283,500 miles CVT fluid 1st change

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Well it finally did happen... After 293k miles plus... I did a drain and refill on the ol Altima VQ CVT two door coupe....

Fluid was brown like motor oil with about 2 thousand miles on it.... I have heard others on here who have had the CVT fluid look jet black or like diesel oil... Which would be not good to see... My CVT fluid barely had any color to it until about 120k miles.

My driving pattern is very, very easy on it too... A whole lot of open highway driving which obviously helps keep the CVT temperature lower by a wide margin too.

I used Castrol Transmax CVT fluid that I got at AZ for a tad over $7 a qt... I plan on changing the fluid one more time in the next few weeks.


Guess I don't have to worry about the color of the fluid being red from Castrol because I am well, well out of warranty
lol.gif
 
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Wow that great for a Nissan CVT... Really though that's great to hear. I have always been curious on the longevity of these relatively new CVTs. Thanks for posting the news.
 
Well it was red Castrol Transmax CVT fluid... I drive around for about 40 miles. And when I checked it when I got home and it was a light brownish color.

The more drain and refills I do I bet the red color of the Castrol Transmax CVT fluid could be there.
 
It had 39,990 miles on it when I got it.... Never had any CVT work at all. Original.
 
Have you had the car since new? It doesn't surprise me much that the fluid was still good, if you do mostly highway driving. The only real wear in a CVT is the belt or chain as the ratios change. If you just sat in the tallest ratio on the highway all the time, the only other thing the fluid does is lubricate and cool the bearings. I suppose there may be some wear from the torque convertor clutch, but with your driving habits I would guess it just stays locked most of the time, so no wear there either.

Congrats on the high mileage, though! It doesn't say what year your Altima is, but I would guess it's between an '08 and '12. Either way, that's a LOT of miles! Good thing Nissan uses those NASA-inspired seats!
 
Does that CVT use a belt, or is it the other type Nissan used to use, with sorta hemispherical-shaped components that rolled against each other? (Sorry, I forget what they called that kind.)
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Any change in trans feel?



Not a big difference really man... Though I will say it is quieter than it was at lower speeds of 45 mph or less... That was good to notice.

Hope you had a good day today...

I am sorry for being a bit cantankerous the other day.

In all actuality we were not all that far apart on that deal. I just did not handle that well at all.
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Have you had the car since new? It doesn't surprise me much that the fluid was still good, if you do mostly highway driving. The only real wear in a CVT is the belt or chain as the ratios change. If you just sat in the tallest ratio on the highway all the time, the only other thing the fluid does is lubricate and cool the bearings. I suppose there may be some wear from the torque convertor clutch, but with your driving habits I would guess it just stays locked most of the time, so no wear there either.

Congrats on the high mileage, though! It doesn't say what year your Altima is, but I would guess it's between an '08 and '12. Either way, that's a LOT of miles! Good thing Nissan uses those NASA-inspired seats!



Yeah I got her in Nov 2012... 2nd owner I am. The car had 39,990 miles on it. And like you said the highway miles are very, very easy/helpful in terms of helping the CVT stay in a easy operation condition. And... I still enjoy driving the car
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by cos
bbhero,

What year is your Nissan?


Ooh yeah a 2008.
 
Originally Posted by CR94
Does that CVT use a belt, or is it the other type Nissan used to use, with sorta hemispherical-shaped components that rolled against each other? (Sorry, I forget what they called that kind.)



A belt. It is the Xtronic CVT in my model with the 3.5 L VQ motor.
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Any change in trans feel?



Not a big difference really man... Though I will say it is quieter than it was at lower speeds of 45 mph or less... That was good to notice.

Hope you had a good day today...

I am sorry for being a bit cantankerous the other day.

In all actuality we were not all that far apart on that deal. I just did not handle that well at all.

Not sure what you mean; it's all good I respect all opinions.
I appreciate your good words.
And killer job on the CVT transmission service.
 
Originally Posted by tahoe_hybrid
most nissan cvts only last 32-36k miles
shocked.gif


My father's 1985 Pontiac Grand Prix 4 speed automatic did not even last 8k miles... It was toast not just once but two times in 4 months.. Then we went back to 5 speed manual transmissions with no issues.

When I learned how to drive I learned on a manual 5 speed transmission because of the terrible issues with the now supposedly "bullet proof 4 speed automatics".
 
What …? !

The Tribol leaders should vote you off the island …
Charge ? ATF Slacker ðŸ§
 
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