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I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder with 277,000 kilometers in Australia
Recently I started hearing a “whirring” sound when the shift selector is moved from drive or reverse into park. When I first start the car the I don’t hear the sound but when I move the shift selector from park and into drive and back I start hearing the sound. The car seems to drive the same. No issues with shifting while driving forward or in reverse.
I did have a problem when the car was parked on a slight incline and my wife started the car and put the shift selector in REVERSE but the car would not move. I put the car in DRIVE and it moved forward and then everything was normal-except that is when we noticed the “whirring sound like something was slipping but not exactly grinding. Just louder than we remember it being before this incident.
Fluid levels are normal and color is fine. No evidence of burning.
I took the car to a general mechanic and all he could tell me was to confirm that the sound was coming from the automatic transmission and he referred me to a mechanic in a larger city.
What does the problem sound like to you? Simple or expensive fix?
Need a replacement transmission? Quality transmissions are hard to find. Free estimate to your email.The problem is fairly simple to define: it is more than likely the torque converter. Indeed, just “earballing” the problem (you can’t really eyeball a transmission problem so you have to rely on what you hear), tells me that the torque converter is failing. More specifically, the problem more than likely lies with the turbine input blades that take the output of the converter, increase the pressure and then shunt the output throughout the transmission housing.
From the sound of the problem, the torque converter itself is working correctly, but, the turbine is taking longer to spin up and work correctly. It is something you have to expect at the mileage you have on the Pathfinder. And, while I am a fan of the Pathfinder — I enjoyed driving them when I worked at several local dealerships a few years ago — even as tough as it is, parts begin to fail at high mileage.
Since the turbine is likely the key piece of the torque converter that is going, it must be replaced. Here’s the irony of the problem. The turbine and its vanes cost about $600 or about $950 (AUD). for the basic parts. The need to completely empty the housing and then tear down the case and pull out the transmission so you can replace the turbine will cost you another $1,400 (USD) or about $1,800 (AUD).
Here’s an idea to consider: think about replacing the transmission with a rebuilt unit. The reason I suggest this, frankly, is that if you are planning to keep the Pathfinder for a longer time, which I suspect is your aim, then it makes sense to replace the entire unit at once, instead of doing piecemeal repairs that, in the long run, will cost much more money.
As I noted, it will cost about $2,750 (AUD) to replace the turbine and its parts. If, the front part of the converter fails as it may you are looking at roughly the same replacement cost. Just those parts alone are more than $5,500 (AUD). When you add in all of the other costs, piece-by-piece replacement of the transmission will soon outpace the cost of the rebuilt transmission. The fact is that you may end up spending five, six or as much as 10 times the cost of the rebuilt transmission. If, on the other hand, you choose the rebuilt, you are actually saving money.
Please keep me in the loop on this as I am interested to see what happens.
Fair Replacement Transmission Cost by Vehicle
- Use the Year / Make / Model lookup tool to determine what transmission your vehicle has. [transtar]
- Find your transmission model in the table below for fair prices from reputable suppliers. Also fair labor cost for local installation at a local auto repair shop.
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Fair Remanufactured Transmission Price Ranges by Transmission Model Updated May 1, 2018
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