CVT transmissions have been continuously improved for the last decade now. That being said Nissan, among others is still dealing with CVT issues. It used to be that if your automatic transmission ran low on fluid or got a little contamination in the fluid the transmission would begin to skip or not even move the vehicle at all. You replaced the fluid and/ or just topped it up and away you went. No permanent damage. Not so with a CVT.
In Nissan's factory manual, if the tech hooks up his computer when a customer comes in complaining of transmission related problems the first thing they do its check the sensors for fluid level, temperature and contamination. CVTs are highly susceptible to damage caused by contamination, low fluid, even fluid temperature is critical. You can't even check fluid level in one unless the fluid is at a very precise temperature.
Oh sure there are other DTCs to check, P0778 Pressure Control Solenoid B, P0863 TCM Communication among others which can be fixed. If the tech sees a DTC on his screen P17FO CVT Judder (otherwise known as the DTC from the Dark Side), he stops trying to fix it and informs the customer that the transmission has to be replaced. This with as little as 5000 miles on the clock. Nissan had no choice but to increase its warranty to 10/100,000 because of the failure rates in this transmission. All of this to say that this is obviously a flawed design that the manufacturers are putting on the market.
Gone are the days of a robust transmission that can take abuse and every little thing doesn't have to be just so. Why would Nissan and other manufacturers put out a product they know to be flawed? It's simple. CVTs have fewer parts, are simpler to manufacture and help with the corporate EPA mileage ratings. But the real reason is its cheaper to make one. If they save a few bucks on each one that translates to millions on the bottom line.
Why would anybody buy such a delicate piece of machinery? Because the manufacturers pay advertising guys lots of money to think up a million excuses to make people think CVTs are OK.
CVT transmissions have been continuously improved for the last decade now. That being said Nissan, among others is still dealing with CVT issues. It used to be that if your automatic transmission ran low on fluid or got a little contamination in the fluid the transmission would begin to skip or not even move the vehicle at all. You replaced the fluid and/ or just topped it up and away you went. No permanent damage. Not so with a CVT.
In Nissan's factory manual, if the tech hooks up his computer when a customer comes in complaining of transmission related problems the first thing they do its check the sensors for fluid level, temperature and contamination. CVTs are highly susceptible to damage caused by contamination, low fluid, even fluid temperature is critical. You can't even check fluid level in one unless the fluid is at a very precise temperature.
Oh sure there are other DTCs to check, P0778 Pressure Control Solenoid B, P0863 TCM Communication among others which can be fixed. If the tech sees a DTC on his screen P17FO CVT Judder (otherwise known as the DTC from the Dark Side), he stops trying to fix it and informs the customer that the transmission has to be replaced. This with as little as 5000 miles on the clock. Nissan had no choice but to increase its warranty to 10/100,000 because of the failure rates in this transmission. All of this to say that this is obviously a flawed design that the manufacturers are putting on the market.
Gone are the days of a robust transmission that can take abuse and every little thing doesn't have to be just so. Why would Nissan and other manufacturers put out a product they know to be flawed? It's simple. CVTs have fewer parts, are simpler to manufacture and help with the corporate EPA mileage ratings. But the real reason is its cheaper to make one. If they save a few bucks on each one that translates to millions on the bottom line.
Why would anybody buy such a delicate piece of machinery? Because the manufacturers pay advertising guys lots of money to think up a million excuses to make people think CVTs are OK.
- teerod, Athens, US