Hi guys I just changed out my trans fluid at 50,000kms - I did 4 drain and re-fills with fresh Dex3 semi syn fluid.
Something worth mentioning - the fluid was jet black, think, and cloudy. compared to the new fluid with is cherry red and clear enough to see through.
Shifts are much smoother- getting up to speed is much faster - and gas mileage has jumped 6-8% in city driving only. Have not done much highways yet.

great improvement and for $80 for all the fluid - 20 litres at Wally World great price for a clean transmission.

and easy to do - drain fluid from trans (3.5Litres) and fill through the trans dipstick tube (3.5 litres) - take car for a 5 min drive and do it again - also when finished last drain disconnect the negative terminal from the battery to reset the trans ECU to adapt to the new fluid - the trans will naturally adapt but this forces it quicker.

cheers - I will post a picture of the fluid in a few days - it is really nasty

Is this something that should be done at this interval time? Does it matter what transmission you have?

where did you find that Dex3 is OK for your transmission? I assume you ahve a CVT or Auto?

4 speed auto - fluid bought at wal mart - I used Maxlife trans fluid, big red bottle.
Cheers

I meant, how do you know Maxlife isn't going to cause your transmission to have problems over time because it's not the recommended fluid from Nissan?

Ahhhhh I see - Well GM stopped allowing licenses for Dexron 3 fluid over 3 years ago - so the fluid from Nissan is probably rebottle something - the Matic D was just re bottled Dex3 fluid. I also called and spoke to Nissan Canada and Valvoline USA and they both confirmed safe usage in the versa 4 speed automatic.

Oh and Dex3 is started in the manual as a suitable replacement for matic D.

Promise Land wrote:I meant, how do you know Maxlife isn't going to cause your transmission to have problems over time because it's not the recommended fluid from Nissan?

Is this something that we have to do? If so, what mileage interval is it listed at in the maintenance book; and where would I find out what fluid is recommended by Nissan?

check the owners manual for type and quantity. or the service manual.

According to the manual only inspection is necessary - I thought I would share my experience with my trans fluid at 50,000kms - I am sure there are some people here with higher mileage and OEM fluid that has never been changed.
Just planting the bug in ears, many people change their engine oil but never their trans oil ? it is often the forgotten fluid ....!

Clean fluid - usually will provide a cooler running transmission and a longer transmission life.

very easy to to and does not require jacking the car up to do it. Easier than an oil change ..

If the fluid was THAT dark at 50,000 KM, it sounds like the transmission is working too hard .

But yea. I'm surprised at the amount of people that don't know they should be changing their transmission fluid as well as the engine oil. Generally, there are a lot of vehicles with overbuilt transmissions that still work fine after many, many miles while never having the fluid changed but certain cars like Saturn S-Series and older Ford Taurus's tend to crap out on the transmission side. Lucky us though, we did great on the S-series we got for my wife. The car had just came in and the guy had no idea if the transmission fluid had been changed but the fluid in it was super bright red and the filter (canister on outside just like the engine on this car) looked like it had just been replaced. It operates as close to a new car as an 11 year old car can. I plan to change it every 25K.

It might also be worth noting if anyone buys an old high mileage vehicle that still shifts fine but has fluid that looks like it hasn't been changed in forever, it may actually make it worse or break it by changing it . It's kinda like when you run synthetic through an old engine that had conventional oil not always changed on time. It cleans out gunk that may have actually been holding it together.

Actually, not really.
Nissan Matic D is a conventional fluid, Not synthetic - In Canada we see temp extremes all year round - lots of city driving in the winter is enough to toast any trans fluid -

Take a quick look at yours and I am sure you will be suprised - since the weekend I have done drain and fills on two different cars - 05 honda civic and 06 toyota yaris (family) - both cars had around 60,000kms and both were just as dark - both cars were from drivers who baby their cars, not beat on them.

Many dealerships will tell you to leave the fluid alone - however, all the trans shops in ottawa have said that it is good maintenance to change the fluid around 30-50,000kms depending on manufacturer.

Just a FYI for other forum members - the cars look great on the outside but when the trans leaves you high and dry at 120,000kms it could have possibly been prevented.

Thanks for the tip nmaiorin.

What part of Canada are you from?

I will be at the dealer on Tuesday getting my ABS rear harness replaced under warranty (see under the brake section for the note I received today from Nissan Canada). I will ask them when they recommend I change that and with what fluid. I will of course, change it at home. I am not paying them for any labour on my vehicle. Nissan Canada likes to charge TOO much.

I am from Ottawa - and I will bet dollars to donuts they will tell you the fluid is fine and leave it in for the life of the car - or the warranty - your best bet would be to call your local transmission shops and ask them what they recommend (kms to change) for your car..... the two answers will drastically differ -

I think if you have anything over 30,000kms on a car driven , mainly, in the city - ie: lots of gear changes - you should probably change the fluid yourself - Any Dexron3 fluid will do -

I have 34K right now on my Versa. I've had it for over 2 years already. Most of my driving now is city. For the first year or so it was all highway (school/placement). So my kms are a mixture so far.

I need to do this in a couple thousand miles. Thanks for the tip.

FOR AUTOMATIC TRANS ON A VERSA..IS IT A DRAIN AND FILL APPLICATION? I KNOW ON HONDAS THEY ARE

the service manual says it's a drain & fill, putting in as much as you drain out. In another section it says it takes ~8 quarts of fluid. The OP did a drain and fill 5 times with driving between each drain to ensure he got most of the old fluid out.

Not completely sure, but it seems one drain and fill equals about 4 quarts?

on cvt trannys I'm pretty sure they have a viscosity sensor that will tell you when to change the fluid.

I've heard that too about the CVTs. Can anyone confirm this?
I had my CVT tranny fluid changed at 40,000 miles just because I did a lot of city driving at that time. Now I am mainly highway and doing a 100 miles a day. I'd like to not have to change it until it tells me to if that's an option...since the fluid is so freakin' expensive. I like the CVT but if I knew what I know now about the expense of it and not really being able to change it yourself (I work on cars but I don't dare touch the CVT) I would have gotten a 4-speed.

And speaking...because I have never really looked for it...where is the fluid level indicator "stick" for the CVT?

Knightro2 wrote:where is the fluid level indicator "stick" for the CVT?

The 4-speed is just behind the radiator on the driver's side and I believe the CVT is also.

Just went out and looked (bored at work) and found it.
It was near where you said. It is actually kind of just in front of the battery and down below...not really noticable that much. Just a metal tub with a black cap on it.