2012 Nissan Maxima

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I tried doing a search but I haven't figured out the secret to search so I found no good help.

Trying to do a little research for the transmission fluid in my wifes 2012 Maxima. I found the Nissan fluid NS-2 is about $21 a quart. The filter is an easy swap and is very affordable so that is a given change.

Is there an equally good or better fluid to put in this transmission that you guys could recommend? Like most of you guys I am a DIY on everything I think I can do so this will be done by me.

Thanks for any tips.
 
This is a CVT, right?

Castrol CVT fluid is great stuff and available at a great price by the case of 6 on Amazon
smile.gif
 
Kudos on your purchase of the Maxima!

It's one of the VERY few modern vehicles that offers a dipstick AND a transmission drain plug

Honestly, I'm having a hard time justifying NOT getting one, after my test drive of a pearl white 2013 last weekend.
It had a mere 20k miles on it!
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
This is a CVT, right?

Castrol CVT fluid is great stuff and available at a great price by the case of 6 on Amazon
smile.gif



Thanks for the tip slacktide. I will check the Castrol out. Yes it is a CVT. I have communicated with one guy on the Maxmima forums that has 350,000 miles on his. He uses his as his business car drives it all over Florida.


Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
Kudos on your purchase of the Maxima!

It's one of the VERY few modern vehicles that offers a dipstick AND a transmission drain plug

Honestly, I'm having a hard time justifying NOT getting one, after my test drive of a pearl white 2013 last weekend.
It had a mere 20k miles on it!


Ours has just turned 60k miles and knock on wood, zero problems. Still has the factory tires. I bought the SV with the sports package and cold weather package. It's just about got every option you could get on one except the two sunroofs.

I haven't changed my trans fluid the first time but supposedly it is a big size drain plug and fluid comes out quickly. I have read that you can change the trans fluid and filter quicker than the engine oil and filter. BTW, Nissan recommends 32,500 on trans fluid changes!! I can imagine that is pretty profitable for them at $21 a quart.
 
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Honestly, I think the only fluid I would use other than OEM in a CVT is the Amsoil CVT.
Other fluids may work, but Amsoil is one of the few I would call better than the oe fluid.
Amsoil did a lot of homework and tested it in several cars for 100k+ with teardowns after.
I did a fluid change in our Quest at 60k with oem fluid, will probably go with the Amsoil next time.
 
Read the MANUAL. What does it say about the CVT fluid?? Which one to use?? Nissan NS-2 CVT fluid ONLY. No "equivalent" option given. Is your $6000 transmission worth say $140 worth of fluid?? I would say probably say yes. I hope whatever you do it works. I don't want nothing bad to happen. I just wouldn't chance it given what the car manual says. Good luck with it all.
 
FWIW, every Nissan w/ auto trans I've owned or worked on, has had a drain plug and dipstick. Why not do a fluid drain/fill every 32.5k? Even if the OEM fluid were $21 a quart, that's less than $100. Say you buy a car to last 300k, that's about $800 in fluid plus your time. That sure beats a transmission replacement every 150-200k (sometimes much earlier) that is the norm for most vehicles.
 
I honestly believe CVTs are not ready for prime time OTC fluids, stick with OEM and stay tight at home on a Friday night to justify the cost of OEM fluid. Having said that Nissan transmissions are very reliable.
 
The OEM NS2 is made by one of the oil companies anyway, and Castrol knows how to make transmission fluid. Castrol also claims NS2 on the bottles
smile.gif


Redline CVT is also probably good stuff, too.
 
When the manual gives you ZERO latitude and states unequivocally using another fluid will VOID your car's warranty... I would not go wandering off the reservation so to speak. This isn't Mercon or Dexron fluid here. Again, the manual gives no tolerance for using another type of fluid.
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
The OEM NS2 is made by one of the oil companies anyway, and Castrol knows how to make transmission fluid. Castrol also claims NS2 on the bottles
smile.gif


Redline CVT is also probably good stuff, too.


Oh really, did Castrol and Redline personally tell you that they understand CVTs. Let them first service regular speed ATs across the board, CVTs are quite far off. Having said that, for the OP still with OEM ATF.
 
Originally Posted By: bbhero
When the manual gives you ZERO latitude and states unequivocally using another fluid will VOID your car's warranty... I would not go wandering off the reservation so to speak. This isn't Mercon or Dexron fluid here. Again, the manual gives no tolerance for using another type of fluid.


psssst.. Magnuson-Moss
smile.gif


If it says Nissan NS2 on the bottle, it is most likely defensible in a warranty claim.
 
Quote:
...Magnuson-Moss

If it says Nissan NS2 on the bottle, it is most likely defensible in a warranty claim.

Strictly speaking M-M 'may' cover the use of non OEM fluid. That said and playing devils advocate, generally speaking guess who has the deeper pockets in a court of law.

If the OP's vehicle is under manufacturer's warranty, that should at the least be a consideration imo. And this coming from one running MaxLife at least 100k miles in two Hondas specing Z1. After the warranty period.

Speaking of MaxLife and since the OP looking for available alternatives, Valvoline CVT is a Full Synthetic fluid that shows Nissan NS-2 and NS-3 on it's recommended list. I'd consider it a viable option too.
 
Thanks for all of the discussion guys. My car does have 55k miles on it. So it is overdue for it's first fluid change by quite a bit. I just noticed the interval in the manual when doing this last engine oil change. I will probably get out this afternoon and take a look and see what is available locally in the Castrol and Valvoline lines that is NS2 compatible. If I can't get this it's either Amazon or ebay. That will be where the filter comes from anyway.

Great discussion and great help.
 
Slacktide I think you are cool and I always enjoy your post on here. And I am not meaning to give a hard time here. It's just we disagree on this. And it's very seldom I disagree with you at all.

But as to that m and m mattering at all.... Ahh no..... That don't matter here hoss. Period. End of story. If it is in the manual and BOLDED TPYE.... And there's no equivalent mentioned nor allowed..... Yeah. It means ONLY. Straight forward. No two ways around it. And... This car is still under factory warranty... Just don't think it is there to justify clearly going against what it CLEARLY states in the owners manual.

If you blow up your trans with a supposed fluid that supposedly meets this requirement... You think Ashland will pony up 6 thousand smackers for you to replace it?? Ahh no. You think Nissan won't test the fluid if it blows up?? Ahh yeah. They done want to pay for a new one anyhow. So, go ahead. Try it. You lose. Everyone else sits back and wins. While you saved some money trying to cheap out on fluid. Goodness it's $140 plus your time putting it in. Not a ton of money to be saved. But, whatever.

OP.. I hope it works out good for you. Do you realize that your car likely has a CVT fluid deterioration number and that all you have to do is get it tested to find out your number??? By the way the number to change the fluid is 210,000. Highest number I've read is 56,000 in 60,000 miles driven. Most of the deterioration numbers were well less than that. In fact almost all of them weren't above 10,000. Again...... Really read your manual. If and I mean if it states it like mine does... Inspect means having a fluid scan done on it. Not changing it. Only fluid changes for the premium Maintenance schedule which is vast overkill.
 
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Originally Posted By: bbhero
You think Nissan won't test the fluid if it blows up?? Ahh yeah. They done want to pay for a new one anyhow. So, go ahead. Try it. You lose. Everyone else sits back and wins. While you saved some money trying to cheap out on fluid. Goodness it's $140 plus your time putting it in. Not a ton of money to be saved. But, whatever.


It's funny you mention this. I've had conversations about this topic with some techs at our local Infiniti dealerships and the techs advised me that they smell the used fluid to see if it smells similar to the factory fluid. No joke. I did not believe them at first, so I opened a new bottle of Nissan's Matic-S fluid and took a sniff. The smell is definitely a bit distinct compared to other "compatible" fluids. With that said, I have no idea if the same test works or applies for the CVT fluid, but my guess is that if you showed up with a transmission full of red CVT fluid instead of green NS-2, you'll be in a tough spot.

slacktide, one of these days you'll realize that recommending (and using) aftermarket parts whenever possible is a very bad position to take. Some of us work on far more vehicles than you do (I suspect), and we've been burned after a while and it has cost us a lot of $$ and reputation in comebacks. The quality of aftermarket parts change constantly (sometimes by the month) and the results can be very inconsistent. Furthermore, the amount of R&D done by many of these companies is a lot less than they would like you to believe.
 
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