general problems of the 2008 Nissan Xterra

Total transmission and radiator failure. A dealership "fixed" the coolant contamination problem when Nissan offered the warrantied coverage for what's known as smod. All the dealership did was flush the transmission and radiator. They did not repair or replace any components even after being berated by my husband to do so and to do it under the covered warranty. ($5k for tranny replacement that we couldn't afford) they claimed the flush had fixed the Xterra. Less than 3,000 miles later I was driving on the highway with my 2 children in the car and the vehicle just shut off. No warning lights or behaviors just shut off at 70+mph on the highway. While sitting broke down [pulled off highway edge as far as I could after vehicle died and before it coasted to a complete stop] we were then rear-ended and my 2 kids spent 2 days being monitored in a children's hospital. 1 of which had a concussion. Although the Xterra only needed a new rear hatch and bumper and etc insurance didn't consider it totalled so it was cosmetically repaired. After reaching out to Nissan about the incident they refused to even offer us any sort of discounted repair costs on tranny replacement[car was still under extended coverage warranty] nor would they offer any kind of anything regarding a discount on a replacement vehicle. So here we were still paying on a car loan for a car that was still under warranty, but could not be drove. Or even starred for that matter. It ended up wrecking us financially. The car never showed any signs of any mechanical problems prior to dealer flushing trans. The car didn't show any signs of anything afterwards until that day on the highway. The problem ended up being metal pieces from coolant contamination shorted out something in transmission and I guess shorted so strong that it blew the trans fuse and blew fuse links on positive terminal which caused car to just shut off. Nissan needs to take responsibility for their bullcrap.

While driving, the vehicle surges and sputters and rpms skyrocket and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This happens at various speeds on interstate highway, town streets and county roads. The vehicle will also lose power and shut down while idling at a stop sign or traffic light. There is no way to steer or restart when this happens and I have depended on hazard flashers to warn other drivers of disabled vehicle until I can get assistance to get vehicle off of highway. After 20 minutes of being dead, vehicle will sometimes restart and go a few more miles before same thing happens again. After 3 weeks at a dealership and a cost so far of $3,000, the problem has not been pinpointed and fixed. Dealership has contacted Nissan customer service who has two open cases of the same issue with the same model vehicle. I have found numerous other complaints in online forums of the same issue same model and still no fix found for the issue. I have now opened my own case with Nissan north America customer care and am awaiting further investigation from them. Major safety hazard.

Noticed shuddering at first, then a stumbling upon hitting gas 120000 miles took truck in and had ext. Cooler put on, flushed out tranny fluid, new radiator, new gaskets and filters in tranny $1,100. 00 job. 1 month later service engine soon light came on and truck wouldn't start. Tcm module in tranny started blowing fuse, truck smelled like it was burning up and wouldn't allow truck to start. 2,000. 00 to replace module and secondary breach. Its not just in radiator, there is another breach problem that puts the transmission and coolant together. 2nd breach. Shop wont guarantee 2000. 00 job, new transmission 5800. 00. My beautiful truck left on a flatbed to salvage yard. Single mom of 4. Thanks Nissan, you suck. Also issues with airbag coil. 600. 00 for that. Nissan I love my Xterra and its so sad we had to part ways today, I watched my 18000. 00 vehicle leave with no justice but tears and hoping the zero degree weather breaks, walking the kids to school, one with disabilities is just rotten. Nissan get a conscience. Because my Xterra sat on a dealerships used lot, no one was notified of class action and warranty issued. I got doubled f**cked.

Coolant mixed into transmission causing electronic module to burn out. This caused vehicle to stop operating correctly and would not allow engine to restart.

Was driving Xterra 4x4 on the street when all of a sudden the vehicle shut itself off. Was able to luckily turn the vehicle back on but when we arrived home the vehicle would no longer start. Had it towed to Nissan who discovered the car has a defective ecm unit. This could have been very very dangerous and I believe many other Nissan Xterra/frontiers/pathfinders have been affected as evident by searching google regarding this issue. Nissan would not repair the vehicle free of charge and wanted 1400 dollars to replace ecm. This day and age an ecm should last much much longer and should not shut down the vehicle nor, impair its ability to drive.

My Nissan Xterra is a victim of the manufacturing defect where the coolant in the radiator mixes with the automatic transmission fluid, due to a leak in the transmission cooler, causing complete transmission failure. My transmission slips and driving is erratic, causing unsafe driving conditions. The repair is quoted at $6,000 dollars and is not considered a recall item. Nissan has extended coverage on vehicles up to 100,00 miles only, but this is starting to happen to newer vehicles over 100,00 miles. A radiator replacement would have prevented this problem. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed soon!.