fcoral 05

Hello all my issues is that i was at the dealer last week for tranny issues like shift shock when cold and improper shift timing. The tech felt the sift shock and i also tell them that there's bulletins on this. They tell me that my tranny fluid is dark which it really is and they recommend a flush at $249. Now my car is an 05 with 24k on it. what i want to know is" do i have to pay for the flush even though nissan says to flush at 30k" and should it not be done as part of solving the problem and paid for under warranty or are they trying to scam me. They say it's maintance and i'm responsible for the cost. Are they correct or not. Sorry for the long post but i taught i will give a little history. Thanks a lot people. I really need to know.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

I would say you are responsible for the tranny flush but I personaly would not do it untill the problem is solved. IMO there is a reason why your tranny fluid is dark at 24K miles hinting a problem of sort with the tranny. Chances are you change the fluid before hand and the tranny might be smoother for a little while and then fail alltogether (right after your warranty is out). Let them fix it and then do the flush.

fcoral 05

Thank you xoomer that is what i was thinking to myself, i'm also trying to find recommedations for a new dealer that will look at my issue or should i call nissan and try to get it resolve because it's the third time that i took my car for that tranny problem. So i'm open to all suggetsions and possible options so thanks in advance to all who will offer suggestions and possible solutions.

Lovemycar

I didn't know there was a fix shift shock when cold i thought that was normal because it goes away after it heats up

fcoral 05

there's a bulletin for cold shift shocks it mostly applies to 04's but my car was built in sept 04 as an 05 so i think i may still have one of those 04 trannies that's affected by this. [B]That's why i'm also asking if anyone can suggest a dealer in the new york city area that they had a good experience with or even one on long island it would help a whole lot because the one i go to don't seem to get it.Thanks in advance.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Where are you reading/hearing that a flush is to be performed at 30k? I read the service manual in our books, and it tells the increments to change certain fluids, and at other increments to flush those fluids. Our ATF is not required for change until the 100k mile marker. That doesn't mean that you absolutely can't change it, but it would be a waste to do it sooooo early, as is your case.

I keep an eye on my tranny fluid. I am not merely going to flush because the dealership recommends it. For crying out loud, our service manual and techies don't even suggest it early on.

SickSE

Just let the engine warm up and shift smooth. IMO not really worth worrying about. I am at 70k and have had cold engine shift shock since day one. No problems since.

fcoral 05

it's not just cold shift shock it's also improper shift timing and even if you run the car or drive for hours on end once you hit traffic it begins to act up like high rpms shift,improper timing it sometimes feels like a manual car and you are stretching the gear all the way before it shifts, sometimes it bangs also, that's why i wanted someone to drive the car home over night and they will feel exactly what i'm talking about but they did not want to take the car home so i had to leave it overnight and go early next morning so the tech could feel the shiftshock. That's why i'm looking for a different dealer. Once the car is driven for atleast 30mins and more and you enter into stop and go traffic like comming off the expressway and onto to local streets you feel what i'm talking about.

jrpaytonAlpha06

I had some of the same problems and had them replace the tranny. They actually changed the fluids for me, under warranty w/o any costs to me, and some of the problems went away and some stayed. However, the dealership that changed my fluid at 45k, did not feel I had a tranny problem, so I took it to another dealership, drove the tech around so he could see for himself. This dealership decided to replace it. I'm in the MD area, sorry I can't help about NY, but keep trying diff. dealerships and drive the tech around in the car. Make sure YOU drive the tech and they just don't drive your car.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Nowhere does it say you must do the tranny flush at the stealership, purchase the Genuine Nissan AT fluid like it calls for in the owners manual and let a transmission specialist do a proper change, this includes dropping the pan, replacing the gasket, cleaning the screen and inspecting for metal particles in the pan. You should always leave a small amount of your old AT fluid and should only have to add about 4 qts. Stay away from power flushes also!!!

Last, keep the receipts, this proves you conducted the proper maintenance within the allotted maintenance interval (30K first flush or less) and you have proof you used Genuine Nissan AT fluid as stated by the warning in the owners manual. IF the tranny fails, Nissan must acknowledge the problem is with the tranny since you have proof you had the maintenance done by a qualified technician, using the correct fluid and guaranteed at 1/2 the stealership price...

fcoral 05

well i guess i'll try another dealership and see if i can have some success with this problem because sometimes when it acts up and bangs i feel like the tranny will fall out the car or just totally break apart. i once had a final drive part of a tranny on a caddy i owned broke apart and punched a hole in the engine block so i guess my dealer wants something that big to happen before they take any action. I am thinking about calling up nissan north america and see if i can get them to help me, do you guys think that's a good idea or not.

jrpaytonAlpha06

Yeah definitely call Nissan and let the dealership know you called too. I've received survey's after each major service (motor mount & tranny) and the service managers were concerned that I gave a good report. However, when calling Nissan, they may tell you it's up to each dealership and what they will or will not service. Just keep calling Nissan and ask for a manager if you have to. Remember, this is/should be covered under your warranty. It's a part of the price you paid for the car, so technically Nissan owes you this service.

Also, ask them to check if all of your motor mounts are good. That may be a problem too.

Fastmax05

iTrader: (17)

so do we need a tranny fluid change at 30k ? or not?

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Nowhere does it say it in our service manual. I called both Nissan dealerships here (Crown Nissan of Grenville and Benson Nissan of Spartanburg), and both said that to flush before the 100k mark is wasteful and useless. I guess their theory is that it is some type of synthetic blend.

I still chose to keep an eye on my tranny fluid.

Fastmax05

iTrader: (17)

i have 42k on my ride and it shifts fien etc... the fluid is dirty... is it supposed to be red?

STARR

iTrader: (1)

most dealers recommend a 30k change, (drain and refill) I drive pretty hard and would not want to leave the original fluid until 90 or 100k, but if your more relaxed behind the wheel then it can probably wait

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Correct me if I'm wrong but in the Service & Maintenance guide it recommends a first Tranny flush at 30K miles or 24 months...

jrpaytonAlpha06

The only service Nissan didn't recommend to me before 100k was a tune up but recommended my tranny flushed before then. I'll check with another dealership here and let you guys know. I hope this isn't dealer specific and they're giving people the wrong info. Even if I didn't have tranny problems, I would have gotten my transmission flushed around 45k anyway.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

I'd say change it at around 40-50k and then 150k if at all.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Mine does not show that Chern, that's why I called the dealership. I do, however keep a close watch on my fluid and its color none the less. I probably wont wait until 100k as I run my baby hard occasionally.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I didn't find it either in the owners manual, actually my car came with 3 manuals, Owners, DVD Nav, and a Service and Maintenance guide...

fcoral 05

I called up nissan yesterday (friday) and told them that the dealer wants to charge me $250 for a tranny flush and explained them the problems i'm having and they said" go back to the dealer and tell them that the flush is covered by warranty since i'm still well in my powertrain warranty and i'm not suppose to pay for it and if they refuse then call nissan back and they will escalate it from there". So monday morning bright and early i'm going back and i also have to go back for a rough idle that they said they fixed but it's still doing the same thing. So i'll keep you guys posted as to what the outcome is.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

The way I understand that is that the CVT fluid is the one to be changed. I specifically asked the dealerships about this and they told me about the whole 'synthetic type blend'. I hope I haven't blown this royally.......

I'll check the fluid today. I go by color....

STARR

iTrader: (1)

BMW with the so called lifetime fluid suffer from trans failure at about 125k (not all but enough and no one ever wants to be the 1) and then BMW solution is a new transmission, but their other solution is to the owners is to change the fluid every 30-60k depending on driving style and occasionally checking the color.

It's complicated but the old school way of thinking is clean fluid is a guarantee nothing will go wrong and it's cheaper to change fluid then replace something.

Honda also recommends a trans change at 15k, then 30k and then after that you can go 60k.

Manufactures recommend to the owners but they also advise to inspect often because of all the variables that come into play, they are also competing against each other to sell cars and advertise who has the most maintenance free car.

Going back to BMW, go to any BMW board and their are owners who change their oil at 5-7k cause they would rather not wait a year and 15k before they get the oil changed, oil/fluid is the life of a car

I think I said enough

fcoral 05

well i went back to the dealer on monday and explained to them and they are still saying that the flush is a maintainence thing and i'm responsible for it even if i'm not at the recemmonded interval and even after they verify the problem and recommend it as the first step to correcting the problem. I 'm at the crossroads of wondering if i should call nissan back which they "nissan" told me to or just go to another dealer,or do both. What would you guys do in a situation like this. I'm leaning heavily towards going to another dealer.

redls1

iTrader: (2)

Id call and escalate the situation and have nissan do the flush for free.

fcoral 05

just had the service engine soon lite came on about 30mins ago on my way home so i'm off to the dealer or auto zone first so i can get the codes pull before i go to the dealer,just in case "you know what i mean". still did not call back nissan as yet i'm still trying to reason this one out with my dealer but after this i think that's it. I'll be giving nissan a call back. I'll keep you guys posted.

fcoral 05

well guys this is an update; I contacted nissan and had a regional specialist look into my case and she contacted me back this afternoon and said that indeed i have to pay for the tranny flush as my dealer could not find anything wrong even though they felt the shift shock and i have dark fluid. So as i see it now i got 3 options # 1 pay $249 for the flush; # 2 purchase the fluid and have the flush done outside or # 3 take it to another dealer which i think i may do but i want to know if record of my case will be held in nissan system so that other dealers can see it. Any suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thank you.

Majestic_MAx05

iTrader: (2)

Hey bro!! I had the same problem with my max! 05 35k on it dark fluid and having the same problems!
When I took it to the dealer they told me the the first procedure to solving the problem was the trany flush and that nissan didnt cover it. So I went ahead and just payed it to get the trany flushed since i belived that if i didnt do the flush and my trany went out later on they would come back and tell me I didnt do the flush they recommended.
Got the car back the next day and had the same problem and took it back. They have my car now and waiting to get a new trany from nissan. Expected time to get a new trany 3 to 3 1/2 weeks.

Majestic_MAx05

iTrader: (2)

I know the guy at the service department pretty well now since every time I take the max in every one cant belive that its a maxima. I asked him if I could get the service done outside by some one else, he told me that nissan is rely picky about that and would not want to touch the car since it has been worked on by an outside sorce.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

Pay to have the fluid changed, if it fails they will blame you for not changing the fluid and then you will have to pay for a new trans, it would also be interesting to know what a oil anaylysis will say about the trans fluid

Majestic_MAx05

iTrader: (2)

Yeah thats the same reason I just went ahead and payed for the change.
I didnt want them coming back at me telling It failed because i didnt change the oil.

fcoral 05

well today i decided to call around to a couple different dealers and get prices. The lowest i got so far for the flush was $159 in englewood jersey but they told me that a flush may not even solve my problem but i can start there and i can bring in the car if i wanted. I aske the guy if they drop the pan but he said it's a complete flush which is done by hooking up the lines to the machine. I may be wrong but i taught i saw on this forum that that procedure is not recommended,and is it a good thing to go to another store and what if they do it under the warranty would nissan bounce their claim and in turn charge me back. What do you guys think and i still have a few more dealers to call around to. Also starr how can i go about doing the oil anaylysis or getting one done

Pronto

Tranny fluid should stay reletively red. If it's real dark or smells "burnt" then there are problems developing. Just changing the fluid at your mileage will not "fix" the issue. The best way to do the fluid change is to use a flush machine. It's the only way to get all the fluid out of the converter. I had my old Max flushed by a mechanic friend of mine with a flush machine. I had 70k on the car and was experiencing minor shift issues. The fluid was dark. The machine has a tank and bladder arrangement. The tranny coolant lines are removed and popped on the lines to the machine. As the fluid is pumped to the machine, clean fluid from below the bladder is pushed in the trans. It's run until the fluid comming into the machine is bright red. This in no way will "hurt" a transmission. How could it? All you are doing is replacing old fluid (that's contaminated with the band materials) with new, outside the transmission. My tranny shifted better after that but like all Nissan automatics it's not smooth. You could shop around to find an place that would do the flush with Nissan fluid (that might be tough because your taking way from a profit on materials). I still would pursue the powertrain warrentee. The transmission is not performing correctly because something's wrong. The dark fluid is symtom, not the cause. Especially since there already is a TSB on this trans. I would go the dealer with a printout of the TSB and tell them you want the recommended service on the bulletin since you have all the symtoms and if they don't you will sue them. Sometimes you have to be a **** to get what you're due.
BTW on my old 87 Max wagon that had 144k on it, I had the fluid flushed because of hard shifting. It did nothing for the hard shift. I sold the car with 184k on it and it shifted exactly the same.

AllBlackMax

3 to 3 1/2 weeks!!! WOW. I spoke with a guy at http://www.geartrans.com/ and he stated he could get a brand new tranny within a week. You might wanna give him a call.

AllBlackMax

Personally, I don't believe something's wrong with the transmission; well something IS wrong but I think it's wear and tear and Nissan trannys are not designed to last that long.

When I bought my car brand new in '04 the tranny was wonderful; great shifts. 3 years later it's not shifting so great; no slipping but not as smooth.

jrpaytonAlpha06

I think I saw suggestions to stay away from "Power Flushes" like the ones AAMCO provides.

Did the techs who checked your car notice anything wrong with the shifting of the car? I would take it to another shop and have them look at it and ask if a tranny flush is covered under warranty. And I would continue to call Nissan...I've been there and I would say my total talk time with Nissan on the phone was 2hrs, but I got a tranny flush and new transmission all covered under warranty. Just keep pressing them. Ask when does Nissan recommend a tranny flush and if your car's mileage is under that recommendation, tell them you are having problems with a part of your drivetrain and it should be covered under warranty.

Kryogen

Honestly, is everyone having tranny issues with their maximas? I don,t wana buy a 20 000$ 2004 maxima and end up having a f*** up tranny a week later.

What do you guys think about it?

AllBlackMax

20k for an '04?. I've seen them as low as 15k. But to answer your question it does appear that the auto tranny's smoothness starts to deteriorate anywhere between 30-60k miles. There are a couple of guys on here that even have tranny slippage.

Solution: Try and find a '05-'06 and try to purchase an extended warranty if you can.

95Max

fcoral 05,

Any update?

I am having the same issues that you are with my 04. I had the trans fluid changed. No difference just mad my wallet lighter. Nissan has driven the car many time and they "can't duplicate the issue" I get the car back and you guessed it....it does it.