I apologize in advance as I know these topics have been coverd in-depth already. I've been reading a ton of posts on this issue, but I have some more specific questions.
I have a 2008 Rogue SL FWD with 179,000 miles on it. I still have the ORIGINAL CVT installed in the car (sounds like a miracle after reading this forum and complaints on the NHTSA website), and aide from a leak on the torque converter seal in 2013 and a leak that developed on an axle seal where CVT oil was dripping in 2017 (both repaired by the dealer - sorry, I don't remember the exact mileage on each of those issues), the car has been pretty great. I have not had any drain/refills on the transmission at all, except for when the above repairs were made. Aside from that, the only other "major" repair was changing out the fuel sending unit, which I did myself and was a piece of cake once I was able to find the correct tool to spin the sending unit out of the car. Saved $500 by buying a used part on ebay for $75, borrowing a 1/2 socket handle, and $120 for the wrench attachment to remove the sending unit. I digress...
Over the last few years I've been dealing with the "limp-mode" issue. For almost 3 years I did not know about any of this, except for maybe 2 long drives a year when I would have issues after about 400 miles of driving. I didn't really think about it much, but I figured out pretty quick that something transmission-related was overheating, so I'd either reduce my speed for half an hour of the 11-hour trip until it cooled off, or I'd stop for half an hour and let stuff cool off.
I recently experienced limp-mode on a much shorter, but very hilly drive last weekend, which was alarming as I had only driven about 100 miles. Did some research, ordered the aux cooler kit, and am planning on doing the install on that over the weekend. Before I do that, I have a few questions for those in-the-know....
1. How much fluid can I expect to lose when I pull the old beehive off? I have noticed that my CVT seems a little overfilled according to the dipstick, so I'm expecting a bit more will be lost when I remove the old beehive than a properly filled CVT. So I'm really wondering how much I should attempt to add back to get it back to the proper level. My plan is to add a little at a time, keep it hot, and check the fluid level until it looks normal.
2. Should I do this work with the car hot (drive around for 20 minutes first), warm (let it idle in my driveway for 5-10 minutes), or completely cold?
3. As far as I know (99% sure), the CVT only has NS-2 fluid in it at the moment as it's only ever had work done at the Nissan dealership. I have a quart of Valvoline CVT oil (NS-2 Compatible) to top it off with, but I wanted to ask if anyone thinks it would be a bad idea to top off the level with this instead of NS-2. I read that most only need 1/2 qt. to top it off after a cooler install, so my reasoning is that it wouldn't dilute the NS-2 very much and save a little money until.... (see #4)
4. I want to do a drain & refill a few weeks after I get the cooler installed and verify that everything is working correctly. I'm trying to decide between spending the money on NS-2 or going with Valvoline CVT Fluid (NS-2 Compatible). My concern is the age of the vehicle and switching to a fluid that may not be quite the same as NS-2, although "compatible". I've read some great reviews of the Valvoline fluid, though, so it'd be great to save the money.
5. On a CVT drain/fill, should the transmission & fluid be HOT, or is the procedure better done with the car cold? Does it really matter either way?
6. On the drain/fill, I've read that I should expect about 4.5 quarts to drain from the pan. Should I refill with 4 quarts even if 4.5 drain, then take the car for a short, easy drive and top it off from there? I want to make sure doing something such as that will not cause damage.
Forgive me if some of the answers to the above should be obvious. You could consider me a DIY maintenance "newbie", although I've helped plenty of friends on shade-tree projects like this in the past...I just never spent the time doing any of that stuff myself, unless money was an issue. Now that I'm doing this work for a project of my own and not playing go-fer, the details really matter to me.
Thanks in advance for the advice!!
2008 Rogue CVT Questions
-
FantomLightning
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:31 pm
- Car: 2015 Nissan Rogue Select AWD w/ Convenience Package.
Graphite Blue
Re: 2008 Rogue CVT Questions
So, I can't give you the answers to everything here. However I did get the aux cooler for my Select, and have gone through trying to find the best CVT fluid I could.
On drain and fill:
I'd dump in 4 quarts and go from there. It's simple and easy to top off little by little, but draining out just a small amount if you're over filled will be much more difficult. I also believe that the FSM procedure says to drain, fill, and measure CVT fluid with the trans at temp, however I'm just going based on memory so that could be wrong.
On the NS-2/3 fluid:
Many will disagree I'm sure, but genuine fluid is generally a total rip off. What makers like Valvoline have to do, especially when the fluid is to spec for more than one brand is to meet or exceed the minimum specifications for each of those fluids. In terms of specs for, heat transfer, viscosity, break down under heat/time. What you'll get many times is actually a superior fluid because it beats the OE fluid in terms of things like resistance to heat breakdown.
I can't speak to the Valvoline, but from the research I did and my personal experience with the company I went with Amsoil CVT fluid. I did the first drain and fill at about 58K, and had put on the cooler at around 45K. Even at that lower mileage it was like having a new car again.
On drain and fill:
I'd dump in 4 quarts and go from there. It's simple and easy to top off little by little, but draining out just a small amount if you're over filled will be much more difficult. I also believe that the FSM procedure says to drain, fill, and measure CVT fluid with the trans at temp, however I'm just going based on memory so that could be wrong.
On the NS-2/3 fluid:
Many will disagree I'm sure, but genuine fluid is generally a total rip off. What makers like Valvoline have to do, especially when the fluid is to spec for more than one brand is to meet or exceed the minimum specifications for each of those fluids. In terms of specs for, heat transfer, viscosity, break down under heat/time. What you'll get many times is actually a superior fluid because it beats the OE fluid in terms of things like resistance to heat breakdown.
I can't speak to the Valvoline, but from the research I did and my personal experience with the company I went with Amsoil CVT fluid. I did the first drain and fill at about 58K, and had put on the cooler at around 45K. Even at that lower mileage it was like having a new car again.
Re: 2008 Rogue CVT Questions
So, I did the cooler install today, which went well. Aside from dropping the last of the 4 bolts that holds it to the trans and losing it in one of the chassis cross-members, it was pretty uneventful. I tried to fish it out, but gave up and got a replacement at the local auto parts store.
After driving it for 20 minutes and checking the fluid level, I also discovered that the dealership had overfilled the transmission. Between the extra hoses, radiator, and what drained when I pulled the old cooler off, I should have been 1/2 qt. low. After the install I was perfect on the dipstick according to the TSB on proper fluid level.
In a few weeks, I’ll do a couple drain and refills to freshen up the fluid.
After driving it for 20 minutes and checking the fluid level, I also discovered that the dealership had overfilled the transmission. Between the extra hoses, radiator, and what drained when I pulled the old cooler off, I should have been 1/2 qt. low. After the install I was perfect on the dipstick according to the TSB on proper fluid level.
In a few weeks, I’ll do a couple drain and refills to freshen up the fluid.
Re: 2008 Rogue CVT Questions
UPDATE:
I went on a long car trip (700 miles - one way) in the middle of June and I almost slipped into limp mode again after about 300 miles of driving. An improvement, but something just didn't seem right.
After installing the cooler and driving the car to get it up to temp, I checked the fluid level and it was exactly where it needed to be, so I did not add fluid and assumed that the $tealership had overfilled the CVT at some point when they had fixed an axle seal that was leaking. I was WRONG!
When I arrived at my destination, I decided to do a drain & refill on the CVT. I purchased 5 quarts of Nissan NS-2 from a dealership, drained out 4.5 quarts (was dark, like coffee, and smelled burnt), and added 4.5 back in. The level was barely hitting the dipstick after the refill. I drove it for 20 minutes and then the dipstick was dry. Added the remaining 0.5 quart and drove it again. Level was on the dipstick at this point, but still really low. As it was late on a Saturday evening, I had to wait until Monday morning to obtain another quart of NS-2. After adding another whole quart, the level was finally where it needed to be. No problems for the 700 mile return trip!
At this point, I'm not so sure I even needed the cooler as it seems the CVT was already running at least a quart low before any intervention on my part. Glad I have it now, though...
I'm still baffled as to why the dipstick was showing the correct level when it was actually low on fluid. Maybe someone more educated on these type of issues could enlighten me. I was referencing the TSB on proper fluid level while I dealt with this problem.
The car is running like-new now. Sooooo quiet and smooth. Hit 182,000 miles yesterday!
I went on a long car trip (700 miles - one way) in the middle of June and I almost slipped into limp mode again after about 300 miles of driving. An improvement, but something just didn't seem right.
After installing the cooler and driving the car to get it up to temp, I checked the fluid level and it was exactly where it needed to be, so I did not add fluid and assumed that the $tealership had overfilled the CVT at some point when they had fixed an axle seal that was leaking. I was WRONG!
When I arrived at my destination, I decided to do a drain & refill on the CVT. I purchased 5 quarts of Nissan NS-2 from a dealership, drained out 4.5 quarts (was dark, like coffee, and smelled burnt), and added 4.5 back in. The level was barely hitting the dipstick after the refill. I drove it for 20 minutes and then the dipstick was dry. Added the remaining 0.5 quart and drove it again. Level was on the dipstick at this point, but still really low. As it was late on a Saturday evening, I had to wait until Monday morning to obtain another quart of NS-2. After adding another whole quart, the level was finally where it needed to be. No problems for the 700 mile return trip!
At this point, I'm not so sure I even needed the cooler as it seems the CVT was already running at least a quart low before any intervention on my part. Glad I have it now, though...
I'm still baffled as to why the dipstick was showing the correct level when it was actually low on fluid. Maybe someone more educated on these type of issues could enlighten me. I was referencing the TSB on proper fluid level while I dealt with this problem.
The car is running like-new now. Sooooo quiet and smooth. Hit 182,000 miles yesterday!