2006 Pathfinder - question about transmission issues

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InTraining
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2006 Pathfinder - question about transmission issues

Postby InTraining » Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:11 pm

Hey everyone, hope you're all well. I just registered this account to hopefully pick some informed brains. I own a 2006 Pathfinder, and recently found out about the radiator + transmission issues. Thankfully, I haven't experienced anything like this yet, which leads me to these questions:

  • 1. Did the issue affect all 2005-2010 Pathfinders, or was it a relatively small portion? Are there any that are "safe" with original parts?

    2. My Pathfinder currently has 196k miles on it. From what I understand, the issue usually occurs around 80-120k miles. Since I haven't experienced it yet, does that mean it most likely won't occur?

    3. Is the issue more likely to occur under certain circumstances, eg driving long distances in one sitting, driving in hot/humid weather, driving in cold weather, etc?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I'm not very auto-savvy, which is why I'm turning to better people. Any and all responses are greatly appreciated.


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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:34 pm

If you have a 2005-2010 Pathfinder (or automatic trans equipped V6 Frontier or V6 Xterra of those same years), the possibility exists that the trans cooler inside the lower tank of the original, factory-installed, radiator "may" fail and cause cross-contamination. There is no way to guarantee that it will or will not fail, however, it does happen a lot more on 2005-2006 models years. The common radiator part #'s that we see fail (which is on a Calsonic sticker on the top tank of the radiator) are 21460-EA215 and 21460-EA265...although there have been some failures that have been reported under other part numbers. If you have a 2005-2010 Pathfinder/Xterra/Frontier with auto trans, the best thing you can do is either bypass the radiator's internal cooler and rely solely on the auxiliary trans cooler in front of the A/C condener OR replace the radiator with a new Nissan or Nissan value line radiator or an aftermarket radiator. That's the basic "skinny" on the matter; the amount of mileage nor driving circumstances nor weather have any affect on the matter, good or bad, of which we know.

InTraining
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Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:01 pm

Postby InTraining » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:44 pm

smj999smj wrote:If you have a 2005-2010 Pathfinder (or automatic trans equipped V6 Frontier or V6 Xterra of those same years), the possibility exists that the trans cooler inside the lower tank of the original, factory-installed, radiator "may" fail and cause cross-contamination. There is no way to guarantee that it will or will not fail, however, it does happen a lot more on 2005-2006 models years. The common radiator part #'s that we see fail (which is on a Calsonic sticker on the top tank of the radiator) are 21460-EA215 and 21460-EA265...although there have been some failures that have been reported under other part numbers. If you have a 2005-2010 Pathfinder/Xterra/Frontier with auto trans, the best thing you can do is either bypass the radiator's internal cooler and rely solely on the auxiliary trans cooler in front of the A/C condener OR replace the radiator with a new Nissan or Nissan value line radiator or an aftermarket radiator. That's the basic "skinny" on the matter; the amount of mileage nor driving circumstances nor weather have any affect on the matter, good or bad, of which we know.
This is the best information I've seen on the issue yet. Thank you very much for responding.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:58 pm

We have a whole thread dedicated to it:

http://thenissanpath.com/viewforum.php?f=38


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