I have a 2007 Altima 2.5 S 4D and it just started producing a whine today with only 56K miles. Car has been garage kept and well maintained as a Sunday cruiser/backup to my daily.

I don't have any CEL or stutters/power loss etc. Car still s*** and gits when needed. Fluid has regularly been checked but never replaced doesn't look brown or smell burned. nissan is telling me to buy a new trans for $5300 when the car only bluebooks for $4300 range on trade in. Any advice and help would be great.

I do have OE NS-2 CVT fluid on hand if a drain and fill will fix it. I have only about 4 quarts though.

Here is video of the sound, only noticeable with everything off and above 2k rpm. Doesn't happen in park. [youtube]https://youtu.be/sdu-hQjzm_A[/youtube]

Edit: The sound can only be heard inside the car with the windows all the way up and everything off. There's no noise really from the outside from what I can tell.

With 56K I'd definitely try a couple of quick-succession fluid changes and get the old stuff out of there. CVT fluid degrades with time from oxidation and moisture just like motor oil. What's in there has to be pretty crappy after 14 years.

Possibly there's an issue with the CVT tensioner.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Wed May 26, 2021 2:59 pm

With 56K I'd definitely try a couple of quick-succession fluid changes and get the old stuff out of there. CVT fluid degrades with time from oxidation and moisture just like motor oil. What's in there has to be pretty crappy after 14 years.

I changed the fluid and whine is still there. It's really weird. It's not a loud whine and it's almost like a power steering whine (but I've checked it like 3 times). Its coming from what sounds like the passenger side of the car.

While under it, I noticed the rubber boot on the passenger side axle is torn pretty badly, I don't know if it can create that noise though. I've never had to replace an axle.

The reason why I question that part of the car is because I have to be rolling or accelerate to hear the noise. I'm lost with this one.

Edit: Serpentine belt was replaced last year by me, cause it was pretty cracked from the car sitting. It's not really a belt squeal but I've read it can be a pulley but it only happens in gear. So I don't know.

If the noise occurs only when rolling then it has to be something from the tranny output pulley south, so yes, a trashed inner or outer CV is entirely plausible. So is a bad axle carrier bearing or a right front wheel bearing. Since the tranny is on the left, it's unlikely the problem is in the CVT drive or diff.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri May 28, 2021 10:01 am

If the noise occurs only when rolling then it has to be something from the tranny output pulley south, so yes, a trashed inner or outer CV is entirely plausible. So is a bad axle carrier bearing or a right front wheel bearing. Since the tranny is on the left, it's unlikely the problem is in the CVT drive or diff.

Yeah, I'll probably have to cave and pay nissan the 130 to look at it. I don't want to pull the axle to find out and it be a bigger job than what I wanted.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, to help me narrow it down.

You're most welcome. Jack the front wheels and put a stethoscope on it with the VDC off and wheels rolling. Chances are the source will be obvious.

If you’ve got a torn boot on the cv shaft then start there. It’s not throwing money at it because it needs replaced. I’ve never heard a cv whine but I’ve never had one torn like you describe and most likely bone dry. Usually a figure 8 in a parking lot will reveal the health of cv shafts. I’d push my car to an independent from dealer that just quoted $5300 for a $2k dollar tranny. Hell my dealer can install a cvt on a 2018 for less than that. I know cause I checked just in case.

D1dad wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 01, 2021 1:20 pm

If you’ve got a torn boot on the cv shaft then start there. It’s not throwing money at it because it needs replaced. I’ve never heard a cv whine but I’ve never had one torn like you describe and most likely bone dry. Usually a figure 8 in a parking lot will reveal the health of cv shafts. I’d push my car to an independent from dealer that just quoted $5300 for a $2k dollar tranny. Hell my dealer can install a cvt on a 2018 for less than that. I know cause I checked just in case.

Yeah, I called Midas and set up an appointment to have the axle and carrier bearing replaced. They quoted me $435 or $453 for parts and labor with lifetime warranty on the parts.

Not that bad compared to Nissan wanting $1200 lol. Worst case, if it is the transmission after all. I end up having a good reason to buy me a 2019 Infiniti Q50 S and give my old lady my 2015 Jetta Sport lol.

Only down side of it all though, I drove the car 900 miles from home and then the issue happened. So I'm having to rebuy tools on the fly if I decide to work on anything myself.

I'm hoping it'll be okay to do 900 miles back home in 2 weeks. I've been keeping it parked in the garage down here, to prevent the issue from worsening.

I can almost guarantee it’s not cvt related coming from the right side, although sounds have a tendency to bounce all over so who knows. The good thing is that you know the shaft is screwed and that price actually isn’t horrible. If it’s a wheel bearing to boot then Midas will surely sniff that out so be prepared. Id have them diagnose it so if it isn’t resolved then you have some recourse on the charges that may not have fixed it. I’m familiar with Midas and there’s incentive to the mechanic to turn as many bolts on your ride that he can.

D1dad wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:28 am

I can almost guarantee it’s not cvt related coming from the right side, although sounds have a tendency to bounce all over so who knows.

Altimas are pretty good about not "bouncing" noises. If it sounds righthand, then it almost certainly is righthand. So your take is spot on.

Good to know. I just can imagine a cv shaft whining. Grinding from being dry…Absolutely. When my 09 tranny started to whine it was unmistakable what it was. Not just right or left, the whole car.