Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Nissan Pathfinder owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Car shuts off In the middle of driving & also when simply parked. It starts jerking like it's trying to catch up then it kills. It's happened in front of traffic and busy roadways/intersections. It has happened more than once.
I am an active duty marine and have served for over 20 years. My wife and I have been the original owners of this 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While I was away on business my wife called me and told me the car was acting up. Upon my return I test drove the car. The car would not acceleration after I came to a stop. Soon after the engine light turned on. I took the car to the auto shop to get it checked out and found out the coolant and transmission oil mixed. I took the car into Nissan and found out this is a common problem. Nissan extended the warranty to cover this problem; but I was over the mileage and they would not be cover my vehicle. We recently paid off the car; however, now I am stuck with this ticking time bomb. The car loses acceleration very frequently. I have to turn it off and turn it back on to get it back to normal. …
My vehicle had problems in 2011 when a "warranty notice" was sent regarding a radiator problem. I took the car in and they found that it was a timing belt and did not change my radiator while it was under the extended warranty and had approximatey 70,000 miles. I now have 160,000 miles and my car is acting up again and the dealership advised me the radiator is cracked and leaking coolant into the transmission so I need both repaired or my car will get worse and can cause an accident. To me it appears that this defect with the car was from the inception and it should have been recalled because it was bound to fail and it should be fixed at Nissan's cost. My vehicle is still pretty good looking but I feel it is only a shell that I am driving because of the interior radiator flaw. They indicate that since no recalls were made I have to pay the total out of pocket. …
I have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with 91,450 miles. I notice a slight slip in the transmission on the way to work. I work at a auto repair shop. They took it for a test drive and found nothing. Approximately two weeks later, it really started to slip to the point I had to pull over, because it was not shifting correctly. When it was brought in to the shop again it did nothing. I called the local Nissan dealer in stroudsburg pa and was told there was a "silent recall" and to check the fluid if it was a milky color, pretty much I was going to be without a car. I always took care of my car and for this to happen was a real blow. The dealership told me pretty much the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle. I did check the value of my car was approximately $6-7000 for the shape that it was in. That's a lot of money to lose on a vehicle. …
While driving on the freeway or the city street, the car started to jerk and then suddenly cut off and lose power. This has happened at least five times at normal highway and freeway speeds in a straight forward motion. While on the freeway, I was able to glide over to stop the car and restart it. The car starts right back up and is drivable.the last time was on the city street, I was going about 35-40mph and the car again jerks and the engine cuts off and looses power. However, this time the steering wheel locked up preventing me to get over. I had to stop the car by breaking directly in the lane nearly causing cars to slam into me. Again, once I come to a complete stop and put the car in park I am able to start the engine and drive again. After this first happened, I took my car in for a tune-up, oil change, and a diagnostic test but nothing read as an error. …
All 4 of my catalytic converters have had to be replaced (or need to be replaced - I've already replaced bank 1. Now bank 2 is bad) in the past 12 months or so and now my radiator is leaking into my transmission. I discovered there was a class-action lawsuit on the radiator/transmission issue, but I'm outside of the warranty period. With respect to the catalytic converters, I occasionally smell exhaust, but the check engine lights stay on. With the transmission, it started out as gear slipping, causing rough driving (which the dealership told me was the catalytic converter). Then, it started running slow out of first gear and hard shifting. I took it to a transmission place that pulled transmission codes and when they dropped the pan, the fluid looked like a milkshake. The rough driving/gears slipping didn't matter - it could be on the highway or in the city. …
I was driving on an interstate at normal highway speed when the car shuddered as if going over rough pavement. The engine started racing, but the car gradually lost forward propulsion. I steered to the emergency lane and stopped. After a minute, the car regained just enough forward motion to get me to the next exit, across an intersection (where the light just happened to be green, thank goodness), and into the parking lot of a large grocery store before the vehicle lost all propulsion. We pushed the car the last few feet into a parking spot. It was towed to a Nissan dealership. I was told the next day that the transmission warmer had failed, allowing radiator coolant to leak into the transmission, which ruined the transmission. The repair would cost $6000. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. While driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost power without warning. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and towed to a local dealer who diagnosed a transmission failure due to a radiator leak. The dealer completely rebuilt the transmission. The failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to another dealer where it was diagnosed that the rebuilt transmission caused an "inter cooler failure". The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that it was not the manufacturer's problem. The contact was referred back to the dealer that installed the rebuilt transmission. The dealer stated that the manufacturer was aware of the rebuilt transmission and referred the contact back to the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that nothing could be done. …
Service bullitin classification em09-007, refrence ntb09-128, posted November 16, 2009. Buzzing/whining noise from timing chain area. Have contacted and stopped by dealership to inform them about issue I was having. Showed tech there the service bullitin and they stated that they were aware of the problem and knew about the issue with numerous vehicles. I was given the only way it was covered by Nissan was if the vehicle was still under factory or extended warranty. If it were not coverd that way then I, the customer, were responsible to all the cost and and rental fees if I chose to get one while it was in the service center. I was given the cost estimated at $1800 dollars and there was no guarentee that it would fix the problem.. And have a nice day. Left very frusterated knowing there were thousands more in the same situation I'm in now.
My cars radiator cracked and leaked into the transmission. The mix of coolant and transmission fluid damaged the transmission and quite possibly damaged my engine. Nissan knows about the radiator because they extended the warranty on it. The repairs for this incident are high the Nissan dealer I took it to quoted me $4,591.43 to replace the transmission and the radiator and that is with the warranty they claim they have on it. The dealer also told me any other damage caused by this faulty radiator would not be covered and I would have to pay for the repairs to any other components as well they told they me might be an additional $2,000 so nearly $7,000. I had know choice but sell the car off as scrap as the repairs would cost more than the car itself. A failure of all these parts at once is a safety hazard to everyone.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 armada, titan, Infiniti qx56 and model year 2005-2006 frontier, pathfinder and xterra vehicles. The intelligent power distribution module (ipdm) assembly contains an engine control module (ECM) relay that has a diode for electrical current noise reduction.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the ECM relay inside the ipdm assembly. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on December 6, 2010. Owners May contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Engine complaints in other Pathfinder years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder?
NHTSA has 331 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2006 Nissan Pathfinder, 40% of the model year's 837 complaints. The component named most often is cooling system › radiator assembly (32 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Nissan Pathfinder engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 10V-517 (engine and engine cooling, Oct 28, 2010). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Nissan Pathfinder engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 103,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.