I heard about all of the issues with the Xterra and did what I thought was due diligence. Reviewed Carfax (Dealer serviced, 1 owner), visual inspection of coolant in radiator and reservoir, checked transmission fluid for funky smells and color, then had professional inspection of all. Everything checked out.

First thing I did after buying this car is changed radiator to mitigate chance of lines breaking as that's what the "experts" say is the fix. 2 days after purchasing the car, what happens? Loud rattle on cold start that got softer when warmed up... then as I was driving the car felt as if I was driving on rumble strips when check engine light came on. Cause? Transmission codes! Needed new transmission and timing chains!

This should be a disclosure when purchasing an Xterra as both of these defects are known problems

In October of 2014, my 2005 Nissan Xterra was shuddering or vibrating when I exceeded speeds of 40+ mph. I took it to a Nissan dealership to have it checked and they told me the transmission needed to be replaced. My extended warranty covered the repair but only replaced the transmission with a salvaged one of similar year and mileage.

It is now the beginning of March 2015, about 4 months after the service ( which only 3 of the months the vehicle was driven because I was out of town) and I am beginning to feel the same issue again. The dealership knew about the ongoing transmission problems with the coolant leaking into the transmission fluid but refused to replace the cooling system with proper upgrade to prevent this because there didn't appear to be any corrosion. I am pretty sure this is the reason the second transmission is beginning to have problems now also. Nissan needs to issue a recall and fix this problem right away. This is our family's 3rd Nissan vehicle and they need to take care of major issues such as these.

I sought out a transmission mechanic when the problem first began (non-dealership) and his evaluation was to replace the transmission control board ($1500.00), bipass the one way valve from the radiator & labor (total cost was $3,500.00). I found this outragous due to the fact the vehicle, with a good transmission, has a "Blue Book" value of only $4,000.00 to $5,000.00. So I heard of the recall of the problem from Nissan and went to the delaership (Advantage Nissan of Bremerton, WA.) and asked to have it fixed. They stated " the warranty does not cover my vehicle because it has over 100,000 miles on it". Also their quote (the dealership) was $5,350.00 for the transmission and $1,500.00 for the "other" damaged caused by the pending issue. It is my belief that this was a known problem by the manufacturer and regardless if the vehicle has 15 miles or 250,000 miles and is still running (albeit not very far due to the transmission)...IT SHOULD BE CORRECTED AT NO CHARGE TO THE CONSUMER!!!!!

I see many transmission problems of several descriptions, but the biggest problem seems to be when coolant leaks into the transmission fluid. I brought my transmission in to Nissan 3 times for evaluation due to the shuddering that the vehicle does at around 60-70mph. The overdrive no longer shifts and makes the car feel like it is on a rough road. They have not wanted to do anything about it. Now this morning, I heard a "clunk" and the tranny wouldn't shift into 1st gear. Finally after shutting of and restarting the car it would again use 1st gear. The check engine light went on, so I took it straight to Nissan. There are three codes and they are telling me that the valve body/control unit needs to be replaced for $1800, however it could be coolant in the tranny and then the job would be closer to $7000. Are you kidding!

Now I've read all the complaints and that there was a class action suit, I'm really pissed. Nice of them to hop on this problem when I first brought it to them. Not! I now hear that an early fix would have been about $300.

I'd like to jump on the bandwagon and talk to some Nissan "Brass". I've helped them sell Xterras to friends. Now I'm embarrassed and will tell my friends to run the other direction. Nissan's repair prices are extreme, and lack of customer care and follow up to poor design is criminal. Enough said.