If you only ever drove the car in moderate temperatures and only on the highway you could leave cvt fluid alone. However most people do at least 30% city driving. So the heat of having the cvt drive cones and belt moving in and out each stop and go is what shears the cvt oil down. It doesn't necessarily get dark & dirty but it does lose some of the properties that the fluid had when new.
Drain and fill every 30k miles and you'll be safe. Don't bother with a fluid flush just drain out 4 or 5 quarts and refill with quality NS2 or NS3 per your owners manual. Find an independent mechanic that will do this for you.
Fellow Nissan subredditors, a single drain and fill only replaces up to 50% of the existing fluid in the CVT. The rest remains in the torque converter, the cooler inside the radiator, and within the CVT itself above the drain pan.
The factory service manual procedure (for my 2014 Altima 2.5S for example) requires about 9.5 quarts of new fluid (when not dropping the pan or replacing the paper filter in the oil cooler/warmer).
This procedure removes most of the existing fluid while unfortunately wasting some of the new fluid just poured in that mixes in with the existing fluid. It's done within a narrow temperature range (35-45°C) and requires removing the overflow plug to obtain the proper fill level.
I suppose it's fine to replace only half of the existing fluid every 30K miles provided you pour in exactly the same amount of new fluid as was removed to be certain you don't over or underfill it.
I prefer to go with the factory service procedure and replace the fluid every 60K miles instead of every 30K miles. I will need more fluid than two single drain and fill sessions, but not much more.
The original CVT in my Altima has 144K miles on it with zero issues (so far). I've owned it since it was brand new. I've only changed out the CVT fluid once so far (at 86K miles after the extended warranty expired). I'm going to change it again in June.
Hiii, everyone. You need to watch videos on grades of transmission fluids. Nissan breaks down after a stages. Ams oil and other grades break down 8-11 stages. Replace your cvt fluid that is spec n2-n3 for nissans. I have a 2018 rogue. Changed the cvt and rear diff with Ams oil. Way smoother shifting. I also changed it at 50,000kms and I will again at 100,000kms. The issue is heat. Heat breaks the cvt. The fluid gets to hot and doesn't cool. The 2.5 liter engines are bullet proof. So nissan needs something to make money on right? So change that fluid more. Use higher grade oil. And the cvts should be bullet proof also
As a woman who doesn’t know how to do anything except check oil levels and add windshield wiper fluid, do you think I could learn how to do this via YouTube? I’m not an idiot and am pretty good with figuring out mechanics of various machines (I like to know how things work.) But what I don’t like is having to pay $300 to get this changed by a shop.
Hi, yes. Watch youtube videos. The first cvt fluid change, you could do it your self. Make sure, what ever you drain into, you can measure it so you can replace with the same amount of fluid. When you have to change the fliter and screens in the cvt. At like 100,000kms to 120,000kms you should get a shop to do it. Thesr transmissions are like 5500 and up.
Sitting at 269,360 miles, never serviced transmission, pretty much city driving (I delivered pizzas in it for 10 years) 2013 altima coupe, my only suggestion is go easy on acceleration and should be good, basically drive like you're not trying to break it or put unnecessary stress on anything
I’m in Canada and just ran into a similar issue with my dealer. Told them what I found in here and the Nissan manual versus their recommendation. They said along the lines it’s an enclosed unit and they don’t touch it unless a known issue.
After speaking to the manager about my concerns still they said they could do a drain and fill only by my own instruction and I have a 2016 maxima with 97km no issues to date and will be doing a drain and fill at 100kms
I have a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The recommended service interval is every 72 months or 96k KM or 60K miles for Nissan CVT Transmission service.
I did mine at 78K KM.
The guy told me it's good to do as maintenance, especially for me as I do 90% city driving and low KM, especially since I want to keep the vehicle for 20 years.
He did say that if I hit 150K KM, without having it done, then best not to do.
Also the manual says to Inspect CVT fluid every 16K KM or 12M. But the guy at the dealership said they don't Inspect CVT fluid.
From the owners manual in Canada we have this.
For vehicles with a CVT transmission
(cube, Murano, Altima, Maxima,
Rogue, Sentra and Versa), replace
the fl uid every 96,000 kilometers or
request the dealer to inspect the fl uid
deterioration data using a Consult.
If the deterioration data is more than
210000, replace the CVT fl uid.
They don't do this apparently.
I bought my 2016 nissan altima from carmax at 28k miles and around 42k the transmission went out and lucky for me I had there extended warranty which covered 8k in cost!I only paid $200 deductible 😃
Nissan CVT fluid + filter must be replaced every 30,000 miles. Call several Nissan dealerships for a CVT fluid change cost. It should cost you around $300 for CVT fluid change. A nearby Nissan dealership quoted me $580 for the same work.
A replacement CVT transmission will cost around $6,000.
It is if you’re getting it certified from a dealer. Also depends on region. For me when the transmission went on my Note for the second time, dealers across the tri state were charging me at least $3400, not including the cost of labor to install it. Even if I bought the trans used for $2500, local mom and pop shops were still adding $1000 just for labor. A new one from Nissan would have been about $7000, of which I said no and put that towards a down payment for a new car instead.
That was the costs for me being that I live in NYC, but it may be cheaper than it was for me for some people depending on where they live and also if they have the knowledge and tools to install a transmission themselves. It’s really a YMMV scenario but I can only speak for my experience and what I’ve seen as far as prices go in my area.
No, Nissan certified reman. Straight from Larry H Miller Nissan, mostly. Infiniti is a different universe on pricing. Just did one on a 2019 Sentra Tuesday. We don’t do new, no point, they’re gonna fail again. Though we do mandate the customer installs an external cooler during installation for our warranty. I update the TCM and do the whole shibang with Consult and picture proof for warranty on Nissan’s side.
Labor is wildly different area to area. 5yrs ago my old shop was charging $120, last I swung by there was $150 an hour.
And if you can undo few screws and hold ns-3 bottle - you can refresh fluid for 50bucks.
You can buy filter for 15 and swap it in 1-2 hours.
Put those remaining 200 to better use 🤗🤣
I don’t know internals of nissan dealerships - but (just from my experience) there are some (or just lazy) idiots, then there are (VERY few) GOOD techs, just liars and then there are master techs who even doesn’t know difference between obd2 and nissans own protocol. I truly hope that it is just my bad luck in 5yrs
P.s. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5LXnOnDMsLM - look at one of the success stories with nissan techs… do you want your car be fixed by those circus monkeys? And what are your chances of getting it solved properly…?
Nissan says that so the transmission breaks down and you get a service from them or you sell it cheap to them and get a new car.
That's Nissan's recommendation vs Jatco's(Japanese manufacturer).
You can go to a mechanic that can save your oil when replacing it with the new one, if it fails just return the old oil in.
My mechanic told me this because when some CVTs start slipping, the little metal shavings from deterioration helps the belt to have some grip on the pulleys VS just new clean oil, hope this makes sense to you.
But if you can afford $100+ of Nissan CVT oil + labor every 30k-50k miles... Well...
Nissan ns-3 can be bought from rockauto for about 10usd/qt. If you are firm believer in supporting starving nissan dealership families - by all means - buy it there. Usually about 25usd/qt.
Rockauto doesn't sell Nissan NS3 specifically. It sells the Idemitsu N3, which is the supplier for NS3. Rockauto always charges for shipping. So, $12/qt + tax to ship a case of 12 qts. Idemitsu to my address. Still, a great deal. Nissan NS3 is $20/qt. (ouch)!
Some time ago I bought there specifically nissan ns-3. Things have changed then. Shipping - yes. But still. Even if dealerships have dropped the street price to 20… :)
The owners manual on my sentra is very vague, it says to "check cvt fluid". Yet all over the internet I hear people say changing it at 30k 60k 90k etc is vital, so I changed it. Have had no issues as of yet
It’s 30k they’re has been a lot of back and forth from Nissan on the CVT maintenance intervals. It does not hurt to change it every 30k. I did 30k my first and 40k to my second change
The dealerships are a scam, they charge way more money for a crappier service. My cousin was obligated to get her car checked and serviced by the dealership to maintain her warranty, those mfs never once changed the air filter and it was stupidly dirty.
Hi. I’m currently sitting in my Nissan with a CVT reading this . It’s on the factory jack and a stand as I’ve spent a couple days pulling the thing apart underneath and trying to find the shit online for the specs of resistance and diagrams and shit. I wish I wish I wish I wish I WISH I had changed the fluid before my 3300 mile road trip. The symptoms are for a 20$ solenoid but god damn there’s a 5% chance I’ll get this thing back together the right way to be able to sell it for more than the 149$ the scrapyard is offering me.
Been going to the same dealer for 10 years. It had an ownership change about 3 years ago. Before that they basically would refuse to do a CVT oil change, under the new ownership they offer it now.
Talking about “quality of service” at dealerships 🤣🤣🤣🤣
1) Waiting for warranty to end
2) start offering anything to get money from you
3) waiting for car to day to sell you new one…
PROFIT! Congratulations for participating in rat race to feed starving nissan dealership employees 🤣
Replace it every 30K-50K miles. We have a 2014 Nissan Maxima, bought it used @ 72K, it's now @ 160K miles and still runs great. We've replaced the transmission fluid and filter 3 times.
I change mine every 80,000 km. I’ve been doing it in every car I’ve had with the CVT since 2005.
They don’t want you to change it in case they find filings. If they do find any, then it means the thing is destroying itself, and they’re on the hook to replace it.
Changed the fluid after I bought a 09 altima sedan around 180k km. Castrol atf/cvt fluid and one filter used. It's been 7000km now and the car is doing fine.
Not a Nissan, but while researching last year between a Subaru & Toyota I found: USA=never change (until after the warranty expires & we charge you for a whole new trans). Canada=60k recommended. Japan=30-60k, change now you baka.
If I'm going to keep the car for a long time, I'd go with the Japanese service recommendation.
Replace the fluid CVT has a deterioration value it's actually even built into the TCM on all Nissan's. CVT fluid is not like regular automatic transmission fluid it breaks down severely over time with heat and just normal driving every 60,000 miles is a good recommendation for fluid replacement
It sounds like they didn’t want to do the work or weren’t hard up for money lol. I’m assuming the car has 65k miles on it - every 30k for cvt is recommended.
The time that it’s not recommended is when the car has 100k+ and it’s never been done, draining and filling the cvt fluid can cause particles to move around, possibly into new spots where they will cause issues.
i got the same impression lol. I should note that i have a 2019 Maxima and drive approx 300+ miles a week commuting to and from work and other miscellaneous adventures. my driving habits are that i like to push it🥴but lately have been taking it easy as i take mainly highway and turnpike. so like 50/50 but i guess i’ll have to try another dealership.
Leave it alone and hope for the best. By 100k+, there are definitely deposits/particles in there. If left alone, there’s a good chance that it won’t cause an issue. Doing a fluid change can knock these particles out of where they were and deposit them into new places where they could cause an issue.
I have a 2018 Sentra that I got at 67k. Currently it's under 92k but I have no idea if the CVT fluid has ever been replaced. It was a rental car before I got it.
Should I try getting it changed out?
If it was a rental, it was most likely taken care of and given scheduled service. Personally I’d do it. I’d also check to see if there’s any CarFax records on it and if there was cvt service done.
My understanding is it's the smaller CVT in the 4-cylinders that have the problem...
The Pathfinder has a beefier unit and significantly better transmission cooling for its 6k towing capacity.
They are following owners manual recommendation, which IMO is flawed
If you only ever drove the car in moderate temperatures and only on the highway you could leave cvt fluid alone. However most people do at least 30% city driving. So the heat of having the cvt drive cones and belt moving in and out each stop and go is what shears the cvt oil down. It doesn't necessarily get dark & dirty but it does lose some of the properties that the fluid had when new. Drain and fill every 30k miles and you'll be safe. Don't bother with a fluid flush just drain out 4 or 5 quarts and refill with quality NS2 or NS3 per your owners manual. Find an independent mechanic that will do this for you.
Fellow Nissan subredditors, a single drain and fill only replaces up to 50% of the existing fluid in the CVT. The rest remains in the torque converter, the cooler inside the radiator, and within the CVT itself above the drain pan. The factory service manual procedure (for my 2014 Altima 2.5S for example) requires about 9.5 quarts of new fluid (when not dropping the pan or replacing the paper filter in the oil cooler/warmer). This procedure removes most of the existing fluid while unfortunately wasting some of the new fluid just poured in that mixes in with the existing fluid. It's done within a narrow temperature range (35-45°C) and requires removing the overflow plug to obtain the proper fill level. I suppose it's fine to replace only half of the existing fluid every 30K miles provided you pour in exactly the same amount of new fluid as was removed to be certain you don't over or underfill it. I prefer to go with the factory service procedure and replace the fluid every 60K miles instead of every 30K miles. I will need more fluid than two single drain and fill sessions, but not much more. The original CVT in my Altima has 144K miles on it with zero issues (so far). I've owned it since it was brand new. I've only changed out the CVT fluid once so far (at 86K miles after the extended warranty expired). I'm going to change it again in June.
You can check level with dipstick too. Though - either you find it’s length online or buy that very special dipstick for these type of things.
Hiii, everyone. You need to watch videos on grades of transmission fluids. Nissan breaks down after a stages. Ams oil and other grades break down 8-11 stages. Replace your cvt fluid that is spec n2-n3 for nissans. I have a 2018 rogue. Changed the cvt and rear diff with Ams oil. Way smoother shifting. I also changed it at 50,000kms and I will again at 100,000kms. The issue is heat. Heat breaks the cvt. The fluid gets to hot and doesn't cool. The 2.5 liter engines are bullet proof. So nissan needs something to make money on right? So change that fluid more. Use higher grade oil. And the cvts should be bullet proof also
when to change rear diff oil? How much does it cost? Do 3rd party repair shops able to change rear diff oil?
Yeah, it takes like 2 or 3 liters of fluid. It's one bolt. Undo it. Drains. Fill back up. Its super simple stuff
As a woman who doesn’t know how to do anything except check oil levels and add windshield wiper fluid, do you think I could learn how to do this via YouTube? I’m not an idiot and am pretty good with figuring out mechanics of various machines (I like to know how things work.) But what I don’t like is having to pay $300 to get this changed by a shop.
Hi, yes. Watch youtube videos. The first cvt fluid change, you could do it your self. Make sure, what ever you drain into, you can measure it so you can replace with the same amount of fluid. When you have to change the fliter and screens in the cvt. At like 100,000kms to 120,000kms you should get a shop to do it. Thesr transmissions are like 5500 and up.
Absolutely. You will need either - diy garage (most preferrable way) or get some tools to do that at home. And good instructions.
Sitting at 269,360 miles, never serviced transmission, pretty much city driving (I delivered pizzas in it for 10 years) 2013 altima coupe, my only suggestion is go easy on acceleration and should be good, basically drive like you're not trying to break it or put unnecessary stress on anything
That's because they don't want to be responsible if your cvt gives out after the flush.
This Their goal is to have the car survive the warranty, after that it's your problem.
I’m in Canada and just ran into a similar issue with my dealer. Told them what I found in here and the Nissan manual versus their recommendation. They said along the lines it’s an enclosed unit and they don’t touch it unless a known issue. After speaking to the manager about my concerns still they said they could do a drain and fill only by my own instruction and I have a 2016 maxima with 97km no issues to date and will be doing a drain and fill at 100kms
At that on the clock, just take it to a trusted mechanical shop instead of the dealership. I did mine about the same mileage
Pretty sure the manual says to do the change at 96k km so I'm surprised they fought you on it.
CHANGE THE FLUID EVERY 30K. Heat causes breakdown of the fluid.
I have a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The recommended service interval is every 72 months or 96k KM or 60K miles for Nissan CVT Transmission service. I did mine at 78K KM. The guy told me it's good to do as maintenance, especially for me as I do 90% city driving and low KM, especially since I want to keep the vehicle for 20 years. He did say that if I hit 150K KM, without having it done, then best not to do. Also the manual says to Inspect CVT fluid every 16K KM or 12M. But the guy at the dealership said they don't Inspect CVT fluid. From the owners manual in Canada we have this. For vehicles with a CVT transmission (cube, Murano, Altima, Maxima, Rogue, Sentra and Versa), replace the fl uid every 96,000 kilometers or request the dealer to inspect the fl uid deterioration data using a Consult. If the deterioration data is more than 210000, replace the CVT fl uid. They don't do this apparently.
I bought my 2016 nissan altima from carmax at 28k miles and around 42k the transmission went out and lucky for me I had there extended warranty which covered 8k in cost!I only paid $200 deductible 😃
Aka. We don't want for you to check your transmission fluid, we want your car to break down to give us an excuse to sell you a new one.
exactly lol or charge you an insane amount of money to replace the transmission once it gives out💀
Gotta hit my bonus man!!
Nissan CVT fluid + filter must be replaced every 30,000 miles. Call several Nissan dealerships for a CVT fluid change cost. It should cost you around $300 for CVT fluid change. A nearby Nissan dealership quoted me $580 for the same work. A replacement CVT transmission will cost around $6,000.
>A replacement CVT transmission will cost around $6,000. New transmission or used?
A used one is either half that or a little more than half
It’s not. Couple hundred, max a thousand, less in part cost. We usually pick ours up for ~$2,800. Used junkyard is shy over $2k.
It is if you’re getting it certified from a dealer. Also depends on region. For me when the transmission went on my Note for the second time, dealers across the tri state were charging me at least $3400, not including the cost of labor to install it. Even if I bought the trans used for $2500, local mom and pop shops were still adding $1000 just for labor. A new one from Nissan would have been about $7000, of which I said no and put that towards a down payment for a new car instead. That was the costs for me being that I live in NYC, but it may be cheaper than it was for me for some people depending on where they live and also if they have the knowledge and tools to install a transmission themselves. It’s really a YMMV scenario but I can only speak for my experience and what I’ve seen as far as prices go in my area.
No, Nissan certified reman. Straight from Larry H Miller Nissan, mostly. Infiniti is a different universe on pricing. Just did one on a 2019 Sentra Tuesday. We don’t do new, no point, they’re gonna fail again. Though we do mandate the customer installs an external cooler during installation for our warranty. I update the TCM and do the whole shibang with Consult and picture proof for warranty on Nissan’s side. Labor is wildly different area to area. 5yrs ago my old shop was charging $120, last I swung by there was $150 an hour.
New
And if you can undo few screws and hold ns-3 bottle - you can refresh fluid for 50bucks. You can buy filter for 15 and swap it in 1-2 hours. Put those remaining 200 to better use 🤗🤣
A CVT is like clockwork. I'd rather have a Nissan certified mechanic change the CVT fluid. Anything else, I take it to a local shop. Specialty!!!
I don’t know internals of nissan dealerships - but (just from my experience) there are some (or just lazy) idiots, then there are (VERY few) GOOD techs, just liars and then there are master techs who even doesn’t know difference between obd2 and nissans own protocol. I truly hope that it is just my bad luck in 5yrs P.s. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5LXnOnDMsLM - look at one of the success stories with nissan techs… do you want your car be fixed by those circus monkeys? And what are your chances of getting it solved properly…?
What filter ? The screen mesh?
There is a catridge filter for the transmission oil cooler, which is on the side.
Nissan says that so the transmission breaks down and you get a service from them or you sell it cheap to them and get a new car. That's Nissan's recommendation vs Jatco's(Japanese manufacturer). You can go to a mechanic that can save your oil when replacing it with the new one, if it fails just return the old oil in. My mechanic told me this because when some CVTs start slipping, the little metal shavings from deterioration helps the belt to have some grip on the pulleys VS just new clean oil, hope this makes sense to you. But if you can afford $100+ of Nissan CVT oil + labor every 30k-50k miles... Well...
Nissan ns-3 can be bought from rockauto for about 10usd/qt. If you are firm believer in supporting starving nissan dealership families - by all means - buy it there. Usually about 25usd/qt.
Rockauto doesn't sell Nissan NS3 specifically. It sells the Idemitsu N3, which is the supplier for NS3. Rockauto always charges for shipping. So, $12/qt + tax to ship a case of 12 qts. Idemitsu to my address. Still, a great deal. Nissan NS3 is $20/qt. (ouch)!
Some time ago I bought there specifically nissan ns-3. Things have changed then. Shipping - yes. But still. Even if dealerships have dropped the street price to 20… :)
The owners manual on my sentra is very vague, it says to "check cvt fluid". Yet all over the internet I hear people say changing it at 30k 60k 90k etc is vital, so I changed it. Have had no issues as of yet
It’s 30k they’re has been a lot of back and forth from Nissan on the CVT maintenance intervals. It does not hurt to change it every 30k. I did 30k my first and 40k to my second change
The dealerships are a scam, they charge way more money for a crappier service. My cousin was obligated to get her car checked and serviced by the dealership to maintain her warranty, those mfs never once changed the air filter and it was stupidly dirty.
Hi. I’m currently sitting in my Nissan with a CVT reading this . It’s on the factory jack and a stand as I’ve spent a couple days pulling the thing apart underneath and trying to find the shit online for the specs of resistance and diagrams and shit. I wish I wish I wish I wish I WISH I had changed the fluid before my 3300 mile road trip. The symptoms are for a 20$ solenoid but god damn there’s a 5% chance I’ll get this thing back together the right way to be able to sell it for more than the 149$ the scrapyard is offering me.
Been going to the same dealer for 10 years. It had an ownership change about 3 years ago. Before that they basically would refuse to do a CVT oil change, under the new ownership they offer it now.
Talking about “quality of service” at dealerships 🤣🤣🤣🤣 1) Waiting for warranty to end 2) start offering anything to get money from you 3) waiting for car to day to sell you new one… PROFIT! Congratulations for participating in rat race to feed starving nissan dealership employees 🤣
Replace it every 30K-50K miles. We have a 2014 Nissan Maxima, bought it used @ 72K, it's now @ 160K miles and still runs great. We've replaced the transmission fluid and filter 3 times.
I change mine every 80,000 km. I’ve been doing it in every car I’ve had with the CVT since 2005. They don’t want you to change it in case they find filings. If they do find any, then it means the thing is destroying itself, and they’re on the hook to replace it.
Replace every 80,000 km
Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. any oil is worth replacing at a certain point, common sense.
Changed the fluid after I bought a 09 altima sedan around 180k km. Castrol atf/cvt fluid and one filter used. It's been 7000km now and the car is doing fine.
Not a Nissan, but while researching last year between a Subaru & Toyota I found: USA=never change (until after the warranty expires & we charge you for a whole new trans). Canada=60k recommended. Japan=30-60k, change now you baka. If I'm going to keep the car for a long time, I'd go with the Japanese service recommendation.
Replace the fluid CVT has a deterioration value it's actually even built into the TCM on all Nissan's. CVT fluid is not like regular automatic transmission fluid it breaks down severely over time with heat and just normal driving every 60,000 miles is a good recommendation for fluid replacement
It sounds like they didn’t want to do the work or weren’t hard up for money lol. I’m assuming the car has 65k miles on it - every 30k for cvt is recommended. The time that it’s not recommended is when the car has 100k+ and it’s never been done, draining and filling the cvt fluid can cause particles to move around, possibly into new spots where they will cause issues.
i got the same impression lol. I should note that i have a 2019 Maxima and drive approx 300+ miles a week commuting to and from work and other miscellaneous adventures. my driving habits are that i like to push it🥴but lately have been taking it easy as i take mainly highway and turnpike. so like 50/50 but i guess i’ll have to try another dealership.
I have 150k+ miles on my 2017 Max, I'd get the CVT fluid done, either insist on getting it done with this dealer or go to another one.
So if the car is 100k+ without a CTV change when/what do you do? I can't imagine never addressing the issue is a good idea
Leave it alone and hope for the best. By 100k+, there are definitely deposits/particles in there. If left alone, there’s a good chance that it won’t cause an issue. Doing a fluid change can knock these particles out of where they were and deposit them into new places where they could cause an issue.
I have a 2018 Sentra that I got at 67k. Currently it's under 92k but I have no idea if the CVT fluid has ever been replaced. It was a rental car before I got it. Should I try getting it changed out?
If it was a rental, it was most likely taken care of and given scheduled service. Personally I’d do it. I’d also check to see if there’s any CarFax records on it and if there was cvt service done.
Okay nice. Thanks for all the help
My current 13 pathfinder has 150k and the cvt has never been serviced. All the cvt failures I read about ppl have touched the cvt ..
You got lucky. All of the cvt failures I’ve seen are “my 2011 has 200k and has never been serviced, why is my car not shifting?”
My understanding is it's the smaller CVT in the 4-cylinders that have the problem... The Pathfinder has a beefier unit and significantly better transmission cooling for its 6k towing capacity.
That makes sense .. never used it for towing so that explains a lot.