Owners of certain 2013 Nissan Pathfinder SUV’s, equipped with continuously variable transmissions (CVT), will be receiving notices from the automobile manufacturer regarding a problem that could result in the transmission to function improperly. Nissan began their investigation into the issue in September 2012 after a cooler hose separated from the radiator during a routine quality test drive.

In the affected vehicles, the internal oil cooler (ITOC) hose may detach from the cooler due to inadequate clamping force. If the hose detaches, transmission fluid will leak and the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) will illuminate. If the warning is ignored, transmission fluid will continue to leak leading to noise, vibration and eventual transmission failure.

Pathfinders manufactured after October 2012 are not affected by this problem because Nissan implemented several production improvements that helped eliminate the issue. Infiniti JX vehicles are also not affected because they are equipped with different CVT transmissions that operate at lower pressures.

Nissan will be notifying owners with instructions to take their vehicles to their dealership to have an oil hose repair kit installed. Owners wanting more information about the problem can contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261. The NHTSA campaign number is 14V-142.