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By Dave Riccio, ASE Certified Technician, Owner of Tri-City transmission & Auto Repair, Co-host of Bumper to Bumper Radio

CASE STUDY: Nissan CVT Repair versus Replacement (Continuously Variable transmission)

• Jan 07, 2021 Knowing the different Jatco transmission types utilized in the different models can help you pinpoint where the Nissan Rogue transmission problems originate. The first category of Nissan Jatco transmission is a longitudinal engine rear-wheel-drive transmission. The first kind used was a 3N71, 3-speed engine in the 1969-1989 cars, while the next.
• V12 engine models continue to use the older Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic transmission. By the end of 2018 unsurpassed ratio span among longitudinal automatic transmissions for passenger cars. It is also fabricated by Jatco for use in Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.

Customer Saves $3,000 over CVT Replacement Quote

RE0F09B / RE0F09A / JF010E (Nissan nomenclature / JATCO nomenclature)

This customer owns a 2012 Nissan Murano, front wheel drive (fwd) with 148,057 miles. He began to notice when leaving a stop, a slight hesitation that was getting progressively worse. He also began to notice the vehicle would hesitate when accelerating to pass someone when he was already at a cruising speed. Both of these subtle symptoms were getting increasingly worse, so he took his Nissan Murano to his trusted dealer.

After leaving his vehicle with the dealer, they quickly quoted him $4,800.00 to replace his CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) transmission. He loves the car and wants to keep it for some years to come, but he had a hard time swallowing that price. He had always gone to his trusted dealer so they were his first stop when he wanted the transmission looked at. Like most with a CVT issue and sticker shock, he scoured the internet and found us. We invited him in for our preliminary no wrench transmission diagnostic. Our technician was able to identify a problem with the pump flow control valve. The good news was it could be repaired without having to replace the transmission. The customer approved us removing and repairing his CVTtransmission.

Disassembly of the transmission showed a fully stuck, pump flow control valve just as our technician had diagnosed prior to removing and disassembling the transmission (see figure 1). The rest of the transmission looked to be in good order. The combination chain/belt assembly looked good. Both of the sheaves surfaces looked relatively clean and could simply be mildly resurfaced. The pulley slides showed some wear, but were very serviceable. For less than $2,000 we were able to put this customer back on the road, in a vehicle he loves, for years to come.

When the customer came to pick up his vehicle he was inquisitive as to why the dealership did not offer him the same repair we performed. We explained, the dealerships in general, almost never actually repair a transmission. They simply replace them. In this case of the CVT, it’s not just the dealerships. Almost no one, including transmission shops, are repairing continuously variable transmissions. At the end of the day, he was happy to keep the extra $3,000 and gained a new relationship with Tri-City transmission.

There is a lot of good information mixed with bad information in regard to CVTtransmissions. Here is the problem with CVTtransmissions:

Yes, in some cases, especially the early versions, they did seem to fail more often than traditional type automatic transmissions. However, this is quite a bit overstated or misrepresented since they are unique making them easy to identify with that stereotype. There are plenty of traditional transmissions that won’t last as long as a CVT, those transmissions just aren’t uniquely identified. The other reason CVT’s are overstated as being a bad transmission is most don’t understand them, so they simply blame the style of transmission for any issues. It’s easy to blame design when you don’t understand it and unique new things will always stand out. So if you consider this very job, this transmission went approximately 150,000 miles and still was only mildly symptomatic, by no means broken. Because continuously variable transmissions are so misunderstood, they have an unwarranted bad reputation. People inadvertently are replacing them in error every day compiling the bad reputation.

Jatco Transmission Fluid

While this particular customer had to get a more major repair, in many instances, we can fix CVTtransmissions without ever removing the transmission from the vehicle. We oftentimes perform repairs that cost less than the car payment. This is where people go wrong. Like reading Web MD, you can talk yourself into an ailment you don’t have. People always think the worst when it comes to transmission problems and so with the misunderstood CVT, this is even more true. Customers can be their own worst enemy here. They go in and ask for a whole transmission. Guess what? It’s almost always what they get when working with a shop who does not understand the CVT technology.

Like it or not, CVTtransmissions are here to stay. They will be more common on the lighter vehicles. They offer so much benefit when it comes to fuel economy and getting every last penny out of the fuel you burn. Nissan was the first to carry the torch as the sacrificial lamb to get CVT technology started in their Murano. Honda tried in the late 90’s, but only for a brief moment. Also, in the 1990s, Saturn and Subaru had CVTtransmissions in their vehicle, but only for a for flash in the pan.

Nissan started in the first generation of Murano ranging from 2002 to 2007. The Murano was fairly successful but still caught some bad press because of the reasons described above. Nissan continued with the CVT from the Murano moving it into several more models. Early on, they have learned some hard lessons but are probably on the downhill slide of that learning curve. Eventually they ended up putting this style of transmission in their Nissan Cube, Nissan Altima, Nissan Juke, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Rogue, Nissan Versa, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Pulsar, Nissan Quest, Nissan NV200 and Infinity QX60.

A little clarification, Nissan does not actually build the continuously variabletransmission. They are built by a company called JATCO (Japanese American transmission Company). JATCO CVTtransmissions show up in a lot of the other auto maker brands. Mitsubishi Outlander, Mitsubishi Lancer, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, and Dodge Caliber all share the same JATCO Model# JF011E CVTtransmission.

Almost all the other major mainstream auto makers have followed suite when it comes to utilizing the CVTautomatic transmission. This would include manufacturers such as Ford, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Honda, and Toyota. The automatic CVTtransmission is used exclusively in all the new Subaru vehicles.

Transmission Background Information:

The idea of CVTtransmission technology has been around for a solid hundred years. In concept, it’s older than that considering Leonardo da Vinci put the idea to paper in the late 1400’s. From concept to production, 500+ years later, the CVT was typically found in lighter vehicles such as snowmobiles.

CVTtransmissions were just not utilized in the automobile until the late 90’s with a few Honda models. In 2002 Nissan went all in with the CVT in the Murano. Even with the proliferation of CVTtransmissions, you probably won’t see them for a while in the truck transmissions.

Trucks are just too heavy for the CVT technology, at least at this present moment. For fuel economy and creature comforts, trucks still need the granularities for shifting provided by CVT. Since the CVT won’t work in a truck, in order to accomplish the same goals of a CVT, trucks have gone the route of the 6,7,8,9 and 10 speed transmissions. This offers similar benefits like the CVT in regard to seamless shifting and fuel economy, but they are able to handle the weight and horsepower typically associated with trucks.

People originally were very adverse to the way CVTtransmissions shifted or didn’t shift. It felt unnerving to most. However, that was the early models, almost two decades ago. As the design of the CVTtransmission has not only improved, so has the software that runs the transmission. Some of the newest CVT models feel just like a normal automatic transmission. Yes, many of the bugs from that model 2002 Murano have been worked out.

Toyota was one of the last manufacturers to get on board with CVTautomatic transmissions. Reading the engineering papers, it seems they wanted to utilize CVTtransmissions, just not until they had it perfect. Frankly, we are impressed by the way the Toyota CVTtransmissions operate. It was well worth the wait.

The Moral of This Story:

1. Don’t waste money on replacing your CVT when in some cases, we can fix it for a fraction of the price.

2. Don’t be scared of CVTtransmissions. The bugs seemed to have been worked out thanks to the sacrificial transition to CVT from Nissan.

Other Common JATCO transmissions in Nissan Vehicles

JF011E / RE0F10A – Nissan Sentra

Jatco Transmission Subaru

JF009E / RE0F11A – Nissan Note

JF010E / RE0F09B – Nissan Murano, Nissan Altima

JF015E / RE0F08A/B – Cube and Note

Each automaker typically will have their own model # for a particular transmission and then the actual manufacturer of the transmission has different model #. It can be hard to keep track of all the variations between different transmission manufacturers and auto makers. These references are in no way meant to be used as a diagnostic tool, rather points of reference.

Other CVT Related Case Studies

Nissan CVT Transmission Problems | Continuously Variable Transmission Repair

Nissan has been in the news a lot lately, and unfortunately, it’s been for all the wrong reasons. Over the course of the last year or two, Nissan’s profitshave plunged (and thenplunged some more!) as sales of the company’s vehicles have started trending in the wrong direction. Nissan has also been forced to deal with a slew of ongoing Nissan CVT transmission problems in a variety of the company’s vehicles. Those who own Nissans have been forced to pay anywhere from $3,500 to $8,000 on average to fix Nissan CVT transmission problems. This has, in turn, forced Nissan toextend the warranties on many of their cars from five years or 60,000 miles to 10 years or 120,000 miles.

It remains to be seen whether or not Nissan is going to be able to get this problem under control. If they aren’t, it could very well lead to their profits plunging even further than they already have, and it could threaten to put the company into a precarious position as far as their future is concerned. But in the meantime, many Nissan owners are having to deal with the Nissan CVTtransmission problems found in a bunch of Nissan’s most popular vehicles. Learn more about some of the specific problems below.

What Is a CVT?

Jatco Transmission Junk

Before we get into talking about some of the specific Nissan CVT transmission problems that are out there, you need to know exactly what a continuously variable transmission, or CVT, is. Sometimes called a shiftless transmission or a pulley transmission, a CVT is a type of automatic transmission that utilizes variable-width pulleys and a flexible belt as opposed to fixed gears like a regular automatic transmission. CVTs are designed to deliver seamless acceleration by helping cars avoid having to shift from one gear to another, which can sometimes cause a car to hesitate or jerk suddenly.

Over the last 20 years or so, there are a number of car companies that havestarted using CVTs in their vehicles. From Audi and Honda to Subaru and Toyota, many of the major car companies have bought into CVT technology to some degree. But none have bought into it more than Nissan. Nissan quite literally bought into CVT technology at one point by purchasing a stake in JATCO, a company that has been responsible for building many of the CVT transmissions found in cars all throughout the world. This should illustrate just how committed Nissan has been to CVT despite all the Nissan CVT transmission problems that have popped up over time.

The Introduction of the Nissan CVT

There isn’t anything particularly new about CVT technology. Believe it or not, Leonardo da Vinci came up with one of the initial concepts for the technology way back in the late 1400s, and it appeared in some of the earliest automobiles that were invented in the late 1800s. Nissan has also been using CVT technology in its cars for decades now. They first started incorporating CVTs into their vehicles in the early 1990s when they released the1992 Nissan March that contained the N-CVT, which was based on the Fuji Heavy Industries ECVT. They then went on to design their very own CVT in the years that followed and worked them into several of their Japanese models.

Nissan didn’t get serious about adding CVTs to their U.S. vehiclesuntil the early 2000s, though. The 2003 Nissan Murano, which was released in 2002, was the first Nissan to feature a CVT transmission in the U.S. It came in the form of the XTRONIC CVT from Nissan, and it marked a complete change in the way that Nissan would approach transmissions. Within just a few years, Nissan shifted to including CVTs in almost all of the vehicles they released in the U.S. CVTs were soon found in Nissan Altimas, Nissan Pathfinders, Nissan Rogues, Nissan Sentras, and Nissan Versas. It seemed like such an exciting time for Nissan, but it wouldn’t be long before the Nissan CVT transmission problems would start to appear.

Beginning of the Nissan CVT Transmission Problems

When Nissan first started introducing CVT technology into their North American cars in the early 2000s, there was a lot of fanfare that surrounded them. People thought that CVTs could potentially be the transmissions found in all cars at some point in the near future. But it didn’t take very long for some people who owned the 2003 Nissan Murano to start to see signs that the CVTs in Nissans might not be all they were cracked up to be. They noticed Nissan CVT transmission problems like:

• Difficulty accelerating
• Shaking and/or stuttering during acceleration
• Transmissions running too hot
• Transmissions shutting down without warning

Transmission failure was—and is still is—one of the most common complaints that people had about the 2003 Nissan Murano. The CVTs in these Muranos would give out unexpectedlyright around the 118,000-mile mark on average and force people to pay upwards of $4,100 for transmission repairs. In many cases, the owners of Muranos had to have their transmissions replaced altogether, which eventually led to Nissan having to extend the original warranty that came with the car. It would, unfortunately, be a sign of things to come as it was the first Nissan to experience Nissan CVT transmission problems, but as you’re about to find out, it was not the last.

4th and 5th Generation Nissan Altima Transmission Problems

The 4th generation Nissan Altima—which was introduced in 2007 and replaced by the 5th generation Nissan Altima in 2012—was the recipient of a series of complaints from those who drove them. People who owned an Altima during this time period reported experiencing everything from steering wheel lock failure to instances in which their dashboards melted. But one of the biggest issues in these Altimas was CVT failure. In 2007 Altimas, for example, many people reported CVT transmission failure ataround the 100,000-mile mark and found that it cost about $4,400 to repair. The problem persisted over the next five years with many people also reporting CVT transmission failure in 2012 Nissan Altimas ataround the 110,000-mile mark and at a cost of about $3,200.

Nissan vowed to try and fix the issues that so many people were having with the CVT transmissions in their Altimas, but they were unable to do it throughout the duration of the 4th generation Altima’s lifespan. The issues continued with the 5th generation Altima, and some might argue that they even managed to get worse. Many people who owned the 2013 Nissan Altima started to notice Nissan CVT transmission problems ataround the 53,000-mile mark and found that they cost around $3,100 to fix. It caused many Altima owners to second-guess their decision to buy Nissans and is at least partly to blame for Nissan’s current predicament.

3rd and 4th Generation Nissan Pathfinder Transmission Problems

Nissan CVT transmission problems have become pretty much synonymous with the Nissan Altima at this point, which is why we decided to discuss the Altima first. But the Nissan Pathfinder was actually one of the first Nissans outside of the Murano to have a CVT transmission installed in it way back in 2005 when the first 3rd generation Nissan Pathfinder was released. And not coincidentally, that year’s Pathfinder ended up going down as one of the worst Pathfinder model years for transmissions in the Pathfinder’s history.

Those who owned a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder had a variety of widespread transmission problems, including coolant leaking into their transmissions and causingtransmission failure. These problems started to appear ataround the 90,000-mile mark in these Pathfinders and cost right around $3,500 to fix. They also showed up in the 2006 and 2007 Nissan Pathfinders before Nissan appeared to get its act together and reduce the CVT-related issues found in Pathfinders.

But they reared their ugly head again when the 4th generation Nissan Pathfinder was released in the form of the 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. That model Pathfinder would go on to beinvolved in a class-action lawsuit that claimed the Pathfinder would shake very violently when it was driven between 15 and 30 miles per hour in some instances. It was a problem that appeared in some 2014 Pathfindersas soon as the 32,000-mile mark and cost $4,000 to fix on average.

Jatco Transmission Issues

1st and 2nd Generation Nissan Rogue Transmission Problems

First released in 2007, the Nissan Rogue has, somewhat surprisingly, turned into one of the most popular Nissan models ever. When it was first released, some people didn’t know what to make of it, but thanks to the rise of crossover SUVs, it’s transformed into a staple in the Nissan lineup. But with that being said, it’s not without its Nissan CVT transmission problems, which it has experienced since pretty much the beginning. Both the 1st generation Rogue, which was manufactured by Nissan from 2008 through 2013, and the 2nd generation, which was manufactured by Nissan from 2014 through 2019, have been hit with the same transmission issues as other Nissans.

The initial 2008 Nissan Rogue, for example, would sometimes stop accelerating or stop driving completely for some people due to Nissan CVT transmission problems ataround the 86,000-mile mark. It cost almost $3,000 to fix the issues that caused this to take place. Many early Rogue owners also reported their transmissions failing completely ataround the 125,000-mile mark, thus forcing them to pay almost $3,200 on average to repair or replace their CVT transmissions.

This trend kept up once the 2nd generation Rogue was released with the 2014 Rogue starting to show signs of trouble in many cases ataround the 80,000-mile mark and forcing Rogue owners to endure average repair bills in the $3,500 range. There haven’t been as many Nissan CVT transmission problems reported with Rogues in more recent years, but all of this has scared off some people who might normally consider buying a Rogue.

6th Generation Nissan Sentra Transmission Problems

The Nissan Sentra is one of the longest-running models in the Nissan lineup. It was first released way back in the early 1980s, and it continues to be a linchpin for the Nissan name. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t without its fair share of Nissan CVT transmission problems. When the 6th generation Nissan Sentra was put out in 2013, many people who bought it reported problems like revving and jerking and total CVT transmission failure. It often struck ataround the 80,000-mile mark and cost about $3,500 to fix. The 2013 and 2014 Nissan Sentras, in particular, seemed to give drivers the most fits as far as the Nissan CVT transmission problems go.

1st and 2nd Generation Nissan Versa Transmission Problems

There was one very prominent problem with 1st generation Nissan Versas released between 2007 and 2011 that earned Nissan a lot of negative press. They came equipped with Takata airbags that were later found to be defective. Nissan wasforced to recall these vehicles in May 2016 and July 2017 to replace the airbags that were in them.

But this wasn’t the only problem that portrayed Nissan in a negative light. While the company was dealing with its airbag problem in Versas, they also had to deal with transmission problems in many 1st generation Versas. Owners of the original 2008 Versa, for instance, started reporting Nissan CVT transmission problems that appeared ataround the 120,000-mile mark and cost $3,700 on average to fix.

And those problems only seemed to get worse once the 2nd generation Nissan Versa started to hit showroom floors. Owners of the 2012 Nissan Versa were forced to put up with major transmission problems, including transmission failure. These problems presented themselves ataround the 72,000-mile mark and cost more than $3,500 on average to fix. The Nissan CVT transmission problems got to be so bad that a group of Versa owners eventually filed a class-action lawsuit against Nissan alleging that the CVT transmissions they put into 2nd generation Versas were defective. Nissansettled the case and agreed to provide extended warranties to those who qualified for them based on certain conditions.

What Should You Do With a Car With Nissan CVT Transmission Problems?

To Nissan’s credit, they have stepped up and tried to make things right with many past and current Nissan owners by offering extended warranties to them. These warranties have helped many people cover the costs associated with Nissan CVT transmission problems. But there are some people driving around in Nissans that have Nissan CVT transmission problems that aren’t covered by a warranty. There are also others who don’t feel comfortable about driving around in Nissans because of the Nissan CVT transmission problems that they’ve heard so much about.

If you want to get rid of a Nissan that has CVT transmission problems and get your hands on something new, Cash Cars Buyer will gladly take your Nissan off your hands and give you cash for it. It’ll allow you to go out and buy something that’s safer, more reliable, and less expensive than the Nissan you’re driving now. Contact us today to obtain a quote for your car.