My Trainy Went... Anyone Else?

I lost 1st gear in my Xterra on Monday. Went to Nissan, they said they have never heard of that in an Xterra before. Has anyone else? They said it wasn't neglect or abuse (which I could've told them)just wear. Now I'm looking at $3500.00. My baby only has 63k miles and is 6 mons over the warranty. I'm open to suggestions, or advise. You may also email me privately, just please put Xterra in the subject.

Thanx!

If you don't have to do a lot of rush hr creeping, or off road driving, you could just use second instead.





That sucks.

Is this an auto or 5 spd?

5 speed. No rush hr creeping just many local miles. I'm sooooo depressed.

What exactly is it doing....or not doing? Did a reputable shop tell you that it's gone? Dpending on the problem it may not be as bad as you made it sound.

Do they want to fix the tranny or replace it for that price?

Check with a real transmission shop. They only work with transmissions. How often does a dealer ever get to work on transmissions? The proof is that they even told you that they never saw that before.

As an example, on my Civic I needed to have a lot of the bearings replaced in the transmission, the Honda dealer wanted 10 hours of labor at 75$C/hour plus parts, but they could not tell me which which bearing until they open it. So 750$.

At a transmission shop, they charged me 500$ for labor and 250$ for the bearings. Before openning the tranny, the transmission was able to tell me which bearing was gone from the symptoms and experience. Once openned up, he was right. So the cost of labor at the dealer paid for the complete job at a specialty shop.

Anything major like this, I stay away from the dealers unless it`s on warranty. I prefer to leave it to specialists. If you need brain surgery you don`t see your family doctor, you see a specialist. I am not saying the dealers are no good, well some are, but it is more that when it comes to complex problems like this, they don`t work on them on a daily basis so they don't have the experience and expertise.

Hope you can get it fixed for cheaper than that.

My 2 cents,
56kz2slow

I agree with 56k. Find a reputable transmission specialty shop and get another opinion. Dealers usually don't have a transmission rebuilder on staff, so they're more likely to just replace the tranny with a new one, or a quality rebuilt one (at least you hope, for $3500).

Note that I said "reputable", so avoid Aamco. Start asking around, find a couple of gearheads to steer you to a good place.

I would call Nissan USA and talk to them about a good will fix on their part. Its only 3k over the miles. A squeeky wheel gets the grease, if you know what I mean.

You could always go with a junkyard tranny to save some money.
Sorry to hear about the tranny issues. That flat out sucks!!
Definitely keep us posted about what happens.

Try this site, they have 5-speeds for a 2000 4x4 from $1,500 to $500 and they are not that difficult to put in.

http://www.car-part.com

Tom

Thanks for all your input and advise. My local Nissan dealer did put in a "Good Will" claim. We are still awaiting the answer. My luck right now so totally sucks it's not funny. (Going thru a divorce, the estranged is being a jerk... to put it nicely)and now this. To try to answer everyone... I did call several mechanics, after Nissan the next cheapest was $4300.00. Nissan looked for an old or rebuild and couldn't find one. The $4300.00 was with a new trainy. Prices ranged from $4300.00 to $5500. Outrageous right??!!

Basically what's happening when I put my baby in 1st it's like it's in neutral, it just revs. The teeth are gone. So far it's taking off fine in 2nd. Nissan said most likely the clutch will go before another gear goes and there's no idea when that may happen. So... I'm not traveling around much and being very cautious cause I don't have another vehicle. Not one problem with my car in 5.5 years and in the last 2 months I went thru the following: replaced rear brake light, replaced headlight, replaced battery, replaced 2 tires and now this. My first instinct (and don't take this the wrong way guys) was sabotage from my estranged. But I know that can't be possible. It's just all to wierd. To add to the suck factor is the car is only 3K and 6 months over the 5 year/60,000 warranty.

I will definitly keep you all posted. Hoping to have an answer ont he "Good Will" claim this afternoon. Thanks again. It is truly appreciated.

Xteragrl

Dave D-

Where in Dutchess are you? That's where I live. I'm in Wappingers Falls? Poughkeepsie Nissan is helping me out.

Xteragrl

If you're just having problems with one gear, can the existing tranny not be fixed with a rebuild kit? Have any of the shops you've talked to considered that?

Xteragrl - I know it's out of the way, but a neighbor just had the tranny redone in a '00 Frontier at Potsdam Nissan (can't remember actual name of dealer) for $1200. They looked around and got a junkyard tranny in good shape (actually still under warranty) shipped from Buffalo and put that one in. Might be worth looking into junkyards in the area to see if anyone has a newer Frontier or Xterra tranny in good shape. I've picked up a trans for a Saab and Nissan for around $500 each in the Syracuse area. Not many people seem to use older transmissions up there (and some cars just rust out before the trans blows anyway), so you might have some luck. I'll see if I can find some info for you. Best of luck

RockSkier- Thanx for your input. I've looked for a rebuilt or one in a junk yard and had no luck. The Good Will claim got rejected from Nissan USA. They are only willing to give me a rental for as long as the work is going on. I'm dropping my baby off on Thursday and I'm going away for the weekend so they'll have it the whole time to work on it. Thanx for the offer to look around anyway. It is totally appreciated.

SilverXglider - 1st gear is gone and Nissan did look into a clutch adjustment or any type of repair. They said the stick is too loose in 1st. Almost as if it's in nuetral. They said it sounds like the teeth are gone. And they were baffled. They said they had never heard of this happening on an Xterra before. Obviously, that didn't make me feel any better. They also looked for a rebuild and couldn't find one (again, just my luck). They did say that they didn't feel it was abuse or neglect on my end, just "normal" wear... Define "normal" wear. I do local traveling w/ my baby; went off roading only once with it about 3 years ago (disappointing, I know) and have only made 1 long trip w/ it (to Cape Cod)-where I went off roading. What could've happened to it, I have no idea.

Again, I am greatful for everyone's input, and I will keep you all posted.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to get my tranny looked at (exact same conditions as yours). Maybe we should compare VINs and see if ours weren't made on the same day or something. :rolleyes:

Superjens-
How old is your baby and how many miles? Maybe the dealers can talk so they know there are others...or maybe we should advise Nissan USA about a potential problem. Have you lost any gears? I noticed we have the same color...jinx??

My baby is going in tomorrow. Had to move it up one day. 2nd is getting jumpy. Got a rental out of them until it's fixed though. That was nice. Good luck and let me know what happens.

Xtragrl: Just from looking around online for a new MT for you:

2000 Transmission Nissan Frontier 5SPD,XE,4X4,V6,2-00 14K EB0027
$1500 Cosner Brothers - PRP, PRP-MA USA-VA(Troy) E-mail 1-800-248-6161

2001 Transmission Nissan Xterra
5-01,3.3,F-5,4X4 18668
$1500 All Foreign Auto Parts, Inc. - PRP, PRP-MA USA-VA(Fredericksburg) E-mail 1-800-533-4091

2002 Transmission Nissan Xterra XE
3-02,3.3,F-5,4X4 19151
$1500 All Foreign Auto Parts, Inc. - PRP, PRP-MA USA-VA(Fredericksburg) E-mail 1-800-533-4091

2002 Transmission Nissan Frontier
9-01,AWD,3.3,MT.,FL, XE 5K 020963
$1500 SToytown Auto Wreckers USA-PA(Stoytown) E-mail 1-800-358-8770

2004 Transmission Nissan Xterra
V6,5SP,4X4,11-04,11K 11K K0650
$1260.84 M and M Auto Parts, Inc. - PRP, PRP-MA USA-VA(Stafford) E-mail 1-800-586-5492 1-540-659-
2023

2000 Transmission Nissan Xterra
M.T., 6 Cyl, 4X4-(IPP) 999K G50009
$1250.1 LKQ - Gorham Auto Parts USA-ME(Gorham) E-mail 1-800-439-3080

2002 Transmission Nissan Xterra
-5SP,3.3,7-01 B01058
$1250.1 LKQ - Broadway Auto Parts USA-NY(Stuyvesant) E-mail 1-800-626-6708

2001 Transmission Nissan Truck
-64K MT 6 CYL EXC SC 4X4 64K K0661
$1200.34 Bruce Auto Parts - PRP, PRP-MA USA-VA(Mechanicsville) Request_Quote 1-800-552-3728 Request_Insurance_Quote

All these came from doing a search on www.car-parts.com for a 2000 Nissan Xterra 4x4 Manual Transmission in the Northeast. Hope that helps...

2001 Silver XE 4x4, 120,000 KMs (75,000 miles).

I dropped it off at a transmission shop today, got a funky Toyota minivan as a rental. The guy seems cool, understands my plight but doesn't understand how a relatively young Nissan transmission could die so early. He offered to call me when they crack it open so I can come down and take pics of the broken parts to give you all a full inspection report.

He's hoping it's just 1st that's knocked up and thinks so far that they should be able to rebuild it. Speculation blah blah blah, I'll know more tomorrow and hopefully I'll have some greasy pics to post.

Hey Xteragrl, any updates?

Hi, new forum member here. Any price info on the first gear problem? I just got my truck back from the dealer on friday (bearing pack and brakes) and noticed that first gear shifter was shaking with acceleration. Shakes so bad that it will occasionally pop out of gear. I will have to bring it back to them tomorrow. Like others, all other gears are fine. Could the dealer have caused this. I was hoping it was just a shifter linkage thing. I have 90,000 on my truck.

Superjens-

I was away for the weekend. Just got back in town late last night. Pick up my baby tomorrow. All fixed. Brand new trainy and clutch both with either a 1 or 2 year warranty. I'll let you know how she rides.

Rockskier- WOW!! When you do your homework, you really do your homework! Thanx for all the info, unfortunately I had to go w/ Nissan and the new parts. I started having problems w/2nd gear and didn't want to take a chance and really have another major headache. Next time I have any problems, I'll know who to turn to.

I went to nissan dealer yesterday. They couldn't give me a real estimate they'd never seen this problem before. They figured 10-12 hours work, plus parts. They were reluctant to estimate parts, $166 for first gear alone. But wouldn't they need to put in a synchronizer as well? The service manager didn't inspire me with confidence, sounded like they had rarely worked on a transmission. I think I will try a local transmission shop or I will buy a salvage tyranny and put it in myself. Xteragrl, what was the total if you don't mind my asking?

Along the same vein, the syncros on my 2000 4 x 2, 5 speed manual have failed at 82,000 miles. Dealer estimate for repair including clutch is approx $1500. Again, this has never happened before to an XTerra, per Nissan. Anyone hear of a similar problem?

Thought I would update everyone. I brought it to a transmission shop and found out that the problem is isolated to first gear. I showed the mechanic pics from supergens thread, he called and said mine were almost identical. Estimate is 11-1200 plus I'm having them put a new clutch in for 300 more.

I'm going to bring the parts into the nissan dealership and complain. I'm also going to bring a printout of these synchro threads. Maybe if enough people complain they will issue a recall or a service notice. But i doubt it.

Holy S$%T, I just lost 1st gear in my X 2 weeks ago too.... I went to the dealer the next day, and after a "diagnostic" for 85 dollars mind u, they proceeded to tell me that they have never seem anything like this and how they cant explain it, intially i was hoping it was a clutch problem....unfourtunately not the case...anyway ive been driving "normally" since starting off in second gear, seeing how im not going to fork over 3000+ dollars for a transmission job.....U think we might have a defect in Nissan trans here? nobody ive tallked to has ever seen anything like it...

Would be hard to tell, the tranny is more than likely made at another plant and just assembled into the Xterra - like the engine. But then again you knew that already, right?

Grrr, I think we may need to roll up some of these tranny threads 'ala the fuel sending unit thread

I knew a guy once that blew a tranny in his pickup, he went to the dealer bought a new one and they didn't even test the old truck. gave him full trade in on it.

Look, who your friends blow and where they blow them is none of our business.

Hey superjens, did you quit PNWX?

wow, i never would have picked up on that...

whoops.. guess i deserve that.

I just paid $1300 to replace my clutch and that's including the flywheel...I say they're charging you too much..

Well, since this thread is being revisited...

Yep, replaced many a first gear in the Xterra transmissions. Fronty's too.

No rhyme or reason, just goes. Curious thing though, haven't done one yet in an off-roader's vehicle. They've all, and I mean all have been in regular mall crawler vehicles. Don't know the significance of that, but it's an interesting fact.

Keep in mind for prices this little factoid.

Dealerships don't all charge the same hourly rate as others. We are now at $110 per hour, but others in small towns only charge something like $60 per hour, or whatever their market will bear. Get it?

So what seems outrageous for some, is actually good for others. Need to remember that when saying "That's unreal!" to someone in a big city, from a small town.

Add me to the list too. 2000 Frontier CC, 4x4. 92k miles. Started popping out of first gear last week. I'm not happy about this at all.

-gary

After reading over this thread I take it that everyone with the 1st gear problem owned a 2000 X? Mainly silver in color. Good thing I own a yellow 2002

What years?

Here are a couple of question for the people with '00 tranny problems (I'm gonna cross post this to the two XOC threads I've found on the subject):

How diligent were you about changing your tranny fluid? Did you change it at the recommended 30k and 60k? I know I changed mine at about 35k, but haven't gotten around to the 60k change (and I'm at 92k now). Did I (we) do this to ourselves?

Also, how many of you regularly downshifted into first gear while your truck was still moving? I did that infrequently the first year or two that I owned the truck, but then I was told it was a bad idea, so I have all but stopped doing it. Was the damage to the tranny done early on by this?

Thoughts?

-gary

I was insanely anal about changing the fluid, did it at 30,000 KMs (18,000 miles), again at 60000, and again at 100,000. Mine kicked the bucket at around 120000. On teardown, the fluid came out clean as the day it went in, minus the big chunks of gear teeth of course :-) I've been driving manual transmissions for 20 years and I've never had a problem. My Xterra transmission was a lemon, plain and simple.

That's good to know. At least it helps me feel like I didn't do this to myself (at least not totally).

My 91 Hardbody did the same thing. 2.4 four cyl. had 165K on it when 1st went out the same way, which caused me to get my X with the auto this time. I did at first shift into 1st on the fly till informed it was bad to do that.

Just got over the same tranny problem (first gear "neutralness") and had to have it replaced.
I may have burned it up a bit getting to the garage. :rolleyes:
80,0000 miles, automatic.
I went with the salvage yard - got one with 8900 miles on it and a "lifetime" warranty.
'course I was 1 year and 20,000 miles past warranty.
~2K $US

Maybe it is only a 2000 problem?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7979141922&category=33733

Doubtful. Replaced the auto transmission in our '02 in January 2004, with only 30K miles on it. It was a sporadic problem. It would start off fine, but invariably wouldn't shift into 2nd gear. If I pulled over, shut it off for a few minutes and restarted it, it was fine. But, after having it happen a few times, I took it in to the dealer and they gave me the report of, "You need a new transmission." Thankfully it was covered under warranty.

I am having the same problem w/ my 2000 XE V6 4X4. First gear has also left me. Happened at 118,000 miles. I believe what happened to mine is that the throughout bearings and syncros went bad, grinded a gear tooth of 1st which tore the other teeth off. Local place quoted $950 for the clutch+labor and then another $1300-$1800 for the tranny depending on if I go with a used one or not.

How'd it turn out for you?

I just lost 1st gear at 83k miles(2000 4x4)- exact same description as others in this thread. Of course, local Nissan dealer has "never seen" this before. Has there been any progress with Nissan recognizing this as a problem?

I just bought a 2000 X 2 days ago from a dealer. It pops out of 3rd. Its going in on Monday to be fixed under warranty (Whew!). 87k miles.

Exteragirl, Im in Hopewell, and Poughkeepsie Nissan is where I bought my 04. Nothing but good to say about their service dept.

dave it's been a year, idon't think she's paying attention.

Well add me to the list, 2000 Nissan Xterra V6 SE 4x4 with 106,000 miles on it, first gear kissed me goodbye this morning. How difficult is it to install a tranny on this baby, i've pulled a motor from my S2000 and tranny also, i'm guessing the xterra should be alittle easier.

Should be much easier than on an S.

Hey - are you on S2KCA or S2KI?

I'm actually on both websites, I frequent S2ki more than S2kca though.

Is there anybody on this board that has some step by step pictures on how the process is done?

Cool. I'm not very active over there anymore - but I'm on both as Kaiser.

A friend of mine did a writeup on converting an auto to a manual in an older Pathfinder (same engine/tranny) HERE . That might be useful.