CVT and A/C compressor problems

[Mr. Music]

Hey folks, I'm trying to see how many people are experiencing problems considered "normal" by Nissan's Tech Line. I'm quite pissed off with the car and my local dealership's service department. I'm giving it one more chance for the car to be fixed before I Lemon Law the piece of trash. Here are the problems I'm having with my car, which is a 2008 2.5 with a little over 5,000 miles; owned since Nov. 2007, manufactured Oct. 2007.

1. My air conditioning compressor makes a relatively loud clicking/knocking noise when it's on. Nissan knows this is an issue with the early 4th gen. Altima sedans and coupes; the problem lies in the compressor's clutch and the oil they used. Normally they drain the oil, clean the clutch, refill it with the type of oil. and the problem goes away. After taking my car to the dealer 3 times for this problem, the A/C compressor was replaced on 1/2/09; the sad part is that the new one makes just as much noise as the old one.

2. At 30-35 mph (steady, around 1,200 rpm), the car vibrates as if you were driving on an uneven/wavy road surface. However, this doesn't happen all of the time. It only happens when my car is in drive; if I switch it over to manual mode, the shaking stops; switch it back to drive, and it starts shaking again. I've been experiencing this problem since around 2,000 miles. I've test driven the car with a mechanic and he was able to diagnose this problem. I just got back from the dealership, for the third time, and this time they finally were able to speak with an engineer at Nissan's Tech Line. The engineer said that this is normal on the 2.5's, and calls it a "Booming Sensation". His recommended fix was to change my driving habits. What type of bull**** is that? A lot of my driving is through areas where the speed limit is 30 or 35 mph. Nissan isn't going to pay my speeding tickets. Neither my dealership's general manager nor service manager consider the problem normal.

3. At times, when I am stopped, at a traffic light for instance, when I accelerate, the engine will rev up to around 1,100-1,200 rpm before the transmission takes gear; almost like having it in neutral and dropping it into drive. There are no lights/codes, and therefore Nissan says that there is nothing that they can do about it.

The general manager at my dealership recommended that I contact Nissan Consumer Affairs and file a complaint in hopes of getting a factory rep to test drive the car and hopefully replace the transmission. I still don't know what is going to happen with the A/C compressor, but that too needs to be remedied. Please vote in the poll below, as I am very interested in finding out how widespread problems similar to mine may be. Supposedly, the 3.5's don't have any transmission problems, so If I have to Lemon Law my car, I'm going to try to get into a 3.5. At this point, trading my car in for a 2009 3.5 will cost me around $10,000. I was willing to pay half of that amount, and see what happens with my mods.Thank you for reading and voting.
Modified by Mr. Music at 10:03 PM 1/9/2009

[LongBeachCoupe]

I know a local NICO guy, pete who has a 2.5 and he needed his AC compressor replaced a couple months after he got it...

I havent had a single problem with my cvt 2.5 other than if i put it in neutral and try to rev the engine, the "key missing" light begins to flash and it backs off the rpms at around 1,500 like its hitting some sort of limiter.

[Mr. Music]

LBC, has he had any more problems with the A/C compressor? I know two other people who have gotten it replaced, and that fixed the problem. I'm back to square one with this one. Also, when does that happen to you - coming from drive or park?

[LongBeachCoupe]

The air conditioning compressor in his car is in good working order afaik.. im going to send him this link.

That 1,500rpm redline in neutral (in my cvt) happens regardless of how i get to neutral, from park, drive, reverse, wherever...

Does your yellow "key fob missing" dash light ever come on?

[chiefs5652]

hey music, i had issues with my ac compressor. It was blowing out hot air when it was soppoed to be cold. the nissan dealership swapped it and it was covered under warranty. as for the other issue i have not have any, except that everything in the car as for the body is held in with plastic pieces!!!

[Mr. Music]

Does your yellow "key fob missing" dash light ever come on?

Yes, but never when I put the car in neutral. It seems to only comes on when the key is out of range.

except that everything in the car as for the body is held in with plastic pieces!!!

Yeah, I'm not a fan of all the plastic clips either, but there's nothing we can do about it. Who are the 3.5 owners experiencing CVT problems? Whats your story?

[losenone]

I've got a 3.5 CVT and haven't experienced any of the compressor problems.

[BlackNWhite]

2.5 here. All good so far. *Knock on wood*

[Mr. Music]

Just got back from another dealership. Couldn't get anything "fixed", but I got answers this time. I wish this dealership was closer to home; but my car will only be seeing the dealership I bought bought the car from for oil changes until my free ones run out.Nissan's regional specialist recommended that I take my car to another dealership, but nobody could offer assistance beyond that. To say the least, I'm not very happy with the service I've gotten from Consumer Affairs. Their so called "regional specialist" doesn't know much about cars and couldn't answer any of my questions. So much for "specialist". Now, what I've been wanting to know:1. A/C compressor: the noise is caused by a buildup of fluid in the bottom of the pan, which sometimes causes a valve to flap back and forth, causing excessive noise and vibration. This is pretty much a design flaw, as all fluid should be evacuated by the compressor.2. Transmission: I'm still being told that the vibration/jerking is normal, and here's why: at about 35 mph, the transmission solenoids are almost at the point of sending a shift command. The CVT's gearing is split in banks, first to third gear and fourth to sixth gear. Under normal driving conditions, the transmission wants to shift from its equivalent of third gear to fourth gear at around 35mph, but it basically doesn't know whether to shift or not; resulting in the car jerking back and forth as the pulleys fluctuate. Nissan considers this to pose no reliability, longevity or safety issues. I haven't been able to diagnose the other problem with the transmission though, as it barely ever does it. Basically, what it does is when I am stopped, when I accelerate, the engine will rev up to around 1,100-1,200 rpm before the transmission catches. There are no lights or codes, so nobody can figure anything out. I was told to try and keep a log of the conditions when this happens to see if there is a pattern, that way it can be diagnosed by a technician. So, that's what I was told. If anybody knows something else, speak. If not, that may answer some questions to others experiencing similar problems.

[losenone]

Mr. Music:

Follow these steps from The Consumerist

http://consumerist.com/consume...3.php

They illustrate the best way to go about handling a situation just like yours. Hope that helps.

[Mr. Music]

I'm not to sure that I need to take that step, losenone. I'll see what the regional specialist says when I speak with her on Monday. At least I got an explanation as to why something is "normal". You just can't tell somebody that something is "normal" and expect them to be happy with that.On another note, I suggest that anybody in the Miami area that needs to take their car in for service go to Bill Seidle's Nissan located at 10500 Northwest 12th Street, across from the International Mall. I had a much better experience with the service department there; it's worth a long trip.

[marlin29311]

Just got back from another dealership. Couldn't get anything "fixed", but I got answers this time. I wish this dealership was closer to home; but my car will only be seeing the dealership I bought bought the car from for oil changes until my free ones run out.Nissan's regional specialist recommended that I take my car to another dealership, but nobody could offer assistance beyond that. To say the least, I'm not very happy with the service I've gotten from Consumer Affairs. Their so called "regional specialist" doesn't know much about cars and couldn't answer any of my questions. So much for "specialist". Now, what I've been wanting to know:1. A/C compressor: the noise is caused by a buildup of fluid in the bottom of the pan, which sometimes causes a valve to flap back and forth, causing excessive noise and vibration. This is pretty much a design flaw, as all fluid should be evacuated by the compressor.2. Transmission: I'm still being told that the vibration/jerking is normal, and here's why: at about 35 mph, the transmission solenoids are almost at the point of sending a shift command. The CVT's gearing is split in banks, first to third gear and fourth to sixth gear. Under normal driving conditions, the transmission wants to shift from its equivalent of third gear to fourth gear at around 35mph, but it basically doesn't know whether to shift or not; resulting in the car jerking back and forth as the pulleys fluctuate. Nissan considers this to pose no reliability, longevity or safety issues. I haven't been able to diagnose the other problem with the transmission though, as it barely ever does it. Basically, what it does is when I am stopped, when I accelerate, the engine will rev up to around 1,100-1,200 rpm before the transmission catches. There are no lights or codes, so nobody can figure anything out. I was told to try and keep a log of the conditions when this happens to see if there is a pattern, that way it can be diagnosed by a technician. So, that's what I was told. If anybody knows something else, speak. If not, that may answer some questions to others experiencing similar problems.

Never caught this thread until you mentioned it elsewhere Mr. Music...

I have an answer for question three - the reving and not moving. This is due to the CVT transmission, and is kind of normal (lol). This is known as the "rubber band" effect. Basically it is a transmission lag - the engine is revving up, but the transmission is looking for the proper size to match the engine's revving. This is absolutely normal, and is just part of the design for a CVT transmission - newer ones have fixed a lot of this, but unfortunalty, its not something that is going to go away...

[Mr. Music]

Thanks marlin. It rarely happens, and hasn't happened in a couple of months now actually. No surprise that it's normal... BTW, where did you learn this?

[marlin29311]

Thanks marlin. It rarely happens, and hasn't happened in a couple of months now actually. No surprise that it's normal... BTW, where did you learn this?

Just doing research on the CVT when I was buying my car...websites, couple books/magazines, etc...generic CVT stuff, nothing that was 100% Nissan - the rubber band effect is something inherient to all CVT's, and Nissan engineers worked really hard to get rid of it, and with the metal belt CVT, they did a pretty good job, but they couldn't get all of it out, simply because of the nature of the transmission.

[KrazyL]

I'm not to sure that I need to take that step, losenone. I'll see what the regional specialist says when I speak with her on Monday. At least I got an explanation as to why something is "normal". You just can't tell somebody that something is "normal" and expect them to be happy with that.On another note, I suggest that anybody in the Miami area that needs to take their car in for service go to Bill Seidle's Nissan located at 10500 Northwest 12th Street, across from the International Mall. I had a much better experience with the service department there; it's worth a long trip.

Hey Mr. Music which dealer did you take it to before?? I've taken mine to Maroone Nissan 3275 SW 8th St and never had a problem with them. I used to go to that Bill Seidle's since it was back on 36th st to get parts for my 90 maxima and 88 300zx. They've always had great customer service

[Mr. Music]

I had taken the car to Maroone Nissan of Kendall, at 17305 S. Dixie Hwy. There have been management changes there, and the dealership has gone downhill. I took my car there for an oil change (got 2 years free) last week and met the new general manager and his boss. Of course, I took my shot at talking to somebody a little higher-up, but they haven't done what they said they would - I'm still waiting for their phone call.

[kerrton]

Never caught this thread until you mentioned it elsewhere Mr. Music...

I have an answer for question three - the reving and not moving. This is due to the CVT transmission, and is kind of normal (lol). This is known as the "rubber band" effect. Basically it is a transmission lag - the engine is revving up, but the transmission is looking for the proper size to match the engine's revving. This is absolutely normal, and is just part of the design for a CVT transmission - newer ones have fixed a lot of this, but unfortunalty, its not something that is going to go away...

Marlin, I'm pretty sure I disagree with your answer to this CVT problem. Based on my knowledge and experience with my CVT and just reading the description of the problem, this can't be normal. If this was normal, then it would do it frequently or each time when taking off from a stand still. If this were normal why does it happen so infrequently? Also, I've never experienced this with my Rogue CVT in the year that I've been driving it AND no others on this forum seem to have had a similar experience. And you said yourself that Nissan engineers worked hard to eliminate the rubber band effect, and to tell you the truth I don't think this problem is the rubber band effect anyway, I think it's the "mushy" feeling of sustained high rpms when people used to conventional transmissions expect to feel an upshift.

Anyway, I'm not trying to debate who's right or wrong or expect you to have all the answers, I'm just throwing out some ideas and trying to steer Mr. Music in the right direction, I don't want him to be content with a car that he thinks is ok when really there is a problem that should be corrected under warranty.