2008 Nissan Pathfinder

RADIATOR FLUID LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION FLUID CAUSING VEHICLE TO VIOLENTLY SHIMMY AT ABOUT 40 MPH. THE REPAIRS CAME TO $1,334.55. THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE BATTERY ($119.21), RADIATOR ($266.95), RADIATOR HOSE ($14.35), SERPENTINE BELT ($29.95). THEY USED A TRANSMISSION FLUSH KIT ($29.95), A COOLING SYSTEM FLUSH KIT ($29.99) AND A GLOBAL EXTENDED LIFE COOLANT ($29.92). THEY USED $50.00 IN SHOP SUPPLIES AND LABOR WAS $587.00. TAX WAS $87.31. *TR

MY 2008 NISSAN PATHFINDER BEGAN SHUDDERING WHENEVER I WOULD COAST TO 40 MPH AND THEN ACCELERATE. I TOOK IT INTO THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE ISSUE CHECKED OUT. THEY INFORMED ME THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER IN MY TRANSMISSION THAT WAS CAUSED BY LEAKAGE FROM THE RADIATOR. THEY SAID THIS WAS EVIDENCED BY RUST THAT HAD FORMED ON MY TRANSMISSION FLUID DIPSTICK. THEY QUOTED ME A REPAIR PRICE OF OVER $4,500 BUT INFORMED ME I WOULD ONLY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR $3,000 DUE TO A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT. AFTER RESEARCHING THE ISSUE, I REALIZED THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NISSANS. FURTHER, I'M CONVINCED THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF THIS ISSUE EXISTING IN MY VEHICLE LONG BEFORE I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE. I GET MY VEHICLE REGULARLY SERVICED AT THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND HAD MY LAST OIL CHANGE THERE ABOUT FOUR MONTHS AGO. IT TAKES A LONG TIME FOR RUST TO FORM - SO IF THERE IS RUST ON MY TRANSMISSION FLUID DIPSTICK TODAY, THEN THERE WAS PROBABLY EVIDENCE OF THE ISSUE JUST FOUR MONTHS AGO. IT WAS IN NISSAN'S BEST INTEREST TO NOT MENTION THE ISSUE TO ME SINCE THEY NEEDED ME TO BE OVER THE 90,000 MILE MARK SO THAT I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE OF THE REPAIR. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE - IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS DURING MY DRIVE TO WORK ON THE INTERSTATE ONE DAY. AND IT'S INFURIATING THAT NISSAN WON'T CORRECT THE ISSUE. I LOVE MY PATHFINDER AND WOULD HAVE BEEN A LIFELONG NISSAN CUSTOMER, BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'LL NEVER SPEND ANOTHER DOLLAR THERE. *TR

TRANSMISSION FAILED CAUSING A SUDDEN DECELERATION AND LACK OF A FORWARD MOTION RESULTING IN A NEAR REAR END COLLISION WITH A TRACTOR TRAILER. ONLY AFTER THE EVENT DID I LEARN OF THE ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS IN THE NISSAN MODELS FRONTIER, PATHFINDER AND XTERRA 2005-2010. I AM 15K MILES OUTSIDE OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT WAS NOT AWARE OF ANY POTENTIAL ISSUE WITH SAFETY. I NEVER RECEIVED NOTICE OR ADVICE OF SUCH AN EVENT BEING POSSIBLE. HAD I KNOWN I WOULD HAVE TAKEN PROACTIVE ACTION. NISSAN NEEDS TO EXTEND THIS REPAIR ISSUE THROUGH A RECALL AND REPAIR THE ISSUE AT THEIR ENTIRE COST. THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW. THE PUBLIC SAFETY IS AT STAKE! *TR

OUR NISSAN PROBLEMS STARTED YEARS AGO. IN 2010 I STARTED NOTICING NOISE AND SHUDDERING COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. I BROUGHT IT IN TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID IT WAS NOTHING MORE THAN IT NEEDED A FLUSH OF THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. SO I PAID THE $150, HAD IT DONE AND WENT ON MY WAY. IN 2011 IS STARTED DOING IT AGAIN, HAD IT CHECKED AND THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH IT I MUST HAVE BEEN HEARING THINGS. THEY TEST DROVE IT NUMEROUS TIMES AND 'NEVER HEARD ANYTHING'. EVENTUALLY THEY HAD A SPECIALIST COME AND LOOK AT MY CAR. HE DETERMINED THAT MY A/C UNIT NEEDED TO BE RESET. EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE FINE AND WE WENT ON OUR MERRY WAY. FLASH FORWARD TO JULY 2013. ON THE WAY HOME FROM A ROAD TRIP, ABOUT 3 HOURS FROM OUR HOUSE WE STARTED NOTICING IT WAS GETTING HOT IN THE CAR. SURE ENOUGH THE AIR JUST STARTED BLOWING OUT HOT AIR. EVERYTHING STILL WORKED ON THE A/C, JUST BLOWING HOT AIR. SO WE DROVE HOME SWEATING OUR A$$ OFF IN MID-SUMMER IN FL. A DAY OR 2 LATER WE ARE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON (1ST TIME EVER IN THIS CAR). HUSBAND THOUGHT HE SHOULD SHUT THE CAR OFF...WELL, THAT WAS THE LAST TIME MY CAR EVER WORKED. WE HAD IT TOWED TO A MECHANIC WHERE IT SAT THERE FOR 2 WEEKS. FIRST HE DETERMINED IT WAS A BLOWN FUSE - GREAT, $10! - WENT TO PICK IT UP AND IT BLEW AGAIN. HE THEN DETERMINED IT WAS A BROKEN COMPUTER TOLD US TO TOW IT TO NISSAN. WE DID. IT HAS BEEN THERE FOR A WEEK AND WE WERE JUST TOLD THAT THE TRANS & RADIATOR FLUIDS MIXED AND CAUSED TRANS TO SEIZE CAUSING A/C AND ELECTRICAL ISSUES AS WELL. THEY CLAIM THEY'VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE...YEA, RIGHT! NISSAN WON'T DO ANYTHING BUT HAS TOLD US TO CALL THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT # AND FILE A COMPLAINT...OH AND THEY'LL GIVE ME $500 FOR A CAR THAT'S WORTH $6,000+. THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT IT IN THE YEARS THAT I BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE. BEWARE OF NISSAN!

I AM THE ONE OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS IN 2008. I BEGAN TO SENSE A CLUNK OR SLIPPAGE IN MY TRANSMISSION ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE INCIDENT. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE CAR TO AN OIL CHANGE PLACE AND HAD MY TRANSMISSION AND DIFFERENTIAL FLUIDS REPLACED. COST $150. ATTENDANT NOTED MAGNETIC PLUG HAD METAL SHAVINGS AND SOME DISCOLORATION IN TRANSMISSION FLUID BUT NOTHING CONCLUSIVE TO WORK ON. APPROX TWO WEEKS LATER WHILE DRIVING UP A GRADE, I EXPERIENCED A SERIOUS "CLUNK" AND IMMEDIATELY PULLED INTO THE NEXT SERVICE STATION I COULD FIND. I WAS 100 MILES FROM HOME. AFTER LEAVING THE CAR FOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK, I WENT ONLINE TO FIND OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINTS CONCERNING RADIATOR COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION AND CAUSING CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WITH NO WARNING. I CALLED THE MECHANIC TO REPORT WHAT I HAD FOUND AND ASKED HIM TO CHECK THIS CONDITION FIRST. HE REPORTED BACK THAT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND I MAY HAVE CAUGHT THE DEFECT IN TIME TO SAVE THE TRANSMISSION. THE MECHANIC WORKED ON THE CAR FOR TWO DAYS TO FIX THE PROBLEM. COST $1100. I HAVE PUT ABOUT 300 MILES ON THE CAR AS OF THIS WRITING AND I NOW HAVE ONLY AN OCCASIONAL/MINOR "CLUNK." I BELIEVE THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE NISSAN PART AND NOTE THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE FINDING NISSAN UNCOOPERATIVE IN TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DEFECT. I HAVE RECEIPTS FOR MY WORK DONE AND WILL PROVIDE THEM IF NEEDED. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

MY 2008 NISSAN PATHFINDER HAS A RADIATOR THAT FAILED CAUSING ENGINE COOLANT TO MIX WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID THUS CAUSING A TOTAL FAILURE OF MY TRANSMISSION. IN RESEARCHING AFTER THE FAILURE I HAVE FOUND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NISSAN PATHFINDERS, FRONTIERS, AND EXTERAS FROM 2005-2008. IT IS TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN THE TRANSMISSION LINE OUT OF THE COOLANT SYSTEM LOOP PRIOR TO THE RADIATOR FAILING IN ATTEMPT TO SAVE THE TRANSMISSION FROM THE INEVITABLE FAILURE. THESE RADIATORS NEED TO BE RECALLED TO PREVENT ANOTHER TRANSMISSION FROM TOTAL FAILURE AND THUS PREVENT SERIOUS ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN INJURY OR DEATH IN THE FUTURE. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN! IN MY INSTANCE WHILE DRIVING MY WIFE AND MY 7 DAY OLD FIRST BORN SON TO HIS DOCTORS APPOINTMENT MY NISSAN PATHFINDER BEGAN TO HESITATE AND SLIP, THEN CATCH, AND SLIP, AND LOCK UP, AND JERK, AND THEN ONLY SLIP. I WAS FORCED TO PUSH MY VEHICLE A DISTANCE WHILE VEHICLES PROCEEDED TO PASS ME AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. ALL THE WHILE MY WIFE AND 7 DAY OLD INFANT INSIDE. I THEN NEEDED TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. AFTER CALLING THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP I WAS TOLD THAT IS FAIRLY COMMON AND THEY WERE NOT SURPRISED. 2005-2008 NISSAN PATHFINDERS, EXTERAS, AND FRONTIERS HAVE FAULTY RADIATORS THAT ARE CAUSING CATASTROPHIC FAILURE TO THE TRANSMISSION AND ARE EXTREMELY UNSAFE FOR THE PASSENGERS OF THESE VEHICLES. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE NISSAN ADMITS TO AND FIXES THIS AVOIDABLE PROBLEM?! THIS IS VERY COMMON KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOPS AS WELL AS NISSAN DEALERSHIPS.