Nissan Owners Are on Their Own After NHTSA Kills Transmission Failure Petition

Bozi Tatarevic
by Bozi Tatarevic

Nissan owners hoping for relief on a coolant issue that has been causing transmission failures on 2005-2010 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra trucks will be disappointed to find out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has closed a petition to issue a recall. The petition filed by the North Carolina Consumers Council claimed that failures were possible in over 857,000 vehicles.

The Associated Press (via CNBC) reports that the NHTSA declined to investigate further, stating that the majority of the complaints didn’t describe a safety hazard and that further investigation is not warranted, given its “limited resources.”

That means over three-quarters of a million vehicles have ticking transmission time bombs, and the manufacturer’s half-hearted solution seems designed to help very few owners.

Most of the 2,505 submitted complaints referred to the cost of the repair and did not mention any type of safety issue. Nissan was forced to acknowledge the problem when a class action lawsuit was settled in 2012 and offered some relief to owners, but it came with many strings attached.

The transmission cooler on these trucks is a common design used in many vehicles with automatic transmissions. It circulates coolant around the transmission cooler in order to keep transmission temperatures down. The tanks of the transmission cooler are sealed but bathe in the coolant. The issue with the affected vehicles is that the tank will crack, allowing the coolant and transmission fluid to mix and sending coolant into the transmission, which then destroys the clutches.

While this usually doesn’t cause an immediate failure, it will cause the transmission to start slipping before failing altogether. The NHTSA may have noticed this failure path in its investigation and decided not to classify it as a safety defect for that reason.

Nissan worked out an agreement with some owners via the settlement, offering a limited reimbursement period for consumers who had previously repaired the issue. There were many strings attached, including a deadline of June 7, 2013 to submit the claims and a deductible of $2,500 to $3,000 depending on vehicle mileage.

The automaker also offered an extended warranty for trucks that could see the failure in the future. Full coverage under the extended warranty is set for eight years or 80,000 miles, though most of the trucks are out of that range and even the newest ones with the issue will be past it in a couple of years. Once that mark passes, owners will be covered until nine years or 90,000 miles but will have to pay $2,500 out of pocket before the warranty coverage kicks in. The last part of the coverage goes to ten years or 100,000 miles, covering everything after the owners pays $3,000 out of pocket.

This leaves many owners in the dark, as most owners won’t experience the issue during the extended warranty period. According to owner reports to CarComplaints.com, the average failure occurs at around 106,000 miles and costs $3,592.

The only solution right now is for owners to do some preemptive maintenance or to modify the cooling system, either by replacing the radiator before it fails or re-routing the coolant and adding another transmission cooler.

Independent transmission re-builders are well aware of the problem and many have gone as far as designing their own custom radiators in order to ensure the transmission they install doesn’t fail. Since the issue has not caused any injuries, Nissan has stated that it is not a safety problem, so we’re unlikely to see any further assistance from the manufacturer.

Bozi Tatarevic
Bozi Tatarevic

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  • Kvndoom Kvndoom on Oct 27, 2016

    I would never buy a Nissan that wasn't a manual. My Altima is at 152,000 miles on its original clutch. I shudder to think how many of the CVT's have failed in the same 10 years since my car was built.

    • See 1 previous
    • Wacko Wacko on Oct 27, 2016

      i own a 2014 pathfinder as my DD and have nothing bad to say about the CVT. Mine just works great. I have 50000kms(something like 35000 miles)on mine only problems i have so far was window regulators and some plastic trim.

  • DenverInfidel DenverInfidel on Nov 19, 2016

    Are only 05 to 2010 models affected by this? I'm looking at a used Xterra and obviously want to avoid it. Sounds like a reasonably easy fix though. Had a rwd manual pickup and manual pathfinder and they were both dead reliable. My Monteros' transmission is about to give up the ghost. Once is enough...

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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