[farley27]

2005, 90,000 currently. Bypassed two years ago. No problems. DD, Offroad it and drive on a lot of sand.

 

[tcbrad98]

2011 Xterra S, 42,000 miles, security patrol vehicle for Signal 88 Security. I was driving it the night it ate the transmission at 2 am. Had pink coming out of the radiator and the overflow tank. We had been having some slipping issues with the tranny and it was slated to go into the shop the next morning. The truck went from starting to slip to the transmission going completely out in about 2000 miles.





























































But, this truck was involved in a collision with a deer about two months prior and the radiator was replaced as part of the repairs. All the work was done at the Nissan Dealership. We(us and the dealer) think that one of the previous design versions of the radiator was put in the truck during repairs. There seems to be a possibility that the part was already on the shelf at the dealer. Anyway, I have a 2011 Pro-4x and was terrified that my transmission was going to grenade until we checked the part numbers on the radiator that was replaced initially after the deer incident and found it was the old part number. All the work and repairs were covered under warranty, but make sure you have the dealership double check the part numbers on the radiator before install.

 

[BleednBlue]

2011 Xterra S, 42,000 miles, security patrol vehicle for Signal 88 Security. I was driving it the night it ate the transmission at 2 am. Had pink coming out of the radiator and the overflow tank. We had been having some slipping issues with the tranny and it was slated to go into the shop the next morning. The truck went from starting to slip to the transmission going completely out in about 2000 miles.

But, this truck was involved in a collision with a deer about two months prior and the radiator was replaced as part of the repairs. All the work was done at the Nissan Dealership. We(us and the dealer) think that one of the previous design versions of the radiator was put in the truck during repairs. There seems to be a possibility that the part was already on the shelf at the dealer. Anyway, I have a 2011 Pro-4x and was terrified that my transmission was going to grenade until we checked the part numbers on the radiator that was replaced initially after the deer incident and found it was the old part number. All the work and repairs were covered under warranty, but make sure you have the dealership double check the part numbers on the radiator before install.

Just to be clear... The dealer replaced it with an old part number and the old part number failed at 2k miles? It sounds like the dealer replaced it with an old USED part number that was well on it's way to failing.

 

[hek1620]

We just got our '05 se with 116k and I did the bypass. When doing it the atf that came out was really blood red. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was just replaced. Also I don't think this one had been driven over 2k rpm until we acquired it.
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[redpillar]

2007 trans and radiator shot, 95,000 miles. partial warranty. I pay 3K

 

[weber58]

2007 S 4x4 - 106,000 miles.

Will be replaced under an extended warranty (3rd party). Otherwise, it would have been over $8k.

Apparently, there are no transmissions available in the US right now according to the dealer. They told me that 37 are en route from Japan, and I am on a list to get one but it isn't certain that I will. Could take about 3 weeks...

Got my truck back on Friday after over a month of waiting (initially diagnosed with SMOD on April 9th). Big fiasco with my transmission order...dealer ordered it on April 9th, said it was backordered until mid May, called me on Thursday, May 9th and said my order was mysteriously cancelled and Nissan NA could not explain to them why...

I made a formal complaint with Nissan NA. I actually talked to one of the mythical regional consumer affairs specialists (Leslie-she was very nice and helpful). Got my transmission to my dealer by Wednesday the following week and it was installed by Friday, May 17th. The dealer gave me a 2012 Maxima as a loaner throughout the whole process, which might be my wife's next car after driving it for this long (nice car!)

With the warranty, I paid a total of $105.50 for the radiator/transmission replacement. Thank God my wife talked me into that warranty when I bought the truck!

 

[Pina]

2007 S 77949 miles. New transmission and radiator replaced at no charge thanks to Nissan's extended warranty. The transmission was back ordered for a week it was a pain having to ask for rides.

 

[Polar Bear]

2005 SE 98,000 miles. Extended warranty covered new tranny, radiator, labor, and car rental. Was without the X for a few days. All in all $100 I spent (My deductible).

 

[XterraJames]

2007 S SMOD at around 90,000 Saved (I think) New radiator and I think 3 flushes. I drove it till just over 100,000 and I was afraid it would happen again, or that the damage was already done to the tranny and would show up again worse later.... so I get a new Xterra,... that was my fix :icon_smile:

 

[Ghost]

2007 S SMOD at around 90,000 Saved (I think) New radiator and I think 3 flushes. I drove it till just over 100,000 and I was afraid it would happen again, or that the damage was already done to the tranny and would show up again worse later.... so I get a new Xterra,... that was my fix :icon_smile:

Maybe my radiator was not affected. 2007 s with over130k now. Gonna replace radiator this summer anyways. Any recommended radiators you'll have used? Particular for hot parts of texas?

 

[XterraJames]

I used the radiator that my dealer had (not Nissan OEM), I'm sorry I don't even remember what it was...

 

[GhostX]

2005 S Model Xterra

SMOD two months after I bought it, in December of 2009.

Symptoms - hard shifts, almost like someone was inside the transmission with a sledge hammering to get out. Started out as the infamous "rumble strip" vibrations between 45/60 mph, and progressed to the aforementioned trans slamming.

Took it to the dealership where I bought it and was quoted $6,100 for a new cooling system and transmission, plus 10 days down time.

While I was in the waiting room of the dealership I was also on thenewx.org communicating with Rook...who told me via PM to find an independent mechanic and take it there. I called my trusted mechanic and he told me to limp it there immediately, and also mentioned that a drain and fill should save the trans if completed fully.

He replaced the radiator, all hoses, thermostat, and did two drain and fills. $700 later, all fixed, no rumble strip/slamming.

This was at around 110,000 miles, and the Xterra now has 187,xxx miles and trans is still running strong. Just did another drain and fill at 183,xxx miles of the Matic S fluid and have had much smoother shifting. So, roughly 75,000 miles of hard driving between drain and fills (yeah, I know, I run it til' its black, TWSS) and no problems with my Post-SMOD transmission.

Great thread...great posts...great resource.

 

[Slasa E]

2005 S Xterra
Bypassed 2 years ago ~ 82,000 miles
Tranny flushed then, no signs of SMOD
I thought it was averted.

Took it into the dealer today for unrelated issue. Asked for a quote on the radiator for the heck of it. I thought it would be high and have been gearing up to replace it myself as the radiator has some issues (aside from possible SMOD). Quote was ~$400, I am going out of commission for knee surgery in a few days, and thought screw it - do the radiator.
They drained it and it was SMOD in the radiator and overflow res. WTF?
Pulled the tranny pan to check. Wasn't SMOD per se, but fluid was burnt and a weird orange color. Lots of debris, flakes, clutch material, etc. Due to the SMOD in the radiator it qualifies for the Nissan replacement. 99,400 miles.
Called around to tranny shops for rebuild/ replacement. They all know the deal with these. Quoted minimum $1750 without seeing inside it up to $2850 for rebuild/ replace.
I'm going the Nissan route - new radiator, thermostat, tranny, etc. I'm out $3000. :cussing::banghead:

 

[mudpuppy000]

2005 OR, just bypassed it at ~95K and were no SMOD or issues.

 

[all4you]

2009 with 80k, did bypass mod almost two years ago. All has been great. got the trans flushed last year, no milk!! But this past weekend, drove on the beach for about 30 min, and truck went into limp mode. stopped, and let it cool off for about an hour, drove off beach and parked overnight to let it cool off completely. now my trans is shot..... FML it happened so quick. Ive driven in the sand before with no problems after i had already done the bypass. Always in short spirts ( no more than 30 min) This should be fun to see what the local trans shop quotes me..... so to all those out there with the bypass, beware that if it heats up too much, your bypass is going to make it much worse. And the sad thing is, I knew better. i know how much driving in sand heats up the trans. Its constantly slipping..... i knew i should have put a secondary on there. Well i guess i will now!

 

[Mrcole]

I spend entire weekends at the dunes, 6-8 hours a day out there sometimes and have had zero issues post-bypass with my auto trans. I charge up steep hills and hit the Xterra hard most of the day. I am over 3 years into my bypass.

Are you sure your trans is toast?

 

[all4you]

Well, I got in it the next morning and started it up. Put it in gear, then it just started slipping immediatly, like it was in limp mode but worse, and couldnt get it to go more than 10 feet. Then I just parked it and had a friend with a trailer come and take it to our local shop. I had it go into limp mode once before i got the trans flushed last year ( thats actually why I had it flushed) and the guy said the fluid was fine when he flushed it. Im still confused why it happened myself. I would have thought the origional secondary cooler would have been enough to cool it off, but aparently not. Granted it was pretty soft sand and no more than 30mph.

So you've never had it go into limp mode because of heat?

 

[LACamper]

2008 Xterra SE 2wd. 98K miles, mostly highway, some towing. SE Louisiana (95F summer days are brutal and humidity in the 90%+ range).
No issues so far (knock on wood!). Extended warranty runs out at 100K miles so debating the bypass.

 

[dutch169]

2006 S Model (original owner)
Just under 69,000
SMOD observed on 07-07-13
Dealer covering full price of transmission and radiator.

 

[iamamused]

Updated.