Hello Maxima forum...my husband and I are new here and have a dilemma! While I was driving the car it felt like the trans was starting to slip. My husband and his friend serviced the trans...flush, new filter, fluid replacement, etc. Well now the trans isn't responding at all! While running we try to put the car into drive and nothing happens! Then when we move the shifter back into park we get this nasty grinding sound! Wasn't doing that before. We have searched for "how to's" and "diagnostics" on YouTube but have not found anything remotely close to providing the information we are looking for. Any suggestions any of you may have would be appreciated.

 

The slippage was caused from low fluid. after a while you will burn the clutches.

Wow that's a biggie. He didn't remove the trans from the engine did he?

 

slipping can be from either low fluid or just the trans took a dump. i would say the trans just took a dump, ive seen some transmissions run low on fluid and they were fine after topping the fluid up. you would have to drive a while with low fluid to burn the clutches

hate to say it but grinding in park and no drive sounds to me like the trans is done. if you throw the shifter into 1st or 2nd manually will the car move?

 

Agree it will take a while to burn clutches.

Regardless. I believe your husband expertise on trans must of done forgot something while refilling.
Like removed a check ball or disconnected a solenoid. Maybe didn't placed torque converter correctly.
Looks like you lost line pressure to say the least.

 

If you were feeling the slip before the trans was serviced, then the servicing probably did not make much difference, it was getting ready to fail anyway.
What part of NC do you live?

 

Thanks everyone for the input. After reading your comments and talking to his buddy, my husband is starting to think his buddy may have "fudged" something and just neglected to mention it! Nice huh!

Before the full service he had topped off the fluid and it ran fine for a day or two then started doing the same thing again...that was when they did the full service. Going out to the garage now to drain and start all over again! Will keep y'all posted on the outcome.

 

unless 5th gens are different than other trans (ive worked on many auto trans but not a 5th gen), i dont see how you can really fudge up dumping the trans pan and doing the filter. not much to screw up

 

First off, what was the color of the trans fluid that was drained? That color will give a few clues to the state of the transmission.

Next, was the transmission pan dropped and the magnets checked? If there was a large amount of metal shavings on those magnets, that also gives more clues.

When you put the transmission into drive, and the car does not move forward, the first thing to check is the fluid level and the smell. Next you have to start getting into diagnostic procedures found in the FSM. The Factory Service Manual is linked in my signature. You'll want AT pdf for Automatic Transaxle.

I've had that same problem, loss of Drive. One quick fix is to use an additive, for example K&W Trans-X Automatic Transmission Slip-Stop & Leak Fix, 15 Ounces.

Nissan says if you experience these symptons, check the Control Valve assembly which is also called the valve body.

 

Well you said it makes nasty noises when putting it into park, which makes me think the CV Axle Broke..Does the speed o meter go up when in Drive?

 

something doesn't add up here. What you describe sounds like an axle not fully engaged but why would anyone touch the axles when performing a drain and refill?

Another thing to note, why does it take two people to do a drain a refill even if you do end up dropping the pan to do the filter? who's holding who's hand?

Unless they did more than just drop pan and refill with new fluid, I would check the fluid level. Engine has to be running when checking the fluid level in the transmission on these cars.

How many miles on the tranny?

 

Did the person use right fluid?

 

Your Hubby and Friend drained tranny, flushed??????????????, replaced filter, serviced with new fluid!
They could have gone wrong on one or both areas during their service. First of all draining the fluid won't hurt anything! But inspecting the oil pan for debris and the amount of metal stuck to the magnets and condition of oil removed from the tranny as well as mileage on the fluid removed! Is very important! The main problem I have a question about is How do you flush your Tranny without the proper equipment? There's a flushing tool that pressurises and flows fluid thru the system! How did your husband perform his flushing procedure???? The other factor that may have cause a problem was the fluid spec he used to service the tranny with!!!!

 

I've seen this several times.. The trans was on its last leg. The "crud" and "sludge" is what was actually holding the tranny together in a sense.. Changing the fluid and getting it all clean removed all of it and now the tranny doesn't know what to do so it doesn't do anything. Lol best way I could think to explain it. Been a mechanic for many years and have seen/heard of this situation several times.

 

This is what I was going to suggest too; and I believe is the reason why mechanics will often suggest that if your fluid is very old due to the maintenance schedule not being followed, it's usually best to leave it in and not change it. Once the tranny starts slipping, it's usually game over.

 

^
Would a kit help like from Transgo?

 

Only when properly tuned...

 

II wouldn't recommend spending any money on that transmission at all. And right The wizard. When it's to late.. It's to late.

 

the auto trans fluid thing is supposedly a myth, i took transmissions in school and they said its an told tale. i still somewhat believe it myself though

ive found the best thing to do is just dump the pain, change the filter, stitch the pan back on, and then top off the fluid again. if the fluid is nasty, dump the pain again in 2 months leaving the filter intact and top it off again. my 3rd gens auto trans was wonking out at around 400,000km, changed the fluid and got another 30,000km out of it.

you can get machines that use pressure to change the fluid, but i would never ever ever ever use them on my own vehicles. all of my stuff with a auto trans i just dump the pan twice and change the filter the first time

 

Here is an explanation:

As clutches etc wear they release the friction material into the fluid. There is friction material floating around with the fluid in a worn transmission. Change the fluid and you have removed the friction material and now it slips.


Most transmission services have a bad reputation for no reason. How many people say "oh i did a fluid change / flush and now it's toast." Well the majority of people don't do fluid intervals like they should. They wait until the transmission starts going out, then try to maintain it. Then the transmission goes out and they blame the fluid change. Well it probably was already on it's way out and that's why they were messing with it.

 

Yup. Worked at a few full service places myself. Seen and heard this many times over. I remember turning people down, due to this reason.

EXACTLY.

No updates?

 

I agree. What caused failure was replacing old fluid

 

Not a myth. Seen this happened on a honda with 155k miles. Transmission had a slight jerk, told the fool to leave it alone. He flushed the trans then after the new fluid the transmission failed completely.

 

I have always heard- DO NOT flush the trans unless you do it routinely

 

I never flush the transmissions in my two Maximas, but what I do is every two years I'll do a straight drain and refill. The 94 Maxima that I bought new and no longer have, I got 14 years out of the car with 110,000 miles and no transmission problems.

 

When I bought my 2002 Maxima SE, automatic with 104,000 miles that time, the tranmission slip.What I did I replace the tranmission fluid with Nissan D Matic , the condition worsen. So I ask my mechanic to drop the transmission pan, there is around 1/4 of sludge around the bottom of the pan, around 1/2 inch thick around the two magnet. My mechanic told me , good thing, that you did not do the transmission flush , or some of the sludge will reach the torque converter and kill your transmission. He clean the solenoid with contact cleaner, let it drain for 30 minutes. Install a new transmission pan, gasket and bolt (with red loctite on the tip.) I used the Amsoil OE ATF (equivalent to Nissan D matic) around 7 quarts. Around two days of driving my transmission run smoothly.
Never do a transmission flush. Even the dealership never recommend this.
Only two things I recommend if the transmission slip on a high mileage car.
1. Leave it alone.
2. Drop the transmission pan and replace it with synthetic ATF