goodbye forever nissan. royally po'ed...

K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
Recently had some issues with the xterra having trouble shifting gears, getting stuck in first, shuddering, etc...

Apparently this is a VERYYY well known problem and documented by many independent mechanics. Checked it out myself and KNEW what I was seeing was bad news. Had it checked out today by a transmission shop and sure enough, my radiator is corroded and coolant is leaking into my transmission...$5000 quote to have everything fixed.

Here's some links I wish I would have found earlier. Goes into better explanation.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Xterra/2005/transmission/radiator_causes_transmission_failure.shtml
http://wot.motortrend.com/2005-10-nissan-truck-suv-owners-plagued-by-transmission-failures-111579.html
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/...sa-investigation-for-transmission-issues.html


Goodbye forever Nissan. Never again will I buy one.
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
Nope. It's got about 127,000 miles on it... So far, the only remedies seem to be shelling out the 5 grand or selling it. I don't have 5 grand to shell out, and even then, I wouldn't because it's just not worth it to me to spend that kind of money on it when I feel completely betrayed by the company.
 
AaronsX

AaronsX

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Bowling Green, KY
Don't mean to be rude but I wouldn't say id never buy one again. I thought the same thing with my jeep cause I had to fix head gaskets, oil leaks, leaking exhaust, blown rear differential, and other sh!t but now I realize you take a risk with any pre-owned vehicle...and I would gladly buy another jeep but I would just investigate it better than I did the first time. With that being said there aren't any mega known problems with the first gens. Don't mean that rude or anything just something to think about and sorry for your luck.
 
AaronsX

AaronsX

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Bowling Green, KY
Ill admit is it crap that they had a faulty design but didn't do anything for the people who suffered from it. (from what I understand they didn't, I haven't looked into the whole thing but I knew it was happening to people with 2nd gens)
 
J Everett

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
SMOD strikes again. I understand your anger. This is indeed a well documented problem. So well documented, in fact, that Nissan extended the warranty to 80,000 miles to cover the radiator and transmissions for this very problem. But, to be honest, no company has a warranty that extends beyond 100,000 miles, so if it had happened in any other manufacturer's car at 127,000 miles, you'd still be paying out of pocket for the repairs.
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
Not to be rude back....but, if the company KNOWS this is happening to people and KNOWS that it's their fault and chooses not to help, I wouldn't want to give my business to that company. I LOVE my car... or did. But, this is just completely ridiculous.
 
D

drbandkgb

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
5k seems a very retarded price to fix that..

I'd expect 2k max... And I wouldn't ever say I'd never buy a Nissan over that issue. Every can company has a issue like this..
1. Tranny needs to be rebuilt.
2. New radiator
3. Read up on every car you go to buy.
These forums are an amazing resource for known issues.
Call and write Nissan.. Hit their Facebook page.. I have noticed that almost every big company pays attention to those and customer feed back.

Sorry you have had issues :(

But agree its about time they recall it
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
thanks...i'm going to try every avenue. i guess i said never because i was sooooo angry. if nissan would do anything to help me, i might consider returning to them for business.
 
J Everett

J Everett

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Houma, LA
Did you buy your Xterra new? Because I got notification in the mail of the warranty extension on my 08. I was also told when I brought it in for the 36000 mile service that there was a change in the recommended transmission fluid to address this exact issue. My 2012 has a totally different radiator and transmission cooler, and they've started to install a temperature sensor in the transmission.

A friend had the SMOD at 76k miles, and Nissan replaced his radiator and transmission under the extended warranty. But the only way he knew about that extension was because I told him. He bought his Xterra second hand, and is not a user of any of the forums, so he had no idea it was a common problem. It's not that Nissan is aware and are doing nothing about it; it's just that at 127,000 miles they may be to the point where it's beyond their scope of responsibility.

Definitely speak with someone at Nissan Corporate. You may find them a lot more sympathetic than you thought.
 
Macland

Macland

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Location
SW OK & formerly Eastern NM
kat_black181 said:
thanks...i'm going to try every avenue. i guess i said never because i was sooooo angry. if nissan would do anything to help me, i might consider returning to them for business.
Click to expand...

I wish you'd have posted up done of the symptoms to the forum earlier, we could have helped you if we'd have caught it. There are so many threads on this issue. I'm sorry you fell victim to this.
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
k thanks ya'll. my dad had his manual xterra tranny worked on at a place called allen's transmissions in newport, and we're going to go there next. he seems to think maybe the trans isn't completely destroyed yet, and we can flush it and replace the radiator. i'm not sure. but as of right now, i'm crossing every finger and toe hoping for a tiny bit of good news. i really do love my x. it was the first car i bought on my own, and has lasted me a good long while. i seriously don't want to give up on her yet. i sometimes just go overboard when i get angry.... lol
 
TN4x4Xterra

TN4x4Xterra

Suspension Lift
Location
Knoxville, TN
kat_black181 said:
k thanks ya'll. my dad had his manual xterra tranny worked on at a place called allen's transmissions in newport, and we're going to go there next. he seems to think maybe the trans isn't completely destroyed yet, and we can flush it and replace the radiator. i'm not sure. but as of right now, i'm crossing every finger and toe hoping for a tiny bit of good news. i really do love my x. it was the first car i bought on my own, and has lasted me a good long while. i seriously don't want to give up on her yet. i sometimes just go overboard when i get angry.... lol
Click to expand...

Perfectly normal to be angry and go overboard. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that it isn't too extensive as it may sound. Please do keep us posted on the status and I would love for you to attend a future Meet or Greet sometime, maybe after NXM2. You missed a good M&G last time. Heck, it would be nice to have a local X'er around though! :)
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
i'm sorry i couldn't make it...i've been out of commission for awhile working my butt off and trying to get everything situated for fall semester of school!...will definitely keep ya'll posted on the outcome.
 
xterror04

xterror04

Site sponsor
Founding Member
Location
Carlisle, Iowa
Call the Nissan corporate office, have you owned nissans before, or has your family? Call them and explain your situation and tell them you have been a loyal customer and they may help you out, this has worked for me in the past.
 
Diadaga

Diadaga

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Virginia
Everybody is right definitely get another quote. I don't know how much a tranny costs but my dad had my radiator swapped and it only cost $400. That's including the cost if the radiator itself with a lifetime warranty. No idea how much a tranny would cost it I think $4600 is a little much.

Sent from my mansion in Grouchland
 
tommyboy

tommyboy

Need Bigger Tires
Founding Member
Location
Nashville
I would also try to flush the trany and see it is gone or just getting hot.

I understand your frustration, I was mad when I read about the strawberry milkshake of death then when I calmed down I did the bypass.
 
jmnielsen

jmnielsen

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Lincoln, NE
I know this is ridiculous, but let a man take it in to get a quote. Not because you don't know your stuff, but places can stereotype. Happened to my girlfriend. She took her car in because of a leak and the place said she needed a new radiator and random other stuff. Quoted her $1k. I took it in a few days later, they told me all it needed was a new plastic piece (can't remember what it was exactly) and got quoted $150 for parts and labor.
 
Cyclemut

Cyclemut

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
Morrison, CO
So, let me get this straight.

At 127k miles, you've had a catastrophic failure in your vehicle and you're expecting to see corporate support for your issue?

What would you have done if the rear end blew out? If the computer crapped out? If it threw a rod because the previous owner abused it?

And since you're expecting corporate to pay for something, I'm assuming you can also prove that you used distilled water in your coolant, that you serviced your coolant at the recommended maintenance intervals, serviced your transmission with Nissan approved fluid, that it's never had the radiator removed for any reason (including by the previous owner), you've (or the previous owner) never towed anything over the recommended weight limit and have never put any sort of non-Nissan approved additives into either the coolant or the radiator, etc. Right?

Because if you can't, since you bought it used, you don't have a case. Doing research on a vehicle after it's failed, without maintaining it properly, doesn't do anything for you.

And to say that it's Nissan's fault because they didn't come out to your domicile, replace the transmission and radiator for you, is short sighted.

At 127k, Chevy diesels need new injectors, at the cheap tune of just over $3k. Fords have an issue with PowerStroke head bolts. You have to pull the cab off the truck to do that repair, to the cost of over $7k.

Every manufacturer has issues. Every single one. At over 100k miles, any failure is the responsibility of the owner.

You bought a used vehicle and if I were you, I'd be blaming the previous owner. Nissan won't do anything for you.
 
idratherbe

idratherbe

Skid Plates
Location
North Shore, MA
Cyclemut, without a doubt you are the man when it comes to all things Nissan. You are always willing to help out someone with advice and a hand and have given me free advice but after her first (edit:4th) post she calmed down and realized she went a little overboard. So maybe that was a little harsh. Again I say that will all due respect.



kat_black181 said:
k thanks ya'll. my dad had his manual xterra tranny worked on at a place called allen's transmissions in newport, and we're going to go there next. he seems to think maybe the trans isn't completely destroyed yet, and we can flush it and replace the radiator. i'm not sure. but as of right now, i'm crossing every finger and toe hoping for a tiny bit of good news. i really do love my x. it was the first car i bought on my own, and has lasted me a good long while. i seriously don't want to give up on her yet. i sometimes just go overboard when i get angry.... lol
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Cyclemut

Cyclemut

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
Morrison, CO
Perhaps in retro, you're right.

I may have also been a little too harsh and for that, I apologize.

I've been seeing a few of these complaints pop up lately. One fella had close to 200k on his rig when the e-locker blew out on it.

Sorry kat_black181.
 
NismoFire

NismoFire

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Location
Smyrna, TN
He does have a point, though. It's a USED vehicle. That's a risk we all take, and some of us are more fortunate than others. Anything with 150k+ and still goes has respect in my book.
 
Diadaga

Diadaga

Suspension Lift
Founding Member
Location
Virginia
drbandkgb said:
I like pie
Click to expand...

Of course you do Dave.

In Cycle's defense though while he was a little harsh he is very correct. At that mileage you can't blame the manufacturer. Mine had just passed the mileage when they made the extended warranty for. So I was mad as he!! but only had two choices run it till it milkshaked or buy a new radiator. So $400 later I got the new radiator. Now I don't know if Kat is on any other X sites besides XN or not. If she is on tnx or cx then I do have to point out that the Strawberry Milkshake of Death is very well documented and talked about on those sites.
 
Macland

Macland

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Location
SW OK & formerly Eastern NM
Kris&HerX

Kris&HerX

Bumpers Installed
Founding Member
Location
Boise, ID
Well, all in all lady - don't give up on a company because of one vehicle. Like Cyclemut pointed out - different things happen to different makes. It's life. Mine just blew the head gasket and ended up costing more because I was NOWHERE near home, and had to tow it and rent a large uhaul just to make it the last 900 miles to my destination... but I know that's not Nissan's fault.

Best wishes though. Hope to see you back on the forum someday.
 
K

kat_black181

Bought an X
Location
Sevierville, TN
my dad took it to the same place that worked on his xterra's manual tranny. they did a good job with his, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will with mine as well...

they know for sure right now that the radiator will need replaced but are still looking at everything else, so no price yet.

will prolly hear more tomorrow. as of now, i'm not sure of anything. and no hard feelings toward anyone. ya'll have your right to voice your opinions since i DID come to the board and post mine.
 
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