Transmission Failure problems of the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder - part 2

While driving with the family on a four lane freeway, transmission failure and immediate loss of speed in a rain storm. No warning or symptoms prior to the failure. Later found out that the radiator failed allowing coolant to mix with the transmission fluid causing catastrophic failure. Nissan assist was no help. Cost to repair quoted at $5700. No parts available for three weeks due to high demand. We did not have an accident due to the transmission failure, but it was very disturbing to make it off the freeway without getting hit from behind in the rain. My wife's vehicle and she was very thankful she was not driving when it happened.

Went to dealership and notified them of shuddering when driving in excess of 40mph and check engine light on. Was told by the service department that the transmission fluid is 'milky' as a result of coolant mixing in with automatic transmission fluid due to a crack in the radiator. Advised repairs to include a transmission cooler would be in excess of $8,000+. Also advised that mileage of 91,033 voided extended warranty. (3 years, 80,000 miles) vehicle is non-operable due to total transmission failure.

Radiator failure caused transmission failure leading to lurching and difficulty handling.

Nissan knows they have an issue with radiator coolant leaking into transmissions. This causes the transmission to fail. Should the transmission fail while in traffic it could cause and accident. I own a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder that I bought through my local Nissan dealership brand new. It has 85000 miles on it and the transmission will no longer go in reverse. Nissan extended the warranty to 80000 knowing that most were failing after that mileage. They refuse to help with the problem. My vehicle has sat at the dealership for 2 weeks waiting for them to decide not to fix it. This vechile also has a fuel system problem that was recalled for some 2006 models but not all. Mine was not covered under the recall and the warranty extension was usless also as the part failed just after the milage given. In 2008 I was in a front end collision with this same vehicle and the air bag did not deloy. When I asked the Nissan dealership (same one) why it didnt deploy I was told that I didn't hit the car on center therefore I missed the sensor. After them having my vechile for nearly a month to repair it I had it back 1 week when I received a recall notice for the airbag sensor. This car is extremly unsafe and Nissan knows it.

While driving down the street at approximately 45mph the vehicle suddenly loss forward moving power but the engine would rev to a high rpm, causing a dangerous situation with the other traffic on the road while we attempted to coast to the side of the road. Upon taking the car to the dealer, I was informed that the radiator had experienced an internal failure causing antifreeze to enter and contaminate the transmission causing that to become damaged beyond repair. Although the power train (which I imagine includes the transmission) was still under manufactures warranty up to 60,000 miles, I was told it would not qualify for a warranty repair since it was determined that the radiator was the cause of the transmission failure and the radiator was only covered under a 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty. The repair costs for both were quoted to me from the dealer to be ~$6,000. 00 for a new radiator and transmission. It is also my understanding Nissan has recently started to extend the warranty on certain Pathfinders faulty radiators (based off of VIN number) and would also reimburse anyone who already had to pay for this repair out of pocket. I have not received a letter from Nissan to-date stating my vehicle has qualified for this plan. Even though it is obvious to me (and the Nissan dealer) that my radiator was faulty therefore causing the damage beyond repair to my transmission as well. I feel I should be reimbursed for this very expensive repair since it was caused out of no fault of my own. Due to the extremely high dealer quote, I opted to have the vehicle repaired at an independent certified repair shop for ~$4,000. 00 for which they installed a newly warranted transmission and radiator package. I was told they only sell the replacement transmissions with the radiators included, confirming to me that this type of failure is known to the industry as a combined failure.