Quick back story.. Had my 05 SE for 6 years. Got it with 65k and now has 90k. Wife only drives around town mostly. Don't know any history of fluid changes etc.. but I've never done it in the 25k we've had it. Yesterday when I did 3 point turn, delayed going into drive and shifted harder when it did. First and only time its done anything strange. Checked fluid and it's still pretty pink but was +/- a quart low but never saw any leaks. Shifted fine for drive home but don't want to drive till I take care of it. I've read ad nauseum about the issue and it's scared me from right after I bought the car. Am I correct that drain and refill is first step to try and avoid more problems? Which fluid should I use? And how much should I need? And should I do it 3 times like I've read? Or is there other things I should look at?

 

I would drain and fill it. Get a case of matic K if you can afford it. Some have needed as little as 3 quarts while some have filled upwards of five quarts. It is strongly recommended that you use only genuine nissan fluid in this transmission. 1 quart costs between 9 and 14 dollars depending on where you buy it from.

The first time i drained my transmission five quarts came out. Only three and a half quarts drained out the last two times i did a drain and fill.

Hope this is the solution to your problem.

Best of luck to you and happy holidays.

 

Thanks for the reply. I drove it around for some errands today to get it hot and checked the fluid again, barely touched the dipstick. No leaks so . Grabbed a case of Matic K yesterday (at $142.56 from dealer.. booooooo!!!). Had it on ramps and only got about 2.5 qts out. Put 3 back in, idled and ran through gears, and it's in the cross hatches. Drove it around for 20 minutes or so highway, streets, and getting on it a bit and it's at the top of the cross hatches.

As to how it drove.. I don't remember it ever shifting so smooth in the 6 years we've had the car. 1-2 ans 2-3 always shifted hard but not anything different than my previous GM cars. Holy ****, now I can't barely feel it shift. And the delay and bang into drive only happened that one time so I hope it was because the fluid was low. Fingers crossed. I'll change the fluid again after 100 miles or so.

 

You got only 2.5 quarts out when draining the fluid? Of course it was too low in first place.

 

Yes, I'd suggest 3.5. 3 quarts is somewhat marginal.

 

I would monitor the level on the stick a few times a week. Check it before you drive and then after to get a good idea of the different levels on the stick with the temperature changes of the fluid. I drain and fill once a year now to hopefully stay away from the tranny problem we all will have to deal with.

Good job.

Happy Holidays.

 

When we did a drain and refill on my friend's 5 speed automatic 04 Maxima we jacked up the rear end with the front tires on the pavement. This allowed us to drain an additional quart of fluid out. If I remember correctly the 6th Gen auto has the drain plug towards the front of the transmission?

 

The first time i drained the transmission a little more than five quarts came out. I did not jack up the vehicle. So what you said makes very good sense.

 

Since I drained and refilled (haven't driven it much since) it has again a few times hesitated and clunked from R-D and P-D. And just now started clunking and jerking some between 1-2 and if I coast and get back on it it jerks as well. Should I bother draining and refilling again or just update to the Rostra solenoids? Watching pics and videos it seems pretty straight forward to replace. Seems like a waste to me at this point to keep changing fluid without other repair..