2005 NISSAN XTERRA Engine Problems

RADIATOR LEAK, HEATER TEMP DROPPING, ROUGH GEAR VIBRATION FROM TRANSMISSION. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE 73N FREEWAY IN ORANGE COUNTY, MY CAR STARTED SHUDDERING. THE TEMP GAUGE WAS TA THE MAX SO I PULLED OVER. I WAS TOWED IN TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP WHERE THE MASTER MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE TRANSMISSION COOLER IN THE RADIATOR FAILING CAUSING RADIATOR FLUID AND TRANSMISSION FLUID TO MIX RENDERING BOTH INOPERABLE. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A GROWING PROBLEM WITH NISSAN AND HE HAS PERSONALLY SEEN MANY SUCH CASES. HE SAID THAT NISSAN IS USING DEFECTIVE RADIATORS WHICH IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THIS. *TR

VEHICLE STARTED MAKING A JERKING WHILE SHIFTING INTO MODERATE SPEED OF 65 OR LOWER. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP WHERE THE TECHNITIAN INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS TRANSMISSION OIL IN THE RADIATOR, CAUSING THE PROPER ENGAGING OF GEARS. EXTENDED WARRANTY IS EXPIRED AND THE EXTENDED WARRANTY OF THE RADIATOR ISSUE IS ALSO EXPIRED. NISSAN WAS MADE AWARE OF THE MALFUNCTION AND DENIED ASSISTANCE UNLESS I WANTED TO PAY OUT OF POCKET. TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP OFFERED TO FIX PROBLEM AT A COST OF $5000! CAR IS STILL BEING PAID FOR UNTIL 2015! *TR

I BOUGHT THE NISSAN XTERRA BRAND NEW IN APRIL 2005. MY XTERRA BEGAN TO HAVE MINOR ISSUES SINCE BUYING IT,(BAD BATTERY,FUEL SENDING UNIT, OIL PRESSURE GAUGE,DEFECTIVE RADIO). AS OF OCTOBER 2011 THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WENT BAD CAUSING MY "SERVICE ENGINE" LIGHT TO COME ON. MY LOCAL NISSAN SERVICE CENTER WILL NOT OFFER ANY HELP WITH THE ISSUE. THEIR COST TO REPLACE THE CONVERTERS EXCEEDS $1800.00. NOW I'M FACING A NEW MAJOR ISSUE WITH THE TRANSMISSION. MY XTERRA ONLY HAS 120,000 MILE AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I'VE BEEN READING A LOT OF REVIEWS FROM FELLOW NISSAN XTERRA OWNERS FACING THE SAME EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE ISSUE AS I AM AT THIS MOMENT. I'M HOPING THAT NISSAN WILL SOON OFFER A RECALL FOR THESE ISSUES. I'VE HAD SEVERAL QUOTES ON HAVING BOTH ISSUES REPAIRED AND THE COST EXCEEDS $5000.00. AGAIN NISSAN WILL NOT OFFER ANY HELP WITH THE PARTS OR LABOR....

TWO YEARS AGO MY 2005 NISSAN XTERRA BEGAN RATTLING, SHAKING AND NOT HEATING WHEN IDLING. I TOOK IT FOR DIAGNOSTICS AT MY MECHANIC HE THOUGHT IT MAY BE A U JOINT OR TIRE PROBLEM. RECENTLY, THIS PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AFTER SEARCHING THE NISSAN WEBSITE WHICH HAS RECENTLY POSTED AN EXTENSION OF THE RADIATOR/TRANSMISSION WARRANTY DUE TO THE MANY REPORTED PROBLEMS OF RADIATOR FLUID LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION AND DESTROYING THE TRANSMISSION. MY XTERRA HAS 84000 MILES ON IT. I WAS JUST TOLD BY NISSAN THAT THEY WILL REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION DUE TO THE DEFECTIVE MANUFACTURING, HOWEVER I MUST PAY A CO PAY OF 2500.00 DOLLARS SINCE I AM OVER THE 80,000 MILES. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. THEY SAY IT IS DANGEROUS FOR ME TO DRIVER IF I DON'T PAY TO REPLACE IT. WHY ISN'T THIS A RECALL ITEM ? HOW CAN ANYONE JUSTIFY NOT...

RADIATOR COOLANT LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION CAUSING OVERHEATING. REPLACED RADIATOR $1200 NOW REQUIRED TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION FOR $3510 PARTS, $1450 LABOR, AND $100 FLUID AT TISCHER NISSAN LAUREL MARYLAND. TRANSMISSION FEELS LIKE RIDING OVER RUMBLE STRIPS. *TR

NISSAN IS WELL-AWARE OF A DESIGN FLAW THAT ALLOWS RADIATOR FLUID TO CROSS-CONTAMINATE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THEY JOKINGLY (AT LEAST THEIR DEALERS) REFER TO IT AS A "STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE". THE ANTIFREEZE DEGRADES TRANSMISSION PARTS AND CAUSES TRANSMISSION FAILURE. A QUICK WEB SEARCH SHOWS OVER 300 SUCH CASES. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 NISSAN XTERRA. WHILE PARKED, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE BUT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED DUE TO COOLANT FROM THE RADIATOR LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION, CAUSING AN ELECTRICAL SHORTAGE. THERE WAS AN INVESTIGATION UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: DP12004 (POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)) THAT COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 104,324.

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AFTER A LONG TRIP, I HAD ABOUT A QUARTER TANK LEFT. I PARKED MY CAR AND WHEN I RETURNED TO USE IT TO RUN AN ERRAND I BEGAN TO DRIVE. MY GAS TANK NEEDLE WENT ALL THE WAY TO BELOW EMPTY THEN MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON AS WELL. I HAVE LOOKED UP THIS ISSUE AND FOUND OUT THERE WERE MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE EXACT SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME. THIS IS A NISSAN ISSUE THAT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN OUT OF POCKET FROM THE CONSUMER. ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE IS A LONG HISTORY REGARDING THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM. *TR

TRANSMISSION COOLER LEAKED INTO RADIATOR, FOULED COOLING SYSTEM WITH TRANSMISSION FLUID, ALSO FOULED TRANSMISSION WITH COOLANT. THIS CAUSED VIBRATION IN THE TRANSMISSION, LOSS OF ACCELERATION, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ACTIVATED FOR A CLUTCH SOLENOID SWITCH, AND UNKNOWN POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. *TR

TRANSMISSION FAILED TO SHIFT AND MADE LOUD NOISES WHILE DRIVING. CAUSED THE CAR TO SHAKE BUT DID NOT LOSE CONTROL. FAILED PART IN RADIATOR ALLOWED ANTIFREEZE INTO TRANSMISSION AND TRANSMISSION FLUID INTO RADIATOR. COMPLETE FAILURE OF RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION COULD HAVE OCCURRED ON HIGHWAY AT SPEED. KNOW ISSUE FROM NISSAN WHO DID NOTHING TO COMMUNICATE TO VEHICLE OWNERS ON RISKS OR PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE AS WELL AS NO OWNERSHIP FOR FIXING THIS. *TR

FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED IN APRIL 2011 - WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO FAIL AND WOULD NOT SHIFT. I HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT DRIVE FASTER THAN ABOUT 15-20 MPH. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS "INTERNAL FAULT IN VALVE BODY" AND REPLACED THE VALVE BODY. THIS INCIDENT COST ME $1568 AND A WEEK WITHOUT A VEHICLE; WENT IN TO DEALERSHIP ON 4/20 AND I PICKED IT UP ON 4/27. SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED IN JUNE 2012 - WHILE DRIVING WITH MY KIDS IN THE VEHICLE, ON A BUSY STREET, THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO FAIL AGAIN AND WOULD NOT SHIFT. ONCE AGAIN, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DRIVE FASTER THAN ABOUT 20 MPH. THIS TIME I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS "FLUID IS FULL, BUT IS BLACK AND BURNT, DIPSTICK FOR THE TRANS IS CRUSTY LOOKING..." THE TRANSMISSION...

FIRST INCIDENT OCCURRED IN APRIL 2011 - WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO FAIL AND WOULD NOT SHIFT. I HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT DRIVE FASTER THAN ABOUT 15-20 MPH. THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS "INTERNAL FAULT IN VALVE BODY" AND REPLACED THE VALVE BODY. THIS INCIDENT COST ME $1568 AND A WEEK WITHOUT A VEHICLE; WENT IN TO DEALERSHIP ON 4/20 AND I PICKED IT UP ON 4/27. SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED IN JUNE 2012 - WHILE DRIVING WITH MY KIDS IN THE VEHICLE, ON A BUSY STREET, THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO FAIL AGAIN AND WOULD NOT SHIFT. ONCE AGAIN, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DRIVE FASTER THAN ABOUT 20 MPH. THIS TIME I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A LOCAL TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS "FLUID IS FULL, BUT IS BLACK AND BURNT, DIPSTICK FOR THE TRANS IS CRUSTY LOOKING..." THE TRANSMISSION...

VEHICLE FUEL GAUGE IS REPORTING WRONG INFORMATION, SHOWS EMPTY WHEN FULL AND A HALF TANK WHEN EMPTY. SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT STAYS ON. VERY DANGEROUS BARELY MADE IT TO GAS STATION. *JS