I just replaced the CVT in a 2010 Sentra with a friend. The replacement CVT was bone-dry and from a wrecked car, so we added the full 7 3/4qts of Nissan CVT fluid. We idled the car, shifted it through the gears, and drove it for about 10 miles before checking it again. We do not have live-data to know exactly what the fluid temp is. The car runs and drives fine, and the level was a bit above the full marks on the hatched section of the dipstick.

My question: there is the word "HOT" on the dipstick, high above the notched marks that indicate full and low. I am not looking at the dipstick currently, but I am guessing the HOT mark and notch was about 4" above the normal cross-hatched section.

Does the CVT fluid need to be filled up to this "hot" mark?? Currently we have not added any more, as we do not want to overfill it.

Thanks in advance.

mac here, you really got to get the FSM's explanation for the dipstick - not in owner's manual , they think you don't need to check nor change fluid nor filter (has screen- some do in addition) .You SHOULD do all these ,andthe "skinny" on the "non-rebuildable CVT" is fluid drain(via plug) @30+Kmi , drain again every 30k ,screen & filter (pan removal )@60k harsh duty/dust or @90k all other situations.It's the owners perrogative whether to give this kind of TLC ,of course .I have one in my '14 Juke .I saw FSM and for mine the crosshatched area (and for most automatics) is the sweet spot ,better @ top usually and warmed NOT HOT , fluid expands greater in these small transmissions - I "believe" this way higher "Hot " marking is just that - how if you overheat them ,and they can go into a limp mode for that , overheated motor&trans cause it to rise to that mark !? ! But it's critical to "Know for sure" , does nicoclub have your FSM ? A second opinion from , definitely more than one Trans. shop (eliminate the unscrupulous mechanics who love to see your Roasted CVT)
p.s. I don't mention a "Dealer " because my car has TSB on TimingChain and CVT poor ancient history and they didn't put oil and filter ;nor sealer on paint (I could care less ) they definately wanted to make money on service since I got a "smokin deal" and car not at all a lemon. I'm afraid dealers have even more "incentive" w/CVT's to give you as Swarzenneggar said in "PUMPING IRON " to Lou Ferrigno "" I just give you Za bad advices "" . Glen 11/15/2017

macgiver wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:00 pm

I saw FSM and for mine the crosshatched area (and for most automatics) is the sweet spot ,better @ top usually and warmed NOT HOT , fluid expands greater in these small transmissions - I "believe" this way higher "Hot " marking is just that - how if you overheat them ,and they can go into a limp mode for that , overheated motor&trans cause it to rise to that mark !? ! But it's critical to "Know for sure" , does nicoclub have your FSM ?

NicoClub does have the FSM - and I've consulted it. It says nothing about this "hot" mark - only says to drive it until fluid is between 50C and 80C (or about 10mins at 68F outside temp), and then it says that it should be between the two marks on the cross-hatched area. Following this (and guessing at the temp, because we don't have a Nissan scan tool) we are a bit above the F line, but not too much.

My main concern is that when the car is completely cold and first started, it makes a sound when you're sitting still and either in R, D, or L. It makes no sound in N or P. Driving sounds and feels fine, and the noise goes away after a few minutes, once the fluid is warmed up.

This made me think that we potentially under-filled it, since after it expands the noise goes away. This transmission was a used unit, so we do have a 30-day warranty. I am not sure if I should be concerned with this sound, or if it is normal operation of this CVT. If needed, I could probably record a small video clip tomorrow and post it to YouTube to see if it is normal.

This transmission swap was quite the pain in the a**, so I'd rather not have to do it again if possible.

That mark if read correctly the post is FOUR INCHES above the hash section and if it is absolutely NOT!!!

If the trans were that low hot the car wouldn't even move due to fluid being low. Commonly you can get a slip going around corners at just a PINT low and think how little that is, maybe 1/4" max under level.

The noise goes away because the PARTS expand, generally that has more to do with it than oil temp itself.

The oil amount sounds close to right, if 4 inches off it would take 10 quarts to fill that and no small trans on the planet needs that much.

Awesome. When we put it in originally we did exactly 7 3/4qts, but then we realized the pan was leaking so we probably lost about 1-1.25qts to the ground..

Does your CVT make this same noise in Drive / Reverse (only when cold / first started)? It is really a concerning noise, but other than that it runs and drives perfect..no hesitation, great acceleration, etc.

We were told we needed to get the TCM reflashed, but we used the TCM from the donor car, and it's been running great. The technician told us that there are two stored codes in the TCM (U1000 and P1722-speed sensor), BUT we have no CEL and we already got it to pass emissions. Our diagnostic tool doesn't show these codes because we can't read them from the TCM.

We were told that the combination of U1000 and P1722 indicates a bad CAN connection between the ABS module and the TCM - we are going to clean the ground that's near the front passenger firewall and see if then it can be reflashed. But if it's running / driving perfect, then does this really need to be done...?

mac here , your getting good stuff here , yes it seems that 4" up " HOT " is way out of the ballpark . Your on right track - chk codes if you can & see about ABS conn. etc. But the driveability sounds good here , and you seem astute enough to get this far , and I hope what I'm going to say about the noise issue isn't false optimism ( I know my car ,haven't specifically listened to yours)my '14 Juke does sort of have a "machinery" sound that does like you say , quickly virtually disappear . And yes I believe "parts" and fluid both expand and get up to the marks ,cold to hot as the factory has to be more precise especially w/ CVT's.Glen 11/16/2016