CVT Tranny Releability
veerg
11-28-2009, 06:12 PM
I have a 2008 Sentra, 28K miles, which has a CVT transmission. The warranty is 36000 miles or 3 years. Just got a letter from Nisan saying that some owner were worried about the after warranty repairs. So being a good company, they are extending the warranty on CVT to 100K miles.
My question to owners of vehicles with CVT tranny is that has any one has had problems ? what kind of miles people have done with or without problems.
My question to owners of vehicles with CVT tranny is that has any one has had problems ? what kind of miles people have done with or without problems.
dosomeresearch
11-27-2010, 01:16 PM
Nissan is the only car company that is committed to making CVT as reliable as any other transmission type. While CVT is not new, it is also not perfected and Nissan seems like they are in the CVT business for the long haul (as evidenced by the 100k mike warranty modification most of their CVT owners are enjoying and no plans to drop CVT).
Current reliability aside, I think CVT is great. I hated it at first, but I have grown to appreciate it's character. Of course, I only know the New nissan Xtronic with manual shift mode from experience, but what a ride! The shifts are smooth as butter in sport mode and it seems just as responsive as a slushbox, maybe more, and if you slow down and then get on the gas again it starts you out in an optimized gear ratio (which probably wouldn't even exist in a fixed ratio setup) and you can continue shifting up manually through predetermined ratios from there. In full automatic mode there is no shift at all and you don't have to mash the gas down to the floor to get a good response, whether it's on the highway passing, or just starting off the line. The torque is always there when you need it with no harsh downshifting or engine roar. The revs can hold quite high during acceleration but for me that's perfect for the turbo that needs to be spooled up to the power band to do any good anyway. Imagine it, never going off boost...EVER! However, since the engine revs pretty high and stays there through most of the acceleration, people get freaked out when they don't hear a shift come and drop the revs. A lot of people mistake it for a slipping sensation, but if you look at the speedo (which continues to climb) instead of the tach (whitch now just sits in one spot) you will begin to see that there is no actual slipping going on. Once you get past that urgent "I need to shift NOW!" sort of feeling, you will be ready to experience one of the best cruising transmissions ever created.
Sounds pretty sweet, huh? It is! However, it is a luxury that doesn't come for free. The running cost are higher and the lifespan of the unit is definitely shorter. If you plan to keep it a long time, get an extended powertrain warranty (which in your case Nissan has graciously provided). What I would not do is turn my nose up at it completely with the attitude "all CVTs are crap" and deprive yourself of the experience (as well as discourage future improvement and eventual perfection of this technology for automotive applications).
As far as how long they last, it's hard to say for lack of data, but from what I have seen it seems to depend on the driver. I have heard horror stories of people burning them out every 20k-40k but those reports are few. A much higher rate of people seem to be having failures between 60k-100k (which is probably why Nissan extended their warranty since the lifespan of a vehicle is really only expected to be 100k-120k in the eyes of most new car buyers, even though many can last far beyond that). I found very few reports of CVTs lasting or failing after 100k, not sure why. Maybe used car buyers are less active on vehicle forums than new car owners. Whatever the reason, I do get the impression that if you've made it past 100k you've done pretty well for yourself.
Current reliability aside, I think CVT is great. I hated it at first, but I have grown to appreciate it's character. Of course, I only know the New nissan Xtronic with manual shift mode from experience, but what a ride! The shifts are smooth as butter in sport mode and it seems just as responsive as a slushbox, maybe more, and if you slow down and then get on the gas again it starts you out in an optimized gear ratio (which probably wouldn't even exist in a fixed ratio setup) and you can continue shifting up manually through predetermined ratios from there. In full automatic mode there is no shift at all and you don't have to mash the gas down to the floor to get a good response, whether it's on the highway passing, or just starting off the line. The torque is always there when you need it with no harsh downshifting or engine roar. The revs can hold quite high during acceleration but for me that's perfect for the turbo that needs to be spooled up to the power band to do any good anyway. Imagine it, never going off boost...EVER! However, since the engine revs pretty high and stays there through most of the acceleration, people get freaked out when they don't hear a shift come and drop the revs. A lot of people mistake it for a slipping sensation, but if you look at the speedo (which continues to climb) instead of the tach (whitch now just sits in one spot) you will begin to see that there is no actual slipping going on. Once you get past that urgent "I need to shift NOW!" sort of feeling, you will be ready to experience one of the best cruising transmissions ever created.
Sounds pretty sweet, huh? It is! However, it is a luxury that doesn't come for free. The running cost are higher and the lifespan of the unit is definitely shorter. If you plan to keep it a long time, get an extended powertrain warranty (which in your case Nissan has graciously provided). What I would not do is turn my nose up at it completely with the attitude "all CVTs are crap" and deprive yourself of the experience (as well as discourage future improvement and eventual perfection of this technology for automotive applications).
As far as how long they last, it's hard to say for lack of data, but from what I have seen it seems to depend on the driver. I have heard horror stories of people burning them out every 20k-40k but those reports are few. A much higher rate of people seem to be having failures between 60k-100k (which is probably why Nissan extended their warranty since the lifespan of a vehicle is really only expected to be 100k-120k in the eyes of most new car buyers, even though many can last far beyond that). I found very few reports of CVTs lasting or failing after 100k, not sure why. Maybe used car buyers are less active on vehicle forums than new car owners. Whatever the reason, I do get the impression that if you've made it past 100k you've done pretty well for yourself.
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