Transmission Failure Problems of Nissan Xterra - part 2

Transmission began failing at highway speeds. Car would intermittently slow suddenly and begin shaking as if riding on a very rough road. Nissan dealer informed us this was a known defect wherein the radiator fluid and the automatic transmission fluid became cross contaminated, resulting in transmission failure. Although Nissan knew of this issue, they did not inform us to have our car inspected for this problem. Nissan currently covers this problem up to 8 years and 80,000 miles, but we are just outside this limit.

See all problems of the 2007 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Radiator defect causing atf fluid to contaminate the transmission, leading to transmission failure, with extensive repairs, and extreme associated costs. This commonly known defect causes transmission to fail while driving, which can be a serious safety issue, and necessitates a full recall!.

See all problems of the 2005 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Transmission failure due to past radiator leak, same as complaint on file.

See all problems of the 2015 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

I have a 2008 Xterra that has suffered a transmission failure due to the well known problem with these models - namely that the radiator cracked, transmission fluid and coolant mixed, thus destroying the transmission.

See all problems of the 2008 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Transmission has failed at 135,000. Fuel gauge does not work. Check engine light stays illuminated, therefore I am unaware of any additional issues, and cannot pass emissions in atlanta, GA, therefore I cannot renew my tag.

Engine coolant infiltrating in to the transmission which causes both the transmission and radiator to fail. Estimated cost to replace these items is approximately $4500. This problem happens and corrodes the valves, gaskets and seals. In my case will driving the vehicle the transmission completely failed causing the vehicle to be stranded on the side of the highway for 2 hours while a tow truck was enroute.

I was driving on the interstate at 60mph when I attempted to speed up and switch lanes the truck suddenly lost power and shut off. I was almost rear ended three times lucky there was no one in the other lane so they went around I had no power steering or power brakes while trying to pay attention and not get hit I had to put the truck in neutral and try to start it back up the truck started and seemed to idle fine I put it back in drive and limped it to the side of the interstate whiteout getting hit luckily and called a tow truck and had it towed to a shop I had my wife and two small children in the truck thank god nothing happened. The shop told me that the transmission and radaitor fluid mixed causing my transmission to fail they told me that my radiator is crack and coolant mixed with the transmission fluid I didn't fix it yet I don't have the money I just paid it off and I'm trying to buy a house and now looking on line there are hundreds of cases of this and a lawsuit that was one but my truck has 150,000 miles on it all interstate mainly but I'm way out of the miles for warranty, so why isn't this a recall ? if this has happened so many times it is a safety issue I was was almost hit three times and I had to limp my truck to the side of the interstate were I could have been hit sitting still . I'm very upset over this Nissan wants 5k to fix it so I guess I will start saving my money hopefully this will be a recall soon.

The transmission failed during heavy commute traffic hwy at 60mph creating a near miss multi vehicle collision. No injuries or accident occured because of the malfunction. The vehicle lost power and was pulled safely to the side of the road. The cause of the transmission failure was diagnosed to be transmission failure due to contamination from engine coolant. A common problem with this make and model as thousands of consumer complaints have been filed but ignored by the NHTSA and Nissan. The factory radiator has a known defect which caused the intercooler tubing from the transmission to the radiator to crack and fail thus causing cross contamination of tranmission fluid and engine coolant from the radiator to mix and destroy the transmission. The failure requires replacement of the radiator and replacement or rebuilding of the transmission at a cost of $5,500. In over 45 years of driving all makes,years and models of vehicles both foreign and domestic, I have never had one failure of this type before, even in vehicles with over 300,000 miles of use. In my humble opinion, this is nothing less than an engineering defect either purposefully designed as built in obsolescense, or overlooked and denied by Nissan as a materials defect in manufacturing. Anyone can use a search engine on the internet to find that this is a common occurance but no recall has been enacted because there has been no deaths reported yet. Because my vehicle is out of warranty, but of this low milage, it was not a maintenance issue, as it is a 2 wheel drive vehicle not used for off road but standard paved roadway use. Oil changes and inspections were completed as recommended.

See all problems of the 2006 Nissan Xterra 🔎.

Cracked radiator hose caused coolant to mix with transmission fluid thereby ruining the transmission. Cost included radiator and transmission (used) replacement. This issue would have been proactively repaired / replaced the radiator prior to the issue occurring had Nissan notified me of it. Instead, it cost an extra $3500 to replace both radiator and transmission. A totally preventable situation, never mind the potentially hazardous situation had the transmission failed at highway speeds. No excuse for Nissan.

Transmission has coolant in it due to a Nissan known problem. Transmission line goes into bottom of radiator develops a crank inside and leaks coolant into the transmission resulting in transmission failure.

Transmission failure due to defective valve unit. Very dangerous situation as the vehicle loose complete power. This is happening to a lot of Nissan Xterra 2005 owners.

The contact owns a 2006 Nissan Xterra. While driving at approximately 40 mph, the transmission failed and the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the radiator and the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 121,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the vehicles speed decreased without warning. The vehicle was restarted and failed to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the radiator failed causing the transmission to fail. As a result, the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 143,000. The VIN was unavailable. Djr.

The contact owns a 2007 Nissan Xterra. The contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle experienced transmission failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The technician diagnosed that the transmission and the radiator needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000. Updated 7/14/cn.

Radiator, which was recalled and I was never notified about, cracked leaking coolant into the transmission ultimately causing the transmission to fail.

Was told by dealer that a known problem with radiator caused radiator fluid to seep into transmission causing transmission to fail. Neither dealer nor Nissan would accept responsibility for this known defect.

While driving at a highway speed of 70 mph in the left lane of an interstate, the transmission completely failed. There was traffic in the right lane. I was unable to move to the outside shoulder until I was traveling at 30 mph. This was very dangerous, especially due to trying to merge between semis that were in the right lane. After towing the vehicle 75 miles to get close to home and at a trusted repair shop, I was told that the coolant leaked into the transmission system (like so many others). This caused the complete failure of the transmission and contamination of all of the lines and gaskets. The vehicle would not travel forward or backward. This appears to be a known issue, based on the large number of complaints on the web and the class action lawsuit. The repairs are estimated at 5,000 to 5,500 dollars, plus the towing. Most of the problems, including mine, occur after the extended period. Due to the rapid failure, this is an extremely unsafe condition.

Engine coolant and transmission fluid mixing causing overheating and transmission failures.

Antifreeze in transmission causing smoke from under hood and transmission failure.

I pulled on to the interstate on which the speed limit was 65 mph, and my Xterra would not shift past second gear or go above 35 mph. Cars were flying by me and those entering interstate behind me were unable to get around me due to the high volume of vehicles on the interstate passing us. I turned on my flashers and limped it to the next exit to get off the interstate. The transmission failed due to coolant being leaked into it. This issue has been investigated and a class action lawsuit settled. However, it was only up to $100,000 miles and I can no longer be part of that lawsuit. I never received notification of an issue with my make and model vehicle. This issue is continuing to happen to other Xterra owners and putting others at risk. Nissan knows about the problem but refuses to take any action to correct it. In fact, according to my mechanic, the valve needed to correct the problem is on back order with Nissan due to the high volume needed for repairs. Apparently, they cannot keep up with production of them.

SUV started vibrating badly while driving at speeds near 60 mph. This happened for about 3 months. Took vehicle to sheehy Nissan in annapolis, MD to have investigated and was told coolant had mixed with transmission fluid due to a failure in radiator. I was told that a costly repair is my only option, and that while I can drive it now, a total failure at "some point later" is imminent. How can I drive this vehicle on the streets knowing that at any moment the transmission could fail??/.

Manufacturing defect in radiator caused transmission failure that could have been quite dangerous under some circumstances. This has been widely reported by huge numbers of Nissan owners of various year models and styles. Nissan refuses to be accountable for the failure and denies acceptable service to their customers on this issue.

Transmission failure due to a problem well known by Nissan. Coolant entered through a failed radiator and causes failure of the automatic transmission. Timing chain failure also well known by Nissan.

Internal radiator transmission cooler cracked leaking coolant into the transmission and destroying it, rendering it useless. The transmission failed on me while I was driving and the vehicle gave me absolutely no warning lights or any indication of an issue occurring with the transmission. I had no advance notice so I was unable to avoid any damage to my transmission.

Transmission failure in my 07 Nissan Xterra. A complete loss of motive power and needed to be towed. The dealer diagnosed the problem as a failed transmission fluid cooler located in the radiator assembly that allowed coolant to mix with and contaminate the automatic transmission fluid, resulting in damaged internal transmission components and a damaged internal transmission computer. Was told that this is a huge problem with these vehicles and the Nissan corporation is well aware of this problem.

Without warning the transmission failed and car was smoking (overheated) due to a radiator leak into the transmission. I was nealy killed on the james river bridge. I bought the car brand new and have kept the maintenance schedule.

I have a 2007 Nissan Xterra with a common issue. . . The faulty radiator leaks into the transmission causing transmission failure. This can cause the transmission to seize up leaving a moving car to lose speed rapidly which is an unsafe situation. This has not happened to me yet as I caught the issue and am fighting with Nissan for them to fix defect. . Until then I am stuck with this as my car. Great. Nissan has asked me to pay a $3k "CO-pay" to share in fixing the fault. . .

A few days prior to this vehicle's shut down, I had noticed when driving at either 40 mph or 60 mph, the vehicle would start to 'vibrate'; the feel was as if driving on the highway and the tires are driving over the meridian entering the brake down lane. The alignment wasn't the issue. The day of incident, I was driving on a 50 mph main street, when approaching 40 mph, the vehicle shut down. After about 10 minutes, the vehicle started back up, enough time to drive 5 minutes back home. Once towed to the garage & after inspection I was told there was a crack in the atf line which caused coolant to mix with transmission fluid in result causing my transmission to fail. Of course I just went over my 100,000 ml warranty, my vehicle is just at 126,000 ml! I am the only owner of this vehicle & have done well maintaining it. After doing research on this issue, I am disgusted with Nissan not taking ownership to this situation! this model alone has the most complaints with this specific issue, and to only do an extended recall up to 80,000 ml is ridiculous when this issue appears to happen from 90,000 ml +!!!!!!! I bought this vehicle brand new, with the hopes to have it live for almost 300,000 ml, which I was told by the dealership prior to me buying. This company used to have a great reputation. . . . . Let's pray they try to get it back. I hope Nissan owns up to this situation & is just not sitting around until a death happens to recall it!.

I had my transmission and radiator replaced in my 05 Nissan Xterra in Dec 2010 at 69,000 miles due to defect of radiator leaking into transmission which caused me to brake down on a 2 lane highway. The Nissan service/dealer in kingston MA where we purchased the vehicle tried to tell us all that was needed was a radiator and transmission flush but we had already contacted Nissan corporate and found out we were entitled to a new transmission and radiator assembly due to a recall. They unwillingly replaced both assemblies. I have now experienced a 2nd brake down on an on ramp entering the highway and could not move my car as the transmission again failed at 153,900 miles. I had it towed to the Nissan service/dealer in kingston MA and was informed the transmission we had put in 2010 was only under warranty for 1 yr/12000 miles and I am responsible for all repair costs. I have to think that the original repair was not done properly and the same problem existed in the new assemblies that were put in as a new transmission should last longer than this. I feel my safety and the safety of other motorists was put at risk due to these problems as severe accidents could have occurred due to the fact that the my vehicle lost the ability to move at all on the highway in two different incidents. Nissan should be held responsible for not fixing the initial problem properly.

Coolant leaked into the transmission, causing transmission failure. Estimate of $5800 to repair.

Engine coolant leaked into the transmission, causing transmission failure. Replacement transmission is required.

We have learned that sometime in late 2007 Nissan motor corporation issued a warranty extension for the transmission oil cooler / radiator assembly for the subject vehicles to 8 years, 80000 miles ? up from the standard 3 year, 36000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Nissan motor corporation, to our knowledge, has not been conducting any preventative inspections of the subject vehicles to help consumers prevent catastrophic transmission failure. Consumers report that Nissan motor corporation is denying their warranty claims and as a 'courtesy measure' will offer to replace the failed oil cooler at a discount. The additional two years or 20,000 miles with a $3000 deductible is, at most, a sad joke at the expense of consumers. Nissan has been aware of this problem since 2007 and has undertaken no preventive measures to protect consumers from failure.

The transmission is failing due to the transmission cooler inside the radiator allowing coolant to get into the transmission causing a catastrophic failure. It is my understanding that this is a common problem and that Nissan knew it was from a defect in the radiator. I've seen online that many people with a 2005-2010 Xterra, frontier and pathfinder with the 4. 0 v6 engine are having this problem.

Radiator and transmission repaired after failure caused by defective radiator allowing fluids to mix between coolant and transmission. Repairs were performed by dealer. Radiator and transmission failed again. The way the warranty is priced, I am paying the full cost of repair. Although I was able to identify the problem without risk, when the transmission fails it is catastrophic failure which could cause an accident.

My 2006 Nissan Xterra with 96,560 miles experienced transmission failure caused by a crack in the transmission cooler inside of the radiator.