Nissan Adds 10-Year CVT Warranty

[kerrton]

I have confirmation from the dealer (Sherwood Nissan near Edmonton Alberta are AWESOME), I quote:

"I just finished talking to the service manager here and he has informed me that Nissan has extended the warranty on all CVT’s to a 10yr 200,000km warranty. As far as vehicles made in 2011- he is not sure what they are going to provide as a warranty, as they have not mentioned anything about this."

This is GREAT news, probably the biggest news I've heard since buying this vehicle. Now we can stop whining about whether or not the CVT will be reliable over the long term, Nissan has apparently grown tired of this mis-concpetion as well, and put their money where their mouth is. This proves their confidence in the CVT, and also proves they value their customers. This is also a good business move, because I'm sure they'll win back some angry customers, namely 2003 Murano owners with failed CVT's just out of the regular warranty period. But I still can't find an official announcement online.

This is also great for re-sale value, if I were to sell before the 10 year mark I'd definately be pointing out the extended warranty as a big value added item. I'm glad I didn't pay money for the extended warranty now that I got one for free!! Thanks Nissan, I'm back on board as a fan again!!
Modified by kerrton at 9:56 AM 11/3/2009

[metabo]

I have confirmation from the dealer (Sherwood Nissan near Edmonton Alberta are AWESOME), I quote:

"I just finished talking to the service manager here and he has informed me that Nissan has extended the warranty on all CVT’s to a 10yr 200,000km warranty. As far as vehicles made in 2011- he is not sure what they are going to provide as a warranty, as they have not mentioned anything about this."

This is GREAT news, probably the biggest news I've heard since buying this vehicle. Now we can stop whining about whether or not the CVT will be reliable over the long term, Nissan has apparently grown tired of this mis-concpetion as well, and put their money where their mouth is. This proves their confidence in the CVT, and also proves they value their customers. This is also a good business move, because I'm sure they'll win back some angry customers, namely 2003 Murano owners with failed CVT's just out of the regular warranty period. But I still can't find an official announcement online.

This is also great for re-sale value, if I were to sell before the 10 year mark I'd definately be pointing out the extended warranty as a big value added item. I'm glad I didn't pay money for the extended warranty now that I got one for free!! Thanks Nissan, I'm back on board as a fan again!!

I assume you mean 2003 and LATER models? And, I assume this applies to both Nissan Canada and USA?

If so, this is great news indeed. Also, great for my peace of mind.

[estrada_ed]

Kerrton:

Even though I share your joy, I am still cautiously optimistic. For example, we still do not know the official terms of that extended warranty: deductible, AWD or FWD (for Rogue) and most important, whether is is transferrable to subsequent owners. The last one is the MOST important for resale, and I speak from a previous experience with a 2001 Honda Odyssey that also got an extended warranty fot the transmission, as I mentioned in the maiden thread for this topic that I initiated.

Because it was NOT transferrable and expired at 7yrs, when I tried to sell the van, educated would-be buyers wanted to know if the transmission was replaced during that period. Because during my tenure, I did not have any issues, it did not get replaced. At the end. I lost about $1K USD because of this...

[kerrton]

I assume you mean 2003 and LATER models? And, I assume this applies to both Nissan Canada and USA?

If so, this is great news indeed. Also, great for my peace of mind.

Whoops, sorry, I did mean 2003 and later models. As for the terms of the agreement, we should all get a letter in the mail outlining these.

[philipa_240sx]

Generally speaking, Nissan warranties are transferable between owners. There is one exception to the rule:

You cannot transfer the vehicle between countries (Canada and USA) within the first 6 mos. of ownership.

Read page 4 of the warranty booklet.

I am not sure if Nissan extended warranties, especially this 'CVT extended warranty' are transferable.

[joshjv]

See this website for info on the CVT warranty:http://www.nissanassist.com/index.php?menu=1

Q3. What vehicles are included in this program?A. 2003-2010 Murano; 2007-2010 Versa SL, Sentra, Altima and Maxima; 2008-2010 Rogue; 2009-2010 Cube.

Q8. When will customers be notified of this program?A. Owners will begin to be notified by mail during the first week of November. It will take up to 90 days to complete the mailing. The program is effective immediately so owners with concerns need not wait to contact their Nissan dealer if they need warranty service.

Q9. Is the extended warranty transferable?A. Yes, according to the terms of the original limited warranty, this warranty is applicable to the vehicle and transfers with ownership. No action is necessary to transfer the extended warranty to future owners.

[philipa_240sx]

Excellent find joshjv!

I will add this to the FAQ.

Here is a copy of the 'Owner Letter' that is posted on the same site.

http://www.nissanassist.com/

Dear Nissan Owner:

On behalf of everyone at Nissan, we would like to thank you for choosing to drive a Nissan. One of the many technologically-advanced features of your vehicle is the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), an innovative transmission that offers smooth, seamless shifting, while tailoring the vehicle's output to your driving style.

While Nissan is proud to offer this technology on many of our models, a small percentage of owners of early models equipped with CVTs have expressed concerns about the cost of repair of their transmissions after the warranty expires. We take these comments about the cost of vehicle ownership seriously. We strive to provide an exceptional ownership experience and are implementing a thorough Customer Satisfaction Program to address this topic.

First, to provide you with additional assurance regarding your overall cost of ownership we have doubled the warranty period for the Continuously Variable Transmission in your Nissan. The existing powertrain warranty coverage of 5 years/60,000 miles will be extended at no cost to you, for CVT repairs, replacements or related towing, to 10 years/120,000 miles, whichever comes first.

This extension is effective immediately and requires no action on your part. The remainder of your powertrain warranty coverage for components other than the transmission remains unchanged, at 5 years/60,000 miles, and your basic warranty coverage also remains unchanged. All other warranty terms, limitations and conditions otherwise apply. This extended transmission warranty is also fully transferable to future owners of your vehicle.

Second, Nissan will reimburse customers who have previously paid to repair or replace their CVT, if the repairs would have been covered within the new extended warranty period. Even if you no longer own your Nissan we will reimburse you for past CVT repairs that would have been covered under this extension of the warranty.

Further, in the unlikely event that your vehicle's transmission should need repair beyond the extended warranty period we are working to decrease the cost of repair and have already reduced the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of a replacement CVT. In addition, we continuously strive to enhance our products, and have made ongoing improvements to our CVTs over the years.

Nissan is taking these actions to demonstrate our confidence in the CVT technology and to show our commitment to stand behind our products.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

If you have previously paid for repairs to your CVT within the time and mileage limits of this new extended warranty, we ask that you download the Reimbursement Claim Form and follow the instructions on the site. If you have additional questions, please contact our Consumer Affairs office at 888-388-0318. Please be aware that the deadline for submitting the Reimbursement Claim Form is July 31, 2010.

The extended warranty coverage for CVT repair or replacement is effective immediately.

If you seek coverage for a repair under this extended warranty you will need to bring your vehicle to an authorized Nissan dealer. The factory-trained technical staff at the Nissan dealer will have the diagnostic tools and knowledge to provide you with the appropriate service and submit your warranty claim. If you have additional questions regarding this program, contact our Consumer Affairs office at 888-388-0318 for assistance.

At Nissan we and our dealers work daily to deliver an outstanding ownership experience that will earn your confidence and trust. We are committed to doing the right thing for our customers and look forward to a long relationship that you find satisfying and rewarding. Thank you for choosing Nissan.

Sincerely,

Kevin MartinVice President Total Customer Satisfaction

[philipa_240sx]

Another point mentioned in the owner letter above:

Nissan will be reimbursing any owner who have paid to have thier CVT repaired out of the original 5yr/60K warranty but within the new 10yr/120k extended warranty. Even past owners are included!

I really have to applaud Nissan for standing behind their products! At least in this case...

[philipa_240sx]

Interesting, the warranty seems to be written for the 'US' market only. No word if it actually applies to Canada... but I assume it would.

[koolyce]

Interesting, the warranty seems to be written for the 'US' market only. No word if it actually applies to Canada... but I assume it would.

I hope. Actually, I didn't received a letter from Nissan...

[joshjv]

I don't think anyone has gotten letters yet; I was able to find that website thanks to Google..

Try getting ahold of Nissan Consumer Affairs, they should be able to indicate if the Canadian and US versions are both covered.

CVT Phone Number: 1-888-388-0318

[kerrton]

My service manager (in Canada) indicated that we definately are covered. I agree Philip, this really adds to my respect for Nissan, and will likely weight heavily in my long-term brand loyalty as I'm sure it will for many others as well. So this is also a good business move on Nissan's part as well.

[rouge-rogue]

WOW my confidence in Nissan just went back up to when I first bought my Rogue. Now if only they can do something about the flimsy paint

[oolatec]

Too bad they won't do anything for '04/05 4/5sp auto transmission owners.

[philipa_240sx]

Update:

Nissan Canada has announced the same extended CVT warranty as the USA. I have received a letter to this effect from Nissan Canada. It's the same as the letter I posted above except:

- Instead of 10 years/120,000 miles it reads 10 years/200,000 kilometers- Signed D.A (Allan) Smerek, Director Aftersales & Quality Assurance- A sticker explaining the extended warranty is included for the warranty booklet

[roguester]

Received my letter from Nissan Canada. Comforting to have and it also covers towing if it's a transmission breakdown good for 10 years or 200,000 kms

[PlatinumGraphite]

I have a lot of questions, so please be patient with me, even if you want to toss a wrench at me. After reading a lot about these transmissions and losing confidence in them, I find myself thinking about selling a brand new car and getting something else. I know I would take a loss on this, but I don't want to be in this situation down the road with no warranty. From what I understand, they are using the same transmissions in the 2011 they used in the 08, but the software is different. Is this correct? Can someone who may know, explain to me how the software is going to keep the mechanical end of things from premature failure? And if there is no real change in the build of the transmission, why didn't they extend the 120,000 mi warranty to the 2011? Have they honestly fixed this situation? I know traditional transmissions have failures also, but it seems the cvt is having more than it's share of troubles. Reading about people having 2,3, or 4 transmissions replaced in the same car scares me. I understand that when this first started happening, they had no other choice but to keep replacing them, since they couldn't be worked on. Why can't they be reparied? why does it take around 5,600 for a full replacement? If it's supposed to be less complicated transmission, then why can't it be worked on or repaired? Or can it be now? I just don't know, since I've read so many conflicting reports. I settle down, somewhat, then I read elsewhere where they've already been replacing transmissions in the 2011's. I realize those are under warranty, but won't that really affect the trade-in/resale value later, when it's pulled up on the car's history? Hence the reasoning behind wanting to sell it before anything happens. Having said all that, I love the way this car drives. I don't want to sell it. But I feel like I'm driving around with a dark cloud over my car. Can anyone give me any technical information/reassurance so I can just shut up about this and enjoy my car? lol

[daytrippr]

MY 08 Rogue got a new transmission at 18K miles and the software update at like 30K miles....We now have 57K miles and it runs flawlessly.

I say, Don't worry...be happy! The Rogue is a great car and I would definitely buy another.

[kerrton]

Hi there Platinum Graphite, welcome to the Rogue forum!

My question is: what makes you believe that the Rogue and/or Nissan CVT are having so many problems?

Judging by our large sample of Rogue owners who are members on this forum, and from reputable sources such as TrueDelta.com, the Rogue is well above average in terms of reliability - plain and simple. Initially the 2008 models (my Rogue included) had a tendancy to exhibit a rattling noise at low speeds, but it did not lead to CVT failure (I've only read of 2 cases in total where a CVT actually failed outright). Myself and some other 2008 owners had the CVT replaced and the computer (ECU and TCM) reprogrammed to remedy the situation and the CVT has peformed flawlessly since.

I was informed by two Nissan Service managers that Nissan had made some small design changes to remedy the "CVT rattle issue", and the computer was reprogrammed to avoid the "slack drive chain" which I've been told was the source of the rattle. The bottom line is, the Rogue CVT had some issues early in 2008 and a few in the 2009 model year, but Nissan promptly remedied this for all subsequent model years and corrected all 08 and 09 models.

The CVT is used on all Nissan vehicles excluding large trucks, the 2.5 Altima has the same CVT as the Rogue and they sell thousands of these units. The Rogue is sold by the thousands in Europe as the Qausqai and in Asian as the Dualis. The Nissan CVT is also used in high horsepower applications with the Murano (roughtly 245 horsepower), and in all of these applications the CVT has been proven to be above average in terms of quality and reliabiltiy.

From what I understand the reason why the CVT cannot be serviced is not due to complexity, but the fact that it requires specialized tools and training which are not practical for a regular service shop. I've heard that the pre-load forces required during assembly are astronomical, which I can only assume would create a safety hazard for any technician attempting to disassemble and service a CVT.

I would recommend not reading too many anecdotes on the internet (except mine of course!!). I got into this habit early on when I purchased my Rogue and it drove me crazy. But you know what, if I had a RAV4 or CRV it would have been the same, people come to the internet to complain or to get help with problems, if things are good you don't hear from them. Here's a good anecdote that I have: my friend purchased a 2007 RAV4, the transmission failed and left him stranded, they replaced it, and it failed 2 more times so he finally traded it in on a 2009 and guess what, that transmission failed too! After listenting to his horror stories there is no way I'd ever even consider buying a RAV4, but do you think this is a rational decision? Of course not, it's based on emotion and based on a VERY small sample size. There are millions of reliable RAV4's and Rogue's that are completely trouble free for hundreds of thousands of miles......

[PlatinumGraphite]

Thanks Kerrton. I did a lot of research (I thought) and a lot of test driving before I purchased this car. I was going from an F-150 that got 14 mpg, that had a lot of sentimental value since it belonged to my dad, but I just couldn't keep putting all my money in that tank. So, when I traded, I traded for gas milage, mainly. I knew the Honda boasted a better realiability/longevity rating, but I didn't feel comfortable in that car. Those little arm rests made me think of plane rides. Anyway, I decided on the rogue. After this purchase, I discovered the customer discussion thread at the bottom of the Edmunds site. All the reviews I was reading, except for a couple, were glowing for the rogue. But I never read the discussions part of that page until after purchase. Those discussion are the main reason I started googling everything in sight about vibration, cvt failures, etc. I am now ok with the vibration. I totally get that part of the design and it bugged me to no end at first, but now I'm used to it and rarely notice it, unless I'm behind a very very slow driver for miles and miles...then it bothers me. So, from those discussions on that forum, and my obsessive tendency to check stuff out, I started finding more and more people complaining about their cvts. I felt ok until I've read in the last month on two different places, that two of these in the 2011 have now failed. That's what sent me running to test drive another car yesterday and prompted my post.

[kerrton]

This sounds very familiar, I had a very similar experience and finally realized that if I searched hard enough for any problem I was bound to find something but that bias wasn't an accurate representation of reality.

By no means am I saying the Rogue is perfect, but I'm sure this vehicle as a whole is good quality and you will be happy with your purchase. The key is to just relax and not worry! Have fun driving.....

[Elton Noway]

I have a lot of questions, so please be patient with me, even if you want to toss a wrench at me. After reading a lot about these transmissions and losing confidence in them, I find myself thinking about selling a brand new car and getting something else. I know I would take a loss on this, but I don't want to be in this situation down the road with no warranty.

Hi Platinum Graphie... Slow down, take a couple deep breaths. Consider this, the internet is awash with negative reviews on just about every product and service under the sun. Like you, I did a d ton a research before buying my Rogue. I also drove a F150 (purchased it in new 1990) and like you identified it was not the most fuel efficient. Anyway, unlike you I found all the nasty CVT stories [I[before[/I] I purchased my 2009 Rogue. At the time I was considering a Honda CRV or Subaru Forrester... (FY... both have their share of various complaints on the internet) For example: My wife got a brand new Acura a several years ago and the transmission failed at 52,000 miles (it was out of warranty and $1900 out of my pocket!). Does that mean all Acura and Honda products have bad transmissions. Nope. Did other Honda / Acura transmissions fail. Did I jump on the internet and do a write up complaining about it. You bet I did! I let everyone know I wasn't happy about the poor reliability.

Fact is, research studies have shown, if you go to a restaurant and get bad service and/or a bad meal you are 58% more likely to complain and tell all your friends about how bad everything was. But if the meal / service was great you typically don't mention it to anyone unless a person asks you for a restaurant recommendation.

Also something to consider... when you drive a new car off the lot... it "instantly" becomes a used vehicle and drops "thousands" of dollars in value. If you sell your Rogue (at a loss) for a problem that doesn't exist in your vehicle... on speculation that it might in the future, the financial impact (the money you loose) will probably be more than what it would cost you to replace your transmission out of pocket.

"After reading all the stories about the failing CVTs... the problems with the 2008 models and even a few 2009's... I considered the law of averages and the statistics, the hundreds of thousands of problem free CVTs in service and the Rogues 10 year CVT warranty.... I purchased my 2009 and haven't looked back.

Kerrton has been around this forum for many years and has also offered some great feedback... so just relax... and enjoy the ride!

[philipa_240sx]

Kerrton,

I wouldn't say Nissan has sold 'millions' of Altima's and Rogue's but there are alot out there.

BTW, JATCO (part owned by Nissan and mfg's all their transmissions) just announced in Jan '11 that they have produced 10 million CVT transmissions world wide since 1997!

Nissan reached the 1 million CVT mark back in 2009. Not sure where they are at now.

[kerrton]

Good point, I apologize for my laziness and mis-using the term "millions", more accurately I should have said "thousands"....thanks for the correction!

[ThandaPani]

I did not know about the CVT warrenty update. I did not receive any letter on it either. Glad to know about it and a real happy member of the forum.

[PlatinumGraphite]

What about a kamillion?

I appreciate everyone's input and advice. I really do like this car and do not really want to sell it. I think it's an emotional response to hysteria lol Anyway, I bought this car for a reason. I liked it. Period. I would be sitting in a Forester right now if i didn't. btw, does the new Forester look like a high top tennis shoe to anyone else? Back to my point..I liked the car. The day I test drove it, I told a friend I thought I had found a car that I liked enough to over-ride the sentimentality I had held on about keeping my Dad's truck. I did NOT want to sell that truck and at times I still regret it, which is probably another reason I was so upset about hearing about these cvt failures. It was buyers remorse, mainly based around that truck, I think. Maybe I need a therapist, instead of a rogue forum. hahahaha! Anyway, thanks again for your input.