NHTSA Complaint #10560359 — 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER

I WENT TO PICK UP MY OLDEST DAUGHTER FROM TRACK PRACTICE AND PLACED MY 4 YEAR OLD IN HER CAR SEAT TO START DRIVING. ALLOWING THE CAR TO WARM UP, I PULLED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AND PROCEEDED UP THE HILL IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN I NOTICED THAT MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE ABOVE 20 MPH. TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AT THE TIME. THINKING THAT I DID NOT WARM THE CAR UP ENOUGH I PROCEEDED ON MY WAY UP HILLS AT A SNAILS PACE TO RETRIEVE MY OLDEST DAUGHTER FROM HIGH SCHOOL. ONCE I MADE IT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL I FIGURED THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING SIGNIFICANTLY WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND JUST WANTED TO GET THE VEHICLE HOME. I HAD TO CONTEND WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC TRYING TO CROSS A LARGE AND BUSY ROAD WITH A VEHICLE THAT ONLY ACCELERATED TO 20 MILES AN HOUR AND AT SOME TIME ACTUALLY STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. ALTHOUGH THE SCHOOL IS ONLY 2 MILES FROM HOME IT TOOK ME 30 MINUTES TO GET BACK SAFELY TO MY HOUSE BECAUSE OF THE OFF AND ON AGAIN DRIVABILITY. I TOOK IT TO THE MECHANIC THE FOLLOWING MONDAY AND THEY INDICATED THAT MY TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE CAR IS NOT OLD AND TAKEN CARE OF----I SEARCHED FOR RECALLS AND SAW THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION AND HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO NISSAN FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS A FAILED TRANSMISSION AS A RESULT OF COOLANT AND TRANSMISSION FLUID MIXING AND THEY INDICATED THAT MY TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED AS WELL AS MY RADIATOR---THIS IS A KNOWN QUALITY ISSUE WITH THE NISSAN PATHFINDERS. THE CAR FAILED WITHOUT WARNING PUTTING MYSELF AND MY YOUNG DAUGHTER AT RISK FOR A REAR END ACCIDENT IN THE VEHICLE. NISSAN SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF WHAT THEY HAVE PUT CONSUMERS THROUGH AND A MANDATORY RECALL SHOULD HAPPEN. THIS IS A SAFETY RISK TO EVERYONE WHO DRIVES A NISSAN. *TR