I just dropped off my 2010 Maxima SV for it's 30,000 check at the dealership. I did the oil, air filter and in-cabin filter myself so all they had to do was check the transmission, brakes, etc. The dealer said Nissan recommends changing the CVT transmission fluid at 30,000 miles and the engine coolant too. This is my 3rd maxima and never had I changed those fluids so quickly. I said to go ahead and change the fluids because I am going on a long trip soon but has anyone else done this at 30k? I feel like I am being ripped off but this is my first CVT transmission and maybe it's a little more delicate than the gear-type, (though I don't see how).

 

yeah i think you just got ripped off, too early. service manual says to CHECK it every 30k, unless you drive really hard you can wait until 90k to do that drain/fill. i did mine around 45k cause i drive pretty hard, but did it myself and only spent $100 or so on the fluid. not the worst thing in the world, but could have probably waited another 30-60k to do it unless you drive hard like me.

 

Yeah ... no need to spend all that money on those things.

Those air filters (cabin and engine) they are marking up the part price more than 100% each and charging you labor for something that is easier and takes less time than filling your gas tank.

Read your manual ... it contains the maintenance schedule. Additionally, there's a DIY chapter that shows you how to ... well DIY. You can save a lot of money and time just doing these things yourself.

 

It's funny how different dealers do things. I asked about getting my fluid changed at my dealer several months ago at 50k miles and they said it was good until 100k miles. They would have changed it if I told them to and it would have cost me about $300 dollars. I used their part numbers, bought my own fluid and did the job for about $115 dollars. My oil and all filters are covered on the extended warranty I bought so that's not an issue. (plus this is my 4th Nissan, so they treat me well)

 

I've had dealerships tell me similar things that in most cases they haven't needed to do a drain/fill until 100k. They can use the Consult-III to test the CVT fluid to see if it needs to be changed. I think for most of us we end up doing it around 45-50k as a preemptive measure especially for those of us who drive pretty hard. The fluid was pretty black when it came out, and the new stuff was a very pale yellow. As much as I like that Nissan has an extended warranty on the CVT, I only want to use that if I really have to.

 

I thought that in cabin air filter was a pain and you could easily break the clips if you don't know what you're doing ?

 

Just a pain to get the old one out sometimes. Don't know of anything that you could break in the process, you just pop off the glove box and take off the cover thats in the top left of the passenger side footwell. from there pull out the filter and put the new one in.

 

No, it's pretty easy. There is only one clip that needs to be pushed in, the other side of the cover just has a tongue. IMO, the hardest part is putting the cover back on. I've changed it twice on two different (7th Gen) Maximas.

You don't even need to touch the glove box. I suppose you could do it this way ... it might actually make it even easier. I'm young enough that I can contort myself so my head is in the footwell to see what I'm doing. The second time I changed out the filter, I just did it by feel.

 

I just took my 2010 max in for its 30000 mile check. I said I wanted the radiator flushed and the dealer said he would be glad to charge me $1xx to do the job, but he didn't recommend it! Nor did he recommend any fluid change on the Transmission. The car also came with lifetime oil and filter changes, so they get a chance to rip me off every few months - so what have they actually changed? 1 air filter and the cabin filter, considering the free oil changes, I happy to pay them for this!

 

if you drive only on the highway, you dont need to change the trans fluid that often. city driving, i would say they did good by recommending it be changed at 30,000 miles. preventative maintenance

 

Radiators are generally not normally flushed these days. 'Flush' is a term left over from the past. True flushing can end up causing lots of problems, as it is done under high pressure, dislodges things that otherwise would stay in place, and deposits them in parts of the engine where they can stop up passageways and do damage.

The term normally used these days is 'drain.' Radiators are generally drained and refilled. This is done partly with the engine running so that most of the coolant inside the engine also gets replaced.

Under normal usage, radiator fluids are good for quite a while, My wife's Ford trucks come with Ford's premium coolant that is supposed to be good for 105,000 miles. She still changes after 70K. But, under normal driving conditions, changing coolant in our Maxima at 30K is more like wasting money than 'preventive maintenance.'

Likewise, under normal road and driving conditions, the CVT coolant can usually still pass the service tech's test system at 60K miles, but that is still a good time to change. I can understand those that love their Maxima and change at 45k, but, unless you live on a dirt/gravel road or pull large trailers or hit the track on weekends, changing the CVT fluid at 30K is like changing engine oil every 1K; won't hurt a thing, but doesn't help much either.