Norm Peterson

Heh . . . you don't suppose







But seriously, most of the time when I'm driving that's what I want to be doing at that moment more than most anything else.


I don't even want to be potentially accessible to everybody on the planet with a phone and something on their mind that 50 years ago would have had to wait. Maybe call it "me time", and they can still wait. There's nothing about driving, working the radio, or getting to where I'm going I can't handle all by myself without electronic assistance (at least not so far) or that I'll get embarrassed about for using "old fashioned" approaches to. [/rant]


Norm

zoemayne

iTrader: (4)

I agree with you Norm... anyone who knows me know I dont talk/text while driving. Maybe if it had to do with $/work but all the other talk can wait.

Roop

I have a 2012 Maxima SV. The CVT feels like it lags only after it has been driven for a while. Anyone else feel this? The car looses quite a bit of power. The RPMs will climb but the car feels like it cant catch up.

zoemayne

iTrader: (4)

State your miles.....

Roop

31,000 miles

skye2011

Back in December, the CVT transmission went out in my 2011 Maxima with 51k miles. I'm no car enthusiast but I come here to get advice on the car. Nor have I made any upgrades to this car. I just drive it. So imagine my surprise one Friday evening as I was taking my 2 young nieces home and I pulled to a stop sign and could not pull away from it. Or back up. Or do anything. The transmission had completely quit. No warning or signs. The dealership got my car Saturday morning and told me Wednesday that it needed a new transmission. And that took another week & a half to receive it. And they refused to pay for a rental even though the vehicle was under warranty - powertrain and extended. I could not believe that this transmission failed the way it did. It's making me think twice about keeping this car.

catsnmusic

I owned 3 Infinit G35X cars. I LOVE these older cars. I just bought a 2012 Maxima. I consider myself a (rare female) driving enthusiast, which is why I kept going back to the G35X's when a few of mine got hit. I find the Maxima CVT to be fine, in fact I honestly don't feel a lot of difference compared to the G35X shifting. My brother has a Nissan Versa with a CVT and he says, "Ya, just wait until the winter, when you're trying to get out of the snow. The CVT will come near close to stalling the car, unless you put the shifter into low gear. It just can't handle winter driving like a regular transmission, it just lurches forward instead of pulling with torque."

Curious if you folks agree... will the Maxima CVT be terrible in the snow?
I'm sure you're all familiar with the winter we had in Boston this year.
Mary

dexcool

Maybe just terrible getting out of snow. This past winter (here in Chicago) the snow came upon us like a bag of bricks on Super Bowl Sunday. I didnt leave the house til Tuesday. I park in an uncovered area behind my house which is accessed through the alley only. Anyway, I had partially dug myself out, assuming the car (2010 Max, purchased that previous November 2014) would do the rest, like my old Buick LeSabre. Big no. The wheels wouldn't spin, the car sat there as if we were brake torquing it. Now that, I wouldn't contribute to the CVT, but I was clueless as to why it wouldn't move. Then i began to smell trans fluid. Guess i was going at it wrong. So I completely dug myself out and voila....

catsnmusic

Dexcool,
So are you saying that you smelled tranny fluid because it was just overworking the tranny, trying to get out of the snow? It sounds like you're saying that if you are in snow, it's best to dig yourself completely out first, otherwise you will strain the CVT. Am I following?
Mary in Boston

gizzsdad

When trying to get unstuck in snow, you have to turn off the traction control (VDC).

dexcool

That was/is my conclusion from the event.
And I cant remember if when i turned off the VDC it did the trick. But assuming VDC is what kept the brakes applied (traction control) then turning it off will definitely do the trick...

2theMAX2014

So i never did any research on the CVT transmission but all their cars have it, right? If it's that bad of design why are they still using it and aren't other car makers coming out with CVTs. I had an 06 xterra and there was a manufacture defect; radiator leaking into transmission. No recall, just a class action settlement which of course i missed. Anyway, i hope i didn't make a decision to go with another questionable trans. Somebody please reassure me that i made the right choice. BTW, i have 2014 sport SV fully loaded, it has great acceleration; sport drive shifts very aggressively. It's fun to drive hopefully for more than 50K miles.

Norm Peterson

As I understand it, the trend to CVTs is mainly because of the potential fuel economy benefit. There might even be an emissions benefit from having the ECU trying to keep the engine at a more constant rpm.

Realize that most customers are coming to a CVT-equipped car from a conventional automatic, which these days shift pretty smoothly (and mindlessly as far as the driver's part in it all is concerned). IOW, it's just a small step that many or even most folks won't notice.

The amount of losses aside, there is a potential performance advantage with a CVT - if the ECU is programmed to run the engine at the rpm where peak HP is developed when you request "Wide-Open Throttle". At least when the ratios are such that the drive pulley isn't down around its minimum diameter . . .


Norm

briclark1

I'm interested in buying a 2014 Maxima. I rented one last year for the weekend and loved it. I have tried to find people that have had issues with the 2014 CVT and can't find any. It always older models. Does this mean that the 2014 was better or is it just too new and hasn't had enough miles to break down?

tnj9

In my opinion the CVT is good, but not great, but better than the 4 speed auto in my previous 03 GLE which became very laggy with age and proper maintence. Around 100k and above it was slow to shift when punched and always lagged from 2nd to 3rd, sometimes in winter it wouldnt even go into 4th. When used in manual mode there was like a terrible 2 second delay from when you shift to when the tranny actually shifted. My 2012 SV (non premium, no paddles) with the CVT is responsive and has very good variability to keep RPMs low at higher speeds to increase gas mileage significantly, also with the easy cruise control with acceleration and deceleration features boosts mpg even more. This is great when driving normally (commuting, ect.) but when you punch it... I have a gripe about how it can respond. It seems hit or miss (at around 53k, just drain/filled the fluid because wasnt sure if dealer ever did it, came out like used motor oil but thinner and replaced with same amount NS-2 genuine) and it still seems like sometimes you can get a launch that slams you in the seat, and others itll redline and gradually speed up and eventually hit the fastest accel. point later at a high speed. Also turning off TCS seems to slow acceleration instead of boost it (friends 2008 Acura TLS with auto is much faster out the gate with TCS off vs on, not on the Max). One thing I like is that in manual mode you can have a sportier drive and the albeit fake shifts occur near instantly vs the 4 speed. My overall feelings are mixed on the CVT, but with proper and regular drain/fill of fluid every 30-45ish k miles should keep it in good working order for a while. Anybody care to chime in on how to maximize the performance because I feel like I havent fully gotten it yet, seems very specific to get a solid acceleration and seems to pick up much better with a rolling start opposed to stopped.

tnj9

Ive also read that we have TCS and VDC if im not mistaken. I know how to turn TCS off (dash button) and think I read something about VDC in the brake reservoir and a little button or something to turn off? My question is that worth doing to disable? Seeing as turning the TCS off with the button does nothing and actually slows acceleration, would VDC be different? And can it be turned back on the same way its turned off?

tnj9

I never had a problem, drove in the beginning of the Blizzard of 2016 (mid atlantic) home from work with a couple inches layed down on grass and the road in addition to coming down hard and drove fine, about the same as my 03 with the 4AT. Had to pass a few people crawling at 25 on a 45. Also drove it during a ice storm that followed where the roads were like a skating rink of 1/2 inch of ice, snow and sleet compacted on it with freezing rain. Handled pretty good straight but back end fishtailed a few times on tighter turns but not like I was ever stuck from the trans, just TCS keeping it from slipping too much.

Norm Peterson

lightonthehill is probably the guy you want to hear from about getting the most out of your CVT (his last post in this thread is only a few posts back). This thread hasn't been active lately, but light was somewhere on the .org as recently as yesterday.




Norm

tnj9

^Thank you. In addition, I noticed today that after I drained/filled the CVT fluid I may have put in about a fifth of a quart too much, the fluid seems about 1/8in above the full line on the dipstick. Knowing the CVT is specific, would it be prudent to take the extra out? I guess I could remove the drain plug partially for a brief second but Im worried too much will pour out, I have about a half quart NS-2 left over and put in 4.5qt which is (what i thought) came out when I drained it. Really dont want to f up this tranny considering the car itself basically cleaned me out money wise.

Norm Peterson

I'm afraid I don't even know how to properly check the level (are you supposed to check it hot with the engine running like you at least used to do for conventional automatics?) I do suspect that you'd need to run it a little just to ensure that any fluid cavities and passages in the hydraulics that emptied when you drained it got refilled.

You might also try searching or just browsing the following sections, where normal maintenance and service of a more general nature gets discussed. The first is specifically about fluids, and the second specifically a 6th gen section.

https://maxima.org/forums/fluids-lubricants-52/

https://maxima.org/forums/7th-genera...-2009-2015-78/


I'm not trying to chase you off, but you do realize that as (still) one of the resident die-hard stick-shift devotees the best I can do here is point you in additional and possibly more productive directions.


Norm

Shanc45

[QUOTE=whit;6953247]curious to everyone thoughts on the cvt tranny i know there are many skeptics out there that say its the worst tranny built and they only last about 60k . My friend who has been a transmission mechanic for 20 yrs had a seminar and was told that the cvt tranny was being discontinued due to issues . ive heard alot of good things about this new redesign tho..

So how many miles do you guys have on your Maxima's ?? and transmission issues ??


I think mine went out today I have a 2011. If it's has i'my beyond upset 98286 miles

Dayray

95K still smooth tranny

90lxwhite

My '12 is my first maxima and my first cvt experience.
The cvt isn't horrible but I find that if I'm wanting to pass someone in a hurry it's best to "down shift" a "gear" or two with the paddle so it puts me in the rpm range that I need to be in. If I don't, it is too slow to do it on its own. If the car was making 90 or so less horsepower I imagine that it wouldn't be all that fun. But as it is it's sporty enough. Off the line it's not the greatest but it's quick enough from 50-100 mph to hold its own. I've had it up to 130 mph and I'd say that's fair enough for a family sedan. I took it down the 1/8 mile not so long ago. Of course it wasn't the fastest thing out there but it wasn't the slowest either. Once again, fair enough for a fwd family sedan.
Manuals vs CVT's that's too much of an apples to oranges comparison. A "regular" auto vs a CVT would be more apples:apples. I have a 95 mustang gt that's a manual and it's a deal lighter and it makes about 100 more hp than my maxima. It's fun but I wouldn't want to drive it every day.
*edit* I take that back, this isn't the first vehicle that I've driven w a cvt. This past winter I went out of town on business and I rented an outlander that had a cvt and it was awful. When I'd go to pass someone on the surface streets I'd give it gas, there'd be a pause and then finally it'd rev up but by that time the "hole" I was trying to get into was usually gone. It felt like I was driving a manual with the clutch pushed in and I was just "free revving" it.

Norm Peterson

A little history . . . this thread is what resulted from merging at least two separate threads, back when the elimination of the 6MT from the Maxima lineup was still pretty fresh in peoples' minds. The Maxima had retained MT availability while most other mfrs had either intermittently or completely dropped it from their top-shelf sedans. Basically, the MT was part of what separated the Maxima from the rest. Then rather suddenly the Maxima went in a much different direction with the CVT.

I agree that you'd drive a car with a CVT differently than the same car with MT . . . but at the same time it's interesting that you find that you're manually commanding it to its lower ratios to get the response you seek.

Which I suspect may be a consequence of still driving a MT car. With a manual transmission, it takes you some measurable amount of time to fully execute the shift - this being taken from the time you first put your left foot on the clutch pedal until you take it off that pedal. But you don't notice this because you're physically busy the whole time.

With any automatic, you aren't doing anything but waiting during the time between commanding a shift via right foot position (or shifter movement) and a conventional automatic finding the right gear . . . or for a CVT to find the "correct" ratio for what it thinks you should be using. Even if it's less than a second, the wait while you sit there with nothing to do but hold on to the steering wheel gets interpreted as sluggish transmission response.

During the last few years of MT availability, the percentage of Maxima buyers opting for it was quite small, but it was made up of people who looked to the Maxima for a measure of sporting intent as evidenced by that MT availability. For a nameplate's top-level sedan, people aren't going to be choosing the MT simply to avoid the extra $1k or so that an automatic added to the price. It's one of the things that differentiated the Max from much of its competition. The CVT differentiated it, but in a rather different way. Perhaps the intent became more "gentleman's express" than "mildly sporting"?


Off-topic - don't I know you from the Corral?


Norm

90lxwhite

What are you doing here Norm? 😉 Yeah I've been on the the corral but not in a minute, AFM most recent.
I'm not comparing the CVT to my car that has a manual, I was comparing it to every other auto vehicle that I have owned. The CVT seems slower to respond than a traditional auto. However, I'm not bashing the Maxima's as it does everything I need it to do. The Mitsubishi I rented on the other hand was just horrible. Press the gas, and nothing for a second and then it'd go.

Norm Peterson

Because I've still got an '01 20AE model, and had been keeping tabs on what Nissan was doing ever since buying it. At one time there was a faint rumor that the 6MT would return, but I guess Carlos Ghosn put a stop to that ever happening.

I realized that you weren't really comparing it to your MT Mustang. But what I suspect is that having current MT experience makes any shift lag in an automatic (of any stripe) more noticeable, for the reasons given.

A CVT probably does take a little longer to get there, because the commanded ratio is not the result of some fixed, all-or-nothing application and release of various clutches and/or bands. So a CVT may be a little "fuzzy", or indistinct and imprecise in its operation, if that makes any sense. Or a lot that way, as in your recent Mitsu experience.


Norm

90lxwhite

Yeah it seems like whether a cvt is a deal breaker or not should be based on a car to car basis and how it acts. As far as having manual in my DD: nah, it's not for me these days. Even if it was a sports car I'd still opt for an auto I think. The autos are easier to live with and are generally quicker than their manual counterpart this day and age.

Norm Peterson

these days (?) . . . hmmm . . . there are plenty of very good reasons for choosing an automatic, and I'll back most all of them as reasons for other peoples' choices. But doing so because it feels like it'd fit in better with some perception of what settling down into middle age should be about isn't one of them.

Not to beat this horse too hard, but last I knew one of the .org's strongest CVT supporters (if not THE top supporter) would still drive a MT car if he lived in a region where lightly travelled roads were the rule. He's older than I am, and I'm working on my 69th trip around the sun.


Norm

90lxwhite

Ha! Atta boy norm. It wasn't necessarily an age thing.
Anyone have a Maxima with a "regular" auto and now have a newer one with an CVT? How do they compare?

Mread

I have 75k on mine and the 3rd CVT. Since i owned the car in june 2014. Car had 38k when i bought it.

tnj9

I have come to the conclusion after a year of ownership of a 2012 Max SV that I am not a huge fan of the CVT. Previous car was a 03 Max GLE 4AT. I feel like its a great concept (get great mileage) but it is simply not refined enough. I feel low end power is too low and feels "loose" and sometimes jerks randomly (bought used at 45k, changed fluid, now at 60k). Raced a buddies 08 TLS and he beat me off the line by far but I caught and passed him near the limiter and revving high for a while it gets up and pulls hard at higher revs but at the same time feels like im severely stressing the engine and tranny when doing this. Not sure its a factor, but Nissan claims the CVT adapts to your driving style and normally I drive very light on the pedal to be easy on the tranny so that may or may not be why when i try to drive briskly it feels "unnatural" and lags at lower RPMs because its how I normally drive. I dont know, but I know my friends TL with 3x as many miles as my Max and slightly lower horsepower and heavier seems to pull much harder at lower RPMs. Seems like you can feel its belt driven like my hydrostatic lawnmower, its annoying. IMO should be chain belt like Pathfinder and more refined tuning to keep it feeling alive instead of lethargic. But it is by no means a bad transmission in my opinion, I am just afraid of breaking it and it seems slow at low revs and the way the pedal is weighted doesnt help,

Maxxi12

Well, like the above poster I've had mine for about a year. First ever CVT experience, too. Previous car was a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ with the 3.6 and a 6 speed auto. Only 252 horsepower but pretty comparable in speed with the Maxxi, actually. Maybe a hair slower. Great transmission match with that car though. It had a 6 speed 'manual' option also.

I think overall I prefer the CVT to the 6AT in the 'Bu. It's overall smoother and doesn't seem to ever be in the wrong ratio for the circumstance, which is nice. Power is always there.

However for sporting intentions nothing ever replaces real gears. The Ds and M options are nice to give that feel but you can tell they're not real. The 'Bu was much more racy feeling and sounding when pushed, although it also had a 7k redline.

I really wish these cars had a true manual option. Considering they only make a little over 200 at the wheels with the CVT and the 252 horsepower 'Bu only felt a little slower means there's a ton of power being lost. I bet it would really come alive.

All in all though, I really love my Max. It's gonna be hard to pull me away from one.

Ritt

2014 with 52k and just had a new transmission put in. Car lives on the interstate as I use it for business use.


It was clunking from start to stop, and would not drop RPM on the interstate. It would stay at 4k RPM when doing 70MPH

BillH

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I've got a 2010 leather-loaded Maxima with 148K on the odometer. I know that's correct because it had 3.1 miles on it when I bought it.

Probably 60/40 highway/city with absolutely no problems at all. I did a flush/refill at about 60K miles, but nothing since then. I'm not Ricky Racer, but neither do I baby it. The silly thing likes to go and so do I. It is indeed a fun car to drive.

Although I like not having a car payment, I'm getting a bit nervous. My question is: Do I risk keeping it for another year or two (30-40K)? Or am I pushing my luck with that? Or, OMG! should I trade it in tomorrow while it still runs and has value?

I'd appreciate any advice from the wiser folks on the board.

Thanks very much...

Bill

jhana546

Does anyone know the "virtual gear ratios" the CVT uses in manual mode?

stepjl

I have a 2014 Maxima. It has 34,000 miles. The car is getting its 2nd CVT put in now under warranty.

stepjl

I have a 2014 Maxima SV with 34,000 miles. Its at Nissan getting the 2nd CVT put in. 1st failed at 28,000 miles.

10aCMike

Yikes! I have an 09 SV with 105K. You guys make me want to get rid of this car pronto. I had to replace the entire AC system at 82K, two weeks after I bought it.

2011_maxima

well... I am a little nervious as well I have a 2011 SV with 83k & am the second owner. I have not had any issues with it at all. the car "shifts" fine & still feels like it has plenty of power. The dealership rep said that it is "due" for the transmission service. I have asked about it & he said they do the fluid change & it is a new system where they "pressure flush"? the trans. I wonder if I should do it or just keep with my luck & not "mess anything up" related to the transmission??

thoughts or suggestions??

thanks!!

stepjl

I bought my car a few months ago. Its a 2014 Maxima SV with sports and tech package. It has 34,000 one owner, dealer serviced miles. It had a new CVT put in under warranty at dealership with org owner last year at 28,000 miles. A short time after I bought it I noticed that on 1/2 throttle or more take offs from dead stop, the car was loosing power, losing fuel, transmission slipping or something bad happening. I figured it was the CVT again (last owner must have thought that too hence trading it away). Well after my local Nissan dealer had the car over a month in their shop, they found the problem with the help of a Nissan engineer from their headquarters back east. The problem was wiring to the crank sensor plug was stretched inside of the insulation on one or more of the wires going into the plug to the crank sensor. This was a factory defect as the wiring harness to the crank sensor was installed too tight at factory when car was built. When the motor torqued ( moved) on hard take off, the wires would break connection to the crank sensor. I was ready to give up on this car that I liked so much, but I'm glad now that I gave the Nissan Dealer the time to find and fix the car. It now runs like new.