Serpentine Belt and CVT Fluid change?

Nissan Rogue forum - Includes Nissan Qashqai and Nissan Dualis as well.
leftykev
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Took my 2008 Rogue in for oil change and inspection. I current have 43k miles. Except for a few longer trips, I generally drive city only. Currently, I only drive about 3k miles every 6 months. I skipped the Dealer recommended 30k miles servicing, which replaces ALL fluids and belts, for about $850 dollars. After posting a message here, I passed on that service as not necessary (just a dealer money maker). Up till now, then only thing I've had to replace is the battery. The factory tires are about done, so that is my next expense.

So, today the Dearly advises that I replace the main serpentine belt, because there are some visible small cracks. And, the CVT tranny fluid is getting dark. The service advisor told me they generally recommend changing the CVT tranny fluid about every 30k miles. He said they dump half the fluid and add new fliud to replenish the supply. REALLY? I couldn't believe that and just told him next time.


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ImStricken06
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leftykev wrote:So, today the Dearly advises that I replace the main serpentine belt, because there are some visible small cracks. And, the CVT tranny fluid is getting dark. The service advisor told me they generally recommend changing the CVT tranny fluid about every 30k miles. He said they dump half the fluid and add new fliud to replenish the supply. REALLY? I couldn't believe that and just told him next time.
show me a serpentine belt older than 6months that doesnt have "some visible small cracks".

since old dirty fluid in the tranny adds to grip in the clutch packs- this is their way of not removing all the grit so you don't come back with a slipping tranny.

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kerrton
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Well that's a new one, your dealer has basically created their own process for CVT maintenance, I'd be curious to know why they're deviating from the standard process. Unless they can explain further or give you a reference to a service manual, tech service bulletin etc. I wouldn't want to waste my time replacing half of the tranny fluid. It doesn't sound like it could hurt anything but why spend your money unless you are convinced of its value?

The Nissan manufacturer specifically states that you "cannot determine the remaining fluid life by visual inspection", you can have a fluid that looks "dirty" but it may have a lot of life left still. The way to test is to check with the onboard computer which monitors your driving conditions and calculates fluid life, it will tell the tech. when you need to replace the fluid.

Regarding the serpentine belt, this is a very important belt and in my experience its tough to accurately judge wear visually. The ribs will wear down evenly and can look good but when compared with a new belt you will see that they have significant wear. Also the rubber gets old and cracks as your service guys report, but you're generally good for 5 to 7 years with typical driving. I always try to error on the side of caution especially if you're long highway road trips (i.e. you don't want to get stranded) and I change mine generally about every 5 years.

TrevorK
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leftykev wrote:So, today the Dearly advises that I replace the main serpentine belt, because there are some visible small cracks.
I'm not sure how much warranty you have left but if you're out of warranty you do have the option of having a different shop install the belt to avoid the high dealer rates. Otherwise I don't think anyone can tell you whether it's time to replace the belt without actually seeing it. That said, it's one of those items that would be a big hassle to break in the middle of nowhere.
And, the CVT tranny fluid is getting dark. The service advisor told me they generally recommend changing the CVT tranny fluid about every 30k miles. He said they dump half the fluid and add new fliud to replenish the supply. REALLY? I couldn't believe that and just told him next time.
The service manual indicates that for the "Optional Premium Upgrade" you change the fluid at 30K, so it doesn't seem wrong that they offer that up as their timeframe for doing the fluid change.
However, I would not just replace the fluid. They have the ability to hook it up to the computer and tell you whether it needs to be changed. The manual also makes no mention of draining only half of it, I would think that's the service advisor talking without knowing the procedure.

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ImStricken06
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draining only half the fluid is an old trick to protect that the customer actually leaves the service center.

with an aging tranny, the clutch packs loose their grip and actually begin to rely upon the dirty fluid to aid in the gripping process. the grit that wore off from the clutch disks, is now floating around and aiding to be the bond between clutch disk & steel plate.

if you remove all the grit & the dirty fluid, you essentially removed what caused the clutch packs to grip. if they dont grip = you dont go anywhere. and to make things worse, fresh tranny fluid is a detergent, and extremely slippery.
so to make sure you actually make it out of there; drain half the fluid.

its a dirty little trick to make you think you got the tranny flushed/serviced when all you really did was a half a55 job that wasnt even worth the time nor the money. if this technique actually was an effective maintenance ritual, you'd be replacing only half your engine oil every 3-5 thousand miles.

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kerrton
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I'm wondering if the maintenance manual has been tweaked since 2008.

My 2008 manual calls for a CVT fluid replacement under the Preferred and Maint. #1 Schedule at 96,000 km (60,000 miles).

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Rogue One
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kerrton wrote:I'm wondering if the maintenance manual has been tweaked since 2008.

My 2008 manual calls for a CVT fluid replacement under the Preferred and Maint. #1 Schedule at 96,000 km (60,000 miles).
2011 Rogue Manual "For vehicles with a CVT transmission (Cube, Murano, Altima, Altima Coupe, Maxima, Rogue, Sentra and Versa), replace the fluid every 60,000 miles or request the dealer to inspect the fluid deterioration data using a Consult. If the deterioration data is more than 210000, replace the CVT fluid."

TrevorK
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kerrton wrote:I'm wondering if the maintenance manual has been tweaked since 2008.

My 2008 manual calls for a CVT fluid replacement under the Preferred and Maint. #1 Schedule at 96,000 km (60,000 miles).
I believe the CVT itself was reworked in 2011 so I wouldn't doubt that there are going to be some minor differences in regards to the CVT maintenance.

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kerrton
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Nissan released details of their "next-generation CVT" in 2011 but this model has not yet made it into the Rogue - the documented specs for the Rogue CVT have not changed since the first model year 2008 unless you are referring to some undocumented minor assembly line changes that were made but this would not be public information.

Part numbers did change for the Rogue CVT in 2009 which is anyone's guess why. Sometimes it's because they did in fact make some minor changes to the design, other times it could be simply an administrative change. Either way, the Rogue has never been marketed as having a "new or redesigned" CVT, that will likely occur for the first time in 2014 with the completely redesigned model.

RogueOne has confirmed for me that the maintenance interval for the CVT fluid has not changed since 2008, it is still 60,000 miles for all but Mainenance #2 (highway only) driving type. Thanks for clearing that up.

daytrippr
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I am confused....my 2008 Service and Maintenance Guide only say "Inspect" the CVT fluid...never an automatic changing interval for the fluid


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