After purchasing our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder Ti... I couldn't have been more happier, with a prestigious style 4wd, that had everything and did everything that we wanted. We specifically purchased this model due to its towing capacity we required with our boat. However, within 6 months of having the vehicle, the engine light had come on to which indicated we needed to get it to our nearest Nissan Dealership to have the problem corrected. The vehicle had 'religiously' been serviced by our Nissan dealer, to which they then explained that the engine light had come as a malfunction and that will simply reset it and that they had found a crack in the radiator, so they replaced that... then again sent me on my way...

Only 2 hrs later from picking up my vehicle (with new radiator installed), the engine light reappeared, this time with unusual 'revving' from the engine. Hence, I returned immediately to the dealership and ranted as to what had happened and how disgusted I was that they simply thought I an idiot and said they couldn't find anything wrong.. even after putting on "the diagnostic machine" as they called it and simply reset it again and set it on my way.

Hence 2 weeks later, we were then traveling on the holidays with boat in tow, and 1/2 hr into our trip the Pathfinder began revving continuously with no power behind it... to which we then watched the temp gauge (with no result) and finally decided to pull over and allow the engine to cool. After 15 minutes of sitting, we restarted our engine and headed further on our journey with little or no hiccups.. for 15 minutes.. with which then vehicle then began revving and loosing power - considering we were only 10 minutes from our destination at this stage, we drove the vehicle in the manual mode (sequential shift) to enable the rev's to be control by us.

Returning the vehicle as soon as we possibly could to the Dealership with this problem very much now a DISASTER - the dealership took over 2 hrs to inspect to which they instructed us "we have never seen this problem before.. therefore, we don't know what to do... never seen nor heard of a Nissan of any model doing this"... and tried to push us out the door, however this time, they did not succeed.. We stood our ground until they investigated and then decided to send it to a Transmission Specialist that they dealt with. The outcome?? Cracked transmission due to leaking coolant : upon testing and removal of transmission they found the front band to be worn from excess heat, the input clutch to have completely burnt out, damage to the front pump, damage to the valve body and it's T.C.M. has occurred due to water contamination prior to radiator been replaced.- REMEDY.. either a replacement transmission AU$9,000 , a Nissan service exchange transmission AU$6,434 or second hand gearbox AU$5,240.

Hence, I decided to contact Nissan Australia to ascertain whether they had seen/heard/spoken about this problem with Pathfinders, so that we had an insight - however they simply told us that it wasn't a problem here in Australia - WELL IT WAS!!! I WAS EXPERIENCING IT PERSONALLY - and that these issues only related to those vehicles sold in the US, that they had strict controls and guidelines for imported vehicles... seriously? Well, looks like this one slipped through!!!!!!...

We then decided to get a 2nd opinion on the solution for the transmission, only to find that we were continually knocked back with "there is no exchange or 2nd hand available for this model... only remedy is to purchase brand new transmission"... So I took matters into our own hands in sourcing our own gearbox for rebuild. Admittedly this took too many phone calls to list, and 3 months of searching, but eventually laid our hands on a 2002 transmission which housing would suit our model vehicle, costing AU$2,930 to purchase and freight interstate. Needless to say we then organized another Automatic Transmissions specialist to fix/repair our problem with 1. remove auto trans and converter and replace with 2nd hand unit plus parts... an added cost of AU$917 on top of what we had already paid out....

As you could understand... I never expected to experience such a stressful situation that was truly out of our hands and that of Nissan Australia and Nissan Dealerships... We felt like they all took the view to hard basket and kept pushing it to the side. Something needs to be done about this sever problem, before it causes a fatality here in Australia. We have had the car repaired and back in our possession since April 2013, however the digital display reading for the fuel gauge, outside temperature gauge and generally computer digital displays have never worked properly since.

I'm very very very disappointed in the Nissan Pathfinder Ti... love this car, love this model, and being the top model, you take the view that there should be little or no problems..... PLEASE... can someone in authority in Nissan take a look at the Australian problem??? there are more of them then just me...

I am a Nissan owner since ~1984, Ever since I bought the Pathfinder '05 I've been a very unhappy customer of Nissan. * Never a NISSAN again .

Transmission/Radiator problem is a well-known problem in this vehicle. Initially Nissan USA did not pay anything if you are out of warranty. But after a class action law suit they are now paying some amount but still the amount is huge for an average person. ($2500 + is not a joke these days). These big companies love class action law suits so that they can legally charge people once they come to an "agreed" payment. Just to mention I had a different problem couple of months back and Nissan did not want to pay for that. But came to a settlement just by getting a refund for the parts. But the labor was much more.

Never a NISSAN again *.

Even though I own the car, my mother has the car and is the driver and has written the story. My 2005 Nissan Pathfinder LE began having a little shudder in the front of the engine while I was driving....nothing but annoying at first that was a huge concern. It only seemed to have the shudder occasionally and when I had driven 20+ miles or so. Sometimes occurring a lot, sometimes a little and sometimes not at all. After several trips to and from the hospital with an invalid husband, I became concerned that we may get stranded beside the highway in the cold. I took the car to my local Nissan dealer and almost before the words were out of my mouth describing the problem, the very cheerful repair person said, "It's your transmission. All Nissan's of that year and model have the same problem. You're going to have to have a new transmission and radiator because the coolant has leaked into the transmission and ruined it." I was dumbfounded to say the least. He said it would cost me $5,200. I asked him, "Do I look like I have $5,200 in my pocket?" After all I was driving a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder in 2014. He said not to worry that I could apply for one of their credit cards. I didn't have it repaired because I thought it foolish to spend that much money on a nine year old car. Nissan has to know by 9 years that the design of the transmission coolant inside the radiator is a design defect and "should" issue payment to car owners for the Blue Book worth of the car at the time of defect renders the car useless. I'll await my check for $8,500, the Blue Book value of my car plus $2,000 additional for my inconvenience and their foolishness, while it quietly rusts down sitting in my driveway. It's too nice with it's leather seats and luxury package to die this kind of useless death. FOR SHAME NISSAN, FOR SHAME. My family owns three Nissan's and have been faithful customers throughout the years. I doubt that we'll buy another.

This car has absolutely ruined the last few years of my life, financially and emotionally! I bought my 05' Pathfinder 10/28/2011 and by Feb. 2012 the engine was falling apart! I had to fight the dealerships, insurance companies, Nissan and mechanics and was not able to get it fixed (out of my pocket) until March that year. To date I have had the transmission rebuilt, bypassed fixing the radiator (due to lack of funds after the transmission), replaced the aux. cooling system and manifold, and the thermostat...All due to this issue. A total bill of over $6,000... For a then 22 year old working female, this has put a damper on my hopes, dreams and ambitions indefinitely (I am still working 3 jobs to pay it all off) I lost my house and my then full time job.

Today 12/03/13 I received a letter stating that my claim in the class action lawsuit was denied...because my mileage was at 108,000 at time of repair- Shucks, If I would have known that 8,000 miles was going to cost me ANYCHANCE at reimbursement I may have simply let this car sit in the drive way and walked the 116 mile drive to work every day for the first few months after I bought it at 99,800approx. mi.

Word to the wise, AVOID NISSAN AT ALL COSTS, ALL MODELS, ALL YEARS.

To have JUST HEARD ABOUT A RECALL ON THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM REALLY PISSES ME OFF!!

In addition for Nissan to know this has been an on going FRECKING PROBLEM, WITH THIS PARTICULAR MODEL VEHICLE, AND CONTINUOUSLY ALLOW PEOPLE TO SELL IT USED ON CAR LOTS WITHOUT FOR WARNING the consumer!!!!! REALLY??? What should I have to loose my life for it to become VALUABLE? Jeesh!!!!

Fix ish, PREWARN CONSUMERS WE DO HAVE FREAKING RIGHTS!!!!

Coolant in the transmissions.And this was a recall?? Which lead to a class action lawsuit, which only few ppl heard and benefited very little from. And if that didn't kick Nissan owners down ENOUGH if you had too many miles on your vehicle when their screw up happened too you, guess WHAT Nissan owners... Too Freaking bad...... Ugh....

A few months ago the transmission began to shudder when shifting into overdrive at about 50mph. I called a transmission shop and they suggested "shudder-stop" additive to the transmission fluid. At this point the transmission fluid looked fine (nice red color). I added the "shudder stop" and the problem went away for a few weeks. Then one day the truck started driving like it was always in 3rd gear --really slow takeoff and rpm really high. After I researched online and discovered a common problem with coolant getting into the transmission due to a deffective nissan radiator, I checked the transmission dipstick again and found it looked like chocolate milk. I did not want to spend the money for a new transmission and radiator so hoping I had caught it before the damage was too extensive, I choose to flush the transmission and radiator. First I pulled the drain plug at the oil pan and drained about a gallon of very brown foamy contaminated fluid from the transmission. Then I pulled transmission coolant hoses from the bottom of the radiator and directed them straight to the external cooler in front of the radiator. I pluged the lines coming from the radiator to prevent leaking coolant. I disconnected one of the transmission coolant lines and started the pathfinder. While fluid pumped out this hose into a drain bucket, I added fresh transmission fluid to the dipstick hole. I continued to do this until my trany fluid looked clean coming out the hose than shut off the truck and reconnected the hose to the external cooler. I then flushed the radiator. Afterwards I drove the truck for a few days and it drove and shifted fine (just a little shudder once again in overdrive). Then one day last week, the truck would not start. I checked the engine codes with a scanner and found a U1000 fault code. This code is related to the ECM communcation or grounding and will not let the truck start until it is corrected. I have found other info online about coolant contamination at the transmission control module TCM causing this issue. Do not know how to correct at this point.

My car lost power while I was with my family on the on-ramp of the freeway on our way looking at Christmas lights. Towed it to the Nissan Dealer because I had the protection plus warranty, however, was told today that it is not covered because they do not cover the radiator. I goggled and found that Nissan Pathfinder has had problems with the radiator leaking into the transmission and causing it to short out. Now, I am without a car, and Nissan Corporation said they will not cover the warranty because I am pass the 100,000 mileage.

When I hit about 90,000 miles and driving around town I felt like I was driving over rumble strips in the road. I did some online research and discovered the faulty radiator/transmission problem. Sure enough, I found myself at a transmission repair shop replacing both the radiator and the transmission.

I know that I will never be able to recoup this loss from Nissan even though it's a manufacturing defect. I was serious looking to replace my Pathfinder with a new Nissan - but no more. If Nissan was smart, they would back this repair and keep their customers, but that's not going to happen. No more Nissan's for me.

I have 3 Nissan vehicles, I used to love Nissan until the horror movie started. My wife and I thought we had a great vehicle and what happened was the heat started working intermittently, when we were in park it started blowing cold air, when driving it heated up.

Within 2-3months started hearing a rumble noise when vehicle was shifting and yes it was the transmission. Fluid was leaking radiator fluid into transmission fluid! Lost a pile of money on this one. Just happens that I have a 2006 Frontier and same problems are arising, Nissan service in Sherwood park, Alberta, says I should change out my rad with an aftermarket rad. Really seems like the government should step in here.

Once I can get out of my Nissans I will but I'm stuck losing a lot. This is the first time I've written on a blog but I just had to, can't really explain how bad this has been. Good luck to Owners of these once great vehicles.

We had to drop off our Pathfinder today at the local automotive shop. My 2.5yr old, 6 month old and I were driving and the car wouldn't accelerate. The auto repair place said we had to replace BOTH the radiator AND the transmission. Not what we were expecting...needless to say that is about $5,000. After a bit of google.com research we found out that there are several class action suits for this EXACT problem. Except that even though Nissan is clearly accepting responsibility by offering a copay. I think it is ridiculous to expect people to pay any money especially $3000 to fix an 8 yr old car whose damage is completely the manufacturers fault. We have had 3 nissans and were planning on purchasing another this spring. Here we come VW, Chevy, or Audi!!!!

purchased a used 2005 Nissan Pathfinder in November 0f 2011. January 2012 (approximately 90 days after purchase) transmission failed and left me stranded on the road. I had car towed and was told I had to take it to the dealer. Had it towed to dealer and they quoted me almost $8K for transmission replacement, radiator replacement and bypass to correct faulty design. Had car towed to a local transmission place and spent 4600 to have repaired. This $13K car is going to cost me almost $18K after repairs. Called Dealership where I purchased the car and they were no help. Called Nissan USA and they basically told me tough sh@#. This has totally turned me against nissans. I will never buy another one.