2005 Nissan Pathfinder Power Train Problems
Owners have filed 585 complaints with NHTSA about power train problems on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder, 56% of all complaints for this model year. Half of the reports with a mileage happened before 100,000 miles. The words owners use most often: “transmission radiator” (17% of reports).
- 585power train complaints
- 100,000median miles at failure
- 5mention a crash
- 0mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- $7,250typical repair cost reported by owners
- 34%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Transmission radiator: mentioned in 101 of 585 complaints (17%)
- Coolant leaking: mentioned in 37 of 585 complaints (6%)
- Fluid leaked: mentioned in 31 of 585 complaints (5%)
How much does it cost to fix?
Owners who wrote down what they paid or were quoted put the typical power train repair on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder at $7,250, and half of them between $5,150 and $8,850.
Based on 51 NHTSA complaints about this problem alone that state a repair bill or quote (2008–2018), converted to 2026 dollars with the U.S. consumer price index. These are owners' own figures, not a quote: they include dealer quotes, and owners who file complaints often faced larger repairs, so they can run higher than typical shop prices. Prices vary by shop, region and warranty coverage. How we calculate this.
At what mileage do power train problems happen?
Based on 550 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 585 complaints, 5 mention a crash, 5 a fire.
Nissan Pathfinder power train complaints by model year
| Model year | Power Train complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Pathfinder | 1 | 9% | — |
| 2025 Pathfinder | 8 | 15% | — |
| 2024 Pathfinder | 9 | 11% | 3,500 |
| 2023 Pathfinder | 13 | 13% | 28,850 |
| 2022 Pathfinder | 17 | 13% | 15,686 |
| 2020 Pathfinder | 8 | 17% | — |
| 2019 Pathfinder | 9 | 12% | 82,994 |
| 2018 Pathfinder | 12 | 15% | 15,500 |
| 2017 Pathfinder | 34 | 18% | 45,000 |
| 2016 Pathfinder | 7 | 7% | 76,000 |
| 2015 Pathfinder | 77 | 24% | 42,250 |
| 2014 Pathfinder | 214 | 37% | 42,000 |
| 2013 Pathfinder | 370 | 42% | 5,120 |
| 2012 Pathfinder | 2 | 9% | 130,000 |
| 2011 Pathfinder | 7 | 16% | 62,000 |
| 2010 Pathfinder | 11 | 28% | 148,000 |
| 2009 Pathfinder | 8 | 22% | 100,000 |
| 2008 Pathfinder | 155 | 47% | 113,000 |
| 2007 Pathfinder | 337 | 60% | 107,000 |
| 2006 Pathfinder | 450 | 54% | 101,550 |
| 2005 Pathfinder | 585 | 56% | 100,000 |
| 2004 Pathfinder | 9 | 13% | 83,431 |
| 2003 Pathfinder | 3 | 3% | 50,950 |
| 2002 Pathfinder | 10 | 6% | 38,024 |
| 2001 Pathfinder | 3 | 1% | 78,000 |
| 2000 Pathfinder | 6 | 5% | 123,200 |
| 1999 Pathfinder | 8 | 8% | 49,000 |
| 1998 Pathfinder | 20 | 13% | 87,653 |
| 1997 Pathfinder | 19 | 9% | 92,500 |
| 1996 Pathfinder | 12 | 8% | 108,237 |
| 1995 Pathfinder | 20 | 12% | 84,500 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists power train for the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to immediately restart. After restarting the vehicle, the…
While driving on US 95 in DC, MD and NJ, when the traffic became stop and go, my SUV could not get into 1st gear to go. The engine revved, the car shook and made noises. Several times I came close to being rear-ended. This problem also occurs when starting after a red light, when accelerating on a…
Transmission began to fail suddenly, resulting in a situation where the car would not accelerate in busy traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Do all 2005 Nissan Pathfinders have power train problems?
No. NHTSA has 585 owner complaints about power train for the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder (56% of the 1,050 complaints for this model year). Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder power train?
No recall currently lists power train for this vehicle.
At what mileage do power train problems start?
The median reported mileage is 100,000 miles: half of the reports with a mileage came before that.
How much does it cost to fix power train problems on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder?
Owners report a typical cost of $7,250 (half paid between $5,150 and $8,850), from 51 complaints that state a repair bill or quote, in 2026 dollars.
What do owners say about power train problems on the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder?
The most frequent phrase is “transmission radiator”, in 101 of 585 complaints, followed by “coolant leaking” (37).
Other 2005 Nissan Pathfinder problems
See all 2005 Nissan Pathfinder problems or power train problems across all Pathfinder years.