2015 Nissan Frontier radiator failure prevention. 4.0V6, auto trans, 4WD, crew cab with a tow hitch. What do I look for first to detect this transmission damaging problem called SMOD? This pickup has 170,000+ miles. Test drove it and it seems OK on local city roads. This is to be used for local commute and light duty popup trailer towing. I want to be sure I find any problem with this Stawberry Milk Of Death issue and either not buy or maybe install a dependable radiator or an external transmission cooler to prevent it from it being trashed. Of course I know about frame rust, transmission and engine condition. It seems to be running OK at this point.
Strictly from my research, "SMOD" was caused by defective radiators allowing cross contamination between coolant & transmission fluids occurring only in Nissan models produced in the years of 2005 to 2010. Models before and after those years weren't effected. A 2015 Frontier should not have this issue. https://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Frontier/2015 versus https://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/Frontier/2005/
What do I look for first to detect this transmission damaging problem called SMOD?
Read online to see if it's even an issue on your model. It's a pretty rare failure.
