2014 Nissan Murano CVT fluid

Number_35

Number_35

Joined
Jul 7, 2014
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Location
Winnipeg MB CA
I changed out the stabilizer-bar end links on our friend's 2014 Nissan Murano, and did a short test drive afterwards.

The transmission (CVT) seemed to hesitate slightly going into gear, and seemed a bit jerky getting underway. The vehicle has 319K km (c. 198K miles) on it. Our friend has not had it for long, so I don't know whether the CVT is original or when it was last serviced.

I'm well aware of the bad reputation the JATCO CVTs have, but wonder if a fluid change might help.

I would do a drain and fill using a dedicated CVT fluid. Rock Auto carries Aisin fluid which meets the NS3 spec.

My only hesitation is concern about the tranny already possibly being on the way out, and failing shortly a fluid change (the fluid change being coincidental, not causal).

If I do volunteer to do this, I also wonder about additives. BITOG folks speak highly of Lubegard products; is there one for CVTs?

Thanks!
 
Number_35 said:
I changed out the stabilizer-bar end links on our friend's 2014 Nissan Murano, and did a short test drive afterwards.

The transmission (CVT) seemed to hesitate slightly going into gear, and seemed a bit jerky getting underway. The vehicle has 319K km (c. 198K miles) on it. Our friend has not had it for long, so I don't know whether the CVT is original or when it was last serviced.

I'm well aware of the bad reputation the JATCO CVTs have, but wonder if a fluid change might help.

I would do a drain and fill using a dedicated CVT fluid. Rock Auto carries Aisin fluid which meets the NS3 spec.

My only hesitation is concern about the tranny already possibly being on the way out, and failing shortly a fluid change (the fluid change being coincidental, not causal).

If I do volunteer to do this, I also wonder about additives. BITOG folks speak highly of Lubegard products; is there one for CVTs?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


I don’t start changing my Nissan Altima VQ CVT until 283,500 miles on it. I found Eneos Eco CVT fluid noticeably quieted down my car’s transmission after I did just one drain and refill. Eventually I did 2 more drain and refills on it.

My car made it to 365,500 miles before the transmission gave up. Though I believe it got hurt when on a rainy day I drove on a area of bricks laid in the road and was using a lot of throttle in it and it caused the wheels to slip very badly and I think that really really messed with that transmission. Because it started acting funny later that same night.
 
IMO Nissan Jatco transmissions have problems due to underfilled tranmission fluid and previous really bad NS2 fluid which was cause tranny to overheat. New NS3 fluid for nissan is made by Idemitsu, although they could also be using different supliers likeTotachi
https://totachi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/TDS_ATF-NS-3.pdf
IMO both of those fluids are inferior to Castrol & Amsoil cvt fluids.

I've been using Castrol Transmax ATF/CVT Universal fluid which is speced for NS3, NS2 etc.
https://www.castrol.com/content/dam/castrol/country-sites/en_mm/myanmar/home/pdf/transmax-cvt.pdf

To be honest people geek out about this but all CVT fluid is lubricator, friction reducer and detergent, similar to motor oil but with different viscocity rating. As long as you come close this viscocity your tranny will be ok. Actually higher viscocity will protect more against heat which is why those tranmissions go into safe mode when they overheat. IMO viscocity of NS2 fluid was too low hence nissan changed later to NS3. NS3 is still inferior to most aftermarket cvt fluids.

NO CVT fluid will cause any damage to your transmission. They all do the same thing, lubricate, reduce friction and clean out particles out, same as motor oil does. No different brand motor oil will cause any damage to your motor engine unless u use super high viscocity.

If i were you i would do this. Get two 1 gallon jugs of cvt fluid. With car leveled drain cvt fluid.

Fill exactly with 3 quarts and 10 ozs. Fill threw tranmission dipstick hole using thin funnel from walmart.

Drive for 10k miles and do this again. I change my cvt fluid every 2 oil changes now.

Half of old cvt fluid is in torque converter so fist time you will only change half of cvt fluid. After 3 drains you should have 100% new Cvt fluid. There is also paper CVT filter right above tranny in metal round case which you should change as well. There is video on youtube how to do this for 2014 nissan altima.

Here is good thread on viscocity of cvt fluid.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...similar-to-real-aisin-toyota-ws-fluid.373883/

Castrol is 7.1. Idemitsu/nissan ns3 cvt fluid is 7.0 lol. Same thing. Color means nothing. It means different chemical was used to achieve same end result.

https://www.idemitsulubricants.com/dA/40ee5f3d50/tds-idemitsu-cvt-n.pdf

https://www.castrol.com/content/dam/castrol/country-sites/en_mm/myanmar/home/pdf/transmax-cvt.pdf

Also get yourself this cvt dipstick and replace dummy one
https://www.amazon.com/DIPSTICK-TRANSMISSION-31086-JA00A-Indicator-Compatible/dp/B08NWS8RSD/

Let us know what u did and good luck.
 
Last edited:
Rango said:
IMO Nissan Jatco transmissions have problems due to underfilled tranmission fluid and previous really bad NS2 fluid which was cause tranny to overheat. New NS3 fluid for nissan is made by Idemitsu, although they could also be using different supliers likeTotachi
https://totachi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/TDS_ATF-NS-3.pdf
IMO both of those fluids are inferior to Castrol & Amsoil cvt fluids.

I've been using Castrol Transmax ATF/CVT Universal fluid which is speced for NS3, NS2 etc.
https://www.castrol.com/content/dam/castrol/country-sites/en_mm/myanmar/home/pdf/transmax-cvt.pdf

To be honest people geek out about this but all CVT fluid is lubricator, friction reducer and detergent, similar to motor oil but with different viscocity rating. As long as you come close this viscocity your tranny will be ok. Actually higher viscocity will protect more against heat which is why those tranmissions go into safe mode when they overheat. IMO viscocity of NS2 fluid was too low hence nissan changed later to NS3. NS3 is still inferior to most aftermarket cvt fluids.

NO CVT fluid will cause any damage to your transmission. They all do the same thing, lubricate, reduce friction and clean out particles out, same as motor oil does. No different brand motor oil will cause any damage to your motor engine unless u use super high viscocity.

If i were you i would do this. Get two 1 gallon jugs of cvt fluid. With car leveled drain cvt fluid.

Fill exactly with 3 quarts and 10 ozs. Fill threw tranmission dipstick hole using thin funnel from walmart.

Drive for 10k miles and do this again. I change my cvt fluid every 2 oil changes now.

Half of old cvt fluid is in torque converter so fist time you will only change half of cvt fluid. After 3 drains you should have 100% new Cvt fluid. There is also paper CVT filter right above tranny in metal round case which you should change as well. There is video on youtube how to do this for 2014 nissan altima.

Here is good thread on viscocity of cvt fluid.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...similar-to-real-aisin-toyota-ws-fluid.373883/

Castrol is 7.1. Idemitsu/nissan ns3 cvt fluid is 7.0 lol. Same thing. Color means nothing. It means different chemical was used to achieve same end result.

https://www.idemitsulubricants.com/dA/40ee5f3d50/tds-idemitsu-cvt-n.pdf

https://www.castrol.com/content/dam/castrol/country-sites/en_mm/myanmar/home/pdf/transmax-cvt.pdf

Also get yourself this cvt dipstick and replace dummy one
https://www.amazon.com/DIPSTICK-TRANSMISSION-31086-JA00A-Indicator-Compatible/dp/B08NWS8RSD/

Let us know what u did and good luck.
Click to expand...




Has nothing to do with viscosity… 7.0 vs 7.8 means nothing.

CVTs operate on traction coefficient. Therefore it’s the additive package that determines that fluid’s unique ability to help the belt maintain pressure and traction.

Regular ATFs work off of a coefficient of friction which is very different than how a CVT operates.

I had a 2008 Nissan Altima VQ with a CVT that I didn’t change the fluid in it until 283,500 miles. I changed it 3 times and then after another 30k miles did it again 3 times. Then one last time at 360,000 miles. My car made it to 365,500 miles

I used Eneos Eco CVT fluid which has a viscosity of 7.2 or so. It did great and did quiet down my CVT quite a lot after the first time I put it in my car.
 
Last edited:
bbhero said:
Has nothing to do with viscosity… 7.0 vs 7.8 means nothing.

CVTs operate on traction coefficient. Therefore it’s the additive package that determines that fluid’s unique ability to help the belt maintain pressure and traction.

Regular ATFs work off of a coefficient of friction which is very different than how a CVT operates.

I had a 2008 Nissan Altima VQ with a CVT that I didn’t change the fluid in it until 283,500 miles. I changed it 3 times and then after another 30k miles did it again 3 times. Then one last time at 360,000 miles. My car made it to 365,500 miles

I used Eneos Eco CVT fluid which has a viscosity of 7.2 or so. It did great and did quiet down my CVT quite a lot after the first time I put it in my car.
Click to expand...

Look at Idemitsu data sheet. Viscocity is mentioned 4 times in their data sheet.

Traction coefficient is mentioned ZERO times in their data sheet.

I'm pretty sure they communicated to manafacturers and others what they wanted to communicate.

If they wanted to communicate something about Traction coefficient they would have mentioned it at least once.

Viscocity is mentioned 4 times. Let's not keep repeating some folk tales here.
 
Muranos seem to be like the Altima battle wagon of the Nissan line. I still see very high mileage old ones in the rust belt. If rotted subframes don't take them out, the CVT may. The next culprits on 4x4 equipped models are bad rear electro-magnetic couplings, or bad transfer cases. Both of those start with just a shudder.

In terms of changing CVT fluid, I've not heard of a suitable for use fluid causing one to fail, even it it was undermaintained.
 
Last edited:
Rango said:
To be honest people geek out about this but all CVT fluid is lubricator, friction reducer and detergent, similar to motor oil but with different viscocity rating. As long as you come close this viscocity your tranny will be ok. Actually higher viscocity will protect more against heat which is why those tranmissions go into safe mode when they overheat. IMO viscocity of NS2 fluid was too low hence nissan changed later to NS3. NS3 is still inferior to most aftermarket cvt fluids.
Click to expand...
There is no similarity between CVT fluid and engine oil additive packages. The CVT fluid is formulated to provide a proper traction coefficient for the belt/chain as well as a dynamic coefficient of friction for the lock-up clutch. Anti-wear, detergents-dispersants, metal inhibitors, rust inhibitors, and anti-foamants are some of the additional additives that are incorporated. Without dye added, the CVT fluid is amber-colored.
 
Last edited:
More then 80% of cvt fluid is paraffinic, a lubricator.

There is one chemical in there, dimantine ≤0.19, which represents 0.2% of the cvt fluid formulation. So 99.8% is lubricator.

Translation, it's all about viscocity, just like in motor oil. Just as CVT fluid manufacturer has communicated in their data sheet 4 times.

Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light paraffinic ≥50 - ≤75

Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy paraffinic ≥25 - ≤50

Lubricating oils (petroleum), C15-30, hydrotreated neutral oil-based ≤3

Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light paraffinic ≤3

dimantine ≤0.19

ethanol (2-heptadec-8-enyl-2-imidazolin-1-yl) ≤0.058

https://msdspds.castrol.com/ussds/a...AA4BBF57DC080258ACF00581628/$File/3075434.pdf

castrol-cvt.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thoughts on Motul 105785 CVT fluid? Motul claims it meets Nissan's NS-3 spec. It's available for a good price right now at NAPA.

https://motul.speclube.com/products/multi-cvtf

https://motul.speclube.com/pages/transmission-fluids

I know nothing about Motul. Thanks!

Edit: Arg! And now I can't find the Motul CVT fluid on sale. Castrol Transmax Universal ATF/CVT looks like it might be my best bet - readily available locally, price is not bad for here, and it lists Nissan NS-3 as one of the specs it meets.
 
Last edited:
Number_35 said:
Thoughts on Motul 105785 CVT fluid? Motul claims it meets Nissan's NS-3 spec. It's available for a good price right now at NAPA.

https://motul.speclube.com/products/multi-cvtf

https://motul.speclube.com/pages/transmission-fluids

I know nothing about Motul. Thanks!

Edit: Arg! And now I can't find the Motul CVT fluid on sale. Castrol Transmax Universal ATF/CVT looks like it might be my best bet - readily available locally, price is not bad for here, and it lists Nissan NS-3 as one of the specs it meets.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I like motuls gear fluid and I’m sure that the cvt fluid is fine. I can’t seem to find it at Napa though? I’ve used oem, idemitsu, eneos and Lubeguard. Lubeguard raised my temp, no idea why. After a few drain and fills temps were back to normal. I’m currently using valvoline in an NS2 application and it’s definitely louder than eneos, but no issues in 40k. I’m probably a little overboard on spill and fills but so is the cost of a new cvt. I’ve ran some pretty high temps (220) going through the Appalachians, going to Myrtle beach and my trans is still operating like new. Once the fluids cooked, the trans isn’t far behind. My 09 never had a D&F, simply because the dealer said it was fine, I was none the wiser, it blew @95k under extended warranty. I was impressed it made it that long, cause I drove that car hard. Still have it and it now sets @200k and my daughter drives it even harder for work.
 
Number_35 said:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...utomatic-transmission-fluid-5-l-0289367p.html

Here's a link to the Castrol Transmax universal fluid. I think I'll go with it.
Click to expand...
We had an 07 Murano that I did a complete fluid swap using transmax when my 09 blew. It was the wife’s and had close to 200k and had never been done. Afterwards I got cold feet and sold it to a guy who bought it for his son to run from Ohio to the university of Louisville and the last I knew it had 300k on it. I haven’t saw the car around in quite awhile so who knows what happened.
 
Number_35 said:
Thoughts on Motul 105785 CVT fluid? Motul claims it meets Nissan's NS-3 spec. It's available for a good price right now at NAPA.

https://motul.speclube.com/products/multi-cvtf

https://motul.speclube.com/pages/transmission-fluids

I know nothing about Motul. Thanks!

Edit: Arg! And now I can't find the Motul CVT fluid on sale. Castrol Transmax Universal ATF/CVT looks like it might be my best bet - readily available locally, price is not bad for here, and it lists Nissan NS-3 as one of the specs it meets.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'd go for the Motul or Amsoil over the Nissan fluid. Amsoil was significantly cheaper with "free shipping" otherwise I'd use Valvoline Maxlife ATF, Castrol Transmax, etc. Just as important as good, clean fluid is getting the pan off for cleaning along with the magnets. The magnets are a crucial part of the CVT filtering system.
 
Earlier today I did a CVT fluid drain-and-fill with Castrol Transmax. I was impressed there was a dipstick for the fluid, and a drain plug on the transmission pan.

The old fluid was quite dark - it pretty much looked like used motor oil coming out.

The CVT feels very smooth. Hopefully this will keep it working well.
 
Number_35 said:
Earlier today I did a CVT fluid drain-and-fill with Castrol Transmax. I was impressed there was a dipstick for the fluid, and a drain plug on the transmission pan.

The old fluid was quite dark - it pretty much looked like used motor oil coming out.

The CVT feels very smooth. Hopefully this will keep it working well.
Click to expand...
The old fluid is dark with wear metal, primarily from the belt & pulleys. Unless you clean the pan and magnets this contaminated fluid will continue to cause accelerated wear in the transmission.

If you just want to flush out the old fluid then I would do two more drain & fills but this will not be enough to clean it up.
 
martinq said:
The old fluid is dark with wear metal, primarily from the belt & pulleys. Unless you clean the pan and magnets this contaminated fluid will continue to cause accelerated wear in the transmission.

If you just want to flush out the old fluid then I would do two more drain & fills but this will not be enough to clean it up.
Click to expand...
Thanks, this is good information. I didn't have a pan gasket on hand. I'll ask the owner if she wants me to drop the pan and clean things up.

Is there an internal filter I should replace at the same time?
 
Number_35 said:
Thanks, this is good information. I didn't have a pan gasket on hand. I'll ask the owner if she wants me to drop the pan and clean things up.

Is there an internal filter I should replace at the same time?
Click to expand...
I've successfully reused the pan gasket but I do feel better having a spare on hand. 2014 is over 10yrs old now.

There is an intake screen which should be inspected & cleaned. It can be easier to replace than cleaned but a round in the dishwasher can do wonders. It's important that you can see light through most of it.

There is a filter which can be changed but cleaning the pan and magnets is more important. I would order one just in case but they usually only need changing during a rebuild.

Search for:
2014 Nissan Murano CVT Filter

You should find pics of the screen, filter and pan gasket.
 
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