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Now it got worse: I can't pull up in D anymore. Now I have to put it in 2, pull up and then in D when it's in 2nd gear. I've checked the oil level of the transmission and that seems ok (assuming the level stick has to be pushed back entirely till it's in the clamp again to get the level? Not only till the rubber hits the pipe?). Could it be the oil got old and thinner? Or is it more likely the oil pump is worn? Or?
Nissan's apparent decision to minimize the significance of this problem seems to be the tack of many businesses now - DENY DENY DENY. A calculated BUSINESS DECISION that ATTORNEYS can save more money than HONESTY and DECENCY. To Nissan and its execs (led by Carlos Ghosn) shame on you. At least Toyota bit a somewhat questionable bullet when the old folks that drive Toyotas allegedly couldn't find the brake pedal or something like that and offered a repair.
My 05 pathfinder is still alive. I changed the radiator at 78k just when it began having problems. I did not repair the transmission - it was shaky but still functioning. Now at 100k the tranny hasn't died yet. Nissan reimbursed me for the radiator and 30+ quart blood transfusion (at $12 per quart) for the transmission fluid needed to get the contaminatants out. But - this doesnt change the fact that other Pathfinders have this same risk. My opinion is this is a safety issue that Nissan should have and should still PROACTIVELY ADDRESS. To my knowledge they have not. Just my 2cents.
To Anyone with an 05+ pathfinder - add a bypass transmission cooler and you will never never ever have this issue (although the crappy defective Nissan radiator may eventually leak coolant through the abandoned transmission fluid ports, which would have ended up in the transmission had you not installed the cooler. That is when you know your investment paid back 100- fold) Why nissan did not offer this to its initially satisfied customers earlier is beyond me. Poor business decision. You cannot buy cheaper insurance.
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC based in Essex County, New Jersey
http://www.transmission-lawsuit.com/
Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.
http://www.kgglaw.com/Investor-Consumer-Bulletin/Nissan-2005-Pathfinder-Radiator- - -Defect.shtml
And then what? Get a coupon? Maybe you should talk to your own lawyer and go your own way. If the amount of damages is too low for a lawyer, you could try small claims court.
All the best!
jk05mdx, "Nissan Pathfinder Transmission Problems" #114, 11 Dec 2009 1:18 am
80k miles,Nissan issued an extended warranty. If over 80k miles, you may be out of luck unless the pending class action lawsuit gets some results. I haven't had any problems yet with my '07, but I'm worried that it's just a matter of time. I will either trade it or disconnect the trans. cooler before it happens, which may be an option for you if & when you get your vehicle back. Good luck!
Be sure to add anything that might have happened while driving the car when the damages occured. In our case our Pathfinder lurched forward in heavy traffic. Fortunately my husband was driving & managed to control the vehicle but it was terrifying. I used to enter VT traffic accidents into the NHTSA database while working for VT Highway Safety. Many of the reports involved deaths, including photos. This makes us so angry that Nissan can so casually treat this like it's nothing. The money is one thing, in our case $6000.00 plus loss of our vehicle for over 3 months due to the lack of transmissions from Nissan. But that they turn their backs on this when there is clearly a danger involved is beyond pathetic. What NHTSA takes seriously are dangerous vehicles. I know the money is important, we hope to get ours back, but pushing the dangers of the Nissan vehicles really needs to be addressed so the feds take it seriously.
Here is the lawsuit link info:
#847 of 857 Re: Nissan Radiators Another Class Action [rricks] by snowbird127 Sep 26, 2011 (6:43 am)
Replying to: rricks (Sep 25, 2011 7:59 pm)
Call both of these firms...I spoke with Mazie a few weeks ago...it's case is in court awaiting a ruling from the Judge. Nissan asked the suit be dismissed (shocking I know)... My very non-legal understanding is the key for victory will be to get the class-action suits certified by the Judge. If certified as a class, Nissan will then need to engage instead of putting the blame and cost on its customers...I just paid $4,950 to have my 05 Pathfinder fixed. Will never buy another Nissan again...
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC based in Essex County, New Jersey
http://www.transmission-lawsuit.com/
Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.
http://www.kgglaw.com/Investor-Consumer-Bulletin/Nissan-2005-Pathfinder-Radiator- -Defect.shtml
Recently I noticed that when i put it into reverse (just after I start her up), she 'jumps' a bit after I switch gears.. then the other day I was reversing up a small hill and noticed a drop in power (it was revving, not reversing though), i then switched it into 4wd and nothing happend... no lights on the dash or on the switch (auto switch).??!!!??!
Now the reverse seems to work fine but the 4WD is still unresponsive.
i recently took the front dash apart to re install the factory Bose deck.. would that cause a problem?? is it a fuse issue????
Please help!
But why buy Nissan in the first place?
They are not a honorable company. They are cowards that cannot stand up and admit they were wrong. They have no problem treating their customers like crap. They have defective equipment and safety issues. Why woud anyone want to pay money for one of their vehicles or advertise their company name by driving one?
I love that there was a Honda owner in the news recently that hit 1 million miles with their car. Original engine and original transmission. Show me a Nissan owner that can say that.
I just notice that my coolant level is low and a whining sound in the transmission. Is this covered under the 80K warranty?
Please advise.
Thanks
There are couple signs that, this problem has actually happened to you. It doesn't even take any time to notice. If this happen, I would recommend flatbed your truck from wherever you are (that's what I did).
First, you will immediately notice that your vehicle starts 'slipping', meaning it feels like you are driving on pockets of slippery road.
Second, if you open your radiator cap (offcourse after engine has cooled-off), you will notice antifreeze color has changed to something like heavy milky-brown.
Also because of existence of antifreeze in transmission, fluids in it could also start leaking through a breather. You will start smell odd odors from inside and outside the car. Breather is a small valve on top of your transmission that allows pressure to escape your transmission, if it exceeds required amount.
I have heard that Nissan refuses to cover Transmission since its warranty is up to 60K (for cases of between 60K and 80K), but I am not sure if that is indeed true. Nissan don't rebuild transmissions so they will tell you to replace it - ouch! if no warranty.
My vehicle was even out of extented warranty (139K) and this is how I fixed my issue:
- I bought a new aftermarket redesigned radiator, not from dealer. It costs half the price of what dealer charges, infact I don't trust any radiators from them anyway right now.
- I bought gallons of cheap transmission fluid and flushed the transmission until no signs of antifreeze mixture comes out of it. Drain out all that cheap oil and fill out with Genuine Nissan Matic J ATF.
- I bought gallons of antifreeze and flushed engine few times until I made sure no oil mixture in coolant.
It cost me less than 1K to do all this and my vehicle is driving fine after all this. My philosophy was better to take this chance, than rebuilding or replacing transmission on 139K vehicle which I would end up spending more than 5K.
Thanks.
I'm an ASE master transmission specialist and have been since '85. I believe the problem with the cooler tank in the radiator is due to the pressure spikes from a transmission system malfunction and not necessarily from the radiator itself.
While a better built/designed radiator may help, an inherent transmission design where default line pressure within the transmission is maximum oil pressure @ 300psi and a transmission malfunction can far exceed that. It is this extreme pressure in the system that I feel is largely responsible for the rupture of the cooler tank in the radiator and allowing the intermixing of coolant and ATF. It is my opinion the radiator is being wrongly blamed for what I believe to be a transmission malfunction as the root cause.
A transmission on any make is ALWAYS the first Big Ticket repair, bar none. As such, emotions can run high and financial compensation is often sought. However, modern technology is not without its costs and early versions of anything are not without its bugs, and subsequent fixes. The early versions of Edison's light bulbs didn't last forever. Nissans are good vehicles and they make a good product, along with a good transmission. Cut them some slack. They're fixing their transmissions within an appropriate time and mileage frame.