Radiator fluid leaked into transmission. Caused transmission failure. Had to replace radiator, electrical components, hoses, transmission, etc. Repairs cost over $3900. This is a known problem by Nissan and they refuse to recall, but they have issued bulletins.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

We have a 2005 Nissan Xterra that we had to have a transmission replaced on in 2007 because radiator coolant leaked into the transmission. Again, the same thing has happened. Recall these cars, please. They are dangerous and this repair is very expensive. I had read the complaint history and I am not the only one with this problem.

- Vienna, VA, USA

My 05 Xterra has a leak from the radiator in the transmission due to a defect in the lines. Now I have to replace the transmission and the radiator which will cost $6000. I filed a claim with Nissan to try and get this repair covered. I was denied because Nissan said this is not a problem other people are having. If you are also having this problem you need to open a claim with Nissan to show them there is a real problem here. The rep I talked to is named [xxx] and her personal work line is 615-725-7205. Please open your claim with her and prove to Nissan that there needs to be a recall for this problem. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Kingman, AZ, USA

While driving, the engine cuts off without warning causing all systems to shut down, including brake assist and power steering causing a near collision twice, once while navigating a curve at low speed with a ditch on the right side and once while navigating a curve at higher speed and nearly coasting into oncoming traffic. The issue is due to a known defect in the radiator causing coolant to spill into the transmission. This is a major safety concern that appears in vehicles without warning in any circumstance at any speed. Please initiate a recall asap for our safety!

- Atlanta, GA, USA

My 2005 Nissan Xterra with 85000 miles has a vibration which feels like driving on rumble strips that comes and goes. There is also the smell of antifreeze and the heat works sporadically at idle. Looking at everyone's else's post it looks like this is a known issue with the 2005 Xterra that Nissan is not fixing. There should be a recall on this so that Nissan can make the adequate repairs.

- Bristol, CT, USA

Radiator failed and allowed coolant to mix with transmission fluid. Both radiator and transmission need replaced at a cost of $6411 (includes labor).

- Crofton, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Xterra. The contact was driving 20 mph when the vehicle started to jerk violently and there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms before shifting into gear. The contact also mentioned that the air bag warning lamp was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the radiator and transmission fluids had mixed erroneously and both the transmission and the radiator would need to be replaced. In addition, the belt tension sensor would also need to be replaced in order to repair the air bag system. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who offered to waive the fee of diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 87,000.

- Los Angeles , CA, USA

Vehicle failed during operation without warning secondary to faulty original radiator which leaked coolant into the transmission. Transmission and radiator destroyed and require replacing. Despite extensive documentation of this problem on consumer websites and a class action lawsuit, Nissan America and dealership denied any knowledge of this problem and did not accept any financial responsibility. Total repairs estimated at $5,000. Notifying consumer of and/or replacing faulty radiator could prevent a costly destroyed transmission.

- Forest Grove, OR, USA

My husband and I purchased our 2005 Nissan Xterra, 17 miles young. Exactly one month after we purchased, the rear differential went out and was covered under warranty. No problems for a few years, until we noticed that the gas gauge was not giving accurate readings, we had to watch our odometer count to make sure we didn't run out of gas, which is a very scary thought when you have two young children. This happened when we had approximately 80000 miles on the truck and $600 to repair. Shortly after, the transmission was acting up and the heater wasn't working. No why wasn't that working? apparently, Nissan thought it would be a cool trick to have the radiator leak into the transmission.... brilliant business plan they have. Took the truck in and had to pay $5800 to have the transmission, radiator and computer all replaced. This financial hardship was in fact a hardship. One that shouldn't have had to happen had Nissan provided quality parts and provided stellar service. I will sue Nissan for this major safety issue, blog/facebook my little heart away about how insincere of a company Nissan is and never ever-ever-ever give them a positive recommendation.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

My Nissan Xterra started making a vibration sound around August of 2011. It sounded like your vehicle was running over a "rumble strip". it was infrequent at first so I ignored it. I did notice some other warning signs of potential trouble (at hindsight). The vehicles heater would never heat the interior of the vehicle at idle, but would do it at speed. Nissan knows the issue is a defect but refuses to take responsibility. Several times while I have been driving the vehicle it would shudder and almost result in a accident. I have only narrowly avoided a collision on 3 separate occasions. Nissan extended the powertrain warranty to 80,000 miles because they know of the issue, but refuse to admit its a defect. Had I been informed about the warranty extension I may have been able to have it services while within the warranty period. My vehicle is currently at 83,000 miles, but within the 96 month portion of the warranty. I'm currently afraid to drive the vehicle on the highway because I'm worried the transmission will fail at high speed and result in a serious accident.

- Waterloo, IL, USA

Started hearing a rumble strip sound while on smooth pavement. Vehicle started shifting harder, with slight vibrations. Before I could take it in, I was involved with a hit in run in a parking lot. Nissan said the upper and lower radiator hoses were soaked in transmission fluid. Manager said it had been leaking for some time. He said I needed a new radiator, and transmission cost of 6500. Nissan updated their radiators because they new it was a defective part, but refuse to take care of damage they have caused. See link www.nissanassist.com/web/radiator/faqs.php?menu=22

- Stevenson, AL, USA

It has come to my attention during a recent horrific event that my transmission has seized due to a failure of the radiator cracking and mixing coolant into the transmission. I had bought an extended warranty plan through my dealer when I purchased this vehicle in 2009. They had an adjustor from carefree car protection come out to look at the vehicle on Friday November 11, 2011. With that being said; they stated they do not cover the radiator issue; and since it was the faulty radiator that caused the entire transmission to fail and ultimately seized, they will also not cover that or any other of the repairs. Upon a bit of research on my own this is a known failure with this particular year/make/model of Nissan. There are hundreds if not thousands of documented cases of consumers with the very same issue. There has been no recall made on this at all. Yes, Nissan extended the radiator warranty up to 80,000 miles but not the transmission. Guess what; this happened in my vehicle at 89,000, so not only can I not fix the radiator issue but the transmission is also the same. The worst part of all this is; on Wednesday November 9th my four year old daughter and I were almost killed due to this known malfunction. We were traveling on a very busy highway in mid-day traffic when the entire transmission seized in the middle of the highway. I have to say, if it were not for my extensive training in emergency vehicle operations by the state of Massachusetts, I honestly do not believe my daughter or I would be alive today. The vehicle seized right on that stretch of highway and I had to veer into a ditch avoiding other vehicles, trees, guardrails and jersey barriers. I am thankful that we did survive that horrific even. Now I am looking to Nissan to do the right thing and make this right. Updated IVOQ 12/01/11

- North Adams, MA, USA

Recently I experienced a sudden loss of acceleration as I attempted to merge onto a highway. I was also very lucky that I didn't cause a serious accident. The problem was intermittent at first and then increased. Nissan acknowledged a radiator design flaw and extended the basic warranty to lessor of 96 months or 80K miles. I contacted Nissan Consumer Affairs to inform them my Xterra was affected by the same problem. While under 96 mos, my vehicle has 89K miles. I requested an exception which was denied. Nissan's failure to stand behind their products, particularly when the problem represents a serious safety concern and attributable to a design flaw, is inexcusable. Nissan denies any safety concern. This problem (referenced by Nissan in the radiator assembly customer satisfaction program description) pertains to 2005-2010 Xterra, pathfinder and frontier vehicles equipped with auto transmissions. Corrosion within the radiator leads to a crack and contamination of engine coolant with trans fluid, damaging radiator & transmission corrosion develops over time and most vehicle owners will likely exceed the 80K limit before problem presents itself. An internet search revealed 15 dedicated web threads to this problem and they are mostly 2005 vehicles. If Nissan didn"T correct the design flaw before 2010, the # of failures will significantly increase over the coming years as model yr 2005-2010 cars age. How many accidents or fatalities need to occur during this period before Nissan is held accountable for their negligence? the dealer estimate to repair my Xterra is $6,760. This is a significant financial burden and hardship on any vehicle with just over 80,000 miles. How many Nissan owners have to experience financial hardship before Nissan is held accountable?"

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

I was driving my 2005 Nissan Xterra at 55 mph on a two lane highway when it began to shake violently as if I had ran over spilled lumber or rumble strips. I braked hard as I thought I had ran over something. I hadn't, so after pulling over and checking for loose tires or driveline I continue on perplexed as to what happened. A few miles later it did it again. Come to find out there is a known defect on 2005 thru 2010 Nissan Xterra's, pathfinders, and frontier's in which the radiators internally leak water into the automatic transmissions and causes the violent shaking at high speeds. Nissan is aware of the issue and has only chosen to extend the warranty on the radiators and not recall the vehicles. In fact the letter sent to the consumers doesn't even reference the transmission (in which it destroys). While my family and I were not hurt, it was a close call and could have easily been worse at the speed I was going and the effect the failure has on the vehicle.

- North Adams, MA, USA

I was picking up my children from school and my car just stopped driving in the middle of the intersection while I was making a left turn at a stoplight. I brought it to a trans shop and they said I have coolant in my transmission which caused it to fail. Repairs are estimated at $4326 and I am just angry and sick over this situation. Not only was it a scary situation to break down in the middle of the intersection with my kids in the car but I am very disappointed in all the reports I have been reading about in the 2005 Xterra. I can not afford to fix this problem and this is simply not fair that Nissan isn't taking responsibility for their negligence. Please help!!

- Glendale, AZ, USA

Faulty radiator design allowed a crack that caused cross contamination of coolant and transmission fluid. Caused transmission to fail.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

The clutch first failed at 2800 miles. Nissan replaced it but told me it was bad driving. I have had a clutch my entire life. The second failure was at 52000 miles. Nissan told me it was out of warranty so I had it replaced elsewhere with oe parts. It just failed again at 78000 miles and again they said it was out of warranty. I will now have the fourth clutch installed and am looking at other than oem equipment.

- Arlington Heights, IL, USA

Interior components of the radiators (internal transmission coolers) break down allowing coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. As a result of the contamination, the transmission and other drivetrain components are damaged and fail causing possible accident.

- Gatlinburg, TN, USA

Transmission shudders violently periodically between speeds of 40mph and 65mph. Brought truck to buckeye Nissan in hilliard, oh where all of my repairs have been completed over the entire life of my vehicle and they informed me that I had coolant in transmission and transmission fluid in radiator. This problem can lead to sudden and catastrophic failure of transmission while in motion which could have lead to a serious auto accident.

- Galloway, OH, USA

I noticed a vibrating noise when I would reach 40-50mph. It sounded like I was driving on a rumble strip but was not. One day I pulled out into traffic and my transmission slipped, had my gas pedle to the floor but I was barely moving. I had to swirve into the ditch to avoid getting rear ended! I took it to my Nissan dealship to have a diagnositc test done. They called and told me that there was a defect in the radiator causing fluid to leak into the transmission. The estimated cost will be about $1500, to replace my radiator and flush the fluids twice. They stated that this will be a 80-85% chance this would temporaraly fix the problem, but with them not really knowing how much damage there is to my transmission that if this doesn't correct the problem that I would need to replace my trasmission meaning an additional $5,000. I have searched on-line and found out on a website (carcomplaints.com) that there are many other people out there with my same problem. Nissan is very aware of this defect in the radiator and has done nothing about it. My warrenty ran out in April and the warrenty on the radiator ended at 80,000 miles. I am in a huge bind not knowing what to do. Being a single mom I am very tight on money. I would hope that there are enough complaints for Nissan to recall all Nissan Xterra 2005 for radiator defects. I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying for a miracle.

- Shelby, OH, USA