2013 Infiniti JX35 CVT — Still Hesitating After “New” OEM Transmission

[afrancore]

Hi everyone —

I could use some advice on my 2013 Infiniti JX35 (about 98K miles) and its CVT transmission.

The car ran fine until I took it to a local Nissan/Infiniti specialty shop in South Florida for routine maintenance, including a CVT fluid change. Right after that, the transmission started acting up, and they scanned it — showing the CVT judder code.

They referred me to a transmission shop, which confirmed the judder code and told me the CVT was shot and needed replacement. They recommended a brand-new OEM CVT from Infiniti, warning that rebuilds often fail. I agreed and paid about $8K for the job, which included new mounts, a 1-year shop warranty, and supposedly a 3-year Infiniti warranty on the transmission itself.

After a week, I picked up the car, but it still hesitated under load. The transmission shop said it was likely an engine issue. I went back to the first shop, which scanned it again and still found the CVT judder code. Back to the transmission shop — they reprogrammed the TCM and it seemed OK for a day.

After driving it more, the hesitation returned and has been getting worse. I also noticed an oil leak, which seems to be coming from the transmission. When I looked under the car, I noticed:

Part of the transmission looks old while another part looks new. (see photos of what appears to be two halves one old one new)
The fluid fill port still has the same mark and broken clip as my old transmission.(last photo)


The shop owner has been attentive so far and asked me to bring it back at the end of the month, but I’m concerned whether they actually installed a brand-new OEM CVT like I paid for.

I’ve attached photos of the transmission for reference.
Does this look like a proper brand-new OEM unit?
Is it normal for some parts to look old and others new?
And does it make sense that I’m still getting the judder code after all this?

Thanks in advance for any advice or insight.

Afrancore

[VStar650CL]

This is a hose job. The pink sealer all over the joint indicates they didn't give you a new transmission, they rebuilt it with a new belt and pulley set. Only part of it looks new because only part of it is new. There should also be a new Valve Body inside, but you can't tell that without dropping the pan. The point is, they didn't give you a new unit or even a factory reman. That tran-ny was rebuilt in their shop.

[afrancore]

Thanks for the reply VStar650CL. They also charged me for all new mounts, would this even apply if they just partially rebuilt it? Any advice on how I should go about handling this?

[VStar650CL]

The mounts are a whole separate issue, they're not part of the tran-ny. Not surprising if they're bad on a '13, we just lost the torque mount on my wife's '13 Altima to deterioration even though it's very well tended. Rubber just doesn't last forever no matter what you do.

The first thing to do about the transmission is pull out your receipt. Go to InfinitiPartsDeal.com and search the part numbers to see what they put in. If it shows up a reman kit plus a VB then they at least didn't lie about the parts, if it shows up as a whole tran-ny then they're flat out lying. Either way, take it to Infiniti Consumer Affairs along with the pics and tell them you were promised a new unit but got something else. If that doesn't get results, take it straight to your state CPB.

[afrancore]

The line item for the transmission on the invoice says "OEM Infiniti Transmission" priced at $3567.07. It doesn't have a part number. Attached to the invoice is a packet titled "Enhanced Limited Warranty on Nissan-Infiniti Engine and Transmission Parts" which spells out the warranty coverage on the OEM transmission from Infiniti.

[VStar650CL]

Well, that's a flat out lie. Brand new isn't even what they charged you for. The lowest list on any JX tran-ny is $3874.23, and dealers all typically add 7~10% and call it "list plus". The cheapest factory reman is only $200 less, $3656.26. Doing an in-shop reman adds about 4 hours to the labor and the kits aren't cheap, so it isn't really a whole lot cheaper than factory. But it is a little cheaper, and that's what you got. That housing clearly isn't new or factory reman (the factory remans have boiled and brushed housings, so they don't look any different from a new one). They also can't have done it right since you're still throwing judder codes and having issues. If you were a member of my family, I'd be in the General Manager's office blowing up and threatening a lawsuit. What they did is plain s#itty and you shouldn't put up with it.

[Ilya]

If you were a member of my family, I'd be in the General Manager's office blowing up and threatening a lawsuit. What they did is plain s#itty and you shouldn't put up with it.

And if the GM doesn't play ball, call Infiniti Corporate and file a case.

I had to do that against Lia Infiniti in Latham, NY years ago. They sent a rookie for a ride-along who surprise surprise, couldn't find jack wrong with the car. I went home, called Infiniti, within an hour I got a call from the GM stating to come back and he'd send his master tech out. Within the first 2-3 minutes of the ride-along, the tech knew something was up. We ended up chillin and driving around for like 45 min lol.

Pulled back into the shop, he put it on the lift and boom...needs power steering rack & pinion. Covered under warranty.

(this was on my '07 M35x with Elite plan)