Reliability of Nissan CVTs - belt vs chain

[Number_35]

Hello all -

Talking with a friend yesterday who said he'd committed to buying a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder. It's equipped with a 3.5 l V6 and CVT. It's only got 7x,000 km on it (c. 45,000 miles). He plans to tow a tent trailer with it, perhaps half a dozen times a year, and won't exceed about half the Pathfinder's tow rating.

He knows of my misgivings about CVTs, and was told that Nissan switched their CVTs over from a belt over to a chain around 2013, and that the CVTs have been reliable since.

Is this true?

As well, the dealership where he's buying it tells him that a CVT service is required every 90K km (55K miles), but that they've just done one early for him, so he's good for another 90K.

That $900 sounds really high to me. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Rand]

what 900$? Did you mean the cvt service was $900? (waits for edit to make my post look stupid )

 

[Number_35]

what 900$? Did you mean the cvt service was $900? (waits for edit to make my post look stupid )

That was my reaction too - yes, they told him the CVT service was C$900!

 

[michael007]

That was my reaction too - yes, they told him the CVT service was C$900!

This is why I'm glad that Honda corporate standardizes their service pricing in Canada for certain services.

My local dealer in Ottawa charges C$166.99 to service the CVT

If I check Winnipeg Honda's website, their price is C$169.88

 

[zzyzzx]

That $900 sounds really high to me. Thoughts?

Yeah, $900 sounds high for a used Nissan that has a CVT.

 

[KGMtech]

The towing capacity for the chain type CVT is much higher than the belt version, so presuming he is within the rated weight limits and services the CVT on a schedule, he could be fine. Ironically, it's not the belt or chain that typically causes the CVT problems, it's the valve body.

 

[Number_35]

Yeah, $900 sounds high for a used Nissan that has a CVT.

Sorry, I wasn't clear in my original post - the C$900 is what the dealer told him a CVT service costs.

And yes, given that I would not consider a Nissan with a CVT, I get what you're saying. That was pretty much my inside voice, but I hope I'm wrong, and that he gets many years of good service out of it. I think the actual purchase price is closer to C$20K - can't remember exactly how much he told me. As well, they're giving him a good trade-in allowance on his older GM SUV.

The problem, of course, is that a CVT replacement is very expensive, and often exceeds the value of the vehicle. I think he's buying an extended warranty.

 

[Number_35]

The towing capacity for the chain type CVT is much higher than the belt version, so presuming he is within the rated weight limits and services the CVT on a schedule, he could be fine. Ironically, it's not the belt or chain that typically causes the CVT problems, it's the valve body.

Interesting, I didn't know that. Do regular fluid changes help?

 

[Kestas]

I don't understand "belt vs chain". I thought the drive belt was always segmented metal.

 

[Number_35]

I don't understand "belt vs chain". I thought the drive belt was always segmented metal.

Good question, I don't know enough about them.

 

[FordMan59]

I'm not sure about all Nissans but my '16 Versa has a belt driven CVT. I think the reliability has increased on the Nissan CVT's in the past few years but they're still far from perfect. Just last year Nissan settled a class action lawsuit on several models with CVT issues. My '16 Versa was included in that class action suit. This tells me they've still got issues that need to be resolved.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I haven’t trusted their CVT since day one. Junk. You know it’s bad when the founder of the CVT can’t make one worth anything.

 

[Rand]

I don't understand "belt vs chain". I thought the drive belt was always segmented metal.

belt is a pusher . "metal bands", chain is puller type.