Used 2005 Nissan Pathfinder Consumer Reviews
Transmission Problems
kano1017, 04/16/2012
LE 4WD 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
93 of 95 people found this review helpful
After reading all this reviews I decided not to wait and / or pay a lot of $$ to get this fix, so what we came up with is totally different cost effective and it works great, I know that this is a problem with the Nissan design but I bought it so now is my problem here goes, we cancel the lines that go thru the radiator and put an independent oil cooler to the side of the radiator with this little gadget you can be sure that you will never ever have this problem again and the transmission oil will be more cooler with this modification so the tranny will work better, cost to do this = 60 buck for the oil cooler, 15 buck to add transmission oil to the oil cooler and that's it well + what you
Coolant fluid leaking into transmission!
Faith Q, 04/20/2016
LE 4WD 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
It would have been really nice to have gotten a heads up on a defective part in the radiator that will eventually kill your transmission and your radiator. We bought our Pathfinder brand new in 2005. We have never had it serviced anywhere other than the dealership. My theory was that it would be better to have our Nissan maintained at the dealership so we wouldn't have any issues with things coming up that other mechanics may not know about, well that backfired! We never received a letter that some have stated that they received telling them about the potential destruction of their vehicles transmission and radiator do to the defective part. My Pathfinder is now sitting in our driveway while we try to figure out what to do..... This is frustrating to say the least. We have always maintained this vehicle per the dealership and the only thing we were told was it wasn't a problem or it would have been recalled!!!
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Best of the best
Erick, 10/25/2015
SE Rwd 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
25 of 26 people found this review helpful
Got my pathfinder back in 05, never had any problems with the the truck. Its been to texas and back many times. Like couple years back when we got that horrible winter storm here in chicago it handle the road like nothing. The best suv out there for the heavy snow. RWD with the 4x4 option. all i got to say its that its the best and knkw that its 10 years old still runs like new.
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Good Car
kano1017, 01/30/2013
LE Rwd 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
13 of 13 people found this review helpful
I got my Path used 3 years ago it's a 2005, I'm very happy with it then I started reading the reviews and got concern I know that this is a Nissan design issues but I was not going to wait till I have to pay a lot of $$ to get the radiator and tranny fix so my friend and me started looking for some options and we found the solution so we cancel the lines that go thru the radiator to cool the tranny oil and put an independent oil cooler so now I will never need to be concern on this issue, cost to do this 70 buck's for the oil cooler + what you mechanic charges you. Good luck
10 year review!
Mike C., 04/07/2018
LE Rwd 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
13 of 13 people found this review helpful
This was my third Pathfinder. I owned it for 10 years and sold it with 165,000 miles on it. It has been extremely reliable and rock solid. I sold it because it had high miles, and I needed something newer to travel with. This year Pathfinder did have problems with the radiator leaking into the transmission and destroying it. Chances are if you buy one now, either it was already changed under warranty, or not affected. I had the radiator changed under warranty but no transmission issues. It is based on the truck platform so the ride is not as smooth as the car based SUV'S, but it has more room, and can handle carrying heavier items. I owned the LE with full leather, navigation, rear entertainment, etc..Everything still worked perfectly when I sold the car. Great workhorse, in style. The only issue is the heat. When the car is idling normally, it doesn't heat up the car. Almost like it doesn't push enough antifreeze through the heater core unless the engine is running over 2000 rpm. The seriously sucks when you're trying to warm the car because it just doesn't at idle. Once your driving the heat works fine.
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Don't Buy 2005-2006 Pathfinders
runnermcm, 11/17/2010
SE 4WD 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I am having the same problems that others have noted here and on the Edmunds discussion board about the radiator and the transmission. The tranny is failing, but Nissan of Omaha says they can't find anything wrong despite riding with me and it slipping (acts as if it is in neutral) - goes to 6 RPM and you say at 40 mph for a while - just one example. Woodhouse Nissan confirmed my problem but Nissan of Omaha has to be the one to fix it and so far they won't. The radiator was replaced after it flooded the tranny and they flushed it, but that didn't solve it. There are at least 3 class action lawsuits. I'm not letting it end here. I will keep all boards I post on updated with progress/advice.
How to love your Pathfinder
pfluvr, 08/28/2013
SE 4WD 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
39 of 45 people found this review helpful
Step 1 - Have your transmission cooling lines disconnected from the radiator! There is an external auxiliary transmission cooler that does the job already. The only problem you may encounter is hard shifting in extreme cold. You can, if you want put another auxiliary cooler on the truck, but unless you're maxing the towing capacity every day you will not need it. The stock cooler is very large. Step 2 - You've basically now cured the only problem you will ever encounter, except for some little maintenancy things. Enjoy!
Transmission / Radiator issue must be addressed
john534, 08/04/2011
SE Rwd 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Very unreliable and very poor powertrain and electronic system design. Started experiencing shudder at 89K miles when the automatic transmission moved between 1st and 2nd gear. Symptom did not occur over two day period until driving on third day where the issue worsened rapidly until transmission became inoperable above 10 mph. I investigated the issue and learned that this is a well known issue with the Pathfinder where the radiator fluid fails into the transmission, causing both the radiator and transmission to fail... great design! My transmission and radiator are shot at 89,000 miles. Looking at $6000 repair bill that I will not pay.
Coolant leaking into transmission fluid
clausl, 09/06/2012
LE Rwd 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
15 of 17 people found this review helpful
This is a known issue with Nissan 2005 and 2006 vehicles. (Currently the subject of a class action lawsuit.) Coolant leaking into Transmission destroys transmission, computer controlling transmission and radiator. Average cost for fix is ~$7,500 warranty extension offered by Nissan doesn't cover many drivers as the issue seems to often extend beyond the extended warranty of 8yrs / 130,000km. Some vehicles are not covered despite being within these two parameters. Nissan refuses to say why some vehicles of that year/type are excluded.
Don't be Fooled by the Appearance. Don't Buy Nissan!!!!!!!
byebyenissan, 04/26/2012
LE 4WD 4dr SUV (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
We had the same leaking radiator problem like many people with our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The vehicle was 2000 km over the extended warranty limit. We would bring the vehicle to Nissan dealership if we were made aware of the defect sooner. We asked Nissan for assistance. After many phone calls, emails, time spent collect past maintenance record requested by Nissan Canada and months of waiting, we finally got a reply. Below is my response to their reply. "Thank you [Nissan Customer Service rep] for passing the news that Nissan would not do anything for our loss and their defective automobile, and for wasting our time. I can assure you we will spread our words about the quality of Nissan vehicle, so less people will experience what we have experienced. I am happy to report that after this incident we have traded in our Nissan for a Toyota which we have been very happy with, and my dad has sold his Nissan for a Lexus. Even though the resale Nissan worths less than other vehicle of similar type and age, it's wonderful to got rid of our headache and future headaches. I will look forward to the day Nissan disappear from this world. Best of luck to all of you working for Nissan." We traded in the Nissan after replaced the radiator. Transmission was still working at the time, but we didn't want to take a chance of keeping a time bomb. The problem is well known among dealships of other car makers, so we got only $8000 for the trade in, but this is better than having to pay $5000 later on repairs. We had so many problems with this vehicle since we purchased it new from a dealership - noises, signal problem, gauge problem, etc. - and spent a lot of money fixing them including getting scammed by dealership (asked to pay for an item under warranty). What we experienced with Nissan is bad vehicle, bad service and ignorance. This is our one time experience with Nissan. Lesson learnt.