2006 Nissan Pathfinder Engine Problems

Transmission oil cooler line in radiator broke causing coolant and transmission oil to mix and car is not driveable and needs $3,000 repairs

NHTSA ID

11484498

Incident

Aug 31, 2022

Car shuts off In the middle of driving & also when simply parked. It starts jerking like it’s trying to catch up then it kills. It’s happened in front of traffic and busy roadways/intersections. It has happened more than once.

NHTSA ID

11482604

Incident

Sep 2, 2022

TIMMING CHAIN IS MAKING A BAD NOISE.

NHTSA ID

11398155

Incident

Dec 22, 2020

Mileage

210,000 mi

MY TIMING CHAIN ON MY PATHFINDER HAS BEEN DEFECTIVE. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN NOISY BUT A FEW WEEKS AGO IT REALLY STARTED GETTING LOUD WHILE DRIVING IN MOTION AROUND . I HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO A SHOP AS TEETH WERE FALLING OFF THE 'CHAIN' INTO THE OIL. THEY SAY IT IS A KNOWN THING WITH 2005-2010 PATHFINDERS .

NHTSA ID

11339965

Incident

Jun 10, 2019

Mileage

120,000 mi

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:AUXILLARY TANK

NHTSA ID

11255857

Incident

Apr 20, 2013

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE STALLED, BUT WAS ABLE TO RESTART. ADDITIONALLY, THE VEHICLE RANDOMLY REVVED UP AND ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE'S DYNAMIC CONTROL SLIP OFF, SERVICE ENGINE SOON, AND WASHER FLUID WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT SENSOR AND BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 37003562. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 175,000.

NHTSA ID

11253457

Incident

Sep 1, 2018

Mileage

175,000 mi

THE MOMENT I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE IT HAD CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AND CATALYTIC CONVERTERS WERE BAD. WOULD NOT PASS INSPECTION.

NHTSA ID

11243687

Incident

Jun 15, 2015

Mileage

138,000 mi

ALL 4 OF MY CATALYTIC CONVERTERS HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED (OR NEED TO BE REPLACED - I'VE ALREADY REPLACED BANK 1. NOW BANK 2 IS BAD) IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS OR SO AND NOW MY RADIATOR IS LEAKING INTO MY TRANSMISSION. I DISCOVERED THERE WAS A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT ON THE RADIATOR/TRANSMISSION ISSUE, BUT I'M OUTSIDE OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD. WITH RESPECT TO THE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS, I OCCASIONALLY SMELL EXHAUST, BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS STAY ON. WITH THE TRANSMISSION, IT STARTED OUT AS GEAR SLIPPING, CAUSING ROUGH DRIVING (WHICH THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME WAS THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER). THEN, IT STARTED RUNNING SLOW OUT OF FIRST GEAR AND HARD SHIFTING. I TOOK IT TO A TRANSMISSION PLACE THAT PULLED TRANSMISSION CODES AND WHEN THEY DROPPED THE PAN, THE FLUID LOOKED LIKE A MILKSHAKE. THE ROUGH DRIVING/GEARS SLIPPING DIDN'T MATTER - IT COULD BE ON THE HIGHWAY OR IN THE CITY. I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DATE IN 2018 THAT I HAD THE ISSUE, BUT I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE FOR A YEAR.

NHTSA ID

11222463

Incident

Feb 15, 2018

Mileage

165,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN THE CAR SHUDDERED AS IF GOING OVER ROUGH PAVEMENT. THE ENGINE STARTED RACING, BUT THE CAR GRADUALLY LOST FORWARD PROPULSION. I STEERED TO THE EMERGENCY LANE AND STOPPED. AFTER A MINUTE, THE CAR REGAINED JUST ENOUGH FORWARD MOTION TO GET ME TO THE NEXT EXIT, ACROSS AN INTERSECTION (WHERE THE LIGHT JUST HAPPENED TO BE GREEN, THANK GOODNESS), AND INTO THE PARKING LOT OF A LARGE GROCERY STORE BEFORE THE VEHICLE LOST ALL PROPULSION. WE PUSHED THE CAR THE LAST FEW FEET INTO A PARKING SPOT. IT WAS TOWED TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THE NEXT DAY THAT THE TRANSMISSION WARMER HAD FAILED, ALLOWING RADIATOR COOLANT TO LEAK INTO THE TRANSMISSION, WHICH RUINED THE TRANSMISSION. THE REPAIR WOULD COST $6000. I CANNOT PUT ANOTHER $6000 INTO A 13-YEAR-OLD VEHICLE, EVEN THOUGH I'VE ONLY HAD IT FOR FIVE MONTHS, SO NOW I'VE LOST THE MONEY I PUT INTO IT AND WILL HAVE TO START OVER WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11219655

Incident

Jun 5, 2019

Mileage

96,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY OR THE CITY STREET, THE CAR STARTED TO JERK AND THEN SUDDENLY CUT OFF AND LOSE POWER. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST FIVE TIMES AT NORMAL HIGHWAY AND FREEWAY SPEEDS IN A STRAIGHT FORWARD MOTION. WHILE ON THE FREEWAY, I WAS ABLE TO GLIDE OVER TO STOP THE CAR AND RESTART IT. THE CAR STARTS RIGHT BACK UP AND IS DRIVABLE.THE LAST TIME WAS ON THE CITY STREET, I WAS GOING ABOUT 35-40MPH AND THE CAR AGAIN JERKS AND THE ENGINE CUTS OFF AND LOOSES POWER. HOWEVER, THIS TIME THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP PREVENTING ME TO GET OVER. I HAD TO STOP THE CAR BY BREAKING DIRECTLY IN THE LANE NEARLY CAUSING CARS TO SLAM INTO ME. AGAIN, ONCE I COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AND PUT THE CAR IN PARK I AM ABLE TO START THE ENGINE AND DRIVE AGAIN. AFTER THIS FIRST HAPPENED, I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR A TUNE-UP, OIL CHANGE, AND A DIAGNOSTIC TEST BUT NOTHING READ AS AN ERROR. I DO NOT DRIVE FAR DISTANCES JUST MAINLY AROUND TOWN AND HAVE RECEIVED REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON MY VEHICLE. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR BECAUSE THE LOSE OF POWER DOES NOT HAPPEN CONSISTENTLY BUT IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN IT DOES AND CAN DEFINITELY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT/INJURY/DEATH IF SOMEONE IS DRIVING TOO CLOSE. I LOOKED UP RECALLS AND FOUND RECALL10V517000. IT SAYS THERE WAS A RECALL FOR 2004-2006 NISSAN PATHFINDERS BUT MY VIN # IS NOT EXCEPTED. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS FOR THIS MATTER BECAUSE I DO NOT FEEL SAFE FOR MYSELF AND OTHERS WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA ID

11218161

Incident

May 24, 2019

Mileage

137,000 mi

RADIATOR FAILED CAUSING LEAK OF RADIATOR FLUID INTO TRANSMISSION CAUSING VEHICLE TO BE TOWED TO AUTO SHOP. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY AND THEN WOULD ALL OF THE SUDDEN NO LONGER ACCELERATE. MECHANICS, (GOT 3 ESTIMATES) ALL SAID SAME THING; THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM WITH THESE PATHFINDERS. MY COST IS ABOUT 6,500. I HAD JUST BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE FOR 8,500 ABOUT 3 WEEKS PRIOR.

NHTSA ID

11194434

Incident

Mar 18, 2019

Mileage

156,000 mi

TRANSMISSION IS FAILING QUICKLY. I HAD TO REPLACE MY RADIATOR A FEW MONTHS AGO BECAUSE IT CRACKED. THAT EVENT LEFT MY WIFE AND CHILDREN STRANDED ON THE INTERSTATE.

NHTSA ID

11191039

Incident

Mar 23, 2019

Mileage

170,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHEN THE CONTACT STARTED THE VEHICLE AND ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE IN REVERSE, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO INITIALLY STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP MALFUNCTIONED. THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP, BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT CRANK. THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE FAILED. HEADQUARTER NISSAN (1725 WHITTLESEY RD, COLUMBUS, GA 31904, (706) 225-8100) INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER AGREED WITH THE DEALER AND PROVIDED A CASE NUMBER. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED PER AN UNKNOWN RECALL IN 2011 AND COULD NOT ASSIST. THE CONTACT PURCHASED THE VEHICLE LESS THAN A YEAR AGO. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

NHTSA ID

11173887

Incident

Jan 25, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE "OVERHEATED" WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE VEHICLE FAILED START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DETERMINED THAT THE RADIATOR FAILED AND CAUSED COOLANT AND TRANSMISSION FLUID TO MIX. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE FAILED. THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REBUILT AND A NEW RADIATOR NEEDED TO BE INSTALLED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 87,270.

NHTSA ID

11103071

Incident

Jun 18, 2018

Mileage

87,270 mi

MY PROBLEM IS WITH THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION FLUID CONTAMINATION.. SOME HOSES INSIDE THE RADIATOR THAT CARRIES TRANSMISSION FLUID AND COOLANT CRACKED AND CONTAMINATED BOTH THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION. THIS PROBLEM HAS CAUSED MY VEHICLE TO LOCK INTO 4 WHEEL DRIVE AND CONTAMINATED BOTH MY RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION THIS PROBLEM WILL NEED TO BE REPAIRED BEFORE THE VEHICLE CAN BE DRIVEN. IT WILL BE A COSTLY REPAIR THAT SHOULD BE COVERED BY NISSAN ON A RECALL ACCORDING TO ALL THE COMPLAINTS I HAVE READ ABOUT.

NHTSA ID

11101216

Incident

May 21, 2018

Mileage

168,000 mi

TIMING CHAIN NEEDS REPLACED PULLED IN AND HEARD THE TELL TALE BUZZING SOUND HAD SOME ONE LISTEN WITH STETHASCOPE TO CONFIRM

NHTSA ID

11099083

Incident

May 29, 2018

Mileage

128,000 mi

COOLANT LEAKS INTO TRANSMISSION. THIS RUINED THE TRANSMISSION AND SHOULD BE RECALLED.

NHTSA ID

11084489

Incident

Apr 1, 2018

Mileage

156,000 mi

HAVE A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER SE, WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH THE CAR SHUT OFF AND I LOST TOTAL POWER OF THE CAR AND THANKFULLY WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER WITHOUT GETTING KILLED. THIS HAS HAPPENED 2X I LOOS TOTAL POWER AND THE CAR SHUTS OFF. I CALLED NISSAN TO SEE IF THERE WAS A RECALL AND THEY SAID NO, HOWEVER THERE IS A RECALL #10V517000 WHICH NISSAN SAYS MY CAR IS NOT INVOLVED IN THAT ADVISED THIS MODEL HAD A RECALL FOR THIS VERY PROBLEM HAVING THE ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING IT. IF THERE IS A RECALL FOR THIS VERY REASON AND I HAVE THE MAKE & MODEL WHILE NISSAN WILL NOT INVESTIGATE WHY THIS IS HAPPENED AS IT IS A DIRECT SAFETY PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT I COULD TAKE IT INTO NISSAN FOR THEM TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS OF COURSE AT MY EXPENSE.

NHTSA ID

11071727

Incident

Jan 25, 2018

Mileage

105,000 mi

THE RADIATOR WAS CRACKED WHERE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID IS AND IT MIXED WITH THE ANTIFREEZE WHICH CAUSED BOTH THE RADIATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION TO HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE ENGINE WAS ON AND VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN WE NOTICED THE TEMPERATURE INCREASED GREATLY AND RAPIDLY UNTIL IT MAXED OUT. THE VEHICLE WAS LEAKING A MIX OF ANTIFREEZE AND TRANSMISSION FLUID. WE REPLACED THE RADIATOR BUT THE DAMAGE WAS DONE ALREADY TO THE TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION WHEN THE TRANSMISSION FAILED.

NHTSA ID

11048067

Incident

Oct 20, 2017

Mileage

110,000 mi

DEFECTIVE RADIATOR FAILED CAUSING COOLANT AND TRANSMISSION FLUID TO MIX THAT IRREPARABLY DAMAGED THE TRANSMISSION.

NHTSA ID

11024982

Incident

Jun 19, 2017

Mileage

129,000 mi

RADIATOR COOLANT LEAKED INTO THE TRANSMISSION $4000 CAR 10 YEARS OLD HOWEVER I HAD HIGH MILEAGE DUE TO MANY ROAD TRIPS

NHTSA ID

11014517

Incident

Aug 1, 2017

Mileage

210,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE ALHAMBRA NISSAN DEALER IN ALHAMBRA, CA FOR A ROUTINE OIL CHANGE, THE CONTACT WAS ALSO ADVISED TO HAVE A TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGE. THE TECHNICIAN PERFORMED AN OIL CHANGE ON THE TRANSMISSION AND THE TRANSMISSION FAILED EIGHT DAYS LATER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE ALHAMBRA NISSAN DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND THE RADIATOR FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SERVICED DUE TO THE REPAIR FEES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OLD IN AGE AND OUT OF WARRANTY. THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT OFFER FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 123,000.

NHTSA ID

11006446

Incident

Jun 30, 2017

Mileage

123,000 mi

RADIATOR FLUID LEAKED INTO TRANSMISSION, CAUSE A REPLACEMENT OF TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR.

NHTSA ID

10978721

Incident

Mar 31, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 10-50 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO OPERATE AS INTENDED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED DUE TO CONTAMINATION OF THE TRANSMISSION FROM THE RADIATOR FLUID ACID. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 170,000.

NHTSA ID

10946443

Incident

Nov 1, 2016

Mileage

170,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT HAD TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR IN ORDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE. THE SERVICE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT RADIATOR FLUID WAS LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION FLUID RESERVOIRS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 132,000.

NHTSA ID

10939452

Incident

Dec 7, 2016

Mileage

132,000 mi