Complete transmission failure on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
When complete transmission failure gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder report complete transmission failure at a median of 102,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 120,000 miles, from 34 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 72,500 miles at the tenth percentile to 137,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 64,059 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72,741 miles | 89,500 miles | 101,351 miles | 120,826 miles | 136,800 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $2,800–$8,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2007 at 140,000 miles.
By volume the 2013 carries the most reports, with 51; the 2005 has 41. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
2005 nissan pathfinder le, have had to replace the fuel sensor unit at own expense when it wouldn't show correct amount of fuel left in tank below half full. This problem occurred about 50k miles. Now with just under 95k miles, am having issue with transmission not locking into overdrive. This is the situation often described as heavy vibration around 45 MPH, as well as around 60 MPH. Have had dealer as well as independent shop look at this both saying it is a well known issue across the country with this make/model/year. As of this point - no cross-contamination has been found with the coolant and the transmission fluid. I am looking at around 5k in costs for a new transmission which has never been involved in an heavy accident nor driven off-road or anything besides city and highway driving. Not very reliable from my point of view and needs to be investigated why so many have been faulty - and if found to be design, then why isn't it at least part of the responsibility of nissan to help owners of these vehicles? *tr
2005 nissan pathfinder s/n [xxx] . Engine coolant leaking into transmission due to failure of oil cooler causing transmission failure. I have read over 100 complaints on this same issue and nissan will not assist in the repairs. I was informed it would cost $5,149.00 before taxes to get this vehicle repaired. Nissan knows this is a problem. The dealership I took it to shook his head and said he currently has one in the shop for the same reason, but they won't stand behind their product. To make matters even worse, they are replacing the faulty part with the same defective part. Isn't there any way we can get this pushed through so nissan would issue a recall on this and take responsibility for their mistakes? Please call me @ [xxx] . I woulod like to know what I can do to help the many people in my same situation. Thank you for your time. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
2005 nissan pathfinder s/n [xxx] . Engine coolant leaking into transmission due to failure of oil cooler causing transmission failure. I have read over 100 complaints on this same issue and nissan will not assist in the repairs. I was informed it would cost $5,149.00 before taxes to get this vehicle repaired. Nissan knows this is a problem. The dealership I took it to shook his head and said he currently has one in the shop for the same reason, but they won't stand behind their product. To make matters even worse, they are replacing the faulty part with the same defective part. Isn't there any way we can get this pushed through so nissan would issue a recall on this and take responsibility for their mistakes? Please call me @ [xxx] . I woulod like to know what I can do to help the many people in my same situation. Thank you for your time. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Also reported on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
Radiator or coolant leak
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure
Other powertrain problem
Other fuel system problem
Other engine problem
No-start or intermittent start failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 41 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does complete transmission failure happen on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder?
Across 34 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 102,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 90,000 miles and a quarter after 120,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is complete transmission failure on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder?
41 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.8 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed