CVT fluid

Nissan Rogue forum - Includes Nissan Qashqai and Nissan Dualis as well.
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Barry J
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Car: 2009 Nissan Rogue

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My transmission felt like it was slipping, so I brought it to my mechanic (not dealership)..He said it was down a quart and needed the "special" Nissan NS2 fluid.
Said he did not see any leak, and does not know where the fluid would have gone.
Should I just go to the parts dept. at the dealership and get some fluid and do it myself, or should I bring it to the dealership (probably a stupid question)
Thanks
Barry


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Qashqai
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I don't know where or how the transmission fluid gone...but that is the transmission man! You have a 10 year warranty right? Take it to the dealer and never let anyone touch your transmission again...

By the way, If I were you, I would check the CVT fluid level by myself. You can find the procedure in the Factory Service Manual. Maybe the fluid level is not low? Maybe that mechanic saw a CVT transmission for the first time? Who knows...

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ImStricken06
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Qashqai wrote:I don't know where or how the transmission fluid gone...but that is the transmission man! You have a 10 year warranty right? Take it to the dealer and never let anyone touch your transmission again...

By the way, If I were you, I would check the CVT fluid level by myself. You can find the procedure in the Factory Service Manual. Maybe the fluid level is not low? Maybe that mechanic saw a CVT transmission for the first time? Who knows...
+1!!

sQash said it right. transmission fluids dont just go away. if its gone, its either leaking or seeping out into someplace. id have the dealer check it. if the fluid is low, its a problem. if its a problem = you get a new transmission.

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Barry J
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Yeah, the only thing is, I don't feel like going to the dealership and having them charge me $200 for checking the transmission fluid and putting in a quart.
Last time I went in for a vibration in the front in they charged me $120.00 for washing the rims, because when even the small amounts of dirt builds up on those light rims...they vibrate

So, if I go in and say it's slipping a little at times, and they (of course) can't duplicate it..and just put in a quart of fluid...they will charge me 2 hours labor and the $25 quart of fluid.....when I probably could have done that myself!!

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Qashqai
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I think I you suspect a low level in CVT fluid you should immediately check it by yourself.

1. Go to http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Rogue/2011/

2. Read Section MA-28

3. Follow the instructions and check your CVT fluid level. There are two possibilities:

a. Level Low: Add CVT fluid and periodically check. If the level goes down again, take it to the dealer. Then you will be 100% sure that there is a problem. If I were you I just go to the dealer without adding anything.

b. Level Normal: Close the hood, return back to your normal life :)

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kerrton
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Barry, considering your CVT is under warranty and a replacement unit is around $5000, if it were me I'd take it to the dealer for a check. If they find a problem they'll replace the CVT free of cost.

First they will plug in their CONSULTIII diagnostic tool and analyze the performance of the CVT unit, it will show the units history, if its been running hot, or out of spec in any way and they'll be able to diagnose problems that your indepedant mechanic cannot - only Nissan service centers have the CONSULT III diagnostic tool, and the CVT is such a specialized component that you really need the dealer to check it out. Even a test drive by a qualified tech can be enough to justify a replacement CVT becuase they are familiar with how it should perform and can detect if its not running properly, i.e. "slipping", etc. You said that not only was your fluid low, but you've had performance issues.

If you go to the dealer and purchase CVT fluid and add it yourself you might be ok for a while, but in a year from now when the underlying problem occurrs again and you get a CVT failure, I'd hate for the dealer to deny warranty coverage because you failed to have the unit inspected when you discovered the fluid was low. I'm not saying this will happen for sure, but you never know.

Worse case scenario they check it out, add some fluid and charge you $200, at least then the low fluid issue is documented and if the CVT acts up in the future your warranty will be in tact. If they discover a leak, you will get a brand new CVT - the CVT is not serviceable, any issues with it have to be solved by complete repalcement. So I'd say the $200 gamble is well worth it.....if you cheap out it might save you in the short term but it could cost you BIG TIME in the long term!!

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ImStricken06
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THIS:
kerrton wrote:Barry, considering your CVT is under warranty and a replacement unit is around $5000, if it were me I'd take it to the dealer for a check. If they find a problem they'll replace the CVT free of cost.

First they will plug in their CONSULTIII diagnostic tool and analyze the performance of the CVT unit, it will show the units history, if its been running hot, or out of spec in any way and they'll be able to diagnose problems that your indepedant mechanic cannot - only Nissan service centers have the CONSULT III diagnostic tool, and the CVT is such a specialized component that you really need the dealer to check it out. Even a test drive by a qualified tech can be enough to justify a replacement CVT becuase they are familiar with how it should perform and can detect if its not running properly, i.e. "slipping", etc. You said that not only was your fluid low, but you've had performance issues.

If you go to the dealer and purchase CVT fluid and add it yourself you might be ok for a while, but in a year from now when the underlying problem occurrs again and you get a CVT failure, I'd hate for the dealer to deny warranty coverage because you failed to have the unit inspected when you discovered the fluid was low. I'm not saying this will happen for sure, but you never know.

Worse case scenario they check it out, add some fluid and charge you $200, at least then the low fluid issue is documented and if the CVT acts up in the future your warranty will be in tact. If they discover a leak, you will get a brand new CVT - the CVT is not serviceable, any issues with it have to be solved by complete repalcement. So I'd say the $200 gamble is well worth it.....if you cheap out it might save you in the short term but it could cost you BIG TIME in the long term!!

AND THIS:
Qashqai wrote:I don't know where or how the transmission fluid gone...but that is the transmission man! You have a 10 year warranty right? Take it to the dealer and never let anyone touch your transmission again...

By the way, If I were you, I would check the CVT fluid level by myself. You can find the procedure in the Factory Service Manual. Maybe the fluid level is not low? Maybe that mechanic saw a CVT transmission for the first time? Who knows...

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kerrton
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A good point by Qashai, you don't want to OVERFILL the CVT either. If you mistakenly determine the fluid is low and overfill, you can do damage to the CVT and possibly void the warranty. At least if a Nissan tech adds fluid then they're liable if anything goes wrong, if you add the fluid then you're liable and may be stuck with the a repair bill.

The documentation thing can be a big deal, even if you are doing the same thing that a Nissan tech is doing, it can be an advanatage to have them do the work for future warranty concerns. There's no gaurantees, everybody has to decide what level of risk they're comfortable with. With many things I'm ok doing work myself, but with the CVT I wouldn't even add fluid especially within the warranty period - don't give them any excuse to deny future warranty claims and just make life easy on yourself.

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ImStricken06
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and i want to point out that in many CVT transmission's nissan purposely drops the fluid to the lower portion of the dip--sticks threshold to prevent the dreaded limp mode when ambient temps rise and the fluid level expands. that could be what you have- nissan approved lowered fluid levels.

its actually a tsb procedure believe, let me find it.

EDIT:
Summary of NTB12057:
SERVICE INFORMATION A Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is designed to go into fluid temperature protection logic mode ("fail-safe mode") if the CVT fluid temperature rises above a certain threshold. When the CVT goes into fail-safe mode, engine performance is reduced. Customers may report this condition as "low power" or "reduced engine performance". While the CVT is designed to go into fail-safe mode if the fluid temperature rises above the threshold, the following conditions may causethe CVT to go into fail-safe mode prematurely during normal vehicle operation: 1. Overfilled CVT fluid level. 2. Incorrect type of transmission fluid - Use Genuine Nissan NS-2 CVT fluid. 3. Incorrect coolant/water mix. See this bulletin (startingon page 2) for more detail on each of the above conditions.

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kerrton
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That's great info., I had forgotten about that. Again, this is essential info that only a Nissan service shop would know about.

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Qashqai
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ImStricken wrote:and i want to point out that in many CVT transmission's nissan purposely drops the fluid to the lower portion of the dip--sticks threshold to prevent the dreaded limp mode when ambient temps rise and the fluid level expands. that could be what you have- nissan approved lowered fluid levels.
Yesterday I checked the CVT fluid. As ImStricken said it is below MAX level, but is this level normal. Just curious.

Image

By the way, while checking the fluid I found a small metal piece in the oil on the dip stick. If only I had my camera with me. With my crappy cell phone it was impossible to take a picture of it. It was very small like 0.1 mm radius and 2 mm length. Dark gray.Should I worry or is it normal. To be honest I am not 100% sure it came from the dip stick while pulling.

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ImStricken06
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Qashqai wrote:Yesterday I checked the CVT fluid. As ImStricken said it is below MAX level, but is this level normal. Just curious.
its at the perfect level - right in the middle.
Qashqai wrote:By the way, while checking the fluid I found a small metal piece in the oil on the dip stick. If only I had my camera with me. With my crappy cell phone it was impossible to take a picture of it. It was very small like 0.1 mm radius and 2 mm length. Dark gray.Should I worry or is it normal. To be honest I am not 100% sure it came from the dip stick while pulling.
um, i wanna say thats normal, but it depends on the piece. you know its a common issue with metal touching one another and sliding across each other that flakes are gonna get generated. just remember the pictures of the drain bolts on the rear differential. was it round or more so long in the shape of a pencil?

anyway - where did you get that battery warmer? totally cool!

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Qashqai
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It was a very small piece, so small I can't tell if it was flat or round. Length was around 1/32" ish. I think it is normal to see some small pieces in the fluid. Maybe I was so lucky to fish one with the dip stick :rotflmao

I found the battery warmer at my local Canadian Tire store. It works on 110 V. Whenever I connect the block heater, I connect the plug for the battery warmer as well. I am using two timers and for block heater three hours, battery warmer four hours before driving is enough to keep them at a reasonable temperature.


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