Transmission fails or needs replacement

On March 25, 2014, Nissan North America (Nissan) submitted a Defect Information Report to NHTSA describing a defect of inadequate hose clamping force that may result in the internal transmission oil cooler (ITOC) hose detaching from the cooler.According to Nissan, transmission fluid leakage from a detached ITOC hose results in a progressive series of symptoms beginning with malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) illumination, followed by noise and vibration and culminating in loss of power due to transmission failure.Many of the incident vehicle drivers interviewed by ODI indicated that the loss of power occurred soon after the first symptoms were observed.The recall covers approximately 3,065 Pathfinder vehicles built from the start of MY 2013 production on April 18, 2012, through October 3, 2012, when Nissan implemented several production improvements to address concerns with ITOC hose detachment.Infiniti JX vehicles investigated in PE13-029 are not included in the recall as they are equipped with a different CVT transmission with a lower operating pressure.Owners of all potentially affected vehicles will be notified within 60 days to take their vehicles to a Nissan dealer.The dealer will install an oil hose repair kit at no charge to owners.ODI's analysis of failure data for the 3,065 Pathfinder vehicles that are included in Nissan's recall identified 12 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs), 134 Nissan complaints and field reports and 259 warranty claims.This equates to a complai

On February 29, 2012 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter petitioning the agency to conduct a defect investigation into MY 2005-2010 Nissan Pathfinder, Frontier, and Xterra vehicles [the subject vehicles] for automatic transmission failures related to failed transmission coolers.NHTSA conducted a comprehensive review of data related to this subject. Our report, documenting this review, is available in the document file for this defect petition.It will also be published in the Federal Register. Of the 2,505 referenced complaints, 638 relate to a potential hazard (unable to maintain speed, no motive power, engine stall) and 1,867 concern customer satisfaction issues including, but not limited to, repair cost, vehicle shudder and shake, and engine overheating.Taking into account the allocation of agency resources and priorities and the likelihood that additional investigation would result in a finding that an unreasonable risk to highway safety exists, we conclude that further investigation is not warranted and deny the petition.ODI Complaint ID numbers are referenced on the next page.