THIS ISSUE IS RELATED TO NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : DP12004 MY 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER STARTED HAVING TRANSMISSION ISSUES AT ROUGHLY 96,000 MILES ON 2/1/2013. WHILE DRIVING, THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES SHAKE AND RUMBLE WHEN TRAVELING BETWEEN 40-55 MPH. THE CAR HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE IN THE 2 WEEKS THAT THE PROBLEM STARTED HAPPENING. I TOOK MY NISSAN FOR REPAIR AT BERLIN CITY NISSAN IN PORTLAND, MAINE ON 2/19/2013 AND THEY STATED THAT THE PROBLEM IS A KNOWN ISSUE. THE KNOWN ISSUE WAS A DESIGN FLAW WITH HOW THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION ARE INTEGRATED TOGETHER. IN SUMMARY WHEN THERE IS A CRACKED ATF LINE IN THE VEHICLE, THAT ENGINE COOLANT WILL RUN THROUGH THE TRANSMISSION ULTIMATELY CAUSING PERMANENT DAMAGE AND REQUIRING THAT THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION BE REPLACED. THE QUOTE I GOT TODAY TO GET THE ITEMS REPAIRED IS $6,700. NISSAN IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND RATHER THAN HAVING A RECALL THEY INCREASED THE WARRANTY DURATION TO 80K MILES. FROM READING ON-LINE, IT APPEARS THAT MOST PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE (LIKE ME), EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM AFTER 80K MILES. THEREFORE, NISSAN DOES NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. FROM READING ON-LINE AND TALKING WITH THE NISSAN SERVICE STAFF, THE PROBLEM WITH MY 2006 NISSAN PATHFINDER IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE AND ULTIMATELY PRESENT A DRIVING HAZARD. I NEED TO MAKE A DECISION SOON WHETHER TO MAKE THE COSTLY REPAIR OR GET A NEW VEHICLE. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE CAR FAILING PUTTING MYSELF AND MY PASSENGERS AT RISK. *TR
1993
STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS
REAR SUSPENSION HAS SEPARATED FROM THE FRAME DUE TO EXTREME RUSTING OF FRAME RAILS. EXCESS MOVEMENT OF REAR AXLE FROM SEPARATION DAMAGED THE BRAKE LINE AND CAUSED LOSS OF REAR BRAKES. *TR