Nissan NS3 Alternatives That Are the Same Color?

[SwampSurvivor]

We've decided to keep the current Leaseon Sentra once it comes off lease. We've had it a year now and it only has 3500 miles on it. The mileage will continue to be low as fiancé is now permanently WFH. Most of those 3500 miles have been put on my me.

We were planning on keeping the last one until it got rear ended and ended up with frame damage and a new roof.

I'm a believer that these transmissions will last if the fluid is changed frequently. I know the right thing to do is buy the NS3 fluid for $30/qt from the dealer. It seems that the NS3 fluid is a blueish/green color whereas the other compatible fluids are clear or red.

Are there any compatible fluids that are blueish/green like the factory fluid? I don't believe it could be picked up on an analysis should there be trans failure and Nissan sends it to a lab.

Also really weird change procedure on these.

 

[JustN89]

I believe Valvoline's CVT fluid has a light green color, but I haven't compared the two so I don't know how similar it is.

 

[The Critic]

https://www.eneos.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PDS-of-ENEOS-Import-Series-v0619.pdf
Eneos Model N Plus is stated to be blue.

I'm a believer that these transmissions will last if the fluid is changed frequently.

I would not be so confident about this. The Nissan CVT issues have been well-documented and the latest generation ones can fail randomly and often at lower mileage.

 

[khittner1]

At the modest rate you're putting on mileage, CVT fluid replacement shouldn't be an issue for another 10+ years.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

At the modest rate you're putting on mileage, CVT fluid replacement shouldn't be an issue for another 10+ years.

I think the initial change is important then after that we probably wouldn't need to do it for a while.

The differential and most internal parts should be broken in now and should be done shedding material.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I know of two CVT fluids that are green

That said, there is nothing wrong with using (amber) Valvoline or Amalie, and even red Castrol is safe to use with no problem.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I know of two CVT fluids that are green

That said, there is nothing wrong with using (amber) Valvoline or Amalie, and even red Castrol is safe to use with no problem.

100%. Both are excellent. I believe they are superior to the Nissan CVT swill.

 

[The Critic]

100%. Both are excellent. I believe they are superior to the Nissan CVT swill.

The transmission will probably expire before you can come to that conclusion, but sure.

 

[KGMtech]

Eneos or Idemitsu NS3 products are both the same colour as the Nissan NS3

 

[slacktide_bitog]

The transmission will probably expire before you can come to that conclusion, but sure.

over here, the car will rust before you have any transmission problems!

 

[bbhero]

Eneos Eco CVT fluid is blue as blue can be. Works great too.

I did not change my CVT fluid until 283,500 miles. I now have 328,000 miles on my 08 Nissan Altima VQ with a xtronic CVT.

The Eneos Eco CVT does help quiet down the transmission a whole lot.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Eneos Eco CVT fluid is blue as blue can be. Works great too.

I did not change my CVT fluid until 283,500 miles. I now have 328,000 miles on my 08 Nissan Altima VQ with a xtronic CVT.

The Eneos Eco CVT does help quiet down the transmission a whole lot.

Is 283k the only time you changed it? Or have you done more drains since?

 

[bbhero]

I did it then 3 times last Oct thru Dec... And then 3 more times since.

First time Castrol CVT fluid

2nd and 3rd time Eneos Eco CVT fluid... Helped a lot and ran much quieter.

4th time with Eneos Eco CVT fluid

5th time with Idemitsu CVT fluid

6th time with Eneos Eco CVT fluid. This again helped a lot to run quieter again.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I know of two CVT fluids that are green

That said, there is nothing wrong with using (amber) Valvoline or Amalie, and even red Castrol is safe to use with no problem.

My concern with red is if there is a trans problem, the dealer is going to think it had traditional ATF put in.

Or blame it on having regular ATF

 

[slacktide_bitog]

My concern with red is if there is a trans problem, the dealer is going to think it had traditional ATF put in.

Or blame it on having regular ATF

What is the factory recommended schedule to change it? If it's one of those so-called lifetime fills, wait until the warranty is over before changing it

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I don't believe there is a change interval. Just bring to dealer and have them check the degradation. Although it seems nothing will ever hit the target that Nissan sets

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

We've decided to keep the current Leaseon Sentra once it comes off lease. We've had it a year now and it only has 3500 miles on it. The mileage will continue to be low as fiancé is now permanently WFH. Most of those 3500 miles have been put on my me.

We were planning on keeping the last one until it got rear ended and ended up with frame damage and a new roof.

I'm a believer that these transmissions will last if the fluid is changed frequently. I know the right thing to do is buy the NS3 fluid for $30/qt from the dealer. It seems that the NS3 fluid is a blueish/green color whereas the other compatible fluids are clear or red.

Are there any compatible fluids that are blueish/green like the factory fluid? I don't believe it could be picked up on an analysis should there be trans failure and Nissan sends it to a lab.

Also really weird change procedure on these.

Idemitsu Type N3 is pretty cheap on CarID ($10 a quart) and if you look at the MSDS for NS3 fluid it’s largely rumored based on spec and that MSDS that NS3 is actually Idemitsu Type N3. Just did the Rogue with shipping it cost me 60 bucks for 5qts. Will go Valvoline next time though they have a CVT fluid that meets NS3 spec for $7.50 a quart at Walmart. Mileage interval should be in the manual. They say on the CVT 8 to scan at 60,000 miles and replace, since I don’t have a consul tool I just drained and filled at 60k they seem to say never to replace fluid on any of their transmissions without “inspection” which is kind of silly since draining transmission fluid is easier than doing an “inspection”.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

Idemitsu Type N3 is pretty cheap on CarID ($10 a quart) and if you look at the MSDS for NS3 fluid it’s largely rumored based on spec and that MSDS that NS3 is actually Idemitsu Type N3. Just did the Rogue with shipping it cost me 60 bucks for 5qts. Will go Valvoline next time though they have a CVT fluid that meets NS3 spec for $7.50 a quart at Walmart. Mileage interval should be in the manual. They say on the CVT 8 to scan at 60,000 miles and replace, since I don’t have a consul tool I just drained and filled at 60k they seem to say never to replace fluid on any of their transmissions without “inspection” which is kind of silly since draining transmission fluid is easier than doing an “inspection”.

Forgot to mention. It is identical in color to Nissan NS3.

 

[atikovi]

Also really weird change procedure on these.

What is weird about it? I just changed it and the filters on a 2012 and it was pretty simple. Found it easier than transmissions with a dipstick. Mine takes NS2 and I used Idemitsu which has a green tint to it.

 

[JTK]

Having done many Nissan NS-3 fluid changes on my 2016 Nissan Quest and now 2019 Nissan Pathfinder, I can tell you NS-3 is as blue as windshield washer fluid. No green in it, however, it does drain out a greenish color once it's got some miles on it. Last I checked my local Nissan parts counter wanted $20/qt for it. I've never bought it from them. I've always bought it off eBay for as "little" as $10-12/qt.