CVT transmission: Pro's vs Cons

[bb123]

I have a 2008 Altima sedan 3.5L I just got 2 weks ago. First nissan and first car in 17yrs as I have moved away from the lifted truck world.

What cons are common in this vehicle?

I keep reading online about all of these problems with the CVT transmissions but then i keep seeing many others, a coworker included who has 98K miles on his, with no problems but he is a 60yr old man is no hot rod....

So how comon is this problem?

Also, I hear and read about the 10yr/120K trannny warranty. But I was readining that the dealer has to choose you or soemthing of that nature... But some site stated anything from 2004 on with a CVT is covered.

Any truth? I called nissan and the service writter told me 5yr/60k miles on the powertrain only.

So what's the deal?

[IBCoupe]

Your CVT's warranty is to 120,000 miles. The service guy was a toolbag.

I haven't had any problems with my CVT. I've noticed it gets a little sluggish in manual mode when it gets overheated, but that's it. Remember, when you're searching for "CVT issues" or "CVT complaints," it's going to look like everyone who's ever had one is complaining about it, when it's only the people who have problems that bother to say anything.

For most of us, I think, it's been issue-free.

[RicerX]

I have had two CVT Nissans - neither of which gave me any trouble. That said, the most mileage I've had on one is about 36,000. I haven't driven one on a long term basis. I am driving a 6MT now for no other reason besides preference. I thought going to the CVT was going to be cool, but I just enjoy driving stick too much.

I have a couple friends with CVT Altimas. My friend has a 2.5SL Sedan with about 62,000 miles on it and has never had any trouble. My other friend has a 2008 3.5SE Coupe loaded out and has about 40,000 on his (and to give you a hint of his driving habits - used to have a Mustang Mach 1 until he traded it for the Altima).

[kerrton]

The CVT company JATCO which Nissan is part owner of manufacturers thousands of these every year for most of Nissan's lineup including Versa, Cube, Juke, Sentra, Altima, Maxima, Rogue (I have a 2008 Rogue with QR2.5 and CVT) and Murano with 3.5 L engine putting around 235ish horsepower through it's CVT - all of these vehicles are rated "above average" in all consumer report sources I've looked at (ex. TrueDelta, Edmonds). These CVT's are used in Japan and the rest of Asia, all across Europe, and North America. If the CVT was crap Nissan would not be installing these things in all of there small and mid size vehicles across the globe.

All manufacturers have a small number of transmission failures, when this happens the owners will not say "I'll never buy a conventional automatic transmission again because the design is crap/faulty"; of course not, you'd be upset but you wouldn't lose faith in the auto transmission. But, when the same happens to the CVT people are not very forgiving, when an unusual failure does occur people get on the internet and post things like "the CVT is crap because I have one that failed, therefore all CVT's are crap and nobody should ever buy one". But this ignores the hundreds of thousands of owners with no problems at all.

But the CVT does have it's shortcomings. If you want to tow or you drive hard and generally abuse your vehicle the CVT could run into durability/reliability issues, but I'd say it's still a low chance because there are a lot of people out there abusing CVT vehicles right now I'm sure of it. Tow limits are generally set very low, for my Rogue FWD I have a 1000 lb limit - in reality I know I can tow much more (we have a guy on our forum who routinely tows a large heavy boat, maybe 2500 lbs worth, no problems at all), I think they set these tow limits on the extreme conservative side becaue they know people don't follow limits and it gives them an out on warranty claims where vehicle has been used to tow.

Most of the complaints about CVT's are regarding performanance and driving experience, if you are heavy footed the CVT tends to hold rpms high for extended periods of time. If you drive conservatively I find it to be the opposite, it will "upshift" very quickly selecting a high gear ratio and hold rpms very low, as though you're driving around town in 5th gear as with a manual trans, producing a bit of engine lugging which does save fuel.

Do I like my CVT? Yes and no, it's a compromise for me. I love the fuel efficiency, don't really like the performance but it's ok. Honestly if the QR25 engine was more refined, less raspy and noisy I would probably like the CVT better, it's really the powertrain combo that I think could improved on. The QR25 engine is loud, REALLY loud in winter when it's cold, and combine this with the CVT holding higher rpms and in winter it will hold a really low gear ratio to protect the CVT from damage until it warms up, and this creates a real ugly situation where the engine is rattling like crazy and you can't get any pickup/speed because the CVT is in a very low gearing. Once it warms up a bit things are much better, and in summer it's a totally different car, but it takes some getting used to.

[QR25DE]

The CVT is fine for N/A power and what it was designed for. If you are someone that is going to be adding mods like a turbo setup, well it's proabbly going to fail. It cannot take the heat and power. The 6MT is bullet proof.

[ripcurl21]

My transmission just went out on me at 35k miles they are crap! I hear a lot of people have been having to have them replaced....

[IBCoupe]

Notice the post count there?

[kerrton]

No, I don't follow you, what do you mean?

[IBCoupe]

"Ripcurl1 - Posts: 1"

And he signed up four minutes before posting that comment.

[nogears909]

no issues at all with my CVT so far, love it. And the performance is good enough for what i need.

[jdeb101]

I'm at about 58K miles on my CVT with no problems. I have the same opinion as Kerrton.

Question... has anyone with CVT had transmission fluid changed? I've read mixed opinions in the past, but I think most people suggested it at 60K, which I'm getting close too.

[IBCoupe]

I'm at about 58K miles on my CVT with no problems. I have the same opinion as Kerrton.

Question... has anyone with CVT had transmission fluid changed? I've read mixed opinions in the past, but I think most people suggested it at 60K, which I'm getting close too.

I've had two different service managers (Girard Nissan in Groton, CT and Grossman Nissan in Old Saybrook, CT) tell me they'll change the fluid when the transmission reports that it needs to be changed. I'm not entirely sure how they check it, but they say they do. I've been asking since about 60,000 miles, and I'm over 98,000 now, and they have yet to do it.

Also, you will have to take it to the dealer to have it done - it's a sealed system so a Valvoline or a JiffyLube won't be able to do it for you like they would any other transmission.

[eiching1]

Find the warranty info here.

http://www.nissanassist.com/web/CVT/Pro ... php?menu=9

[kerrton]

IBCoupe is correct, the onboard computer monitors and records thousands of constantly changing parameters as you drive including CVT transmission temp, gearing, pressure/stress (probably not directly measured but calculated based on throttle output of the engine and gearing of the transmission) - if you drive hard you put more stress on the transmission vs. gentle easy driving for example, these parameters are all constantly monitored and stored in the computer (ECU and/or TCU).

All of these parameters are fed into an algorithm that calculates the rate of degradation to the fluid, and when you bring your vehicle in for maintenance as per the manufacturer's schedule, under the item "check CVT fluid" they not only check the level with the dipstick but also connect the CONSULTII diagnostic tool to the computer and calculate the fluid degradation and remaining life. Basically the car will tell you when the fluid is degraded to the point that it needs to be replaced.

However, in my experience with vehicle maintenance, it is sometimes a good idea to change fluids even if the maintenance schedule doesn't tell you to. Take coolant for example, I've always felt through obserations over the years that it's a good investment to change this fluid early, regardless if it's the standard green or long-life, changing it a year early will optimize system maintenance and really help avoid future problems with components such as the radiator, water pump etc. Leaving that fluid in there too long has far too often resulted in bad water pumps, plugged heater cores and radiators in past vehicles that a few years ago I started changing the coolant fluid out early, as have some of my family members for years, and we've never had a bad component since. This is not an exact science or a guarantee, but it seems to be good practice and is cheap peace of mind insurance.

I believe the same concept would apply to the CVT transmission fluid, but at a much longer time scale. If under typical North American driving conditions the onboard computer doesn't advise changing the fluid until 150,000 miles for example, I personally would probably change it around 100,000. It would take me 10 years of driving or more to rack up that many miles, so by that point I'd be ok with giving the car a little TLC and spending the 3 or 400 bucks to change the fluid.

That's just my opinion, but considering the price of a replacement CVT, why would you risk overusing the fluid when all it costs is 400 bucks every 10 years to ensure your transmission is babied a little bit?

[kerrton]

Also you can check your CVT fluid level dipstick yourself and see how the color looks and ensure the level is in the normal zone. Nissan will tell you that you can't determine fluid quality by the color and I realize that but I still think it's a good general indicator. The new fluid is almost clear with just a light tinge of amber to it, if you pull the dipstick and see dark brown fluid I'd say generall that has to indicate the fluid isn't as good as new.

[jahn surf irie]

IBCoupe is correct, the onboard computer monitors and records thousands of constantly changing parameters as you drive including CVT transmission temp, gearing, pressure/stress (probably not directly measured but calculated based on throttle output of the engine and gearing of the transmission) - if you drive hard you put more stress on the transmission vs. gentle easy driving for example, these parameters are all constantly monitored and stored in the computer (ECU and/or TCU).

All of these parameters are fed into an algorithm that calculates the rate of degradation to the fluid, and when you bring your vehicle in for maintenance as per the manufacturer's schedule, under the item "check CVT fluid" they not only check the level with the dipstick but also connect the CONSULTII diagnostic tool to the computer and calculate the fluid degradation and remaining life. Basically the car will tell you when the fluid is degraded to the point that it needs to be replaced.

However, in my experience with vehicle maintenance, it is sometimes a good idea to change fluids even if the maintenance schedule doesn't tell you to. Take coolant for example, I've always felt through obserations over the years that it's a good investment to change this fluid early, regardless if it's the standard green or long-life, changing it a year early will optimize system maintenance and really help avoid future problems with components such as the radiator, water pump etc. Leaving that fluid in there too long has far too often resulted in bad water pumps, plugged heater cores and radiators in past vehicles that a few years ago I started changing the coolant fluid out early, as have some of my family members for years, and we've never had a bad component since. This is not an exact science or a guarantee, but it seems to be good practice and is cheap peace of mind insurance.

I believe the same concept would apply to the CVT transmission fluid, but at a much longer time scale. If under typical North American driving conditions the onboard computer doesn't advise changing the fluid until 150,000 miles for example, I personally would probably change it around 100,000. It would take me 10 years of driving or more to rack up that many miles, so by that point I'd be ok with giving the car a little TLC and spending the 3 or 400 bucks to change the fluid.

That's just my opinion, but considering the price of a replacement CVT, why would you risk overusing the fluid when all it costs is 400 bucks every 10 years to ensure your transmission is babied a little bit?

+1

I remember the early E46 BMW manuals claiming their automatic transmission fluids were "lifetime" and never need any maintenance or changing...
Those same transmissions acquired the nickname "autotragics" and you can imagine at least in part why..

[dmans21]

I have 67k plus on our 2.5 Altima with the CVT its a 2008. Not a single issue with the car. A buddy of mine locally had problems with his when it had around 40k CVT also. I think they just replaced it under warranty. I have had alot of nissans and this one seems to be on par with the rest I have owned. Great cars.

[Sniffid]

The CVT on mine went out at 89,000 miles. It was replaced under warranty, about three weeks ago but I'm having trouble again. It surges and lugs at different times. Sometimes it seems as though it is going to quit.

There is also code P0172 - Fuel Injection System Too Rich (Bank 1).
Could this be related to the apparent problem with the CVT? Initially I had the Catalytic Converter replaced as a weld broke at just under 89,000 miles. This code was showing up and Nissan said the CVT needed to be replaced. They mentioned an O2 sensor being installed on the Cat Converter versus a Fuel Sensor so I had the shop that installed converter check it and they installed another sensor. It was OK for a couple of days but now it's showing the same code. These too issues can't be related can they?