Total transmission and radiator failure. a dealership "fixed" the coolant contamination problem when nissan offered the warrantied coverage for what's known as SMOD. all the dealership did was flush the transmission and radiator. they did not repair or replace any components even after being berated by my husband to do so and to do it under the covered warranty.($5k for tranny replacement that we couldn't afford) they claimed the flush had fixed the xterra. less than 3,000 miles later I was driving on the highway with my 2 children in the car and the vehicle just shut off. no warning lights or behaviors just shut off at 70+mph on the highway. while sitting broke down [pulled off highway edge as far as I could after vehicle died and before it coasted to a complete stop] we were then rear-ended and my 2 kids spent 2 days being monitored in a children's hospital. 1 of which had a concussion. although the xterra only needed a new rear hatch and bumper and etc insurance didn't consider it totalled so it was cosmetically repaired. after reaching out to nissan about the incident they refused to even offer us any sort of discounted repair costs on tranny replacement[car was still under extended coverage warranty] nor would they offer any kind of anything regarding a discount on a replacement vehicle. so here we were still paying on a car loan for a car that was still under warranty, but could not be drove. or even starred for that matter. it ended up wrecking us financially. the car never showed any signs of any mechanical problems prior to dealer flushing trans. the car didn't show any signs of anything afterwards until that day on the highway. the problem ended up being metal pieces from coolant contamination shorted out something in transmission and I guess shorted so strong that it blew the trans fuse and blew fuse links on positive terminal which caused car to just shut off. nissan needs to take responsibility for their bullcrap.

- Corning , OH, USA

While driving, the vehicle surges and sputters and rpms skyrocket and the vehicle loses power and shuts down. This happens at various speeds on interstate highway, town streets and county roads. The vehicle will also lose power and shut down while idling at a stop sign or traffic light. There is no way to steer or restart when this happens and I have depended on hazard flashers to warn other drivers of disabled vehicle until I can get assistance to get vehicle off of highway. After 20 minutes of being dead, vehicle will sometimes restart and go a few more miles before same thing happens again. After 3 weeks at a dealership and a cost so far of $3,000, the problem has not been pinpointed and fixed. Dealership has contacted Nissan customer service who has two open cases of the same issue with the same model vehicle. I have found numerous other complaints in online forums of the same issue same model and still no fix found for the issue. I have now opened my own case with Nissan North America customer care and am awaiting further investigation from them. Major safety hazard.

- Coeburn, VA, USA

Noticed shuddering at first, then a stumbling upon hitting gas 120000 miles took truck in and had ext. Cooler put on, flushed out tranny fluid, new radiator, new gaskets and filters in tranny $1,100 job. 1 month later service engine soon light came on and truck wouldn't start. Tcm module in tranny started blowing fuse, truck smelled like it was burning up and wouldn't allow truck to start. $2,000 to replace module and secondary breach. Its not just in radiator, there is another breach problem that puts the transmission and coolant together. 2nd breach. Shop wont guarantee $2000 job, new transmission $5800. My beautiful truck left on a flatbed to salvage yard. Single mom of 4. thanks Nissan, you suck. Also issues with airbag coil. $600 for that. Nissan I love my Xterra and its so sad we had to part ways today, I watched my $18000 vehicle leave with no justice but tears and hoping the zero degree weather breaks, walking the kids to school, one with disabilities is just rotten. Nissan get a conscience. Because my Xterra sat on a dealerships used lot, no one was notified of class action and warranty issued. I got doubled F**cked.

- Sebago, ME, USA

Coolant mixed into transmission causing electronic module to burn out. This caused vehicle to stop operating correctly and would not allow engine to restart.

- Port Jefferson Station, NY, USA

Was driving Xterra 4X4 on the street when all of a sudden the vehicle shut itself off. Was able to luckily turn the vehicle back on but when we arrived home the vehicle would no longer start. Had it towed to Nissan who discovered the car has a defective ECM unit. This could have been very very dangerous and I believe many other Nissan Xterra/frontiers/pathfinders have been affected as evident by searching google regarding this issue. Nissan would not repair the vehicle free of charge and wanted 1400 dollars to replace ECM. This day and age an ECM should last much much longer and should not shut down the vehicle nor, impair its ability to drive.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

My Nissan Xterra is a victim of the manufacturing defect where the coolant in the radiator mixes with the automatic transmission fluid, due to a leak in the transmission cooler, causing complete transmission failure. My transmission slips and driving is erratic, causing unsafe driving conditions. The repair is quoted at $6,000 dollars and is not considered a recall item. Nissan has extended coverage on vehicles up to 100,00 miles only, but this is starting to happen to newer vehicles over 100,00 miles. A radiator replacement would have prevented this problem. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed soon!

- Spokane, WA, USA

Service engine soon light came on while driving on residential streets. Had code checked. Code listed as P0462. Cleared code then restarted car. Upon starting car none of the gauges worked only the tachometer and speedometer worked. Fuel, temperature, oil, odometer, trip odometer and all warning lights to include turn signal indicators did not work. Upon driving gauges would regain power, but the fuel gauge did not function properly. Took vehicle to dealer. Seems that my VIN was not included in the recall # 10V075000, even though the exact recall repair was done to my car to fix this issue. While the fuel gauge now works, none of my other gauges work. I was told the combo meter that controls my cluster of gauges would need to be replaced. There were no issues with my vehicle until the service engine soon light came on. My vehicle should have been included in the recall stated above, and I find it highly suspect that all of my gauges go out at the exact same time, but according to Nissan these are two separate unrelated issues. I have had to pay $488 to repair what should have been covered under the recall, and now need to pay an additional $590 to repair my gauges. My vehicle should have been included in the recall for other 08 Nissan Xterras.

- Killeen, TX, USA

While driving at 65 mph, the engine suddenly stopped. No warning lights were illuminated prior to the failure. Gas, temp., and oil pressure were all normal. A private garage diagnosed the problem as a failure in the intelligent power distributor module (ipdm), and also the mass air flow sensor. Both parts were replaced (at my expense) and the car now runs well.

- Roswell, GA, USA

Plastic tray that the battery sits on broke, causing the bar that holds the battery in place to arch over and set the plastic fuse holder on the battery to catch fire. The vehicle stalled the died. I saw what I thought was "steam" coming from under the hood. I popped to hood from inside and saw flames. I got out and tried to open the hood, which is very difficult since the latch is small and black. I got my grandkids out of the car and tried once more to open the hood. I finally got it opened and realized the battery was on fire. I poured the only liquid I had on it, "a&w cream soda" and put out the fire. It totally melted part of the battery and the battery connector. Amazing enough the vehicle started and I was able to drive home. Had I not been able to open the hood, the vehicle would have burnt to the ground all because of the cheap plastic battery holder broke.

- Livingston, TX, USA

2008 Nissan Xterra, chronic failures of the vdc traction control system, also causing failures in ABS and air bags 7 repair attempts since purchased new 6 months ago including computer reprogramming, battery replacement, steering angle sensor adjustments, replacement of air bag control module and replacement of ABS control module. These failures cause total failure in multiple electronic safety systems representing a serious threat to life or bodily harm. Multiple incidents - the date below represents date of brand new purchase which was the day of the first malfunction for me. The dealership noticed a malfunction at the time of the pdi (but did not disclose this at the time of sale to my great outrage).

- Prince George, 00, USA