Which CVT fluid is best for Nissan

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walterjay

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I am ready to do a drain and refill of the cvt tranny fluid on my 2013 Nissan Rogue. I am trying to decide between Castrol and Valvoline. Which is the preferred fluid on this forum? I want to stay away from $20.00 a quart Nissan overpriced fluid.
 
I got a 2016 Altima with 70K miles from Hertz for a friend. I did 2 spill and fills with Valvoline Synthetic CVT fluid, about 4K miles apart. I'm pretty sure the trans was never serviced before. The 1st time is was black as heck; the service made a huge difference. The 2nd time the fluid was dark, but not nearly like the prior service. She runs real nice now. And this car calls for NS-3; I am not sure if your car needs NS-2 or NS-3. I believe either Castrol or Valvoline will be fine. I used Valvoline cuz it was fairly cheap on Amazon. Good luck.
 
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Get Castrol CVT fluid from Amazon. It's $35 for a case of 6
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A few times a year, the parts stores have a sale on Castrol ATF for $5/qt. The deal does include their CVT fluid, but the sale isn't going on right now.

Valvoline is good too, but it does cost a bit more than Castrol. Some Walmarts are carrying Valvoline for about $7/qt, with the parts stores charging about $10/qt
 
Thank you everyone for your response. Amsoil would be my first choice but I am on a budget. I have used Valvoline Max products for years with great results, but since this is a CVT I am living with a different animal. After comparing products, I am going to choose the Castrol for two reasons. It is a good price but also it covers NS-2 and 3 requirements. My car specs NS-2 but with the higher NS rating of Castrol over Valvoline I feel that it may give me a broader range of protection. I am sure that all of the other products listed are excellent choices, I think that the Castrol is my best bet considering all.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
 
Go to: Amaliestore.com I got CVT fluid for my friend's application (Mitsubishi) and it was perfect.

At 92K the fluid was the color of dark maple syrup. The pan drop and filter change changed half the fluid. The new filter was unnecessary.

Amaliestore ships free after a 39$ threshold is reached. Buy oil if need be.
 
$20 a qt... Is high. Bit for saving 4-6 bucks a qt on a $6000 dollar transmission is that good math?? I say no. OEM is best.

In my cars Manual it has in bold type to use NS-2 Nissan fluid. There is a reason for that I believe.

Having stated this.. my car has 220,220 miles on original CVT fluid. Runs great still..

The CVT fluid has a deterioration number that is 235,000. Which when this number is met it us time to change the fluid. Only dealer scanner can get that number.

I hope that whatever you do works good for your vehicle.
 
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Originally Posted By: bbhero

Having stated this.. my car has 220,220 miles on original CVT fluid. Runs great still..

The CVT fluid has a deterioration number that is 235,000. Which when this number is met it us time to change the fluid. Only dealer scanner can get that number.



Would you mind enlightening us on this claim? ANd if you have it sampled and analyzed, we would sure like to see the TAN number.


Originally Posted By: Kira
At 92K the fluid was the color of dark maple syrup.


You're lucky. Mine looked like well used diesel oil at 35k miles.
 
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Not a claim... It comes from an experienced Nissan mechanic with many years there... And I have read in a couple of different places where others have stated the exact same thing... Who knows what their onboard system set up is.... And what that number means and how much it is.... And when fluid is changed... The onboard system has to be reset back. Numbers of people have had their CVT analyzed. Numbers vary.. One person had a deterioration number of 66k at 60k miles. While another had one at 4900 at 47k miles..

And my CVT looks like motor oil with less than 1500 miles on it. Has of today.
 
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I was asking specifically, "What is this The CVT fluid deterioration number of 235,000?"

And, "One person had a deterioration number of 66k at 60k miles. While another had one at 4900 at 47k miles."

What are you referring to, and how were these "deterioration" numbers determined?
 
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By the dealership SCAN tool.... Yes. They have scan tool that analyzes the CVT fluid from the onboard ECM.

That deterioration number.... Is set in the computer. Once certain perameters are met by sensors in the transmission and that number is reached aka 235k... It's time to change that fluid out.

Look... This is all " space age" stuff to me as well..... In my owners manual it clearly mentions having... "CVT fluid analyzed" at 60k 75k 105k 120k miles.... That's what that means... The fluid analysis comes from the onboard ECM and provides that deterioration number. Strange stuff. But that really is what it is..
 
Ok, I see but here are some facts:

1) fluid viscosity, condition, and chemistry CANNOT be determined from the on-board computer.

2) the on-board computer has a program called an "algorithm" which calculates things from various inputs and cannot determine the fluid's present condition.
 
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Well maybe you should contact Nissan corporate with your ideas.... And tell them they are all wrong.

Because I sure am not in position to do so.

If Nissan was so stupid about this system then why put it in millions of vehicles?? And furthermore with instructions in the owners manual clearly stating what to procedure to follow with CVT fluid analysis. Not saying they are perfect. They are not and have jacked up a number of circumstances.

I am not saying that you are wrong. But I don't think Nissan was totally wrong either... In some models this "formula" shall we say could easily be very, very accurate. While in other models or certain vehicles this "formula" could well be totally off base and way, way inaccurate. And I have read of some isolated cases where that was indeed the case. Thus making your point to a good degree as well.

It is my hypothesis that the 3.5 VQ is a better match for the CVT. It maintains a better tension, power etc on the CVT this helping the CVT perform in it's "preferred range" of operation. From my extensive reading on this subject it is rather clear the 2.5 motor has had far more issues than the 3.5. Another observation I have is that if there is problems with a CVT... It shows up rather early. Aka less than 70k miles. In many cases well less than 35k miles. In those cases the fluid clearly was not the initiation of the problems. Though the fluid was clearly destroyed in those bad operating CVTs.
 
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Originally Posted By: walterjay
I am ready to do a drain and refill of the cvt tranny fluid on my 2013 Nissan Rogue. I am trying to decide between Castrol and Valvoline. Which is the preferred fluid on this forum? I want to stay away from $20.00 a quart Nissan overpriced fluid.


Check your manual, but yours should recommend Nissan NS-2 CVT fluid. The green stuff. I hear you on the ~$20/qt the dealer wants. Mine does too.

Check eBay. I'm seeing 6qts of genuine Nissan NS-2 for ~$65 shipped. For what ever reason, the newer NS-3 can be had a bit cheaper on eBay. That's how I get mine, but you'll need to stick with NS-2 since there's no 'backwards compatibility' that I'm aware of.

I have no issue what so ever with using the appropriate Valvoline, Castrol, etc.. product, it's just that my Nissan van has lots of warranty left on it, so to make it simpler, I'll be sticking with the blue NS-3 juice until the warranty ends.
 
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