2010 Rogue cvt question

[tech66]

Hi
Finding this forum was a relief
You all seem to be very well informed on many things.
If I could ask a Q? I know its an oil forum but I purchased a 2010 Nissan Rogue
The vehicle is in fantastic shape and was a 1 owner car but staying on the safe side I checked all the fluids.
The cvt dipstick read low when I first checked it.
I drove the vehicle approx. 15 minutes and cycled all the gears prior to checking
I read that it needed to be at operating temp and its quite cold here so I drove it around one more time to be certain.
upon rechecking it the fluid level now read almost 1/2" above the hash marks.
It may be me but finding information on this online is extremely confusing.
The level when I let it go cold again read low.. below the bottom "cold" notch.
I am very confused as to how fluid goes from low cold to over full hot.
I just want my wife to be safe driving it and not dmg the vehicle.
The dipstick also has a mark that says >HOT< about 4" further up the stick.. I cannot figure out why that is.
It would lead you to think those 2 arrows are where it should be hot.. not in the hash marks.
I saw the thread and read the bulletin on checking it and if I understand correctly full hot should be within the hash marks.
If so then this def has too much fluid in it.
could anyone clear this up for me?
Thanks for your time.

 

[Trav]

The fluid should between 122-176f and the car on a very level surface, it doesn't take much of a grade to throw the reading off by a fair amount. I usually use a cheap DVOM (no need for Fluke quality here) with a long temperature probe down the fill tube to attain an accurate temp measurement, 150f would be just about where you want to be.
run the transmission through the gears and put it in Park the fluid should be between the hash marks. Forget the Hot up on the stick its not for the level its only indicating the direction of fluid expansion when hot.

 

[GSCJR]

Let me try to explain. Check the level of the fluid when the fluid is hot, using the >HOT< side of the level indicator. You will notice that the hash marks are only on the >HOT< side of the indicator for that reason. Make sense?

This is what I do and is only my opinion.

I have done two now, a 2008 Rogue and a 2010 Sentra.

Both operating normally.

 

[tech66]

Got it
Also was able to speak to a Nissan tech
He said the same thing..he said the cvt fluid is exremely hard sometimes to judge by the stick..they later removed them because over the hash marks hot does not necessarily mean over full and being below cold marks may expand to above full hot.
Many people find it hard to read it needs to be close to an exact temp
Thsy have scan software that tells them what they need to know.
Good news is it lvl fine and the fluid is pretty clean.
Appreciate your feedback

 

[GSCJR]

Also wanted to add that when you insert the indicator it must be 180 degrees from the lock. This allows it to fully seat on the tube for an accurate reading.

 

[tech66]

Ya know
I have decent mechanical aptitude.
This subject being so widely debated as to what,when,where.. peaked my interest so I investigated further.
I emailed Nissan themselves and was told " It is a sealed system not intended for level adjustments there is no set time under normal driving conditions the fluid needs to be replaced" there was also mention of 210000 or something the scanner reads. The transmission fluid should be checked but not necessarily replaced.
Called different Nissan dealers all over my state acting as a customer.
#1 You don't need to change it its intended for the life of the car unless hard driving or the vehicle says to replace it
#2 every 30k miles
#3 every 60k miles
Nissan themselves do not say every 30k etc.
Now the second subject was proper levels..I was told "between the hash marks at proper temp."
I was told "above the hash marks is fine it sometimes can read far above them we don't go by that"
one person responded to me that after Nissan serviced his cvt he decided to check it.. he used a temp sensor
as close as he could get to the proper range the fluid shows over 2" above hash marks supposedly "normal" or "good" range.
I then found more people that said the same thing online.. the reading was well over the hash marks directly from Nissan.
So I have decided the beyond the shadow of a doubt I am 100% positive that it is some seriously open to interpretation stuff.
again this was all from Nissan dealers not me.