2006 Nissan Xterra

THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO MY VEHICLE FOR AWHILE BUT I WAS UNAWARE UNTIL LAST WEEK. MY TRUCK WAS OVERHEATING AND THE ANTIFREEZE HAD A WHITE SUBSTANCE IN IT. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME IT WAS MIXED WITH TRANSMISSION FLUID. THE RADIATOR CRACKED AND THE TRANS COOLER WHICH IS INSIDE LEAKED. THE TWO FLUIDS MIXED AND HAS CAUSED TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. MY RADIATOR HAS TO BE REPLACED AND THE TRANS WILL BE FLUSHED SEVERAL TIMES. THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE TO THE TRANS IS UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME AS IT IS STILL IN THE SHOP. I RESEARCHED THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND IT TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH NISSAN XTERRAS. THE SYMPTOM'S OF OTHERS VEHICLES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS MINE. NISSAN HAS HAD A VERY POOR SETTLEMENT IN A CLASS ACTION SUIT BUT IT IS VERY POOR. THIS SHOWS THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THE POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN AND/OR PARTS. THIS PROBLEM IS LEAVING PEOPLE WITH SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS IN REPAIRS ($3800 AND UP) FOR A PROBLEM THAT NISSAN IS AWARE OF. EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE MAINTAINED YOUR VEHICLE ROUTINELY THIS PROBLEM WILL STILL OCCUR DUE TO NISSANS POOR DESIGN AND PARTS. THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER A RECALL AND IF AN OWNER HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM THEY SHOULD BE REIMBURSED FOR THEIR EXPENSE TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A FLOAT ARM INSIDE THE FUEL TANK. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V075000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.

ENGINE CUT OFF, ROUGH IDLED, WOULD NOT RESPOND TO ACCELERATION. ATTEMPTED TO RE-START, ROUGH IDLED, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLICKERING, REQUIRED TOWING. AT REPAIR SHOP, NO PROBLEM, BAD GAS WAS THE DIAGNOSIS. REPEATED. WOULD NOT START. REQUIRED TOWING. TOW OPERATOR TRIED A FEW RESETS, OXYGEN SENSORS, NOTHING. TOWED HOME. NEXT DAY, STARTED FINE. *TR

ON 5/19/2010 THE NHTSA AND NISSAN ISSUED A RECALL CAMPAIGN BULLETIN #NTB10-031A COVERING CERTAIN NISSAN VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 2006 AND 2008. THE RECALL WAS TO ADDRESS A POTENTIAL FUEL GAUGE ACCURACY. SPECIFICALLY, THE ISSUE CAN CAUSE THE FUEL GAUGE TO SHOW THE VEHICLE STILL HAS FUEL WHEN THE TANK IS ACTUALLY EMPTY. THIS COULD RESULT IN THE VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN, RENDERING POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES AND OTHER VEHICLE SYSTEMS INOPERABLE OR WHERE PERFORMANCE MAY BE GREATLY REDUCED, WHICH AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS COULD CAUSE OF LOSS OR CONTROL OR ACCIDENT. MY 2005 NISSAN TITAN WAS RECALLED FOR THE SAME ISSUE AND WAS IN FACT IMPACTED WHEN THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AT HIGHWAY SPEED. I WAS FORTUNATELY ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE TO A SAFE STOP AND THE VEHICLE WAS FIXED UNDER AN IDENTICAL RECALL. IN JULY 2014, WHEN MY SON'S 2006 NISSAN XTERRA BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE SIMILAR SYMPTOMS. I CONTACTED NISSAN TO CONFIRM THAT VEHICLES INCLUSION IN THE AFOREMENTIONED CAMPAIGN. I SPOKE TO [XXX] AND OPENED CASE [XXX]. [XXX] INSTRUCTED ME TO HAVE THE VEHICLE DIAGNOSED AT A NISSAN DEALERSHIP (WHICH I DID), BUT SHE SUBSEQUENTLY DENIED COVERAGE UNDER THE RECALL STATING THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. SHE STATED THAT NOT ALL VEHICLES FOR THAT MODEL YEAR WERE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL, BUT RATHER WERE OFFERED EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR THE SPECIFIC PART WHICH MY VEHICLE WAS NOW BEYOND. THIS WAS NOT STATED IN THE CAMPAIGN NOTICE - I REQUESTED SHE ESCALATE MY CONCERN TO A SUPERVISOR. A WEEK LATER I WAS CONTACTED BY [XXX] (NO LAST NAME GIVEN) FROM NISSAN. [XXX] CONTRADICTED WHAT I HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TOLD BY STATING THAT ALL MODEL YEAR 2006 XTERRAS WERE ONLY GIVEN EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE (I'M NOT SURE IF [XXX] OR [XXX] WERE AT THIS POINT LYING TO ME) AND THAT NISSAN WOULD NOT RECONSIDER MY REQUEST FOR COVERAGE. THIS IS MY 5TH NISSAN. I'M REQUESTING NISSAN COVER THE ~$380 REPAIR. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK IT TO AN AUTOZONE TO HAVE THE CODE READ. PO463, FUEL SENDING UNIT. DID SOME RESEARCH, CALLED NISSAN CORPORATE TO INFORM THEM OF THE ISSUE AND SEE IF I WAS ELIGIBLE FOR EXTENDED WARRANTY (WASN'T COVERED). NISSAN CORPORATE INFORMED ME THAT I WAS ELIGIBLE FOR ECM RELAY REPLACEMENT AT NO COST AT A DEALERSHIP, SO I TOOK THE CAR TO A DEALERSHIP THAT QUOTED ME LOWEST ON THE FUEL SENSOR REPAIR. THEY ASKED IF I HAD OTHER ISSUES AND I TOLD THEM THAT MY ENGINE SOMETIMES SOUNDED LIKE AN RC CAR. THEY OFFERED TO LOOK INTO IT, CALLED THIS AFTERNOON AFTER COMPLETING WORK ON SENSOR AND ECM RELAY TO INFORM ME THAT MY TIMING CHAINS WERE SHOT AND IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT. DID SOME MORE RESEARCH AND FOUND THIS IS A FREQUENT ISSUE IN NISSAN CARS, DECIDED TO FILE A REPORT. *TR

5/29/14 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON,TRANSMISSION SLIPPING.DIAGNOSED AS RADIATOR CONTAMINATED WITH TRANSMISSION FLUID,REPLACED RADIATOR,DRAINED COOLANT, FLUSHED MULTIPLE TIMES. 7/12/2014 ON FAMILY VACATION OUT OF STATE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON,TRANSMISSION SLIPPING, LOW TRANSMISSION FLUID.FILLED FLUID BY BEACH READY AUTO. 7/15/2014 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AGAIN ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY TRAVELING AT 60 MPH TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE. REBUILT TRANSMISSION PUT IN OUT OF STATE,8 DAYS MISSED WORK,AIRLINE TICKET HOME. MY EXPENSES FOR THIS DEFECT IN DESIGN BY NISSAN IS $5900.THE FACT THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL INITIATED BY NISSAN IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND DANGEROUS. A FAILURE ON THE COMPANY'S PART TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS WRONG , BUT KNOWINGLY ALLOWING THEIR PRODUCT TO ENDANGER PEOPLE'S LIVES IS INEXCUSABLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 NISSAN XTERRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE GEAR WOULD NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS MIXING WITH THE COOLANT AND THE COOLANT WAS LEAKING INTO THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 169,000.

WHEN DRIVING THE CAR AT 40MPH/AROUND 1000RPMS THE VEHICLE BEGAN VIBRATING AT THE BACK END. UPON ACCELERATION, THE VIBRATION CEASED. THIS BEHAVIOR BECAME CONSISTENT. A MECHANIC INDEPENDENT FROM NISSAN FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION AND RADIATOR MUST BE REPLACED PER HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP. ALSO ADVISING INDEPENDENT MECHANIC THAT THE DEALERSHIP ADMITS TO HAVING A FLOOR FULL OF TRANSMISSIONS THAT NEED REPAIR. I INVESTIGATED THE CLASS ACTION SUIT FILED IN 2010 AND ALREADY SETTLED, BUT HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS PRIOR AS NISSAN DID NOT ALERT ME TO THE PERSISTENT PROBLEM SINCE 2005 I SHOULD EXPECT MY CAR TO DEVELOP. *TR

CAR BEGAN OVERHEATING AND EVEN WHEN ALLOWED COOL DOWN TIME CONTINUED TO RUN HOT. INSPECTION SHOWS THAT THE CAR HAS TRANSMISSION LEAKING INTO THE RADIATOR. EVEN WHEN FLUSHED AND REFILLED - IMMEDIATELY MIXES AGAIN. CAR IS NOT OPERABLE. DEALERSHIP INDICATES $5K TO REPAIR. THE CAR HAS JUST PASSED 100,000 AND IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ANY WARRANTY. NISSAN WAS WELL AWARE OF THIS ISSUE AND OPTED NOT TO RECALL OR EVEN INFORM CUSTOMERS OF ISSUES TO WATCH FOR. NOW, I AM OUT A CAR - I DO NOT HAVE 5K NOR DO I HAVE THE ABILITY TO WALK OUT AND JUST BUY A NEW CAR. THANKS NISSAN FOR LOOKING OUT FOR YOURSELF AND NOT THE CUSTOMERS WHO KEEP YOU IN BUSINESS. *JS