What the hell is going to happen to old Nissans?

[2o6]

I've been flipping cars for awhile now, and there's been quite a few early CVT Nissans (Versa, Altima, Sentra, and Rogue) that pop up on my searches.


Usually the car is cheap and in OK shape, but the CVT is ruined.



Here's the thing:


These CVT's are not serviceable. Jatco/Nissan doesn't sell parts for them. There's no real way to rebuild them, I have yet to find a transmission shop that CAN.


So you can chance it with a used one (A CVT for a Rogue is $2000 from junkyard or $3000 from LKQ), or try and buy a new one, which Jatco or Nissan may not even make anymore.


I'll bet in 10 years we won't really see 2008-2010 Nissans on the road anymore.

[AutobahnSHO]

!!!!!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!?!?!??!!!!!!!!!!   

That's crazy. I doubt it's limited to Nissan, Subaru is selling a ton of CVTs too. Maybe their CVTs last longer, but I bet it's the same non-repairable issue.

[MX793]

Nissan CVTs are notorious for just failing, and not at particularly high miles (well under 100k).  My stepmom's Sentra suffered transmission failure just inside the warranty period.

[Payman]

It's the same as disposable appliances. Clutch burns out in your Samsung dryer, it's now worthless because the parts and labor cost as much as buying a replacement. Old Nissans will be left at the curb like big screen TVs and washing machines, hoping somebody will take them.

[shp4man]

Did they offer manual trans models?

[2o6]

Did they offer.manual.trans models?

Not in every model. There's no manual rogue, and only a handful of Manual Altimas. The Sentra and Versa had a decent take rate with the manual, tho.

[Raza]

The CVTs will end up where they should have been born--in a junk heap.  Garbage transmission, I'm glad that they'll rust to nothing.

[MX793]

!!!!!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!?!?!??!!!!!!!!!!   

That's crazy. I doubt it's limited to Nissan, Subaru is selling a ton of CVTs too. Maybe their CVTs last longer, but I bet it's the same non-repairable issue.

Different companies have very different CVT designs.  Different strengths, weaknesses, and levels of serviceability.

[2o6]

Also, it's not like a conventional automatic, where it might slip for awhile or shift hard. I had a V6 accord that intermittently shifted like ass when I sold it; I saw it the other day. It's still rolling.


Usually when these CVT's fail, they fail in such a manner where the car is basically undrivable. I drove a CVT versa that was stuck in the upper range of ratios and it would barely move. I drove another where it wouldn't engage drive.

[Morris Minor]

It's the same as disposable appliances. Clutch burns out in your Samsung dryer, it's now worthless because the parts and labor cost as much as buying a replacement. Old Nissans will be left at the curb like big screen TVs and washing machines, hoping somebody will take them.

A plumber told me the same thing - back in the day he'd re-washer a mixer faucet and they'd stay good for years. Now the part kits are cheap shit, the repair job lasts no time & I might as well go to Home Depot and get complete new unit. AND we're being lectured about buying more economical cars to lower our environmental footprint while, at the same time, nobody gives a shit about landfills overflowing with discarded stuff that previous generations would have made last for decades.
/rant - draws deep breath.

[Soup DeVille]

If you take the labor out of the equation and do it yourself, most of the parts are available.

[Payman]

If you take the labor out of the equation and do it yourself, most of the parts are available.

Yeah but $2-3000 for a used CVT? Is it even worth it?

[Speed_Racer]

Same issue with Kizashis which also use JATCO units, except resale is even lower. Pretty much if the CVT dies, it's off to the junkyard for you.

[2o6]

If you take the labor out of the equation and do it yourself, most of the parts are available.

That $2000 figure didn't include any labor. Or tax.

[CaminoRacer]

Same issue with Kizashis which also use JATCO units, except resale is even lower. Pretty much if the CVT dies, it's off to the junkyard for you.

You've got a manual, right?

[Soup DeVille]

Yeah but $2-3000 for a used CVT? Is it even worth it?

No.

I was talking about appliance repair though.

[12,000 RPM]

My brother in law has a Versa Note that's currently out for a transmission repair. Gonna advise him to trade it in for something else.

Is it a problem across the board, or just with the 4 bangers? I really loved the CVT in the Maxima. It was prescient and responsive. Better than any other automatic I've driven, honestly

[MX793]

My brother in law has a Versa Note that's currently out for a transmission repair. Gonna advise him to trade it in for something else.

Is it a problem across the board, or just with the 4 bangers? I really loved the CVT in the Maxima. It was prescient and responsive. Better than any other automatic I've driven, honestly

Seems I hear about it most with Nissan's small cars.  The CVT they use in the Sentra and Versa isn't the same as the Altima and Maxima (which is considerably beefier to handle the V6).  No idea if the 4-banger Altima is using the same transmission as the V6 or uses the transmission from the Sentra or something different from either.

I autocross with a guy who's been running a CVT V6 Altima for several years and he's had no issues that I've heard of.

[Speed_Racer]

You've got a manual, right?

Yep, I'm safe.

Here's a thought. IIRC Nissan advertised their CVTs as being maintenance-free .... no need to change fluid for the "lifetime" of the transmission. I wonder if proactively flushing and replacing the CVT trans fluid at a regular interval would have reduced/prevented their failure rates.

[Laconian]

"the 'lifetime' of the transmission"

THAT IS TECHNICALLY CORRECT. THE BEST KIND OF CORRECT!

[Payman]

It's also safe for me to smoke for as long as I live.

[2o6]

My brother in law has a Versa Note that's currently out for a transmission repair. Gonna advise him to trade it in for something else.

Is it a problem across the board, or just with the 4 bangers? I really loved the CVT in the Maxima. It was prescient and responsive. Better than any other automatic I've driven, honestly

Pretty sure it's across the board, but more with the earlier CVT models. The Versa doesn't fail as much as the Sentra, but the 1st gen Murano, Altima (all engines), and Maxima don't do very well.


I got sucked into a Nissan CVT wormhole awhile back:


Usually, when I flip, I check the pricing of a part. If it's in the 4-digits, that usually means it's rare mostly because it was never that good. The current Versa/Versa Note is $500-750 for a new (used trans). By comparison, a Yaris 4AT is like $350. This tells me the Versa's trans is generally reliable, at least the new one is.

The new Versa/Note/Cube uses a different transmission; it's a better CVT and it also has a 2-speed at the end of it to combat narrow gear spread. I also feel like these don't fail so much because the Versa and whatever motor they use doesn't have much torque and it's not like the thing can carry that much weight or displace a lot of heat.


The Rogue's seems to fail the most consistently.

FWIW, the Ford Freestyle uses a Jatco CVT auto, and it too is garbage.

[93JC]

FWIW, the Ford Freestyle uses a Jatco CVT auto, and it too is garbage.

Might be garbage but it's not a JATCO product; Ford built their own CVTs. In Ohio, coincidentally, in their old plant in Batavia.

[12,000 RPM]

JATCO says the 7AT in the G is good for life on fluid but people have noted significant improvements in shift quality with periodic flushes. I'm gonna get mine done

High key JATCO sucks