Driveshaft problems of the 2005 Nissan Xterra

I was driving on an interstate highway where the speed limit is 70mph. Car begins have a large rumble. Can't tell if it the rear end, the drive shaft or transmission. There is no pattern to the rumble and it continues for several weeks, so I take it to an auto repair shop. They tell me that I have water in my transmission fluid, which was caused by a cracked line in the radiator. I am told to check on the internet, because this is a big problem that lot of Nissan Xterra owners are facing. So, I check it out and the issue is huge. I bought the Xterra about 2 years ago and during that time was never contacted by anyone warning me of this issue. Now, at the time I find that there was a settlement, my vehicle has over the 100,000 mile limit. From what I read, the majority of the vehicles are over the 100,000 mile limit when the problem occurs. My vehicle still will drive and only get the rumble occasionally, but I now know it's fate. It's ashamed that I could not have been warned by Nissan before facing costly repairs. Nissan could have saved us lots of headache and money if we had know and been able to be pro-active before the damage was done.

I began to have vibration in my vehicle when I reached speeds of 45 mph and got worse around 65 mph. I took my car to Nissan twice in Aug. 2013 and was told it was road vibration. In early Nov. I took my car to my local mechanic for this problem and was told the vibration wasn't road vibration and that it was either my drive shafts or transmission. On Nov. 17th I drove from altoona PA to upper marlboro MD and arrived around 2 am. I went to drive my car into DC on the morning of the 18th and when I put it in reverse it backed up, but when I put it in drive it wouldn't drive forward. After shifting through the gears for a few minutes my car drove forward so I parked it in my driveway. My car hasn't been able to be driven since. When I put it in gear and press the gas the engine just revs. When I start my car I can hear the engine and transmission making a whining noise. My radiator also broke in late August of 2013 and needed to be replaced.

I first noticed a vibration in my 2005 Nissan Xterra like driving over speed bumps when letting off the accelerator the vibration stopped. I thought it was a problem with tires, driveshaft or rear end but found it would not happen if I turned off the overdrive. So I googled Nissan transmission problems and found that people were having the same issue and said it was due to coolant mixing with the transmission fluid and causing transmission failure. I continued to drive the vehicle not having the money to do the costly repair and debating whether to trade in the vehicle. Yesterday the car left me broke down alongside the road. The vehicle started jumping like it was going to stall the check engine like came on and the temperature went in the red I pulled over to the side of the road and seen coolant mixed with some other fluid all over the engine compartment and street something must have burst. Contacted Nissan they told me it was not covered due to being over the 80,000 mile extended warrant but to take it to a dealership to get a diagnostic to determine what the problem is to see what they can do to help.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while accelerating, the vehicle hesitated and would not accelerate over 15 mph. A loud noise was also heard coming from the engine area. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who performed a diagnostic test and stated that the radiator fluid was leaking into the transmission. The dealer replaced the transmission, radiator, and drive shaft. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but denied assistance with the repairs because the warranty expired. The failure and current mileages were 87,000.

6 months ago, I begun to lose my hand brake that was slipping on an upgrade. Had it adjusted with my local mechanic. It worked again after the adjustment. Notice about 2 months ago that even on a level ground the hand brake was slipping. Since I have 6 spd manual trans, would just leave vehicle on 2nd or 1st gear to prevent the car from moving at park. Had the hand brakes checked and even had new brake shoes on hand if it needed to be replaced. Mechanic discovered that differential gear fluid was sipping out of the 2 wheel seals and have caked on the brake shoes and surrounding area. The tech discovered that the release pressure valve located on the upper passenger side was clogged and not releasing pressure of gear oil as the vehicle travels. Gear oil had no place to go but through the wheel differential seals. It would take a lot of work to replace the wheel seals as the 2 rear axles have to be pulled out and differential gear box have to be opened to unlock the 2 axles. Tech removed the pressure release valve and installed hose in place of the spring cap to release pressure as temporary fix. Hopefully wheel seals are not broken. Will use vehicle in meantime to see of diff wheel seals need not be replaced with the pressure release valve in open position. Accident can happen should vehicle run out of gear oil and ruin gear box that has the drive shaft attached. Pls let me know of similar incident. Thank you for looking into this. That price of that pressure release valve can only cost less than $20 from a dealer in my estimate.

2005 Nissan Xterra 4wd--vehicle has vibration in steering and gear shift accompanied with a low rumble; mechanic reports problem is in front u-joint;-best to replace both u-joints; also being reported by Nissan service department -- most likely will be a recall; entire drive shaft must be replaced, not just the u-joint; additionally Nissan service department is reporting part is not available. I have a car with a problem in drive train that needs to be fixed, a manufacturer reporting a potential recall and no parts available. My options are--park car until parts are available (no eta on the parts), drive car with a potentially dangerous problem, or have a used part placed into the car.