Nissan recommends to check then CVT deterioration date and replace the fluid when it reaches 210,000(not miles/km. it's a calculated value based on many different things).
We at the dealer I work for recommend 60k, then every 30k.
2012 2.5 with 50,000 miles plus 2 full track days at Barber Motorsports Park. We have changed the fluid both times and it has never given any issues. Honestly I have had more issues with my power steering than the CVT, but I am not a fan of it. It'll have to do for now.
I have a 2010 Altima 2.5s sedan, just hit 90k miles this past weekend and I've never had any issues at all. From what I've heard, under normal use conditions you should hold off on changing the CVT fluid before 100k miles if everything is running well. Past that point you should start having it checked out at the dealer.
I have a 2010 Altima 2.5s sedan, just hit 90k miles this past weekend and I've never had any issues at all. From what I've heard, under normal use conditions you should hold off on changing the CVT fluid before 100k miles if everything is running well. Past that point you should start having it checked out at the dealer.
Changing the fluid TOO soon will not hurt anything...except for maybe your wallet. Keep in mind, those figures are only "recommended" targets. And the term "normal driving conditions" is relative.
Changing it as many times as we have on our 2012 (emcgehee13 is my wife) is only for a preventative maintenance since "normal" driving conditions do not apply for us.
08 2.5S with 63k miles. No problems with CVT so far. Had it drained and filled at 61k miles. The CVT fluid is green and when i did a drain and fill, the fluid that was in the car was red. So now, there is a mix of red and green. I dont know why it was red before.
Last Friday the wife and I were headed from So Cal to Vegas to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary. 39,500 miles on the Alti.
We were driving the 15 freeway from So Cal to Vegas.
Coming out of So Cal there's a mountain pass called the CAJON PASS.
Its fairly steep and about 10 miles long.
It was a hot day, 104 and the A/C was on.
I noticed when I accelerated to pass some cars I could hear a whining noise, only when I was accelerating.
Had the cruise on.....halfway up the pass all of a sudden the cruise shuts itself off and I'm losing speed.
I give it gas and....nothing......the RPM's won't go over 2,500 so I limp up the pass in the right lane at 40MPH.
Next town after the top of the pass is VICTORVILLE and I know there's a Nissan dealer there.
Service writer says they will check it out and call me. He says they stock those CVT's (what does that tell you?)
So we rent a car and go on to Vegas.
He calls the same day and says they checked out the tranny....no codes.....fluid is a little dark but does NOT smell burnt, and no metal places or any signs of metal in the pan (good signs).
So he says NISSAN tells them to install a tranny cooler at no charge.
I tell him I'm concerned the life of the tranny may be shortened or the belt weakened from the over heating.
He says the tranny actually didn't overheat, he says if it did it would have stopped completely.
He says these CVT's have like a "safe mode" that the tranny will go into if the fluid or tranny starts to run hot. He said that's why I couldn't get it to run faster than 2,500RPM's.
So this "safe mode" prevents the tranny from self destructing.
Makes sense I guess.
Anyway he suggested I change the fluid just in case but they wanted 268.00 for a COMPLETE 12qt fluid exchange!!! He said if you just do a drain and fill you only get out 5 or 6 qts.
I decided to hold off for now (lost my job April 1st) but will change the fluid soon since it did get hot.
Anyway I hope this tranny cooler does the trick and the tranny lasts......I might sell the Alti just before the 60,000 drivetrain warranty is up, I don't think these CVT's are durable enough to last much past 75,000 miles.
My advice.......have a tranny cooler installed to extend the life of your CVT if you plan on keeping it for a long time, or past the warranty.
The regular price of this tranny cooler was $183.00.....less than a fluid exchange!
I paid nothing cuz it was within warranty.
We picked up the Alti on our way back from Vegas and drove home.
There are a couple threads about this happening in the southern states. A TSB has been created and the solve seems to be a tranny cooler as your dealer has suggested. Good for them for taking care of it the way they did. The last member, the dealer wouldn't touch it without feeling the "limp mode" for themselves.
Since I was last questioned about how I handled that particular issue involving the tsb, two of them have came in the shop. It has been expanded to the rogue also. The 13 pathfinder has a voluntary recall on a cvt cooler install.
As to the regard of cvt durability/reliability, I would feel more comfortable buying a higher milage cvt vehicle than I would a higher milage auto trans vehicle. Most all cvt failures that occur( that I see) are covered under warranty. If it is truly a defective product, it will fail before 120k miles. If it fails after that(or after about 90k for that matter), it's probably abuse or lack of maintenance. I've seen many cvts about 150k. I once owned an 07 Altima with 165k. No issues and "shifted" perfectly. I've seen early production muranos with over 200k.
I was told once in training by one of the Nissan transmission specialist that the cvt failure rate is only 3%. I was skeptical at first but our supplier recently charged back Nissan a significant amount of money for warrantied transmissions with nothing wrong with them. It's so much easier to replace the trans than to diagnose it and that's what everyone was doing. Now every replaced unit must be pre-approved by a call center.
Dunno. Haven't heard. There are a few people on here that I was working with that I haven't heard back from and am curious about. One in particular is a water leak that I have all the information he could ever need but his dealer refused to cooperate and would not listen to any suggestion I've made. I did get Nissan quality control involved with it for him tho so I'm sure it was resolved.
What's the common 1,200RPM shudder? I have noticed that the CVT needs about 10-15 minutes of drive time to operate smoothly. Or when the weather is cool or when the car has sat for more than a day or two.
The majority of dealerships will recommend checking the CVT fluid via the consult at 60k miles to determine if changing the CVT is necessary or not. The CVT really shouldn't require changing before 60k miles, however, I suppose it cannot hurt the CVT to change it at 45k/50k. ::grin::
I plan on doing a computer scan to check the value at 30k, then flush it at the dealer at 50-60k...that way if the CVT goes it is hard to deny a replacement. The 'shudder' I have been told is normal, and it is a torque clutch converter synchronizing. If I accelerate normally it seems to 'stay locked', but when I gas it it goes 'rubber band' again.
How do I tell if my CVT has already been replaced? There are yellow markings on the top of the dipstick, but that could have been from someone checking the fluid. It drives like new.
Just hit 50k . Got back few hours from a 2 week trip from MS to CA and back. 1900 miles each way . Car drove great no issues. I think 60k CVT check is coming right ?
Just didn't trust the CVT to be durable in the long run and after having issues with only 40,000 miles I'm probably right.
I've heard the 3.5 larger CVT's are more durable and trouble free than the smaller 2.5's.
if I ever buy a Altima again it will be the 3.5.
I traded in my Altima for a 2008 Pontiac G6 GT 3.5 V-6 Red Convertible.
Has only 11,000 miles on it!! Car looks brand new and runs great, plenty of pep with the 220Hp V6
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