NHTSA safety investigation
NHTSA Investigation DP12004
Defect Petition · Nissan North America, Inc. · POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
An investigation is not a finding that a defect exists.
NHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
What NHTSA is examining
The agency's own description of the inquiry, quoted as published
Transmission Failures
On February 29, 2012 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter petitioning the agency to conduct a defect investigation into MY 2005-2010 Nissan Pathfinder, Frontier, and Xterra vehicles [the subject vehicles] for automatic transmission failures related to failed transmission coolers.NHTSA conducted a comprehensive review of data related to this subject. Our report, documenting this review, is available in the document file for this defect petition.It will also be published in the Federal Register. Of the 2,505 referenced complaints, 638 relate to a potential hazard (unable to maintain speed, no motive power, engine stall) and 1,867 concern customer satisfaction issues including, but not limited to, repair cost, vehicle shudder and shake, and engine overheating.Taking into account the allocation of agency resources and priorities and the likelihood that additional investigation would result in a finding that an unreasonable risk to highway safety exists, we conclude that further investigation is not warranted and deny the petition.ODI Complaint ID numbers are referenced on the next page.
An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.
Investigation details
Identifiers, dates and outcome as recorded by NHTSA
- Action number
- DP12004
- Investigation type
- Defect Petition (DP)
- Status
- Closed
- Manufacturer
- Nissan North America, Inc.
- Component
- POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
- Opened
- Jun 11, 2012
- Closed
- Oct 22, 2016
- Associated recall campaign
- None recorded
Vehicles named in this investigation
18 model years across 3 models
Being named here means NHTSA included the vehicle in the scope of its inquiry. It is not a statement that these vehicles have a defect.