I am filing this complaint since Nissan does not do anything with the problem to be fixed, I have a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder, when were on the road our car is having trouble shifting starts jerking, and were so scared that will not make it home because the way its acting we finally made it home and the CA would not reverse we look online and search what' causing the problem and read a bunch of complaint with the consumer at automotive. Com stating that the reson for the problem is the radiator fluid leaked into the transmission that causing the transmission to burn, called around with a bunch of auto mechanic and when I mention that I need my transmission replace the mechanic immediately said you know you need your radiator replace because that is causing your transmission problem I filed a complaint with Nissan and denied the complaint this should be in the recall because this is dangerous if you werent aware of the problem if your on the road hope you can help us with this problem.

2005 Nissan Pathfinder with 93,000 miles. Had original issue with transmission in 2009 a slight shimmy and once the transmission slipped, as soon as it slipped I took it to the dealership. The service manager at the dealership told me coolant had leaked into transmission and would have to replace: radiator, and transmission at ~$6,500. I asked for options the dealer said I could try replacing radiator, flush transmission and add new transmission fluid for ~2,500, he said it may make it 5 more miles or 500k miles, but expected the transmission would at some point fail. I took the vehicle to local trusted repair shop and had radiator replaced and transmission flushed with Nissan transmission fluid and filled with Nissan transmission fluid for less than $1k. Had no issues since. On June 6th out of the blue as I was driving home from the lake, I felt the shimmy again, immediately backed off the accelorator and then slowly got back into the gas, as I did I felt the transmission slip a little. Less than 1,000 feet down the road I noticed smoke in the rearview mirror and immediately pulled the vehicle to the side of the road within 1,000' as I came to a stop thick black smoke caming from beneath the vehicle and shut the car off, and I realized the car was on fire. I opened the door to get out and flames were coming from under the running boards. Within 3 minutes the car and all it's contents were completely destroyed by the fire. It was obvious from my vantage point and the pictures I took during the fire that the fire originated from the transmission overheating and the catistrophic failure resulting in a thermal event. The vehicle was totally destroyed, thank god I was alone. And the dealership could care less.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle vibrated abnormally while driving various speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the transmission fluid was replaced and the vibration was corrected temporarily. The vehicle was taken back to the local transmission mechanic and a diagnostic was performed which located the failure as the radiator fluid leaking into the transmission. As a result, the transmission failed and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,000 and the current mileage was 84,000.

The problem first began with my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder on March 27, 2011, when I first noticed there was no heat in the cabin. Then on April 29, 2011, while driving on the highway, I noticed my vehicle would not accelerate in excess of 45 mph. It seemed that the transmission was slipping. As the Nissan was parked in our garage, we noticed fluid leaking onto the ground. The fluid had a milky white substance in it. After doing some research, we realized that with this particular model, there were known problems with coolant leaking into the transmission. We had the Pathfinder diagnosed on June 3, 2011 by billings Nissan. We had informed the service department at Nissan that we were suspecting the transmission was contaminated with coolant. Nissan informed us that it was impossible for the coolant to leak into the transmission because they are separate units and that the milky white substance in the transmission was a result of air entering the transmission. After much dispair, we decided to trade in our vehicle and took a huge loss on the trade-in value. We felt that if we decided to replace the transmission, and that the radiator was in fact damaged and also needed to be replaced, that we would only be faced with the same issue down the road and would need to replace the transmission a 2nd time. On June 28, 2011, we received a report from the dealership that we traded the Pathfinder at stating the transmission was indeed contaminated with coolant and that the radiator and transmission both needed replacing. If only we had received proper diagnosis from Nissan initially, our course of action may have been different and would have thought about fixing the Pathfinder versus trading it in. As a result, we have lost money on the trade in value, and have incurred an unexpected expense of a new vehicle (payments, registration, insurance). Dealer lied to us. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated the radiator cracked causing fluid to leak into the transmission. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer stated the radiator and the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic who replace the transmission and radiator. After the repairs, the contact noticed that the engine began to malfunction. The contact did not take the vehicle back to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The failure mileage was 107,000.

Was driving through an intersection and the car immediately slowed down and would not drive forward, cars had to slam on there brakes and we were almost hit from behind and the left side. We had it towed 20 miles to a transmission shop to have them tell us radiator fluid has leaked into the transmission and would be $3500 to fix, Nissan offered no help or compensation, called both the dealer and Nissan consumer affairs with no success, neither wanted or insisted any help was treated like I didnt exist, caused extreme pain for my family.

2005 Nissan Pathfinder leaks coolant fluid into transmission which cause gear shifting problems. Repair is $6000 for radiator and transmission.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle suddenly lost power. The contact stated there was also a vibration underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact managed to drive the vehicle home. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technicians stated radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission and it needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that she was unable to shift the transmission into gear and the vehicle stalled. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that radiator fluid leaked into the transmissions and as a result, both components needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 90,000.

I own a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder that recently had the transmission go out on me. After taking the car to a Nissan dealership and finally an independent transmission mechanic, it was diagnosed as radiator leaking fluid into the transmission. An online search led me hundreds of other complaints about the same issue with Nissan Pathfinders. I believe that Nissan needs to be held accountable for fixing what is amounting to a defect in their cars.