Nissan defect petition DP12004
Transmission Failures. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the control module (tcm/pcm/tecm) on 18 model years (2005–2010). Opened Jun 11, 2012, closed Oct 22, 2016 after 4.4 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn February 29, 2012 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received a letter petitioning the agency to conduct a defect investigation into MY 2005-2010 Nissan Pathfinder, Frontier, and Xterra vehicles [the subject vehicles] for automatic transmission failures related to failed transmission coolers. NHTSA conducted a comprehensive review of data related to this subject. Our report, documenting this review, is available in the document file for this defect petition. It will also be published in the Federal Register. Of the 2,505 referenced complaints, 638 relate to a potential hazard (unable to maintain speed, no motive power, engine stall) and 1,867 concern customer satisfaction issues including, but not limited to, repair cost, vehicle shudder and shake, and engine overheating. Taking into account the allocation of agency resources and priorities and the likelihood that additional investigation would result in a finding that an unreasonable risk to highway safety exists, we conclude that further investigation is not warranted and deny the petition. ODI Complaint ID numbers are referenced on the next page.
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2005 Nissan Frontier; 2006 Nissan Frontier; 2007 Nissan Frontier; 2008 Nissan Frontier; 2009 Nissan Frontier; 2010 Nissan Frontier; 2005 Nissan Pathfinder; 2006 Nissan Pathfinder; 2007 Nissan Pathfinder; 2008 Nissan Pathfinder; 2009 Nissan Pathfinder; 2010 Nissan Pathfinder; 2005 Nissan Xterra; 2006 Nissan Xterra; 2007 Nissan Xterra; 2008 Nissan Xterra; 2009 Nissan Xterra; 2010 Nissan Xterra.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP12004 a recall?
No. A defect petition is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is DP12004 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 22, 2016 without a recall.
Which vehicles does DP12004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 18 model years: 2005 Nissan Frontier, 2006 Nissan Frontier, 2007 Nissan Frontier, 2008 Nissan Frontier, 2009 Nissan Frontier, 2010 Nissan Frontier and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.