Yo.

Some sources have strongly indicated (and confirmed via Reddit - but I cannot presently retrieve and post said proof - will work on that tonight) that the next gen Pathfinder is set to go on sale as a 2021 model with a glaring omission: the CVT.

Instead of a CVT, the Pathfinder will be driven by a 9 Speed Automatic transmission. Many of us should be dancing in the streets as this indicates the impending end of Nissan's love affair with the CVT after nearly two decades of gripes from its customer base.

Those of us that anticipated the Pathfinder taking a different route altogether and possibly returning to its roots to meet the Toyota 4Runner dead on will be disappointed as it will ride on roughly the same platform it adopted in 2013. However, dumping the CVT is an exceptional move.

Do you think the death of the Nissan CVT is imminent?

God I hope so. I'm still not a fan of the platform, but it would be a perfectly suitable SUV for most purposes if it had a better transmission in it.

Killing the CVT won't save Nissan, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

RicerX wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:43 am

Do you think the death of the Nissan CVT is imminent?

I sure hope so. Actually, the death of CVT's in the entire industry would be even more good news.
It should never have been taken out of a snowmobile.

I swore on my mother's grave that I would never own or buy or drive a vehicle equipped with a CVT.
So far so good.

They'll probably still keep it in the lower end lighter models.

That 9 speed is by all accounts an excellent transmission.
Also since its designed to handle a V8 powered pickup will likely be bulletproof in the Pathfinder.

I sure hope so. We're also seeing the 9 speed in the 2020 Frontier on a new 3.8L V6. I really hope Nissan finally decided that it isn't worth saving a few bucks to put garbage transmissions in their vehicles. That's been a major blow to their brand recognition. I have too many friends of mine that were bitten by the CVT-flu.

Talking to my buddies at Nissan (and getting some seat time in a newer Titan), they actually fixed the 7 speed towards the end of its life. They ran it for about 9 more months after the fix, and are now moved on to the 9 speed. Go figure. Hopefully they don't start all the issues back again.

This is certainly good news, but I think for a different reason. Don't get me wrong: I'm glad to see the CVT go. But Nissan never actually made a half-decent traditional automatic, either. They are indescribably incompetent at tuning, past models all have absolutely no durability, and shifts feel like a punch in the kidneys. Go drive ANY Nissan with an automatic transmission with cogs. Then drive any non Nissan. It's honestly impressive that they manage to make them so awful.

But back t owhy this is good news:
The new trans isn't JATCO.
It's not CVT that's the main problem. I've driven other brands' CVTs and they're at least not infuriating. I'd never buy one. But as above it's a whole different world from the JATCO incompetence we see in Nissans.
The problem is JATCO. And moving to another manufacturer is good news. Of course, Nissan could still @#$% stuff up with their own tuning, like FCA did with the early ZF 9 speeds. But hey at least these might live past 130k miles!!!!


I don't think this can be the same trans that's meant for pickups; so far indications are that the Pathy will continue to use a transverse powertrain layout. The spy pics I've seen look very FWD as well, with massive front overhang and negative dash-to-axle.

PapaSmurf2k3 wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 04, 2020 8:44 am

Talking to my buddies at Nissan (and getting some seat time in a newer Titan), they actually fixed the 7 speed towards the end of its life. They ran it for about 9 more months after the fix, and are now moved on to the 9 speed. Go figure. Hopefully they don't start all the issues back again.

Who do they think they are, GM?

Nissan, pardon me Datsun, used the British Borg Warner M35 until Borg Warner signed up with AISIN and went over to Toyota. They did have domestic semi automatic and automated manual transmissions but thankfully never exported them to USA. The first JATCO transmissions were based on the Fordomatic which I never did like.

In the 510 model interim they did use the USA built Muncie transmission with vaccum shift for later post 1968 models.

I am hopeful the new Pathy will have the 3.8L with the new tranny ..
Perhaps it will be based on this vehicle.. just with the bigger american style powertrain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-gVJjzEorM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut8AvoCgRHA

I agree with Ricer X, the transmission change away from CVT is welcome, but I also don't see Nissan going back to their roots and switching the Pathy/QX whatever in the US market back from unibody car based crossover mallfinder to ladder frame truck SUV like that "Terra" in the video's or a 4 Runner. If you think about it, the "highlander" market segment is far bigger than the 4 Runner segment anyway. IMHO If Nissan invests more in quality and improving their reliablity of their existing design to get closer to Highlander levels, they'd sell a ton more of them. What they shouldn't do is market them as something they're not. Nissan has had an annoying habit of doing that in recent years.

To answer his question, I don't see Nissan CVT's completely disappearing as they invested so much money infesting the elineup. I do think they'll remain in the smaller lower power, non-sporty models (like Versa, Sentra, NV200), as CVT's tend to do better with lighter, less torquey applications. But I see them being used less often on their bigger, heavier offerings that include AWD.

Correct. The new Pathfinder is remaining unibody.

Bubba1 wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 08, 2020 4:55 am

they invested so much money infesting the lineup.

Bubba1 wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 08, 2020 4:55 am

they invested so much money infesting the lineup.

Dude this is probably the best thing you've ever posted. LOL

You guys are making me all paranoid about CVTs.
I owned both a '14 Altima and a 09 Maxima.. never any problems.. Admittedly I bought them when they had fairly low miles on them (14,000 and 19,000 respectfively) and didnt keep them all that long.. but I did drive them very hard.

Yes I found a way to even drive the 2.5L Alti hard.
Put a Stillen rear sway bar in it which totally cleaned up the handling especially on high speed sweepers..added the dark alloy wheels from the '15 special edition which looked great with pearl paint.. left the transmission in "S" almost 100% of the time and with a lead foot that Alti was pretty entertaining.

Even a Land Rover or Jaguar will seem great if you dispose of them before the problems start. CVT's have actually been around for many years without much drama except for Nissan, who seemed to rush theirs out before perfecting it. The biggest problem with Nissan's version (Jatco) CVT has been reliability. Too many have been catastrophically failing before the warranty expired. Doesn't mean every single one is bad, but compared to the transmissions they replaced and to other company CVTs, Nissan's extending their CVT warranty should have been a glaring warning sign. I would still advise against buying old ones out of warranty. Nissan's CVT's have slowly improved in reliability over the last few years, but their CVT gremlins have not been something that got widely reported, especially outlets that receive ad revenue from Nissan. FWIW, I regularly drive 2 low mileage Nissan CVT equipped company cars (NV200 and a 4cyl Altima) and they drive fine as long as you view them as appliances and not sporty machines. But if you're the kind that keeps their vehicles a long time expecting to get 200K+ reliable miles, I think they are better choices out there than Nissan CVT vehicles. I've logged several thousand miles on that Altima and it easily gets 40mpg on the highway which is impressive. Its comfortable too. Pleasant car to drive on the highway, but not good for autocross. The NV200 I've been using has had some balking shifter issues and it's only got about 35K on it. They both accelerate and perform adequately. But it's easy to get frustrated by the annoying constantly changing revs that seem to quickly drop it out of its power band when you don't want it to, sapping some of the fun out of the driving experience. If you examine their performance specs, they are competitive. But as far as the driving experience with them, it's more the old Nissan ad slogan "enjoy the ride" does not seem to apply to their CVT's. Hopefully that helps.

RicerX wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 08, 2020 5:09 pm

Dude this is probably the best thing you've ever posted. LOL

Thank you, but I thought some of my better yuks were in those old Nala threads.

It's still a crossover turd and an embarrassment to Nissan's heritage with the Pathfinder.

Of course America's s*** brand - Chevy - just re-released the Blazer, also as a crossover turd. It's embarrassing. The S Blazers were bad enough, but at least they were on a truck platform.