The Nissan Path

My 05 pathfinder, has been shifting late. For example at around 40mph it will take going up to 3100rpm for it to shift. This needless to say, is wrecking havoc on my mileage. What it also does is, if I'm coasting it won't shift up so when I want to accelerate all I hear is the engine revving until it catches and shifts. It doesn't shift hard or anything (yet). The only hard shifting there is is when I shift it from Park to Drive when it's cold in the morning or have been sitting for a while but it's pretty much always done that (or when parked on a hill).

The truck has 66k miles on it, I checked the ATF dipstick and the fluid is brown but I can't tell if it's just because the fluid is worn or if it's contaminated. I called the dealer and set up an appointment to have it looked at.

These problems are pretty recent, I've been paranoid about the radiator issue so I've always been monitoring things pretty closely. I noticed people seem to get transmission fails by surprise but hopefully if it's contaminated I've caught it soon enough.

Opinions/comments would be welcomed. Thanks guys!

If it was contaminated with coolant, you would see white streaks in the fluid or, in a bad case, a pinkish-white custard-like substance. The fluid shouldn't be brown, but I've seen old, Nissan Type "J" fluid take on a brownish tint. At the very least, it should be serviced. It's probably a good idea to get it looked at, first, though, by a professional.

I'm taking it to get looked at by the dealership, also might have an independent tech look as well. A few months ago, maybe 2-3, when I checked the fluid it had a pink tint to it and I didn't experience any problems. Now it has that brown color to it.

What's funny is, when I talked to the service manager. He said "oh yeah there are problems with those radiator and transmissions. I don't think it costs anything to have it looked at"

Also, someone can correct me on this, but I believe that if something is burning up because of water/coolant contamination you might also see that darker brown color fluid.

Sorry for posting about another tranny problem, I know it's beat to death on this forum. But I appreciate the help.

hope all is well with the tranny...

how does the fluid look against a white paper towel?...also, did you check under the radiator cap on the passenger side of fender well? I have heard and read if you have contamination, it will show up on the bottom of the radiator cap.

good luck

Nope somethings definitely wrong the slipping is getting worse and worse by day and so is my mileage. I just pulled my dip stick again and the color is now brown with a pearly milky character to it. I haven’t pulled the radiator cap yet (it's still hot) but I don't expect to see it in bad condition because it's still drivable and I can't imagine that much coolant would leak into the tranny that quickly.

Do you fall in to the mileage for the extended warranty?

I do, I called my Nissan dealership, told them the coolant color, smells a little burnt, brown color with a little pearlish tint to it. Pulled the radiator cap, still looks good there. Explained to him the shifting behaviour being erratic. I also mentioned that the radiator might look good because there's not enough ATF in there (yet) to change the color. But it sure does shift badly, very late and slipping.

He says all that sounds like the radiator/trans problem and said don't drive it if you don't have till to till the service appointment and that it's within the extended warranty time. They need a tech to confirm it but he says all signs point to it.

Drive it. Then your transmission will need to be replaced. If its not damaged, they will only drain and fill...

That's an interesting piece of advice. Thanks, I see where you are going though and it makes sense. It would suck to have them just refill it and say yep it's good.

My advice assumes you have an open-and-shut case with Nissan regarding the radiator failure of course...

I'm pretty sure the tranny is toast. It groans sometimes. The fluid now clearly has coolant in it. Still not showing up on the radiator cap and still runs but the fluid is "chocolate milk" and smells burnt/sweetish. I can't imagine those clutch packs can do with just a refill.

didnt know if this is worth passing along, but it may be something to keep in mind.

I did my rad/tranny bypass several months ago..have done a few oil changes since. Today I was changing the oil and noticed the rubber vaccum caps I used to cap off the bottom inlets on the radiator seem to be wet. After I pulled them off, I noticed they were cracked and had a little residual ATF fluid on them.

Was just curious ..is there a better way to cap off these inlets? Wondering if the internal cooling failed could enough coolant leak out anc cause engine overheating or damange before you realize it?

I connected the two ports with the leftover hose I had from doing the bypass, the one that went from the trans to the rad.

I probabaly should have done it that way.

going to keep an eye on on some type of fitting that will go over the ends and not crack.

Well, I took it in after leaving it sit for 2 days. I checked the fluid before I went and it actually looked ok. Drove it to the dealership, they looked at it and said they didn't see any issues with the fluid. The color is a lot better, and when I drove it home it drove great. Isn't slipping or hard shifting or not shifting.

I told them I think it's because it just sat for 2 days, he suggested I drive it and if it happens again just drive directly to them. They also want me to set up a date to leave it overnight with them.

Strange because the fluid smelled terrible and the transmission was misbehaving but today it was all fine.