Nissan SUV and pickup owners experiencing transmission failures

Nissan is facing a rash of complaints about automatic transmission failures in the company's trucks and SUVs, according to The New York Times. Certain 2005-2010 Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra models may have an issue with their radiators which could cause coolant to mix with the automatic transmission fluid. That's not supposed to happen, and it could cause premature failure. Nissan, meanwhile, has extended its warranty coverage on the radiators and any component damaged as a result of the fault, though owners say that they've been stuck with expensive transmission repair bills after the extended warranty dries up. The new coverage extends to 80,000 miles.

The NYT reports that Nissan extended its radiator coverage in October of last year after the company discovered that internal oil cooler tubes may crack and leak. The Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association, meanwhile, says that the radiator coolant tanks themselves are rupturing, which then allows the fluid to mix with coolant before being pumped back into the transmission.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received upwards of 200 complaints on the issue, though it's still unclear at this point whether or not the government agency is looking into the problem. For its part, Nissan has said that if the problem occurs on vehicles still within the 80,000 mile radiator warranty, any transmission repairs would also be included in the coverage.