CVT Maintenance
 

After reading the maintenance guide I'm a little confused about the proper CVT maintenance. In the front of the manual it states,

"If towing a trailer, using a camper or car–top carrier, or driving on rough or muddy roads, replace the fluid/oil every 30,000 miles or 24 months (60,000 miles for cube, Murano, Altima, Altima Coupe, Maxima, Rogue, Sentra, and Versa CVT fluid)."

When you read through the maintenance time line it never actually tells you to replace the fluid, it only ever says to inspect it...

I know what your saying because I was confused as we'll, I mean if u beat the hell out of your car, off road or tow as stated 30k would be good to change. My buddy who sold me my 09 Altima told me is never need to change the fluid which I know is wrong, and a technician told me 60k, and fluid should be checked at 30k. If u look at the cvt dipstick you'll see it's sort of sealed and takes a bit work to take it out, I'm assuming so there's no chance of coming lose, and anything getting in there. I personally am at 30k miles right now in my 10 maxima, and inspected the fluid myself which looked good so I'm going to wait to change the fluid, I say 60k is when the fluid should be changed

Premium maintenance schedule indicates to change the CVT fluid at 60,000 and 120,000 mile mark. Schedule 1 and 2 maintenance guides never tell you change the fluid only to inspect it.

This doesn't really make a lot of sense because two cars driven 60,000 identical miles will have the same wear and tear placed on the CVT's whether or not you use the premium or schedule 1 or 2 maintenance schedule on the previous mileage checks.

Common sense, change it with a drain and fill at 60,000 miles.

the premium maintenance plan says to inspect and replace if necessary, so if you drive it really hard or tow it they can plug the computer into the car and check the CVT fluid condition to see if it needs to be changed. people usually do it around 45k from what ive seen

Ghozt, maybe there are different versions of the maintenance guide. My 09 premium maintenance plan says to replace automatic transmission/CVT fluid at 60,000 third item on the list.

"Premium" maintenance schedules add services to Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. They are not required and "may" add to the resale of your car.

Inspection involves plugging the OBD II computer into the car and getting a "number" that is said to be representative of the condition of the fluid. When I asked my service manager about it, he told me they have never had a reading above the level at which Nissan specifies fluid replacement.

He admitted two things: 1. Some people change the fluid for peace of mind purposes, 2. They have owners of Muranos approaching 200K on the original fluid with no issues what so ever.

^ id still change it at the most every 60k. ive never heard of a transmission before that doesnt need its fluid changed, Nissan didn't invent a trans fluid that is impervious to breakdown from heat so like any other fluid it needs to be replaced.

here is the FSM I was looking at : http://www.nissanusa.com/owning/vehi...intenance.html

Yeah, after reading the info multiple times I've come to the conclusion they never tell you to replace it, only to inspect it. I don't tow, drive overly hard, or off road so I'm going to just roll on. If it truly needed to be changed it would be under the standard maintenance and not only on the premium.

Actually - page 10 of the guide specifically states that the AT fluid for the 370Z is maintenance free.

Wow, now I am really curious. Was that just overlooked on the 1-2 maint schedules or do they really expect it to be fine never replacing it? Maybe the CVT does not create conditions that break down the fluid?

I drive 80 miles a day with 76 miles being on the interstate. I think I should be fine doing schedule 2 maint. My previous car was a Chevy Cruze and I went 10-12k per oil change using Mobil 1 full synthetic, but the car actually had an oil monitor and told you when you needed to change it.

Still haven't changed my CVT oil, they run the analysis tool and says it's still good I'm almost at 90K! Am I ****ed??

If I was driving 80 miles a day, I would do a drain and fill at 60,000 miles or before.

I understand what Nissan states, I'm just saying there is no fluid on earth that is completely resistant to breakdown. Personally, I'd rather do routine drain/fills that correlate with how moving parts/heat work in relation to the fluids that cool and lubricate them.

The manual only goes to 120k miles I believe, I suspect under normal conditions the fluid would be fine for that amount of time unless the "inspections" they call for reveal otherwise.

Driving more miles is much easier on a car then driving a few miles a day.

I'm in the same boat - have over 73K on my 2010 and haven't changed mine either. I'll keep riding her until she tells me otherwise.

The question I would be asking is "When was the last time your analysis tool was calibrated"?

Just keep in mind manufacturers want cars to be replaceable but trouble free during their warranty period. Looks like from your estimates you won't change the CVT fluid until you're out of warranty, so if you have any problems from running it too long you won't find out until it's an expensive repair. For me a $120 worth of OEM fluid for maintenance every 60k is a safer investment/bet than risking a several thousand dollar transmission replacement. To each their own.

Ima definitely get it changed on my next service though so I can test it out for 25k miles before my warranty expires!

How exactly is the fluid inspected? Also, what is this analysis tool y'all are talking about?

Changing fluids is extremely important if you want the car to last. I change the oil every 5k, doing this my previous maxima had over 450k km. I'm approaching 90k km on my 2011, so i approached nissan about changing the cvt fluid. as others have noted, they offer an inspection for approx $50 to determine if a change is necessary. the tech said the fluid should be flushed around 150k km mark, with normal driving. the fluid is not cheap either. $30 cdn per bottle...you need 6 of them + labour

they plug in their Consult III tool (a computer essentially) into your OBD port and it pulls CVT fluid data from the car.