I just went through the same problem and the dealer charged me just shy of 1,500 for the parts and labor. My Xterra was just shy of 30,000 miles when the problem began but it was about 9 months out of Warranty having owned it over the 5 year limit.

I did not call Nissan on this issue I got the address and sent them all the parts removed from my X and a letter to complain that a repair of this magnatude was not expected and should not be incurred considering the milage.

Kim at North American Nissan took my case and verified all the facts with the dealer. I was only asked to send a copy of my registration but I went one further and sent a copy of my title too.

I was told the Check just over 1,000 dollars should be mailed out Monday morning.
I really did not expect them to come through like this. I thought at best they would pay for the parts IF I was lucky. I've had business's toss their name in the garbage for a lot less money then this so this is a very nice change of pace. Nissan did not have to make this right with me and legally I'd not have had any recourse. This shows Nissan will stand by their products within reason. I can honestly say I never expected any problems on my X before 50,000 miles. It's nice to see that while I was wrong not to expect any problems that Nissan is taking care of it anyway.

I should mention that I keep a Maintenance log with all oil changes and service work done with date, and facility included. In addition I keep all recites from all work and service done. This was all sent to Nissan for their review.

Mike