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Hello everyone. I always feel like I am beating a dead horse when I re-post about certain topics but, I love learning new things. Call it an addition. haha So I have a 2011 Nissan Altima with the 2.5 and the CVT transmission. I am approaching 39,000 miles. I am considering changing the fluid in the CVT. According to the Nissan maintenance guide it says to change and or check the condition of the CVT fluid at 30,000. I have had two Nissan Dealerships tell me the fluid looks fine and is at the right level and not necessary to change it. I personally have done my research and feel with this type of transmission it would be best to change it anyhow. Now my question is do I just do a drain and refill (5 quarts) or have a dealership hook to a machine and pump out ALL the fluid in the entire transmission including the torque converter and valve body. Keep in mind the drain plug is up on the side of the pan and not at the bottom leaving in about two quarts in the pan plus what ever else is in the rest of the transmission. Two out of three local dealerships state that the drain and refill is all they offer and all that is needed if done on schedule. The one dealership wants $399.99 to flush out the entire system with brand new fluid and agree with me that is the best way to go.
Call me an over achiever but, I feel the drain and refill will only contaminate the new fluid with the remaining 5-6 quarts in the system. The problem is you can only put Nissan NS-2 CVT fluid in this and it runs $18 a quart. Scotty Kilmar told me to do drain and refill and just do it every 30k. I like his advice and he has never steered me wrong. Once again I am very particular and jobs to be done in fool but, I also agree with Eric’s method of not fixing whats not broken.
Thanks for reading as always guys!
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The best thing to do with a CVT transmission is to sell the car and get one without it….(little humor, little serious)
As far as flushing it, the only caveat I would say is find out if there is any procedure for it… Some vehicles (not saying yours is) require a warm flush…
-Karl
In my opinion it usually doesn’t make sense to add new fluid with old fluid especially if it’s contaminated and brown. I do flushes on CVT transmissions all the time but the service interval I go by is 60000 miles or 100000Kl. If you do maintenance at 30000 I think that a drain and fill would be sufficient.
The fluid is expensive but the CVT transmission is a $5000.00 job to replace on some cars so maintenance is cheap insurance.
What the manual says is true to what they tested to there standards. if your fluid is starting to turn a different color, time to change it out now with a flush. Doesn’t hurt for preventative maitance to blowing a cylinder head. If you had or have a rear wheel drive car, its much cheaper because they are simpler to work on. I wouldnt be concerned about your transmission since most transmissions these days use a transmission cooler. If you have coolant running in your transmission, it runs like a seconary system like your heater core. Engine problems are more likey chance
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