I recently bought a 2013 Nissan Quest from a used dealer in Salt Lake with about 83k miles. Less than 1000 miles after buying it, the transmission went and the codes were showing all kinds of pressure problems with the fluid. Guessing either an additive or the wrong fluid was used.
Thankfully(?), the dealer is getting it repaired and I'm not having to pay several thousand dollars just yet. Nissan does have transmission issues, but my wife and I really like the van, it's great for having space in the back with all the seats up, and we plan to keep it.
Would that Lubegard be a safe idea to try and keep the fixed transmission running as long as possible? It says it's designed for CVTs and even mentions Nissan, but the last thing I want to do is put a bad additive into the fluid and burn up the transmission.
showing all kinds of pressure problems with the fluid. Guessing either an additive or the wrong fluid was used.
Well that's a 3.5L V6 mated to a CVT - you will replace quite a few.
Also did they replace the whole thing or repaired the previous one? because if they just repaired it and didn't put in a new belt - run.
but my wife and I really like the van, it's great for having space in the back with all the seats up
I mean Nissans 700-1050 L (depends on the exact specification) isn't all that much
(Although it's surprising they managed to put such a large body on an Altima platform)
It's bigger than most vans in the world, but by American standards it's not that great, a bit smaller than the Sienna that came out the same year (with over 1100 L)
No, additives are snake oil for the most part - just replace the fluid every 20,000 miles or less.
What you should do is drive it VERY moderately and conservatively, that V6 will easily fry up the tranny.
If you want to keep the van, the best action would be changing the fluid every 30k miles with Nissan fluid. When you got the van back, make sure you get a warranty on the repair.
By the way, have you considered Toyota Sienna? It is a much better built van.
I finally got my car back and it looks like they put a new transmission in the 2013 Quest (...) Afterwards, I noticed another shudder, but it was noticeably less than before.
So is your car shuttering post repair? go back in ASAP! Consider dumping it.
This V6 will tear through trannies and no amount of snake oil fluid and additives will "protect" it.
A shuddering CVT is fixed with a rebuild or a replacement, not fluid.
I definitely wanted to do a Sienna or an Odyssey, but time and budget wouldn't allow. Course now I'm down a van anyways waiting to get it repaired. I'm a bit at there mercy on the repair. I've barely gotten them to respond and I haven't been able to talk to the mechanic. I'm gonna schedule a good tranny shop to inspect it before I drive back to Idaho though.
I did look at a Sienna though and the back compartment space wasn't quite as long as what the Quest offers. With seats down, definitely more room but when the seat are up, that back space was a bit cramped on the older Siennas.
Appreciate the feedback. I might even do a fluid change every 20k-25k miles just to be on the safe side. I'm pretty big on regular maintenance so that won't bother me too much.
25k isn't really on the safe side, I'd argue that's a bit too much...
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On my cars (ones that have parts that slip / friction material suspended in oil) I replace the fluid every 15k miles - 20k miles (20k km - 30k km). Fluid is cheaper than an overhaul / replacement.
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There's a video on YouTube of a mechanic checking out the fluid after 20k miles on a Nissan CVT (and unsurprising to anyone who did it before) the fluid was dirty and full of metallic chucks.
(time stamped to show relevant part)
https://youtu.be/ILqTMbyeSPI?t=375
Although this one is the particularly terrible 015E version, all of them require chaining the fluid on regular basis.
And I disagree with him on "not worrying about metal flakes", they're definitely a sign that the belts are beginning to disintegrate.
Thanks for the replies. I noticed something from the Lubegard tests. Seems like the used Nissan fluid breaks down a lot faster with heat than the comparisons with Honda fluid. Course that could be Honda's transmission not grinding as hard either.
I've liked Amsoil in the past and they have an NS2 compatible CVT fluid that showed less wear in tests. I've seen some other people mention using Castrol's NS2 fluid. Is there a certain brand worth considering over others as long as it's NS2?
Update for everyone here on trying to find the best CVT fluid and how to make a Nissan run as long as possible. I finally got my car back and it looks like they put a new transmission in the 2013 Quest I have. It shuddered twice on me bad, so before I even left SLC to drive back I did a fluid change. I found a shop that had Castrol CVT. Afterwards, I noticed another shudder, but it was noticeably less than before.
I was told the trans axle seals were leaking. After about two hours, I stopped and check the level. It seemed like it was low, just borderline on the safe fill level. I had my Amsoil CVT I had and added a half a quart of it to get back to safe level. That last hour and a half of my trip back home, not only did the shuddering completely go away, but the transmission was feeling smoother as well!
I don't tend to notice a dramatic change with fluid, maybe minor, but that Amsoil made a big change. I'm getting the Quest transmission fluid changed to all Amsoil, and I'm also adding a cooler. I found a good shop in Idaho Falls that's a member of the ATRA and they said that adding the coolers to the Nissans seemed to help a lot. Time will tell, but everything they diagnosed with their equipment and saw after dropping the pan indicated the tranny is in good shape and really clean. =/
Take it with a grain of salt, granted I didn't get to do official fluid wear testing and I may go 1000 miles and be back in the shop again. Let's just say that it wasn't Scotty doing the tranny replacement! That said, that experience with the driving improvement definitely makes me a believer in the Amsoil CVT.