Just joined the Xterra tranny crap club. At moment the diagnosis is radiator coolant in transmission and needs new radiator, computer in tranny, and the rebuild. Price is not yet determined because non Nissan mechanic is working on it. Tried to find a decent used 2005 transmission for automatic v6, but everyone knows about problem and is charging high price for used tranny. Nissan is not willing to cover because it is beyond the extended warranty. We have contacted local news consumer affairs reporters and advised to file a civil suit. Is anyone doing this as we would like to take part. Good luck to all out there who have Xterra and have not had this problem yet. You need to get rid of SUV before problem occurs and never buy Nissan again.

This is a common problem among 2005 - 2010 Xterra, Pathfinders, and Frontiers. The radiator corrodes, leaking coolant into the transmission, which fries the tranny ($6,800 to repair). This is not a normal wear and tear issue, and it's not a question of IF it will happen, but rather WHEN it will happen. Nissan knows about this and has extended the warranty to 80,000 miles. The problem being that the symptoms associated with the radiator failure don't manifest until after 80k miles (116,000 miles in my case), so the warranty extension is a worthless gesture. I've been exclusively buying and driving Nissans for almost 22 yrs now and was recently told by a Nissan customer service rep that Nissan will not help me because I'm too far out of warranty. If after 22 years Nissan can't show me even a fraction of the loyalty I've shown them... Goodbye Nissan, and I hope nothing but the absolute worst for you.

My Nissan was a great SUV for our family until it started making a rumbling noise. Turns out that this is a problem due to a faulty part in the transmission's radiator that Nissan is not currently recognizing. I also need new timing tensioners, nice. I am afraid to have this car fixed on my dime because what happens if something else goes wrong and Nissan refuses to stand by their product? I will be calling Kim in the morning and inquiring about my options. I WILL NEVER BUY A NISSAN AGAIN. I am now seeking a car company that stands by their product, Honda anyone?

Since this problem started I have had nothing but problems with Nissan. I opened a claim only after taking it to 3 different dealerships. The first two refused to open a claim because I wasn't the original owner of the car. My claim was then denied because Nissan said this is not a problem that other customers are having. If you are having this problem, please open a claim so that Nissan can see how big of a problem this is. Call Kim at her personal work line at 615-725-7205. She is a consumer affairs rep at Nissan and can open a claim for you. She was also the one who told me this wasn't a wide spread problem so I would like her to hear how big of a problem this is.

From what Nissan mechanics explained to me, this is an ongoing problem with the 4.0 V6 2005 Xterra and Pathfinder. The radiator valve that connects to the transmission started to deteriorate and the coolant mixed with the transmission fluid. I started to become aware of the problem about a week before the expansion flask exploded. The truck would jerk a few times when accelerating from a stop and then disappear. Nissan wanted to charge C$5,800 plus tax. I found an independent specialist that had just redone a Pathfinder. He charged me C$2,800 plus tax. 1 year warranty included. The radiator was changed and the new one is not designed as the old one was, therefore there should no longer be a problem. Still very frustrated. I was without the use of the truck for 4 months.

I purchased my 2005 Xterra new from the dealer in January of 06 with only 60 miles on the odometer. The vehicle was fine the first 5 years, but now that it's paid off it's been problem after problem. The vehicle has 116k miles on it and in the last 6 months have had to replace the IPDM relay $500 including labor. Catalyst converter (California Legal) $900. And now the radiator ruined my transmission and i need to replace both at a cost of $3800. Let me not forget to mention the winding noise coming from the engine. I've been told i need to replace the timing chain and tensioners soon at an estimated cost of $1500. As of now i don't know if i should make the repairs and cross my fingers nothing else goes wrong with this POS or invest in a toyota.

I will never never never never buy a nissan again. In December of last year and after my extended warranty ran out I took my car to the dealer and found out the radiator was leaking, this was fixed due to the extended radiator warranty. The transmission was not fixed but sent on my then now a year later I am having transmission problems and was told by Nissan that the transmission needs to be fixed. I asked how this was damaged and was not given an answer "just wear and tear" bunch of BS...because of research have found out that a leaking radiator damages a transmission and this should have been fixed initially when the radiator was fixed. I did not spend well over $25K to have a transmission go out at 95K....then I have a family member with the same make model, year xterra with less miles and he took his in to have looked after I informed him of the problems with xterra and his transmission, radiator, time chain belt, etc are all being replaced...WTH and I got screwed.... I have placed a complaint with Nissan, BBB and joined a class action lawsuit. I hope that I get some assistance with replacing this transmission but next car I may consider Hyundai 100K/10 years or GMC...Shame on Nissan

I purchased my XTerra used in February of 2011 after totally my previous vehicle. On hindsight there were warning signs of a potential bad transmission. My Xterra's heater wouldn't warm while at idle - only when at speed. It has done this since I bought it. It didn't start doing to the vibration thing until about 5-7,000 miles ago. At first it sounded like I was going over a "rumble strip" on the side of the road. I ignored it as a simple wheel issue as most vibration noises can be tire related. As time went on the vibration became more severe and more frequent. I finally took my vehicle into the shop and discovered I have the dreaded "leaking radiator into the transmission thing". I have to place a lot of blame on Nissan, because I never was informed about the extension of the power train warranty. Had they have contacted me I might've suspected a correlation between what I've been experiencing. I contacted a local Nissan dealer who estimated the repair at "$11,000"!! I am debating trying to trade it in or to fight Nissan to get it fixed. I'm lucky in that I have access to an extra vehicle so I can fight them for the LONG term. If I trade it in I stand to lose in excess of $2500 in value between what it's worth now and when I purchased it 10 months ago. This is my first and last Nissan vehicle.

I am the original owner of a 2005 Nissan Xterra. I have owned it for 75 months and logged 89,000 miles. 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. The problem was attributable to a radiator design flaw by Nissan. After numerous complaints to Nissan and at least one class action lawsuit, Nissan “voluntarily“extended the warranty under a “Radiator Assembly Customer Satisfaction Program” to the lesser of 96 months or 80,000 miles.

I contacted Nissan Consumer Affairs to apprise them that my Xterra was affected by the same problem and requested an exception to the 80,000 mile limitation. Nissan Consumer Affairs took 1.5 weeks to review my request before denying it. The failure of Nissan to stand behind their products, particularly when the problem represents a serious safety concern and attributable to a design flaw, is inexcusable. Nissan denies that there is a safety concern, whereas they should have acknowledged responsibility for their error and issued a recall. I encourage others with the same problem to take action by filing complaints on this site, with the Center for Auto Safety, ConsumerAffairs.com, and with the NHTSA. I also encourage others to join one of the class action lawsuits against Nissan on this matter. A simple Google search turned up several. This problem (as referenced by Nissan in the Radiator Assembly Customer Satisfaction Program) pertains to “some model year 2005 – 2010 Xterra, Pathfinder and Frontier vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions”. The design flaw involves corrosion within the radiator that leads to a crack and then contamination of engine coolant with transmission fluid. This contamination leads to damage to the radiator and transmission. Corrosion is something that develops over time and most vehicle owners will likely exceed the 80,000 limit before the problem presents itself. An internet search revealed 15 dedicated web threads to this problem, and the majority have been in the past year. The majority of the problems reported to date have also been 2005 vehicles. Based on the dates defined by Nissan under the warranty extension, it doesn’t appear that Nissan fixed the problem until 2010 at the earliest. Common sense suggests that the number of problems arising from the design flaw will significantly increase over the coming years as these cars age.

How many accidents or fatalities need to occur over the coming years before Nissan is held accountable for their negligence? My local Nissan dealer estimated it would cost $6,760 to repair my Xterra. This represents a significant financial burden and hardship – especially on a vehicle with just over 80,000 miles. How many Nissan owners have to experience this type of financial hardship before Nissan is held accountable?

I used to be a happy Nissan owner. It is now clear to me that Nissan does not stand behind their products and I will NEVER purchase another Nissan vehicle.

If you have an Nissan...sell it. Especially if you have an Xterra.

1st problem was the fuel indicator, Nissan wont fix that. Now the faulty radiator with the coolant lines that are in the middle and they crack. This mixes the coolant and tranny fluids together and it ruins the tranny. Nissan admits this is a problem and extends the mileage on the warranty, but most are over that allowed mileage and are left with a car that cost more to fix than its worth. http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiator/faqs.php?menu=22

Nissan updated the replace radiators, that alone says they know but refuse to fix a problem that isn't the fault of the owner. Nissan should grow a set and fix what needs to be fixed. My tranny is shot because of a 100 dollar radiator and it's Nissan's fault. I will not own another Nissan, and will tell every Nissan and Xterra owner about it.

Shortly after I purchased this car (from North End Motors), I noticed that the car would shudder when on the high way. We realized it was a problem with overdrive and I decided to drive with overdrive off until we could get it looked at it, so it no longer shuddered. Then the heat stopped working and when we looked in the coolant, it was all pink and frothy and so we immediately took it to Aamco and Wilmington and they were familiar with the problem right away. And it's going to take at least a week to fix! HUGE inconvenience and HUGE amounts of money. The XTerra is a great car but the fact that this a problem with other ones is ridiculous and Nissan should really take responsibility....

Intermittent hesitation when accelerating became the major problem on 6/18/10. I took it to the dealer under warranty and they replaced the vent control valve. On 7/12/10 the problem occurred again. Probably didn't get fixed or recognized the first time through or, even worse, they didn't care.

Car had violent jerking movements on acceleration. Radiator split internally causing trans fluid to intermix with coolant. The system was flushed on my dime. The radiator was replaced under warranty (3600.00).

On 12/03/10 the heater was not blowing hot air but cold. They flushed the system and replaced radiator cap. They also replaced a rear 'U" joint on front drive shaft. Needless to say, the transmission/coolant system is messed up. Today, 8/18/11 i had to take truck to car shop because same lack of acceleration is happening again. Class action lawsuit needs to move forward!!!!!!!!!!!!

Radiator was replaced and tranny flushed twice for $900. Two weeks later check engine light went on and tranny started slipping again. Never experienced any rumbling noise like previously mentioned on site.

Nissan customer service is totally useless. They just don't care about their customers like one would expect considering the amount of money we spent purchasing a new vehicle from them.

I'm in for a class action suit and i will be filing a complaint as was mentioned in a previous report.

We have taken very good care of this Nissan. It is paid for, it has wiped out 2.5 weeks of work .This Nissan is only 6 years old - Nissan should have been aware of this problem and done a recall and fixed it !! Radiator fluid going into transmission ruining the sensors that tell the computer when to change gears.

You (Nissan) should have done something to fix this problem a long time ago 4,000+is a whole lot of $$$$$$$$ for people on fixed income to pay when we already worked very hard to pay this truck off!! we need to be reimbursed for the repairs! Nissan read all the complaints ,they are all the same -fix it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I purchased this "winner" 3 years ago. I was excited to have found such a bargain as it was priced at $14,500.00 and was the best deal around. No wonder!!! I'm constantly replacing and fixing things on this vehicle. Within the past year the entire electrical system melted which cost me $2000.00. After having it repaired, I've been stuck on the highway several times as it continues to have electrical wiring problems. My gas gauge also quit working, so I couldn't tell how much was in the tank. My husband and a mechanic friend of ours fixed that, along with a few other things that went bad.

Shortly after my wiring was fixed, I noticed my car running strangely. It felt like it was shuddering. Finally, in July 2010 (while on vacation) my "check engine light" came on and I noticed when I pushed on the gas, there was no power. We took it to a mechanic who charged us $26.00 to put 3 quarts of transmission fluid in it. At first we felt relieved, however, knew something was wrong as it isn't typical to have transmission fluid get low. It ran well for a couple more weeks...no shuddering. Suddenly, we're back to the drawing board again. The shuddering came back with a vengeance and now the "check engine light" is back on.

We took it to a mechanic today and they diagnosed it with transmission problems. We were told it could be the cylanoid. I have no idea what the estimate is yet, however after reading all the blogs about the very same problems...I have no doubt my Nissan is having the same ridiculous issues as all the others. I still owe $9300.00 on this lemon. I will file complaints with every solitary department possible in an effort to get this mechanical mess covered. It will not be pretty if I have to fork out a huge amount of money to pay for a defect Nissan has known about for a long time. Last week (before the most recent incident) I decided to sell this thing because I no longer feel I can trust this vehicle for long distances. Besides the fact I'm female, my job also requires me to do a good bit of traveling. I need something reliable. Now...I can't even sell this piece of junk and may get stuck with a hefty bill on top of it.