A defect investigation has been launched regarding a transmission problem in model year 2005-2010 Nissan Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra.
Hundreds of Xterra, Frontier, and Pathfinder owners have reported sudden jerking in their vehicles when travelling at highway speeds. The problem has been diagnosed as a failed transmission cooler which allows coolant to mix with the transmission fluid, causing internal damage to the components. Reports of the issue say that prior to the failure, the occupants noticed nothing amiss with the operation of the vehicle.
Despite hundreds of documented complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nissan still claims that there is no defect. In 2007, the company began to offer an extended warranty good for eight years or 80,000 miles on the transmission and radiator cooler. When the transmission failure occurred however, the company covered the price for the radiator assembly and not the internal damage done to the transmission.
Based on the number of complaints regarding the exact same issue, the result of this investigation will almost undoubtedly be a recall, although it seems Nissan is doing everything in its power to avoid such a circumstance.