[Harvo]

Here's one for you guys... 2005 crew cab with the 5 speed auto. I have had it since 06 and it had 50,000 on it when I bought it. Now it has 80,000 miles and it started getting a hesitation not related to the engine. It seemed to happen most when shifting into and out of O/D.

Took it in to the Dealership and here is what they found. A hole developed between the radiator and the Transmission cooler Resevoir. Antifreeze was circulating through the transmission. Nissan's solution: Change the radiator, replace the tranny. Price: $6000. (Nissan does not tear into trannys)

To get it rebuilt in town, It will cost between $1800 and $2800 depending on what it needs. Better... but still whack!!

Does anyone know of any recalls or service bulletins about this type of issue? The dealership says they have never seen it before. I'm just kind of screwed no matter what.:thatswck: but there is no way I'm putting a new tranny in that truck.

 

[BRUTAL]

while not impossible, usually since the trans fluid is under alot more pressure than the radiator, the trans fluid goes into the coolant not the other way around. was the trans slipping and did they pull a sample you can look at? If pink, forget it youre toast, if still red, repair or replace radiator, flush cooling system and flush trans change filter and see what happens. If you need it rebuilt, go to Aamco(or reputable national chain for warranty rebuild) and pay the dealer their checkout fee. We ship many of our trans jobs to Aamco if they dont want a factory backed and rebuilt trans.

 

[Inyourface1650]

Someone posted a thread about it awhile back, but everyone poo-pooed it....

Is your truck 4x4, and would you be willing to sell it ?

 

[BORNGEARHEAD]

I've seen it happen on a Titan.

Why don't you just buy a used transmission with low miles on it?

 

[05N1SM0]

Similar thing happened to mine a few years back, but I was under warranty. Was told it was a common issue from the tech, but not aware of any TSBs.

Specifics were loss of power, poor response passing, low torque and leaking coolant.

Items found were hole in intake, bad gasket & bad water pump.

Only models affected I heard were early build '05 Nismo 4x4 Autos w/o emblems.

 

[dubie2003]

Same thing happened to RatsWorld. He was under warranty so he got a new radiator and a new trans. I think he had 38k when it happened.

 

[Harvo]

I called AAMco and they quoted me (without seeing it) between $1800 and $2500. That is with a 12/12000 warranty. That is probably the way I'll go considering we still owe 15 grand and it's unlikely we can trade or sell it for that much in perfect condition... much less like this. Can -u- say Upside Down???:crikey:

 

[BRUTAL]

I called AAMco and they quoted me (without seeing it) between $1800 and $2500. That is with a 12/12000 warranty. That is probably the way I'll go considering we still owe 15 grand and it's unlikely we can trade or sell it for that much in perfect condition... much less like this. Can -u- say Upside Down???:crikey:

unless there are hard parts damaged, figure the low end. and you can add an aux trans cooler, bypass the radiator and buy brass fittings to plug the lines so you have no leakage of coolant out the unused trans heat exchanger in the radiator. Just another way to save some more money.

 

[Silverback]

I have a 05 4x4 nismo with 29,000 miles on it and haven't had any problems yet. I hope mine is still under warrenty if this happens.

 

[Mainerunr]

There wouldn't be a recall on something like this, recalls generally are limited to life safety type of problems. As for TSB's, they only take care of them up to 50k, after that, you're on your own.

I agree with what Brutal said about the fluid.

 

[Harvo]

Well... after searching for wrecked / used trannys unsuccessfully, I took it to AAMCO. The one here is staffed by some really honest folks. They checked it, and even after Nissan had flushed it twice, the fluid was still like Pepto.

I'm supposed to get it back Tuesday so I'll post how it turned out.

 

[T-Bone]

Just had 70+k service done, in which they also did some fluid flushes, including x-fer case. Coincidence or not, shortly thereafter, tranny started acting funny going into 4th gear.
At low speed, crawling in traffic, when it went from 3rd into 4th it would ram home.
Under hard acceleration down from 5th into 4th it just didn't feel right.
But more and more frequently, at normal driving, making a "soft" shift from 5th to 4th (going up a slight hill) it wouldn't quite engage. No grinding, but the truck would shudder. Modulate the throttle atouch and it would find the gear.

Finally got it to the dealer today - they say I need a new tranny. they don't know why, just that it's shot.
Luckily I have the extended warranty, so it only costs me $50.
Should have them check the issues noted here - but I haven't found any fluid leaks.

 

[Tank34]

So where's the beef?
What happened with AAmco?

 

[Doc Hackberry]

What ever happened with your truck?

I have a '05 Frontier Crew Cab 4x4, and I had the same thing. I started to notice it "shuddering" as someone said. It felt like you were driving over a rumble strip whenever it was in O/D at low RPMs. It also happened when in cruise control, and the engine picked up a little, or it started going up a hill.

That is all I noticed, and I thought it was just bumps in the road for a while. However, I finally figured out that my car wasn't doing the same thing on the same roads. I took it to a Nissan Dealer, took them for a ride in it, and showed the mechanic what it was doing. When they got back, they drained the tranny and the fluid was milky pink color. So, they told me the same thing. Coolant is in the tranny from something broken (seal, line, or something) in the radiator. My truck has 59000 miles on it, so it is still under the powertrain warranty. However, radiator isn't covered in that.

So, after a lot of upset phone calls with the dealer, they worked out a deal with Nissan, and got the Radiator covered. However, they will not pay for the transmission. So, it has a new radiator and new fluid in the old tranny. I just got it back and drove it around a little. It is better, but still doing the same thing. They said to bring it back in 500 miles, they would drain again and see what it looks like (which will cost me $200+).

I really don't want to put a new transmission in it. They quoted me about $4,000 for it at the dealership (without labor)!!!!

I guess I'm just going to drive without overdrive until I can get rid of the truck...

Sounds like I'm not the only one with this issue. I'm very disappointed in Nissan!!! I loved this truck - until now.

It has always been maintained, garages, and well taken care of in every way. I've never taken it off road or driven it very hard. There is no reason something like this should happen to a truck this new, and it's too bad that Nissan makes a poor quality product and won't stand behind it to pay for the cost of a new tranny.

I would have bought more Nissans in the future. I fully planned to trade this truck in for another frontier or a titan someday, but probably not now...

 

[Zero Six LE]

I suppose the coolant can enter the transmission when the engine isn't running. It's strange that we have an oil cooler that runs through the radiator and one additional cooler for the towing package. Looks like you got screwed Doc. Nissan took the cheap and easy route with your truck.

 

[bdhaeh]

Does this affect 06 models? I bought my truck to drive for 200k miles, I don't want to spend 2K on a tranny if I can avoid this problem.

 

[Zero Six LE]

Does this affect 06 models? I bought my truck to drive for 200k miles, I don't want to spend 2K on a tranny if I can avoid this problem.

I would say that it does. The trans oil cooler lines run from the trans to the bottom radiator tank on my 06.

 

[ratsworld]

I had the same thing happen. But luckily the hole in the radiator occured within warranty, and the new tranny was covered as well. I guess for once I lucked out. I feel for ya man. Dealership gave me the prices on the new parts before they told me it was covered. Bastards. They know me too well and like to screw with me.

 

[dubie2003]

I suppose the coolant can enter the transmission when the engine isn't running. It's strange that we have an oil cooler that runs through the radiator and one additional cooler for the towing package. Looks like you got screwed Doc. Nissan took the cheap and easy route with your truck.

So, if we have the tow package, we have another trans cooler? I thought all we had was the radiator one?

 

[Doc Hackberry]

Does this affect 06 models? I bought my truck to drive for 200k miles, I don't want to spend 2K on a tranny if I can avoid this problem.

I wanted to keep mine for 200K, and I have LOVED this truck so far. It is GREAT in the snow, comfortable on long trips, and good enough gas mileage for a daily driver. It has been a great all-round truck.

I'd consider a 2K tranny. My dealer quoted me 4K, plus labor. I think that is absolutely ridiculous. I live in a smaller city, and I don't know much about mechanic shops here. I don't have another car mechanic/transmission shop that I know anything about or trust.

The thing that really annoys me is that the transmission is still in warranty, but since the failure happened in the radiator, I'm screwed.

I hate cars! Not really, I love cars - I just hate having problems with them... I just want them to work (at least for 150K or so).

So, if we have the tow package, we have another trans cooler? I thought all we had was the radiator one?

I don't know. I'm not the most mechanically inclined person in the world, but I like to think I know a reasonable amount...

BTW ratsworld, that is a nice pic

When this happened on yours, what were the symptoms? Did you feel the same thing? Did they just replace the radiator and transmission? Did that fix the problem?

I only ask because I now have a new radiator and it is a little better, but I don't know how long the trans will last and neither does the dealer (could be a weeks, months, or years). However, not KNOWING exactly what the problem is, I'd hate to get a new tranny and find out it was something else (drive shaft, u joints, etc)...