i have done alot of research and feel nissan should recall this problem since there have been so many complaints about the faulty radiators that can destroy your transmission. From the sound of it i am only at the beginning of this process , flush and replace radiator which will cost about 1200.00 that is hard enough to come up with. I have always bought nissan but will never buy one again i hope this bites nissan in the ass hard.

Update from Jan 25, 2011: as to update this issue after paying for repairs to fix this nightmare out of pocket 4000.00 i recieve a letter in the mail almost 8 months saying they were going to extend the warrantly to 80000 miles . Okay maybe im getting somewhere. Called them but seeing the car is out of warranty now after the fact and i didn't have is repaired at the nissan dealer is self there saying they will not refund for the repairs i have paid for. I stated the repairs weren't done at nissan for the reason being it would cost me alot more and i am a single mom and as it is trying to stay afloat in everyday life. Well they didn't seem to give a rats ass and would not refund any money paid for repairs. I think the next step should be newspaper and the news to let people know how nissan could give a sh*t about there loyal customers biggest peace of sh*t i have ever owned. Step after that will be a lawyer to sue them after all it is a safety issue and everyone should join in on the class action lawsuit building against them . We the little people should be heard.

I am writing this short summary to express my disappointment and utter disgust with my 2005 Nissan Xterra 4X4 Off-road edition. Nissan NA case no. 6716689. Below is a time series of events:

March 2009 I noticed a vibration in the vehicles power train at 77,620 miles. I took it to the dealer for diagnoses at a cost of $60.20. The dealer technician test drove the vehicle and said that he did not notice the vibration. I had the dealer flush and refill the transmission as a preventative measure at a cost of $218.37.

Sub-total: $278.57

July 2009 The vehicle would run warmer than usual during normal driving conditions and the cooling fan was running more often than usual. I checked all fluids and they were normal. I drained and refilled the radiator with fresh 50/50 antifreeze-water as recommended by the manual. I also replaced the radiator cap to rule out the possibility of the seal not allowing pressure to release. The problem still occurred. I suspected that the thermostat was not working properly so, I replaced the thermostat with an OEM from the dealer. The problem was less severe, but still not solved. One afternoon I was driving the vehicle on level ground when I felt the transmission slip. I immediately pulled over and inspected the vehicle. Fluids were leaking from underneath the vehicle. It was red and seemed as though it was transmission fluid. I checked the fluid level and it showed to be overfilled. None of this made sense. I immediately took the vehicle back to the dealer and asked that they look it over thinking maybe they overfilled the transmission. This occurred at 82,477 miles. I received a phone call from the service manager an hour later stating that my radiator was leaking and that I needed to have it replaced at a cost of $794.90 including labor/parts/coolant. For some unknown reason I was also charged for a coolant flush at $101.77. The dealer stated that the transmission fluid was milky indicating that the radiator had ruptured internally and allowed the coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. They also said that they just had ANOTHER VEHICLE IN THE DEALER WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. They proceeded to flush the transmission twice to remove the coolant contaminants. They then refilled it all at a cost of $366.09. They stated that they had it all removed, refilled the transmission with new fluid and installed a new radiator. The dealer tech test drove the vehicle and said that it shifted properly and that I caught the problem early enough that there would be no further problems.

Sub-total: $1263.04

August 2009 The vehicles transmission slipped again under normal driving conditions and progressively got worse. I researched the problem on the internet where I realized my worst fear. It seemed that the coolant from the faulty radiator had done more damage than I was lead to believe by the dealer. I read about 15 similar cases involving Xterra and Pathfinder models. I immediately called the dealer where they stated that they wanted $165.00 to diagnose the problem. I felt that I had already been robbed by them so I took it to AAMCO where they would diagnose it for free. They told me exactly what I had read in so many other cases on the internet. I needed to have my transmission rebuilt. This occurred at 85,676 miles. AAMCO said it would cost 4,134.84 to rebuild the transmission. I then called the dealer once again for estimate where they stated that they do not rebuild transmissions. They replace them and it would cost an estimated $6,000. I went with AAMCO since there was no guarantee Nissan would assist me with the costs.

On a side note, a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder was sitting in the AAMCO parking lot with the same exact problem that I was having only the owner refused to pay the repair costs.

Sub-Total:$4,134.84 Total Costs: $5,676.45

September 2009 I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and expressed that I thought Nissan should recall the faulty radiators that caused my transmission failure and that I should be fully reimbursed, especially since I knew it was not an isolated case. Again and again the only response I would get was that they could not provide financial assistance because I was out of warranty. I asked to speak to the customer service agent’s manager and he asked, “why?” And then he said that I couldn’t and that the manager would have to call me back. I then called Nissan North America to speak with someone else. I spoke to a woman who said she did not have the power to provide financial assistance, but she had a regional representative contact me. I explained my concerns and he said that he could not do anything for me, but would contact the dealer to see if they would provide assistance. I never heard back from the regional representative. Conclusion To add insult to injury, my tailgate and bumper are rusting(garage kept) and my fuel gauge sending unit stopped working right after this incident. My Nissan Xterra was my first Japanese automobile. I had high hopes of reliability and durability when I bought I left the dealer with keys in hand, but, needless to say, I am extremely disappointed with my Nissan. If Nissan does not take full responsibility for the bad batch of radiators in their Pathfinders and Xterra model vehicles I will never again own a Nissan or Infinity automobile for the rest of my life. Furthermore, I will see to it that no one in my family or friends does either.