My 2009 Max with 50K miles hasenn getting worse and worse. Poor to almost no acceleration from a stop. Turns out they pulled a code P0868 (Tranny fluid pressure low) and the remedy is a brand new transmission.

under warranty, though...which is nice, at least.

Yes sir new and improved 2012 tranny

what were you doing with a tranny in the first place?

Aren't warranty's nice......... love em.

maybe he was pulling an Eddie Murphy

Dealers love big jobs like trannys

you'd think, they gave him a hell of a run-around to get this repair. techs are lazy and they dont make the money so they dont care, its only when the managers get involved that they realize if its a warrantable repair Nissan will pay for it so who cares?

Is that the powertrain warranty that covered this or an aftermarket service contract?

Nissan extended the factory warranty on the CVT to 100k iirc

But that special warranty extension was only for the '09 (and maybe the '10?). The '11, '12 and '13 (and maybe the '10?) CVTs are warranted for 5 years, 60K, whichever comes first.

I may have missed something, but I think this is only the second or third CVT failure we have had posted here for the 7th gen since they went on sale June 26th of 2008 (hard to believe that was over four years ago). That is a lower rate of failure than for the automatic trannies in the Maxima in previous generations.

I suspect these two or three CVTs that failed could have been repaired, except, to my knowledge, Nissan dealers do not have a trained CVT repair mechanic on hand, and I'm sure Nissan would rather have these few failures sent to them so they can closely examine them and determine exactly what went wrong, in order to prevent that weakness in future CVTs.

How much would this have cost if the car was not under warranty?

Your CVT is not like MY CVT!!

Interesting... and bizarre. I like the warranty the CVT has.

The thing is since the CVT valve body change I found a way to spin this engine up a few too many REV's...7K+?
The nice thing is this engine has handle it.
Problem is the engine doesn't have the same warranty this CVT has.

Gotta love that (stepchild) CVT.....

the 2012 maxima has the new cvt ? i thought the new altima only had it....

Yea the new 2012 CVT is more lively. I drove both the 2011 and own the 2012 model 2012 just accelerates a bit better off the line and on my car not sure for others i get better 0-60 in DS mode.

The 2010 Maxima is covered by the extended CVT warranty as well.

In fact all CVT vehicles built between 2003 to 2010 are covered by the 10 year 100,000 mile warranty.

https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners...arrantyContent

You are correct, it may have some software updates but as far as the new revised/redesigned CVT its in the 13 Altima not the Max. The version in the new 3.5 Altima is quite a bit better than the one in the Max

sounds good looking forward to seeing the results of the new trans

I have been lurking on an Altima forum, the 2.5 models are flying off the lots, surprised that I don't see more new 3.5 owners cause I want to see if anyone compared a 3.5 Altima to a 7th Gen Maxima

You are correct, this time around it seems as if the "fuel economy" deal is hitting folks. They really aren't touching the 3.5's, I have yet to see a 3.5 in the wild.

I dont think the '12 has the new tranny(maybe some minor change which is only available internally to nissan)... the new tranny enhancement are what gave the altima such improved mpg. I've done the math and the '14 maxima with the tranny improvements should get 21 mpg city and I forget how many MPG HWY.

Most Altima's are 2.5's I think that's honestly why most get them as a commuter car in the first place. The 3.5's have always been a rare breed but def would love to see the comparison to the the Maxima

Correct, it's the same basic CVT.
When Nissan changed out my (2010) valvebody the tech said it now has what the current 2012's have, which is a big difference as the whole sluggish/bogging issue has been resolved.

I sure hope that's not the fate off mines :'( .... I have a 2009 and i'm at 40K... Though a 2012 CVT does sound nice...

What was your first sign that she was going to Tranny Heaven?

weak acceleartion from stop or slow speeds and slight vibration

^ Same here but not so much of the vibration issue.

Let's keep it real here. Do you guys with the CVT issue be putting foot in it?... I guess what I'm trying to determine is the stress Load the CVT can handle... If Gradma is driving it would she need a new CVT By now? ...

OR is it just the fact that the 09 CVT have something wrong in it...

That would depend tho right? Cuz I didn't purchase my Warranty through the Dealership i purchased mine seperately and if something major goes down Nissan probably won't be paying for it .. the Warranty company will.... Hopefully they won't give me too much crap as the money isn't coming out of their hands...

I have these exact symptoms. Garden City Nissan tech claimed it was normal. I couldn't stay around though to argue, I had to drop it off. So after they crashed my car on the lot, one of the things they did (besides repair the car and give me a rental) was to do the CVT flash. I have had it about 2 weeks and it's the same in terms of vibration but pickup has improved a little. I still think it's weak and the vibrations between 25-40 on light acceleration are ridiculous. Not sure what to do but I'm not stressed because it goes back around this time next year.

Keep in mind that Nissan programmed this CVT to turn lower RPMs than we would normally expect. They do this in order to maximize fuel efficiency. The result is sort of like being in slightly too high a gear, with the resultant sort of vibration thingie when we accelerate lightly from standstill or from low speed.

2003-2010 Vehicles equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) also have a 10-year /120,000 mile CVT limited warranty extension. (For complete information, see your Nissan dealer and read the actual limited warranty.) For extra protection, you can also add Security+Plus®, the only extended service agreement approved by Nissan.

15 model year will be the new gen!

True. The 2014 Maxima arriving next summer will have almost no changes from the 2013, because it will be a short run, with the assembly line converted in early 2014 to produce the 2015 Maxima, which will be the first model year of the 8th gen, and which should reach showrooms in late spring of 2014.

^ makes me so happy I got the 09 max ...

After a nice drive through the city my service engine soon light came on. I went to an auto parts store to scan the codes and yep! It's showing a P0868 along with a few others (P0725 and P0455). I have an 09 with 56k on it. I rarely drive like a speed demon and take damn good care of my max. If I need a new tranny I certainly hope it's covered under the CVT warranty.

it will be if it's tranny

I love how Nissan Canada cancelled the 10 year drivetrain warranty. They said it wasn't necessary anymore. But how do they know? 2009s are only half way through that 10 year period and they can't predict long term failure rate.

Did you ever change your fluid? sam question goes to the OP too.

No, I haven't touched the trans fluid. I purchased the car used in April of this year with a little over 48k on it. I've taken it to the dealer for two oil changes and I had a wheel bearing issue (covered under warranty). Do you think the lack of a fluid drain/fill would be a problem?