NHTSA investigation radiator/transmission failures

Discussion topics related to the radiator and transmission failures in all Nissan trucks, education of the public on this issue, and attempts to force Nissan to start a recall.

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smj999smj
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NHTSA investigation radiator/transmission failures

Postby smj999smj » Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:38 pm

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.

Source: Autoguide.com


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volvite
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Postby volvite » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:35 pm

Hey,

That's good news. Hopefully something good will come of this.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012 ... ssues.html

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Vividcard
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Postby Vividcard » Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:23 pm

here is a direct read off of the nhtsa website, they want more people to submit their issues for field data! Give Em Hell Boys!

Report Date: June 20, 2012 at 09:15 PM
Search Type: VEHICLE
Make: NISSAN
Model: PATHFINDER
Model Year : 2005

NHTSA Action Number: DP12004
NHTSA Recall Campaign Number: N/A
Make: NISSAN
Model: PATHFINDER
Manufacturer : NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Model Year : 2005-2007
Component(s) :
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:TORQUE CONVERTER
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)
Date Investigation Opened : June 11, 2012
Date Investigation Closed : Open
Summary:
ODI received a petition requesting investigation of transmission damage attributed to contamination by engine coolant. The source of the contamination is a cracked ATF line that runs through an engine coolant chamber in the radiator. ODI has received (512) five-hundred-twelve consumer complaints between August 2005 to May 2012 regarding transmission problems. A copy of the petition will be placed in the public file. ODI will review its content and related field data to assess whether a safety defect investigation is warranted. Referenced VOQs are listed on a separate page.

If you own one of these models and have experienced transmission issues, you can contact NHTSA at 888-327-4236 or Nissan's Consumer Affairs Department at 800-647-7261.

Source: NHTSA

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Re: NHTSA investigation radiator/transmission failures

Postby NVSteve » Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:29 am

smj999smj wrote:although it seems Nissan is doing everything in its power to avoid such a circumstance.
They need to grow a pair and man up just like Toyota has been doing. It still boggles my mind that they don't consider a blown transmission any kind of danger.

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Postby smj999smj » Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:15 pm

If you remember, Toyota wasn't very forthcoming in their "unintended accelleration" issues until the media started reported it and the NHTSA got involved. IMO, they are both just as bad.

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Postby NVSteve » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:48 am

Nissan Getting Sued Over Faulty Radiators
By Florida Products Liability Attorney on July 16, 2012

Hundreds of Nissan owners are steaming mad and are seeking class-action status to sue the Japanese automaker because of faulty radiators in some of its SUV models.

At first blush it doesn’t seem that a faulty radiator would be that big a deal, until you factor in that the ruptured radiators can cause coolant to leak into the transmission fluid. Once that happens, you can wave your transmission goodbye — and say hello to a repair bill that can set you back $3,500 to $8,000.

Hundreds of consumers have complained about the radiators to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

WKMG Local 6 contacted Nissan about the complaints and the company said it knew about the problem in 2010. Nissan also stated that it sent out extended warranties to the affected customers in October of 2010 that boosted the warranty for the radiators from 36 months/36,000 miles to 96 months/80,000 miles. However, this doesn’t do you a lot of good if your vehicle has 81,000 miles on it.

One customer interviewed by Local 6 told the station that he was never notified about the extended warranty. A transmission repair expert said that, unfortunately, owners of the affected vehicles probably wouldn’t notice any problems with the vehicles until it was too late.

The lawsuit contends that Nissan knew about the problem before 2010. The suit accuses the company of fraud and demands that Nissan replace, recall, or repair the affected vehicles.

It’s a manufacturer’s duty to make products that are safe and free of potentially dangerous or expensive design flaws. If you’ve been harmed by a defective vehicle, or have been saddled with expensive property damage due to an auto defect, the FL car defect lawyers at Farah & Farah can explain your legal options and suggest a plan of action. Call us at (800) 533-3555 to find out what your legal options might be.


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Ready to burn it!

Postby NEVERDONE » Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:26 pm

Does anyone know what the status is on this lawsuit? I have an 05 path. With just about 114000 miles. Trans issues like everyone else. I've already replaced the radiator. Thanks in advance!

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Nissan second warranty extension

Postby Telephony » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:37 pm

Looks like Nissan has extended the warranty again to avoid admitting a defect in the radiator. Here are the details of the extension:

Up to 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first): No customer co-pay
After 8 years/80,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $2,500
After 9 years/90,000 miles (whichever comes first) up to 10 years/100,000 miles (whichever comes first): Customer co-pay is $3,000

Basically Nissan is taking a calculate risk here. By slightly extending the warranty and caring for just enough cases, their hope is to calm enough of the masses and avoid a recall. According to CarComplaint.com, the average owner is becoming aware of a problem at 94,565 miles. If Nissan would have recalled the radiators immediately upon knowledge of the defect, it would have saved them from dealing with numerous transmission replacements and customer satisfaction concerns. Transmissions have been reported to totally fail while driving on congested highways raising safety concerns. One can lodge a complaint to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration at the link below.

According to DOT, the average driver in the US drives 13,476 miles a year. It is interesting to note on the NissanAssist website that the CVT warranty extension is 12y/120,000m.

I am no lawyer, but hopefully someone with legal expertise can comment on the class action lawsuit. It seems like potentially one needs to opt out if they find the terms unacceptable and can attend or be represented at a Fairness Hearing on March 14, 2013 in White Plains, NY.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm

http://www.nissanassist.com/web/CVT/index.php?menu=8

http://www.nissanatoilcoolersettlement. ... der(2).pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaQiSN-HydU

http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiato ... hp?menu=22

http://www.nissanatoilcoolersettlement. ... lcoolerse- ttlement

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleCo ... ndex.xhtml

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Pat ... sion.shtml

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Postby indexply » Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:14 am

OK...Please everyone if you have not done so go online to safecare.gov and file a complaint. The more the better. Pass this on to all that you know and post it on other web sites.

safecare.gov

They are in the middle of the investigation and the more info/complaints with details (year, make, model, miles) they can compile will give them more leverage/info to address the issue on all of our behalf.

I think it was best said with "Go give them hell" let your voice be heard and count!

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Postby 2537buzz » Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:50 pm

I do not know all the details but spoke to Nissan yesterday regarding a hesitation in gear changing when cold and the lady asked for my vin to run to see if my car was effected by the recall. It turns out not but when I mentioned that I figured it wasn't since it did not show up on the car fax. She said that it wouldn't because they just added more time and extended it once again, so for you guys effected may want to call Nissan and ask about the new extension. I do not know much about it because it did not effect me so I did not ask. Just thought I would post foe those effected. Plus hello to everyone. I am a new Pathy owner but to an old Pathy. I just bought a wonderful 2004 LE Platinum and although I bought it for my son who will be driving in April, I am i. Love. I have always loved the older pathfinder.


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