2013 Nissan Maxima CVT and other fluid changes

Question

Hi Scotty,

I know that you are not a fan of Nissan and their CVT transmission. My family has driven 6 different Nissan vehicles over the past 20 years and we have never had a problem with any of them; granted we have never reached 100K miles in any of them.

My 2013 Maxima is currently at 96Kmiles, I bought it used at 44Kmile in 2017 and regularly maintain the car, change the oil (full synthetic oil), oil filter, in-cabin air filter, tire rotation every 5K-7.5K miles , I even took your advice and cleaned the MAF. I have recently been thinking of and watching videos of transmission oil change. As a DIY guy, I called the dealer about the transmission filter and I was told that they do not normally change the filter, that they only change the transmission oil.

My question is, should I change the transmission filter, take down the pan and change the pan gasket. Or just remove the drain plug and change the CVT oil that I drain out; I want to do this every 30K miles. I also plan on changing the coolant. Are there any other fluids that you recommend that I change?

My car uses NS-2 transmission fluid. I bought an Idemitsu NS-2 Transmission fluid. I found a safety data sheet that shows that their current NS-3 cvt fluid is manufactured by idemitsu. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M9485N5/ref%3Dox_sc_act_title_1?smid%3DATVPDKIKX0DER%26psc%3D1&source=gmail&ust=1604630424740000&usg=AFQjCNEL-IuGvUzMJR5X4aARJAfaA0W-c Q"> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M9485N5/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

This is the filter https://www.courtesyparts.com/oem-parts/nissan-filter-317261xe0a&source=gmail&ust=1604630424740000&usg=AFQjCNGuc9CnFyWI99_roIE0fY57_E5mZ g"> https://www.courtesyparts.com/oem-parts/nissan-filter-317261xe0a

Ignatiosgr · Answer

The nissan cvt filters dont need to be changed if you remove the pan you’ll see that instead of the regular Cardboard filter look it will be a very delicate screen inside that you can clean your self because the filter it self doesn't get damaged Just grab a brake cleaner or two and spray it in and out from both sides, also when you remove it and you flip it around you will be able to see through the whole filter because the back side is completely open so you can see the whole screen But the main reason they dont change it is because cvt’s dont have clutches they have one pair but its only used on take off and it never wears out to be honest