Hi all,

Started separate thread so it would be an easier search for people. 2010 Maxima 3.5SV with 148,000mi. I love the CVT...or did until a week ago. My tune has changed. This is not a transmission that can tolerate any sort of sustained aggressive driving. I developed loss of power (floor the accel pedal and car would barely creep along). This is because the TCM detected a P0868 - low secondary fluid pressure and the failsafe is to limit throttle to around 30%. Purchased valve body thinking this was the problem but removed pan to replace and long strips of metal that looked like it had gone through a big cheese grater fell out. So e triangular keepers and metal parts also present. Just FYI....be easy on these transmissions....they will apparently self-destruct if hard on them. Fluid changed every 30-40k mi. Fluid at time of failure still looked great...clear loght tan color. Either way, last Nissan CVT I will ever have. Got junkyard tranny with 40k mi on it with fluid coming out of it that was purple (yay me). Hope this one will last a year until I am right side up and can trade this sucker off to become someone elses headache.

 

Sorry man but CVT and high powered cars just don't mix .

Nissan's only doing it to get ahead of competition / fuel rating / marketing (CVT TECHNOLOGY = COOL)... When you read car complaint forums and such you see real picture of CVT issues

 

We tried to tell you but it's unfortunate you had to find out this way. I hope your new cvt will work out for you.

In all honesty making it to almost 150k isn't terrible considering you know you drive like an animal AND you drive a lot for your job. I think what makes this a big inconvenience is that the cvt is not serviceable and cannot be rebuilt like a conventional trans. Which means you have to fork out 4-5k for a new one or take your chances on a junkyard cvt. Either way it's kinda a crapshoot.

Anyway...hope everything works out for you sir!!! Stay positive!

Wait????? Did you say purple fluid??? Wtf? Could it be that royal purple stuff made for muscle cars? That should be interesting!

 

Yup. Removed pan on junkyard tranny to look at condition of magnets and make sure this one didnt look like mine amd to clean it up good. Fluid at pan was purple...even my dad made a comment about it. I was afraid some dodo put regular ATF in it. However, i tipped it up and drained a little fluid out of where axles go and it looked and smelled very typical of NS-2. Very light tan clear. Looked good. Magnets in pan had about a 3rd of the accumulation that mine did....about right for 1/3rd of the mileage. Not that mine is a good indicator as evidenced by what happened but still...trying to look on bright side. Lol.

Looked up VIN for donor vehicle and it was salvaged in 2013 as result of collision meaning it was running at time of collision, good. Also it is 2010, wrecked in 2013 and had 40,000mi on it, also good. Doesnt look like it sat out in the weather for 2 years either.

I just think it is odd that mine ran great, no noise, great power and fuel economy, properly maintained, no signs at all of impending failure. Then...BAM!....the old cow just went belly up on me.

I have $6000 negative equity in this car and honestly, if I can get it running well enough to make it to a dealership and find something with good manufacturer rebates (other than Nissan) i would trade this headache off for some other poor soul to deal with. Learned my lesson, I did. No more Nissans and certainly no more CVT's. They just do not tolerate aggressive driving and I hate the thought of having an unreliable, undependable car that might grenade with no warning. Probably wouldnt leave such a bad taste in my mouth if I werent having to pay for it myself. $775 for used tranny, $570 for labor, $200 for the friggin fluid...then gotta take it to Nissan and have them program TCM to new transmission for $96. $1641 that I dont have to drop on this stupid car not to mention the headache of dealing with it. I will be visiting Toyota or Buick dealer very soon.

 

That sucks man! Bummer it didn't work out.

S

 

You beat on a car with 150K miles on the tranny and are surprised it failed ? A $1700 repair on a car with 150K miles isn't unheard of., before you make any crazy decisions ( like trying to finance the $6K you are negative on top of another loan) remember the "new" CVT will probably last at least 50K miles , many more if you don't beat it. GL

 

Toyota or Buick huh. Thats good stuff considering one lasts forever and the other is cheap to own forever, respectively. And $775 for 40k is incredible, even considering the junkyard gamble. Hope all goes well, Corolla, and I'm gonna have to side with 13Max on going that extra 50k, it might not b worth going upside down for a new car, but then again, if ur ready 2 get out of the Max, take the negative lump. Like u said, Toyota or Buick, they'll still hold their worth in 3-4 yrs...

 

Buicks don't hold their value. I just got rid of a 2013 Buick Regal with 30K miles. It was a $30K car now after 2 years its worth $16K to $17K and it looks showroom condition. It was really reliable though.

 

Eh...I really cant say I "beat on it". 90% of the miles on this car were highway miles. I just wasnt afraid to use the power when needed. I was deliberately abusive a few...yeah alright. I dont like to waste time getting from point A to B. And yes...you all are right...kepping for another year and I will nearly own this car. I can say if and when i purchase a new car, I will be a very difficult customer to please because it will be my way or not at all.

However...Buick caught my eye because they recently moved into #2 most reliable brand behind Lexus. Nissan is above average, but not significantly. I suppose if I want a car I can beat the snot out of, it will need to be a manual transmission or Toyota...

I just had this illusion the CVT could take it...and it can....just not for very long.

 

Oh, u are correct. I guess i worded that wrong. They will b reliable and simple cars...

 

Point A to Point B, yeah, i agree. Just get there already is how i drive at times...

 

I don't know how many people would agree that 150k miles is "not very long", especially with admitted aggressive driving habits.

 

Actually, you got me thinking. I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to drop the pan periodically to check the detritus levels? Is it any worse to remove than any other transmission pan or any pointers to pass for the pan removal/replace?

 

Did Nissan make changes to the CVT for 2011 Maxima ?

I believe the CVT warranty is 10 years 120K for 2009 and 2010 models but 5/60 from 2011 on up

 

You could always get something with a DSG. I did to replace my wife's Mini (stay away from those).

 

Nup. Pan gasket from Nissan is $25. Bolts torqued to 70 in-lbs when putting back on. Easy breezy. And yes...recommended. However mine had a very normal (surprisingly minimal) amount of accumulation on the magnets and you see where I am. However it would be good maintenance.

The thing I never did that I will amd everyone else should do is to change the filter. It is not inside the transmission. Nissan says "there is no filter" which is BS. The oil filter looking thing just inside of the wheel is a filter. Held onto transmission by 3 bolts and is called a "transmission cooler filter". It was $7.31 and probably should be replaced with every fluid change at 30k miles. Just my $0.02.

 

My better half now has a GLI with a DSG. I'm actually really liking it.


I'm debating if I should keep my Max or move on from it once the CVT warranty runs out. I was planning on giving it to my daughter a little later when she's old enough to drive.

 

I'm not totally sold on the cvt tranny either and when it's time to get rid of this Maxima I'll look real hard at the Q50 in AWD or maybe a nice size Lexus.

 

Looked up the tranny filter on Courtesy parts site, for everybody's benefit, here are the details:
http://www.courtesyparts.com/maxima-...8368_8371.html

product Product SKU: 31726-A35001

good idea to replace it
Max

 

That really stinks...I've been wanting a 7th gen but I like driving hard and don't have the time to potentially duke it out with Nissan or spend a small fortune replacing CVTs down the road since I keep my cars for 5+ years usually...My other possibles were the goofy looking '13+ Altima 3.5SV so I think that's out and may just go with the last gen '09-13 Mazda6 3.7. Has a decent suspension, reguar gas tuning and 6spd auto.

Hope things work out for you Corolla...

 

Boy oh boy one person has a CVT failure and the who sky is falling. I live is a town of 20,000 and it has one full time transmission shop doing a bang up business repairing traditional auto transmissions and the manuals.

Buying a vehicle without the CVT is not going to guarantee transmission free problems.

 

I understand this, but my CVT has already gone out once. Just thinking of my options down the road.

 

There's alot more people with total failures than you're obviously aware of across multiple Nissan platforms. I work on my own vehicles and have friends in the automotive repair (including tranny) industries and these CVTs do not like to be driven hard on a regular basis it seems.

EDIT: For the record I've owned Nissans for nearly 20 years, including my little project Altima for 15 of those among other Nissans and have never had a transmission failure. And I drive every vehicle hard nearly every day. And btw, the Altima had over 280,000 on the tranny before I swapped it out for a shorter geared auto unit which has been beat on for the last 5 years and still runs great now at 341,000.

So yes, these issues pose a long term concern for some of us. I'm curious to see the cost of a rebuild/repair for those that venture past the warranty period. Regardless the 7th gen is one of the best looking sedans in recent years to me.

BTW 1996...you're sig pic makes me want to take a chance on the CVT despite it all lol. Beautiful car...

 

If the Dealer does the CVT service do they replace the filter also ?

Are people here really changing CVT fluid every 30K miles ?

 

I have and will continue. For $100 every 30k miles, its a good investment.

 

I agree....which makes me wonder if I should take a chance past the warranty period. I really like my car, it's still fun to drive for me. I go back & forth about keeping it & just rolling the dice...with the understanding if it does go, I'll just get another CVT from one of the many local junkyards.

Thank you for the kind words

 

I agree. I am only one of...dunno...several million CVT equipped vehicle owners and I am 1 of many. I just think there is something to be said for a properly maintained transmission that lasted 150K miles and gave no signs of failure prior to grenading. My goal for this car was honestly well over 200K miles. The parts dept at my local dealership told me that CVT failures are a lot more common than you would think.

It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Have never owned a vehicle that I questioned if I would be stranded and have to think twice "am I sure I want to take my car this far, what if I am 2 hours from home and cant make it back?" Sure, I could chock it up to "crap happens". I have honestly never owned a vehicle that has had any type of catastophic failure. This is a first time experience for me and one I dont want to repeat....ever. The only way i foresee to ensure it doesnt happen again is to not own this car or any other with a CVT. It isnt worthwhile to own a vehicle for only 150K miles...with my job, that would be 4-5 years. As many miles as I drive, I need something that can double that and I wont worry everytime I start it if I am going to make it back. Especially since there are times in SW VA that I travel for a solid hour without a stitch of cellphone service and my clients depend on me.

 

My cvt transmission is losing power also

 

Nissan said I have a warranty up to 120,000 miles so I am gonna have it looked at

 

My first CVT didn't just die....it actually gave me some signs that there was something wrong.

 

Yeah....I got in car, drove 8 miles into town and car drove beautifully, felt a really odd shudder when letting off brakes and letting car creep in parking lot. Rode around parking lot for a bit letting car creep to make sure it wasnt in my head, hit accel pedal to pull out and almost got hit. That happened twice on the 8 mile journey back home (the almost being T-boned part). Got home and it literally made it halfway up my driveway and there she rested. No warning...just gone.

 

When my cvt crapped out on me at 56k it threw several codes immediately after a hard acceleration. I was able to make it to the dealer which is where I was informed my cvt was toast. Honestly, 150k isn't terrible on a stock trans but what makes me worry is the fact that it's not rebuildable per Nissan. If my trans goes out in my accord I can have it rebuilt for $1600 whereas if my cvt goes out in my max again I am looking at $5k unless I want a junkyard unit. Oh well. I guess it's the price of admission to own a 7th gen.

 

Why is the CVT warranty on a 2009/10 10 years 120K miles and for 2011 and later models it's 5 /60K miles ?

 

Because the 09/10's were prone to failures.

 

That's not true... find a thread where only 09/10's were failing. They did so mainly cause they were not selling. Murano's, Pathfinders, and the 1st gen max which got the CVT were "prone to failure".

 

http://www.sonnax.com/units/223-JF010E-RE0F09A-

Parts are available for rebuild purposes.

Aamco has a very detailed article on the internals and diagnosis of this transmission. This transmission is used across many platforms and manufacturers so it doesnt make sense that rebuilding would be impossible. Nissan just makes more money if you simply replace at $2500 a pop for new tranny. Im sure they also want to get blown ones back to tear down and inspect for R&D purposes....

 

That would make sense as to why tranny shops dont work on CVT's. They don't fail enough to be profitable.... Makes sense.. I never thought of it like that.. hmmm

 

Because people have short memories and Nissan is a business that needs to generate profits. Once news papers got tired of making headlines due to Nissan CVT failures, Nissan lowered the warranty knowing average joe wouldn't know any better. They saved a ton of money too since their CVT parts now only need to last half the amount of time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_t...tween_failures)

 

From what I have read the 2011 and later cvt's were redesigned to give better performance with less internal oil pressures.

 

2011 here and I drive my maxima pretty hard . 65000 miles and I'm starting to see signs of cvt failure. Shuttering from a stop , **** poor responsiveness and performance . And horrible gas mileage. I average 14 mpg now . On a full tank of premium 91 octane, I get about 250-275 miles. At first I thought and was partly bc of my 22 inch wheels. Now back on 19 "s and still average 14-15 mpg. About to trade the maxima in for a truck. Gonna take a loss but couldn't possibly imagine dealing with a blown cvt .