hello!
first post!
my mothers 2013 rogue's CVT decided to go out on her yesterday. the car has 103,000 and i do not know the history of the maintenance. When i showed up to help the car would jerk when putting it into gear, kind of like a new person trying to drive a standard car? i had to move it since it was in town and drove it maybe 2 miles. the CVT slipped pretty good but still had enough life to get me out of town. once it did slip to where the tach went up to around 4K but i babied it as much as possible but it did struggle to get over 30 MPH.

do you think its worth changing the fluid or is it a good chance its already too late? she did have my brother in law drive it about 2 weeks thinking something was wrong with the new tires (strange vibration) but she said that was the only time it gave a warning of going out.

am i going to start my research for answers while i wait for the knowledge of you folks!
thank you so much!

***EDIT**
this all happened last night. this morning i went to the car and started it and the transmission whined pretty loud even while in drive but i did not move the car.

It impossible to predict... what new fluid might do..
it might fix your problem. IF your problem is caused by bad fluid...

.. Not at all likely,... but not impossible either...

BTW:
Aisin, a company which has supplied numerous OE parts to Nissan, has a CVT fluid that is specifically intended for Nissan/Infiniti NS-3 applications. You can get it at Rockauto for $7.07 per quart plus shipping (so less than 40% the price the dealer charges for the fluid)

It is the fluid NIssan sells/uses

Nissan OEM part # - 999MPNS300P
Aisin part # - AISIN ATF-NS3

https://aisinaftermarket.com/uploads/w2 ... cement.pdf

Welcome to NICO!

Nissan's CVT's are renown for being flaky, especially those found in first gen Rogue's like yours. Recommended service intervals for the CVT is every 30,000 miles. Although it's generally not necessary to change the fluid at each of those check points, the fluid should at least be examined to ensure it's still good.

If it's not been properly maintained, I would hope for the best, but it sounds like it might be toast.

From my experience sounds like its done.
Don't think a fluid change will do anything now.

Mine went out suddenly as well without any signs or symptoms. It also was the SL AWD(paddle shifter) model so it has the auxillary cooler from factory.

thanks all.
i appreciate the feedback. in hopes for a good turn out, we ordered some fluid and will attempt a miracle sunday and see if it will work again. if it is toast, does anyone happen to have a service manual or write up for a cvt swap? my brother in law and I will be doing the task together. we are mechanically inclined but any help will be a blessing.
also, anyone happen to have the part number for the cvt transmission so we may look it up and shop around for the best price on one. would a rebuild be ok or should we opt for a new one?

I dont think anyone on this forum has done a CVT swap.

This guy on youtube completed his and documented it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry2Ne8PDIRg

thanks for that link. doesn't seem too bad changing the transmission out.. Today i finally got a chance to check the car out. i don't know if it was in limp mode or what but it drove just fine for me to my house (9 mile trip). the transmission was whining kind of loud though (even in park). i changed the fluid, which looked like used motor oil, and the whining stopped and car seemed to run fine. ive never really driven in the car before but a CVT transmission feels kind of strange??? lol
maybe i got lucky and saved it before it was too late?

88rxna wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:28 pm

maybe i got lucky and saved it before it was too late?

You won't know until the CVT fails. Just remember that draining and refilling the fluid only replaces about half the total fluid, so if it's not too much inconvenience, you might consider doing another drain and refill after driving a few hundred miles. If you make sure to get the fluid level between the hashes on the dipstick when at temperature (160-165 degrees F) and the shifting is smooth and the whine goes away, just keep driving it until it fails. These things are so unpredictable. It could fail tomorrow, or it could last another 50,000 miles or more. We just don't know.

That's why I traded mine in for a Honda.

88rxna wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:28 pm

thanks for that link. doesn't seem too bad changing the transmission out.. Today i finally got a chance to check the car out. i don't know if it was in limp mode or what but it drove just fine for me to my house (9 mile trip). the transmission was whining kind of loud though (even in park). i changed the fluid, which looked like used motor oil, and the whining stopped and car seemed to run fine. ive never really driven in the car before but a CVT transmission feels kind of strange??? lol
maybe i got lucky and saved it before it was too late?

Which oil did you use? is it Nissan ns-3 or aftermarket fluid?

The ns-2 is for the first generation only, they also say that the aftermarket cvt fluids match or even exceed Nissan's specifications.

NS-3 is backwards compatible in the first generation Rogue that called for NS-2.

I think Valvoline and Castrol both make NS-2. Any of them (or any mixed combination of them) will be fine in a 2013 Rogue. Just keep it clean and keep it filled to exactly the right level, not too high, not too low. Don't worry too much about which name brand or keeping it only OEM. However, I'd be wary of any cheaper generic brands, if you should find them.

Never use regular automatic transmission fluid in a CVT.

I believe it’s word of mouth that people say ns-3 is backward compatible.

As I was always curious about this, because thinking ns-3 is newer and always better,

But I believe I saw some factual chart that was posted in this forum that said ns-2 is specifically for the older vehicles and ns-3 is for the newer generations.

You would think they phase out ns-2 in favor of the new improved cvt fluid.

But I’m sticking with the old stuff for my old 1st generation unless told otherwise.

I still have a batch for another drain and fill. Honestly I’m contemplating using aftermarket ones that exceed Nissan specs.

I’ll cross that bridge when I get there!

NS-3 is lighter viscosity than NS-2. Valvoline now has come out with a CVT that is specific to NS-3. It says CVT low viscosity (LV).
Wonder why come up with a another formulation if previous formulation works with both NS-2 & NS-3?

https://www.valvoline.com/en-australia/ ... t-lv-fluid
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-rele ... -Show.html
https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/ ... y-full-syn

Unlike multigrade engine oil, I think CVT fluid is more about viscosity .

About a year ago, a fully authorized Nissan dealer did a drain and refill on my 2013 Rogue using NS-3, and the service adviser told me it will be fully compatible. Take that for what it's worth. I know, probably not much. Maybe the lower viscoscity can help mitigate damage caused by overfilling, but I think it would be more likely to heat up more quickly as well. If your first generation Rogue has never had any fluid but NS-2 in the CVT, I completely agree with your desire to stick with NS-2 exclusively.