Power Train Problems of Nissan Xterra - part 1

My car keeps stalling out like it's not getting gas.

See all problems of the 2000 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Oil is getting into the radiator and causing a gray gunk build up in radiator and possibly the engine. I have had the car less than a 1 1/2 years and I've already had to have the same issue fixed 3 × first time. The heater hose blew out caused an air bubble in the radiator which caused us to have to burp the radiator which is when we found it the first time had sent it to the mechanic. Had it flushed, had it fixed. It was fine or so we thought until about a month ago. Car overheats radiator fluid spews out everywhere. Fix the hose, add radiator fluid and start. The burping process again and out comes the gray gunk. Sent it back to mechanic had it flush had gaskets to the transmission cooler and oil cooler fixed. Mechanic cannot find how it's getting into radiator. Break pads wear prematurely due to calipers constantly sticking. Rust is everywhere on frame, suspension, shocks undercarriage and body. Vdc/slip light will come on while driving causing the car to stall at any speed. Fixed those sensors 2 times since I bought the car in December 2023 from a used car lot. State I I've in has no laws to protect people buying from used car lots but they do for new cars even though new cars come with warranties. Should be the other way around protect the people who can't afford the 30000 dollar cars. There's a reason we go to used car lots. Paid 4500 after taxes and registration and have put almost 5000 into it. Nissan is aware of the problem just not enough to deem a recall.

See all problems of the 2007 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Driving and transfer case locked up sending me in to oncoming traffic and guardrail.

See all problems of the 2008 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

A leak developed in the radiator that allowed engine coolant into the automatic transmission and visa versa. Engine coolant in the automatic transmission can cause sudden failure of the transmission which could cause an accident. This is a known design flaw of Nissan transmissions. Nissan has refused to issue a recall and class actions have been successful, but are not extensive enough to cover all Nissan buyers. I have filed a complaint with Nissan and they offered zero help in covering repairs. They just say that it is out of warranty. I had my Xterra worked on at the dealer 18 months ago and they could have recommended a new part be installed to keep the transmission failure from occuring, but said nothing. The result is that now I have to replace the transmission and radiator at a $9,000. 00 price tag out of my pocket because they refused to recall the parts (<$1000. 00) involved and will not give owners any warning or guidance on how to prevent this totally preventable catastrophic transmission failure. Nissan case # 46218952.

Transmission failure due to internal cracks in the radiator's oil cooler tube.

See all problems of the 2005 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Clutch burnt out with 5 min between 1st incidence of barely slipping and total failure leaving me stranded on roadside with little notice and nowhere safe to pull off.

See all problems of the 2012 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she was able to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle stalled after driving 50 feet. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was also informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.

Cracked cooler tube caused transmission oil & coolant to mix causing transmission failure.

See all problems of the 2009 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

I have a 2005 Nissan Xterra and the transmission failed due to my transmission fluid and radiator fluid mixed.

The Xterra started missing and hesitating (engine) eventually dying and not restarting. The missing and hesitation occurred while underway on a busy 4 lane divided highway, but thankfully made it home before dying and not restarting. Missing and hesitation occurred while traveling straight on and while stopped at red lights.

See all problems of the 2001 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

The transmission cooler inside the radiator faulted, causing radiator fluid getting into the transmission damaging the transmission internally.

This is a compliant for the well known radiator issue. Ours ruptured and ruined the transmission costing us about $6k in repairs.

See all problems of the 2010 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

The radiator has taken in fluids from the transmission or? the radiator fluid appears milky and lotion like consistency from the radiator and overflow tank it has been shifting very loud and hard. .

I have a 2005 Nissan Xterra. I am the original owner and have been driving it over 16 years. Two years ago, in 2020 while driving my car on the road and with kids inside (with a 1 year old and a 6 year old child), the car began to shake and turned off (we were stranded in the middle of the road, at a traffic light). Since it was my only means of transportation I kept driving it (no kids inside anymore--which was another huge inconvenience having to coordinate and at times pay for babysitters). During my continued usage, it will continue to fail to accelerate causing great danger on the freeway and or on public roads. After a while, I managed to drive it to a transmission shop, who told me they had to either hold onto the car or have it towed--as it was deemed unsafe to drive. Upon inspection, the transmission shop confirmed "coolant bypassed into transmission," among other issues (vehicle does not accelerate, chick engine light is on, etc. ) I paid with credit card, $4359. 34. Once paid and transmission shop fixed issue, I continued to drive the car with family inside. Now two years later July 2022--I am experiencing the same "vehicle does not accelerate" issue.

I was required to replace the oem radiator due to appearance of cross-contamination between automatic transmission fluid and engine coolant. The discovery was made early enough to avoid being stranded. It is unknown whether the amount of contamination that preceded the replacement has caused permanent damage, but the vehicle is functioning normally as of this moment. I am aware that Nissan has been challenged on the topic of extended warranty support and/or recall for this issue over a span of years, and this report is filed to add a data point.

See all problems of the 2006 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

The transmission was destroyed because a factory default with the radiator leaking antifreeze and transmission fluid into the transmission causing my transmission to self destruct. My safety was not safe since Nissan knew about the defect and I could have ceased into anything at any time. There was no warning lights it just self destruct. Nissan has done nothing to inspect their failure. It is a well known problem.

Red color in radiator (see photo) . When driving transmission would race like in overdrive. Let off gas to like catch up.

A faulty radiator caused my transmisson and coolant to leak together causing damage to the transmission. Now my transmission needs to be replaced.

Bought vehicle from used from private owner a year ago and noticed less then two weeks later while driving including on the freeway the engine just turns off with no steering control, almost no brake control, and sometimes takes a few minutes to start up again just to get out of the way of other vehicles. Now it’s overheating and leaking coolant on front passenger side floor along with the ground now shutting off more frequently . Also shortly after I bought the vehicle I could hear squeaking noises from under vehicle while driving over the smallest bump and every turn and is so loud it’s heard from 2 small streets away and feels like any second the body might separate from the wheels. I’m not sure about the rest.

Loses pressure on the brakes, the steering wheel is moving sideways.

See all problems of the 2002 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Coolant in transmission! bought new in March of 2015. Was driving on I-10 in biloxi and it started smelling like a burnt rubber smell and it started smoking! pulled over and got out of it! left me and my daughter stranded on the side of the highway!.

See all problems of the 2004 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

All the sudden my Xterra would not accelerate and shut down. Towed to garage to find out collect leaked with oil and damaged transmission and radiator. Called dealership who provided no help and quote for $5800.

Car cuts off when driving and while car is idled. Fuels stops repeatedly when refueling.

I purchased a 2006 Nissan Xterra after-market in August 2019, mileage 144k. There was no indication of a problem during a test-drive, and it otherwise appeared to be in good condition. Three days later, during city driving, the car began to strain to enter first gear from a stopped position (stop sign, traffic light), first a little, and then significantly, and began obstructing traffic-flow, and began overheating after multiple stop/starts. I was barely able to get the car home (4 miles) without having to pull over and call a tow-truck. A trip to the transmission shop on the next business day confirmed not just a transmission problem, but was told it was due to a known defect in Nissan SUV-type vehicles from this time-period. The car from the used dealer came with "car protection plus" coverage specifically for power-train issues, who denied that they would cover this particular transmission problem for this reason. I now own a very expensive paperweight, or pay a repair bill of $3k-$4k to fix a transmission and radiator that is more than the value of the car.

The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Xterra. While driving 50 mph, the vehicle decelerated. The contact coasted the vehicle to the shoulder and had the vehicle towed to his home. In addition, the check engine and 4wd warning indicators illuminated. An independent mechanic came to the contact's home and diagnosed that the vehicle needed a new transmission and radiator. The contact installed the radiator. The transmission was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 133,316.

Radiator coolant leaked into transmission and we only have 70,000 mileage. Purchased extended warranty but Nissan service said they don't covere the repair and our extended warranty expired. We saved this cat for our 16 years old son for his college soon ang preparing for dmv. We save money for his car so we don't need to worry. Now, we are worried because it will cost us$8,000 for repair by replacing transmission and radiator. Besides this I have to pay $190. 00 for diagnostic fee. We are not rich and we prepared this car for our son, for his safety, now his 16 years old this June 2019 and ready to take the wheels, this car is his car for college. Now, I'm heartbreaking because it's garage kept car with blanket all the time. 70k mileage only. Security plus says 72 months/75,000 on odometer. We really need help for repair.

No warning lamps had my vehicle repeatedly looked at was told that my vehicle had no transmission warninfsigns was told by mechanic to replace the radiator I replaced the radiator and then the vehicle stopped running now I have transmission fluid mixed with my radiator fluid and the vehicle doesn't run at all I repeatedly took it back to the shop tobe fixed was told igot a bad radiator yet I know it wasn't bad I contacted my insurance company everyone failed to inform me that this vehicle had aknown transmission problem by Nissan and failed to disclose it to me.

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.

The radiator had failed and allowed radiator fluid to mix with transmission fluid. This ruined the transmission which will cost thousands of dollars. We always took care of our SUV so we should not have to be dealing with these problems. We currently cannot afford the repairs so we will have an SUV parked and that we cannot drive. We had to pull over in the middle of the highway due to the vehicle's extremely hot temperature.

I have an 08 Xterra and when I was driving it one day it felt like it was having a hard time getting up hills and almost felt like it wouldnt downshift. Then finally when at a light had to really gas it to get the car going. Limped the car to a family members house to let it sit until I figured out what was wrong with it. After research figured the car put itself into limp mode so I disconnected the battery to do a full reset on the computer. Was able to get it home 25 miles after reset. We have a spare/commuter car so I was able to let it sit in my garage for a few months while I tried to figure out what was wrong with it when I had time. Finally after narrowing it down to things that I had never done before, I decided to take it to Nissan. They told me the next day that it was the radiator failure and proceeded to quote me $7000 for the repairs. . . . . . . . Ouch on a car that was now 11 years old which I had purchased from that dealership brand new. I decided to take it home because it was a big decision to make right away. So here I am with a car that missed the lawsuit as I have an Xterra that is 11 years old damn near 200000 miles. I did my own maintenance, when replacing my head gasket I noticed I had the no carbon build up on the head, basically looked like a car that had 20000 miles on it. Shame on Nissan for not doing a recall or notifying owners of this issue. I love my Xterra but I'm sure the cost of the fix is roughly what the car is worth.

I was driving down a busy city street when the transmission stopped shifting. The speed of the car decreased and left me right in the middle of the street. I than had it towed to a Nissan dealership and said it has been cross contaminated with the radiator and will be a $4,800. 00 fix.

Default shifter cable.

Complete failure of transmission during rush hour. Vehicle needs a new transmission and radiator at a cost of $5,500.

Takata recall. Transmission will not shift. . Mechanic states due to radiator coolant issues.

The radiator has cracked internally and mixed the engine coolant into the transmission reaulting in severly damages fluid leading to transmission damage and shifting damage.