2006 Nissan Xterra

I HAD BEEN NOTICING A WHINING NOISE ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSMISSION 'FLARE' ON ACCELERATION FOR SOME TIME, BUT ONLY IN MARCH 2013 WAS IT DIAGNOSED AT 96K MILES BY THE DEALERSHIP AS FAULTY TIMING CHAIN GUIDES, A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE 4 L ENGINE. THE DEALER SAID THE FAULTY PARTS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED SOON. I CONTACTED NISSAN USA CONSUMER AFFAIRS ABOUT HAVING NISSAN PARTIALLY COVER THE COST OF REPLACING THE FAULTY PARTS. DESPITE HAVING THE DEALERSHIP'S ORIGINAL REPORT AND ESTIMATE, NISSAN'S REGIONAL REP INSISTED THAT THE DEALERSHIP HAD TO RECONFIRM THE DIAGNOSIS, WHICH WAS DONE. THE REP THEN REFUSED TO RETURN MY CALLS, AND DID NOT RESPOND TO DEALERSHIP QUERIES ABOUT THE REPAIRS EITHER. THE ENGINE NOISE WAS GETTING WORSE, AND FEARING A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE, I HAD THE DEALER REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER SAID THE TIMING CHAIN WAS SLAPPING AND ABOUT TO FAIL. THE DEALERSHIP URGED ME TO REPORT THE PROBLEM TO APPROPRIATE FEDERAL, LOCAL AND NISSAN OFFICIALS BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

MY 2006 NISSAN XTERRA WOULD LUNGE FORWARD WHEN I WAS TRAVELING AT 40-45 MPH. IT WOULD FIRST JERK FORWARD WHEN I WOULD GO FROM SLOWLY MOVING TO ACCELERATING, LIKE WHEN YOU BEGAN TO MOVE AFTER SITTING AT A RED LIGHT. THE LIGHT TURNS GREEN, YOU SLOWLY START TO MOVE AND THEN YOU PRESS THE GAS TO ACCELERATE AND THE CAR WOULD JERK FORWARD. THEN THE CAR HAD PROBLEMS SHIFTING OUT OF 1ST GEAR BEFORE I WAS ABOUT TO GET ON THE INTERSTATE AFTER LEAVING WORK. I DECIDED TO TAKE THE BACK ROUTE BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT. I STOPPED AT 2 MECHANICS ON THE WAY HOME. EACH TOLD ME I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALER. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND WAS THEN TOLD THAT THE RADIATOR AND THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE FIXED AS THERE WAS A MIX OF THE RADIATOR AND TRANSMISSION FLUID DUE TO A LEAK AND IT WOULD COST $5050. I WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED! I HAD NOT ANY OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS AND THE VEHICLE WAS CHECKED REGULARLY. I SPECIFICALLY ASKED THE ASM GUY, WHO CHECKED IN MY VEHICLE AND TOLD ME THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AFTER THE TECHNICIAN LOOKED AT IT, WAS THIS A COMMON OCCURRENCE AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, "IT HAPPENS BUT BETTER THAN BUYING A NEW CAR." IT JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. I THEN HAD MY VEHICLE TOWED TO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR. THIS IS WHEN I WAS TOLD OF THE RADIATOR LEAKS WITH SUBSEQUENT TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE MECHANIC SAID HE HAS HAD NUMEROUS NISSANS WITH TRANSMISSION FAILURES AND EVEN FINDING A USED OR REBUILT NISSAN IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO FIND NOW. I AM JUST EXTREMELY BLESSED THAT I DID NOT CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BY EITHER RAMMING INTO ANOTHER CAR OR THE CAR JUST STOPPING ON THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE DURING RUSH-HOUR TRAFFIC. IF I NISSAN COULD HAVE NOTIFIED OWNERS BY MAIL OR DURING A SERVICE CHECK, I COULD HAVE HAD THE DEFECT FIXED BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. PLEASE REIMBURSE OWNERS FOR THIS CARS DEFECT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WITH MY FAMILY IN THE CAR. THE CAR WAS TRAVELING AT 65MPH AND SUDDENLY STARTED TO JERK BACK AND FORTH AND SWERVE SIDE TO SIDE. THEN IT SUDDENLY SLOWED DOWN AND WE WERE ALMOST HIT FROM BEHIND. THEN VEHICLE CONTINUED TO DO THIS UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF THE HIGHWAY AND ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IM TOLD THAT THE RADIATOR HAD CATASTROPHICALLY FAILED INSIDE AND SENT TRANSMISSION FLUID INTO THE RADIATOR CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IS MY SONS VEHICLE THAT HE DRIVES DAILY OR AT LEAST USED TO. *TR

MY VEHICLE AT TIME OF PURCHASE HAD 91,736 MILES. AS I WAS DRIVING IT HOME IT WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO ACCELERATE AFTER 60MPH AND THE RPMS REACH OVER 4500. I WAS IN THE LAST LANE WHEN TRAFFIC STARTED TO CLEAR. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE AND GO AT THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC. I HAD TO PUT MY EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON AND GET OVER TO THE LAST LANE. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM WHEN I DRIVE THE VEHICLE. AT TIMES WHEN I TRY TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE REACHES HIGH RPMS AND IT LUNGES FORWARD UNTIL IT SETTLES IN. I TOOK IT TO TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS AND THEY BOTH TOLD ME IT WAS THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING AND THE RADIATOR LEAKED WATER AND THAT IS WHAT MADE THE TRANSMISSION START SLIPPING. I DON??T WANT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE WITH MY CHILDREN BECAUSE I WAS SCARED THAT I WILL BE DRIVING 65MPH AND ONE OF A SUDDEN LOSS OF SPEED AND BE IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE I CAN??T ACCELERATE. THE MECHANICS GAVE ME A QUOTE F $2400 FOR A USED TRANSMISSION AND $3900 TO REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION AND AN ADDITIONAL $250-300 TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR. I AM A SINGLE PARENT WITH TWO CHILDREN AND I CANNOT AFFORD TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. I AM NOT DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN FEAR THAT I MIGHT DAMAGE IT MORE. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REPAIR IT AT MY COST, THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. I AM ASKING FOR THERE TO BE AN INVESTIGATION AND A RECALL DUE TO ALL THE SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. I SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE RIGHT TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE AND USE ANOTHER VEHICLE BECAUSE THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY RECALLS TO FIX THE SITUATION. THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR SHOULD BE FIXED BY NISSAN AT THEIR EXPENSE. *TR

MY 2006 NISSAN XTERRA W/ 119,000 MILES EXPERIENCED TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAUSED BY A FAILURE OF THE RADIATOR. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE NOTICE OF WHERE THE INVESTIGATION STANDS AT THIS TIME. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

ABOUT 61K MILES THE TRANSMISSION FELT LIKE IT WAS DRAGGING WHILE I WAS TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED. WHEN I GOT HOME I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP. THE LOCAL SHOP DROPPED THE PAN AND SAID THE FLUID WAS OK. THE DRAGGING DIDN'T COME BACK AFTER A FLUID CHANGE. HOWEVER, LATER ON, AT HIGHWAY I OCCASIONALLY FELT A VIBRATION THAT STOPPED WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS. I LATER GOT NOTICE OF AN EXTENDED RADIATOR WARRANTY TO 80K MILES, BUT IT DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. THE ANTIFREEZE NEVER LOOKED LOW WHEN I CHECKED THE RADIATOR, THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE DRIVEWAY, SO I PUT THE STICKER FROM THE MAIL FROM NISSAN ON THE MANUAL AND PUT IT BACK IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT. ON SATURDAY 6/8/2013 SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. AT THAT TIME THE CAR SEEMED TO ?DRAG?. IT SEEMED TO NEED TO REV AT HIGHER RPM THAN USUAL TO GET GOING. AT ONE POINT IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC IT WOULDN'T MOVE FORWARD FOR A MINUTE, AND I HIT ALMOST 4000 RPM BEFORE IT MOVED FORWARD, VERY SLUGGISHLY. I TOOK IT TO THE SHOP THE NEXT DAY, THEY TOLD ME TO SEE A TRANSMISSION SHOP, SINCE A CODE "1754" CAME UP, INDICATING A DEFECTIVE CONTROL UNIT WITHIN THE TRANSMISSION. THE TRANSMISSION SHOP TOLD ME I NEEDED A RADIATOR, CONTROL UNIT, SINCE THE DEFECTIVE RADIATOR HAD CONTAMINATED THE TRANSMISSION WITH ANTIFREEZE. *TR