Adios Altima CVT!

[dkryan]

Originally Posted By: cronk
My experience was the opposite of Bufords. I changed the factory NS2 fluid in our Quest at around 49k and the fluid looked fine.
It was a bit darker than the new fluid but did not look spent.

Will probably go with the Amsoil CVT fluid when I do the next set of drain and fills this summer.


I love Amsoil fluids but considering a potential CVT major repair under warranty, I will stay with the NS-3, for now.

 

[charbaby]

FYI

Coincidently, just this past Saturday Feb 26th, I received in the mail, a Recall Notice on this transmission. The notice from Nissan North America mentions about having the transmission(TCM) reprogrammed by the dealer and I should contact them for an appointment. Of course I will and maybe they'll change the CVT fluid under warranty(if I'm lucky). This dealer is pretty good about satisfying customers so, I may get lucky?!?!

 

[charbaby]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
FYI

Coincidently, just this past Saturday Feb 26th, I received in the mail, a Recall Notice on this transmission. The notice from Nissan North America mentions about having the transmission(TCM) reprogrammed by the dealer and I should contact them for an appointment. Of course I will and maybe they'll change the CVT fluid under warranty(if I'm lucky). This dealer is pretty good about satisfying customers so, I may get lucky?!?!


Update:
I made the appt with my dealer and asked my serv rep it they'd(NISSAN) would go for a CVT fluid change along with the reprogramming of the TCM...Simply but nicely, NO!

 

[MaximaGuy]

Hands down Nissan makes very unreliable autos, period. Now they are fun to drive but not to own beyond 6-8yrs, they just fall apart.

My 00 Maxima was riddled with problems and I promised myself never ever buy a car from the first year of a generation run.!!! Terrible terrible car, it was a complete disaster.

 

[charbaby]

I had my '04 Altima 2.5S for 11 years and though it was still a solid car to drive, it was developing transmission issues(flaring) and a hot restart issue. However, I did have just as good(or not good) of luck with the '04 Altima as any previous or current Accord's, Camry's or my wife's RX300. None were disasters for repairs however they all should have been better than my Altima and they weren't...maybe slightly worse!

Yes, statistically Nissan's have become very unreliable but, I've been having some decent success with them and I wasn't with HonYotaLex. I just works out that way sometimes.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: dkryan
Re-flash occurs at 8:30 a.m. on the 20th. I'll let you know how it goes down the road. Literally.

Fingers crossed


How did you make out? I wouldn't panic. See if they can actually make it right. I've had alarming AT issues that were fixed by a "reflash". This was on a 2007 Chevy Cobalt I bought new. At about a year old and mileage in the teens, it started going nuts in/out/in/out of 4th gear at steady throttle, flat surfaces. The dealer was totally stumped and had to work with the GM tech line (or what ever it was called). Worst case they'd replace the unit, but new software fixed it. I didn't care. They gave me a loaner for the week they had the car.

 

[dkryan]

As scheduled, they re-flashed the TCM and down the road I went. Literally.

They noted my complaint about "low speed, lower RPM shudder" but they could not find any codes.

The service manager said other than re-flashes per TSBs, the only issue he has seen on the 2014 Altima has been two valve body replacements, which supposedly cured whatever issues were occurring.

Issues with the 2013 Altima CVTs, however, involved more time than he had to explain them all.

He said he was getting a lot of Pathfinder warranty work as well as things "breaking" outside of the warranty.

I'll perform a drain and refill of NS-3 at 65k miles and keep the car.

 

[charbaby]

My 2015 Altima 2.5 SV 25,000 miles.

I had my reflash done yesterday(March 1st '17). Although I hadn't experienced any issues with the transmission as "dkryan", I do notice a ever so slight difference in the way the transmission behaves. Keeping in mind that the difference is very slight and I have to drive the car for several more days and see if this is a placebo effect. In both cases below, I wasn't looking for any changes as my wife and I were having a conversation and I was paying attention to traffic on the road.

1st) From a dead stop(red light/stop sign)upon taking off, there seems to be slightly more grab or the feeling of slightly more torque when starting off(I like that!). I am usually very gentle on the throttle upon start off. Sort'a on the lines of "gliding up to speed". This may change as the computer relearns my driving style.

2nd) On the highway while driving back home from the dealership, I did notice slightly better throttle input with the gas pedal. Small throttle input seemed to offer better engine response when taking the hiwy speed from say, e.g., 55 mph to 60-65 mph. The engine & transmission seemed a bit more connected with one another.

3rd) Again, this could be the placebo effect and I didn't try any WOT as nothing warranted flooring the gas at this time. But, I will give WOT a try when when a situation permits as I do want to see/feel if there is better WOT reaction to the higher revs, more similar to HONDA's CVT where, when you put your foot to the floor(WOT), the RPM reacts/jumps to the highest RPM more quickly.

I have alway describe this CVT to others as feeling a bit electric. But, I like it!

 

[BufordTJustice]

Originally Posted By: dkryan
As scheduled, they re-flashed the TCM and down the road I went. Literally.

They noted my complaint about "low speed, lower RPM shudder" but they could not find any codes.

The service manager said other than re-flashes per TSBs, the only issue he has seen on the 2014 Altima has been two valve body replacements, which supposedly cured whatever issues were occurring.

Issues with the 2013 Altima CVTs, however, involved more time than he had to explain them all.

He said he was getting a lot of Pathfinder warranty work as well as things "breaking" outside of the warranty.

I'll perform a drain and refill of NS-3 at 65k miles and keep the car.



I have a few friends/work associates who have 2014 and 2015 Altimas as their personal vehicles and they have all experienced "the shudder" and were all told "it was normal" by their respective dealers. I suspect that this type of event isn't data logged by the TCM. I'd have to think that trouble codes only work if one is assigned to a known condition. If you google Nissan's class-action lawsuit over the pathfinder CVTs, it seems they are loath to admit this remains an issue.

I certainly cannot blame anybody for using genuine Nissan NS-3 CVT fluid, especially since it has come down in price since I was in the market for same.

The CVT drums require a significant hydraulic pressure to maintain adequate clamping force on the drive belt, so minor degradation in fluid condition could certainly have an effect on transmission performance. Let's all hope the TCM reflash fixes this issue for you guys and gals. I had mine reflashed way back when and it did nothing (good or bad) which I could detect, for whatever that is worth.

 

[JTK]

It's still new to us yet, but the CVT in our 2016 Nissan Quest feels and behaves as nicely as the Subaru CVTs I'm accustomed to. I'm not sure if the 2016 has the standard Jatco JF010E, or if it's another model. It does have a dipstick and what appears to be a hex nut drain plug on the bottom of the transmission pan.

 

[philipp10]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
The newer units are emulating gears.


That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Thanks manufacturers.


yes....it is one of the dumbest things ever. Brought to you by the old farts that think your engine should go up and down through it's gears. If it wasn't done like it was in the 70's.....lol

 

[TNM1982]

Shew...I had a 2009 Maxima with the CVT. Nissan uses JATCO CVT transmissions. Not surprisingly, Blackstone gave me cautionary warnings over the entire (short, IMO) 150,000 mile life of my Maxima. Suffering through the experience of locating a used (low mileage) CVT transmission, paying for a shop to replace it (I usually do most maintenance myself - but that was a bit much or me) and then another CVT failure 5,000 miles after replacement....yep....done. Nissan / JATCO are not up to the task of producing long-mileage vehicles. And if you drive the vehicle hard....you may as well give it up now.