My 95 Nissan Pathfinder just shut off while drive, and I managed to get it over to the side of the road, to have it towed. The battery was fine, the alternator sounded like it was turning over and connecting. I thought it sounded like the starter, but the mechanic just got back to me and said I had no transmission fluid and it destroyed my transmission. It doesn't really sound right to me, but I wanted to get a better opinion. Thanks guys, not really sure what to do, as my truck is ready to be scrapped, but I'm not really in a position to get a new one...

sounds like the mechanic is right .. the starter is not going to cause your engine to die while running
what happened exactly.. just driving along and the engine shut off, or did you lose all power while driving

Yeah the engine just shut off while driving. I don't think it lost complete power. I honestly can't remember perfectly, as it happened so fast. And I was in the fast lane, and had to get over, past traffic.

does it try to turn over at all?

whether the engine starts and/or runs should have absolutely nothing to do with the status of your transmission...

That's what I was thinking. It wasn't turning over and having the engine come on. But it turned over enough to check the alternator and battery off the list.

A pathfinder isnt a truck.

I can't believe nobody's asked this..

Any CEL on?

When you say shut off, does that mean a full power loss? Mechanical and electric?


If it dies when running, you can narrow down what the culprit is easily.. You need fuel, air and a spark to get combustion... Use your imagination from there.

This post was edited by ozzyarmy3 on Jul 4 2015 06:25am

its at the mechanic why cant he figure it out?

this too!

Driving along then suddenly quit running does not sound like transmission to me. Could be a simple distributor cap cracked and now the engine isn't getting spark. I had a Nissan hardbody pick up (4 cyl) which did this exact same thing.

Did you have it towed to the mechanic? Know anybody with a truck? Tow is back to your house yourself and check it out.