Might Have CVT Transmission Problems

Take it to the dealer- or a competent mechanic- maybe there is a way to service it-

I plan on taking it in the morning to the Nissan dealers. My daddy said it does sound like the transmission is slipping tho but he wanted the dealer to confirm it.

What did the dealer say? I just experienced the very same issue with my 2012 Altima yesterday driving uphill. I pulled over at a gas station for about twenty minutes before restarting and it drove fine. But it feels as if the engine is straining when hitting speeda of 70 or more.

I am in Dubai, using an Altima for past 5 years (bought brand new) - I am experiencing same issue now - approached the dealer representative (Arabian Auto Mobiles) they said it will cost $9,200 to replace the CVT gearbox, and no alternatives. :( [ +971 55 2953070 - shankiru@gmail.com ]

Apparently it's the Transmissions bearings are poorly aligned from the factory, and certain ones may have one that's more misaligned and it wears it down somehow and causes that noise.

Have a 2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 with 76,000 miles. Had a horrible whining noise on acceleration and worse when slowed down. Took it in 2 days ago to Nissan dealership and needs a new transmission. $4000! They happened to have 1 in stock which makes me think they replace these often. Checked and there is no recall.This is my first and LAST Nissan. I've never really liked this car. Has bad vibration that i thought was the tires but still does it after new ones. I took it in and they said they tightened up something and that should do it. Nope!

In the US Nissan has extended the warranty on their junk transmission but I don't know about Dubai.

I have 2012 nissan Altima 2.5 S .... on 75000 it started making whining noise upon acceleration or when I start driving. I see lots of guys above have the same issue with CVT. We all should get together in a way and fight back because nissan extended warranty on other newer models from 60,000 to 120,000 why not Nissan Altima too ???

Ran into the same issue last week. Transmission issue whining sound, took it to the shop issue is the transmission. A well know issue with Nissan that I'm now finding out. Good luck to all out there.

The 2012 has service issues related CVT (see news article http://www.autonews.com/article/20131202/OEM10/312029972/ni ssan-presses-jatco-to-end-cvt-glitches). Nissan's North American spokesman David Reuter, admits to the issues associated with "a flurry of new-vehicle launches" in 2012. Nissan knows about the issues and yet is not doing anything about them. Yes, Nissan extended the warranty for vehicles from 2003-2010 but what about us 2012 owners? And from reading the comments on the web, it's not just the 2012 owners that are having issues. File a complaint with https://www.usa.gov/consumer-complaints and https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/? _ga=2.127524494.209161455.1494255710- 1196603141.1494161592. The only way to get Nissan to own up and fix these issues is by complaining, unfortunately.

I have a 2012 Nisan Altima and the cvt transmission broke down, I contact my dealer and they gave a number for Nissan consumer affairs then I contact them I explained that my car cvt transmission started acting weird around the 20,000 miles even I let my dealer know about this issue but dealer said:"that is normal" so the answer of Nissan consumer affairs was that they can't do nothing for me because is no recalls for this year in particular, then I ask to speak with a supervisor but I received the same answer. Help me please!!!!! Email me at: Ledezjj20200@yahoo.com.mx

I went in to see the Service Manager at Cornwall Nissan, two weeks after purchasing the 2011 Altima.... Told him about the Vibration noise.... Did'nt even get up from his chair.... Told me they were all like that.... I have driven 3 other 2011 Altima's and NO they are NOT all like that.... Never will be back.... Once out of warranty.... Stay away from a Nissan store.... The car now 130,000 km and is six years old.... I like the car, not the noise/vibration...... They did it to me once, never a second chance..... Nissan Store Service is not recommended due to past experience...

I have a 2012 Altima too and i'm loosing power too and a loud whining noise service soon light came on so put the tester on it the code came up p1788 so it's something about the transmission it's wrong that there is no recall on this.

The engine light never came on and still hasnt. Its been almost a year since this has happened and im surprised it hasnt died on me yet.

Nichole, I'm having this exact same issue! I've had 4 different people tell me it's my transmission and to get a new one. I've also had one person tell me to get out of the car altogether!

I have experienced the same whinning noise and loss of power. My car finally broke down. The mechanic told me it is the torque converter. But he was not experienced enough to fix it and ssked if i could research the issue. First i was frustrated but glad i did. Now i see the whole transmission HAS to be replaced. This CVT is made to throw away. I am now owing on a car that is not worth fixing. Nissan will be hearing from me on the poor quality they produce these days. And for the people who posted already...sorry this happened to you. I hope you were able to successfully resolve your issue.

The Nissan CVT is possibly the worst transmission sold today. Why anyone would buy one I cannot understand.

2013 Altima and just got told by Nissan that we need a new transmission and we bought it brand new and have babies it for 72k miles! Surely I don't just have to say oh well and pay almost $4,000 if there's been so much trouble from most of them....Any advice?

All Nissans with a CVT transmission come with a 120,000 mile / 10 year warranty.

Happened to me! 45k miles driving at 70 miles per hour going overa mountains and the car automatically slow to 40 mph in traffic, I was forced to use the truck lane! I took it to the Nissan dealership near my house and of course they found nothing wrong! This happened in 2013, it's 2017 and it has happened 4 other times! It's a 2012 and it's on its last legs (TIME FOR A RECALL)!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im really sorry this is happening to all of us. i wish there was something we can do because there obviously needs to be a recall on the cvt.

All?? Why are they telling me it's past 60,000 and I have to pay out of pocket? I found on Nissans site where they extended the drive terrain warranty for 2010-2012 but I can't find anything about 2013. If anyone knows where I can find that then please tell me so i could print it and maybe (even tho I doubt it) get something done about it. I got it towed from Nissan to a local transmission shop Friday because I figured that was my best option but even there I'm going to have to pay $3k. Thanks for the previous replies!

Jeff ---- Make a stink and contact Nissan directly. Put pressure on them to do the right thing. They have a disaster on their hands and they know it.

I'm having issues with my 2011 Nissan Altima. The transmission went bad. I have been trying to purchase a used one but now they want to know if I have the California or the Federal emissions. I gave my vin# but nobody has a clue of what I'm talking about. Does anybody know how to find out the transmission type?

My 2011 Nissan Altima is at a Las Vegas Dealership now because of CVT. CVT sucks. When I went to tell them about my problems, the service tech new exactly what I was talking about. They know that there is a problem with CVT. I was forced to pull over 3 times from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and 1 time through the grapevine. Going uphill, my car went from 75 to 45 MPH, ridiculous!

OMG I thought I was the only one with these problems. I have a 2008 Altima. It too was making that whinning noise when I took it on long trips, going up hills, and always in hot weather. Took it to the dealer and was told it is suppose to do that period. Then on one trip to Santa Fe I had to pull off the road because I lost power, after 10 minutes all was well. Happened 3.more times after the initial one, The 3rd. time the car stopped completely on the road,with 4 people in the car..Nissan said new transmission or new car. I called Nissan Canada they apologized for my trouble, nothing they could do. Car is too old too many miles. Finally found a transmission mechanic that hopefully fixed the problem for $500,00. Nissan has a kit that will fix the problem, but would rather sell you a new transmission or a new car.This is extremely dangerous and Nissan doesn't care. It's all about the money. I will be writing the government to file a formal complaint.

I am having the same problems y'all are having with my 2011 Nissan, Altima and this is my first and last nissan never ever will I buy another one.

Go do a drain and refill it will fix the problem the oil has lost velocity and thins out when out a simple drain and refill will solve your problem do not do a flush just drain and refill. Mr.fix it

I have got a 2011 model Altima and the car started to vibrate very bad and the tire started to lock up I can push the gas pedal and the motor jumps I can give it fuel and the car does not want to take gear any answer

I have a 2012 Altima 2.5 S that just had its third CVT transmission installed and it only has 76,000 miles on the car. I have replaced the brakes and master cylinder, alternator, 9 tires, and 2 transmissions. I picked my car up on Tuesday to find the same noise and shaking. Tomorrow (Friday) to have an axel bracket replaced. This is CRAZY!!!!

I have a 2010 Altima that I bought new. Around 76000mi the dealership replaced the transmission erroneously even though the issue was wheel bearing...since then it has had horrible shaking that is only made better with road force balance. The good news is that I have driven it now for 216000mi without any other major issue and it still looks nice and shiny. I recently drove it 4600mi across country without a hitch though it had major whining on the Appalachia and Rocky mountains. To borrow from one of my favorite actors: ama driving this b*tch untill the wheels fall off.

I have a Nissan Sentra 2012 with the same transmission issue. Nissan extended the warranties up to the year 2010 on some vehicles because of a class action lawsuit. We need to unite and start a class action lawsuit ourselves to have them extend the warranties on our vehicles as well.

cvt transmissions are what you can find in snowmobiles. not meant for cars. they need to stop putting them in cars. they are like a chain and pulley system, comprised of small gears on a chain that looks like a bicycle chain, and if anything is wrong with any of the gears on the chain, there is nothing that can be done to fix it except getting an entirely new transmission. i wouldnt buy a car with a cvt engine, ever. doesnt matter what company it is, cvt engines should not be used in cars imo.

I fixed all the whining, shift problems and overheating on my 2011 Nissan Sentra with a CVT. I added a aftermarket tranny cooler $42.00 ....I tried to purchase an add on part from Nissan to get the fluid out of the transmission for a cooler, but the price for that part continues to rise. it was $200 and now it's over $500. ( by the rise in the price, it let's you know that Nissan knows exactly what the problem is) HEAT!!!! I opted to buy an adapter for $150 from a gentleman on eBay. He had them custom machined and IT WORKS perfect. Without worry of cross contaminating the transmission fluid with the radiator fluid. This problem has been going on for many years, affecting 100 of thousands of vehicles on many of Nissan's different styles. So, there is some options out there to save you some money I'll get it running better than new. I switched to Redline CVT synthetic fluid at $13.95 a quart. It's a 7- 3/4 quart system on the Sentra, Plus a 1/2 quart more for the cooler. I also replaced the filter inside tranny, which Nissan says does not exist!!! Thank God AutoZone has a part number for it. WTH!! Nissan wants $25 a quart for their NS-2 crappy fluid. Just by using the Redline, it now drives and shifts better than it ever did when it was new. No whining, no more limp mode. If you live in a cold area and you can purchase a thermostatically controlled transmission cooler.

Also, I ran the Redline for a 500 miles. In an attempt to flush out more of the NS-2 crap. Then pulled out almost 5 quarts from the pan and added 5 fresh quarts of Redline. Just trying to get it as pure as possible. I'm sorry to tell you guys but the Valvoline stuff isn't any better than the Nissan stuff. Using Redline will shock you. It's been about 15,000 miles and I'm getting ready to flush it out again. Redline suggest that you flush it at 30,000 miles. It's not a great cost for the Redline fluid in exchange for peace of mind. Also...for you Subaru CVT owners out there. Your problematic CVT is also made by the same company....Jatco. Redline, a new filter, and a tranny cooler is your answer too.

I guess im the next victim my 09 nissan altima tranmission just went out on me too . now im with out a car period wish there was something we all could do together stand up to these nissan crooks.

My transmission just went out on mine tonight 09 nissan altima i guess i was there next victim.

We had our 2013 Nissan Altima transmission fail at 75000 miles while traveling at highway speed, very similar to the other complaints here. It is not being covered because we exceed the 60,000 mile warranty. The replacement cost is $4000. This is a serious safety issue and I encourage others experiencing this problem to report it to the www.NHTSA.gov. They will investigate safety issues and can hopefully get Nissan to take ownership of this problem.

I just had the transmission in my 2013 Altima replaced at 95K miles. Fortunately I had bought the extended warranty up to 100K miles so I barely made it. Now my new transmission only has a 12 month 12K miles warranty. The dealer flat out told me it's highly likely to happen again. I don't know how they get away with it. I've found so many complaints online. Now I can't even sell the car for what I still owe because I'm sure the transmission issue has affected the value. I will never buy another Nissan again!

I just traded in my car last week and didn't say anything about the transmission and I got $5,800 for it and put it twards a 2015 Kia Optima LX best Christmas present ever!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has currently over 200 complaints filed on the 2013 Nissan Altima power train and more on other model years, many nearly identical to my experience and the experiences I see here. I encourage others to report this to NHTSA due to the safety concerns. They could require Nissan to take ownership of the problem. www.nhtsa.gov

As mentioned earlier in the comments, it's the Transmissions bearings problem not whole the CVT gear. It may be one of the bearing wears and cause this sound. I have Altima 2008 with 88000 km. Suddenly one day the CVT gear started whining, Nissan dealer told me to replace the gear with the new one (4000 $). But I could replace the bearing only by 100 $

I'm so upset. I have a 2012 Altima that I have only driven for 1 1/2 months. I hear a whirling sound and the car is losing power. I am hoping it's not a transmission issue, but from what i'm seeing on this thread it might be. I got the car from Drivetime and I do not want to be stuck paying on a car that I haven't been able to enjoy for 2 months. With all the complaints, why hasn't there been a recall?

I have a 2012 Nissan Altima. My car has been losing speed/power for about 3 years. No check engine light ever came on so the dealership will not do anything. Yesterday driving home from out of state my RMPs shot way up to the 6/7 mark. I pulled over and called the dealership, they told me to bring it in this morning. After about 30 minutes I was informed it was the transmission. They want $4000 for a new transmission. Guess it is time to trade the piece of crap in.

Cheryl - Hit up Nissan for a new transmission at their cost. They are replacing a lot of CVT's under their extended warranty. Your car should have a 10 year/120,000 mile warranty extension but if you are over those miles I would still demand another transmission. https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/warrantyContent

The extended warranty stopped with the 2010 models. Same crappy transmission but they decided to stop owning up to their problem.

Again, PLEASE report these problems to the NHTSA. If they see a common problem that Nissan is not properly addressing, they can force them to take ownership of the problem.

I have a 2010 Altima with 174xxx miles on it started hearing a whinning noise so I checked my fluids and found low fluid levels. i just added a quart and bought a second just in case it was lower. noise stopped for me(so far). I drive the car a ton for work. In the last two years, I have put over 75k miles on it! I had vibration issues and replaced all 4 wheel hub assemblies and put 17 inch after market wheels on the car. That was around 60k miles so 114k miles no vibrations since.

I have a 2015 Nissan sentra I was experiencing jerking as I was driving , I took it to Nissan & they did diagnosis test on it & couldn't find the reason why . then they had to do more test on it & come to find out it was a recall on my transmission so Nissan is paying for all the cost .

Nissan CVT’s are terrible. I had a 2014 Nissan Sentra SR that I purchased brand new. It came with a 60k factory powertrain and we choose to extend to the 100k warranty as well. The CVT issues we experienced were RPMs that would jump all over the place, shuttering, jerking, hard starts, and slamming into gear (especially from a start). We followed every recommendation Nissan had. All service was done right by the book and always on time. Our first CVT failed at 43k miles. Since there is no real servicing of these things, it was a total replacement. There is no such thing as a new CVT, we got a remaninufactured one. This repair came with a bill just north of $5000. Luckily this was under warranty. Nissan only provides a 12 month/12k mile warranty with this repair. So we continued to drive and do every service Nissan recommended. The second CVT had the same issues as the first and totally failed at 98k miles. This time our extended warranty kicked in and paid Nissan another $5000 for a full CVT replacement. 8 months later (and 20k miles) we stayed having the same symptoms. We took the car to the dealer and said that the CVT was having major issues. They gave the car back and said the transmission was perfectly working and we just needed some shocks and wheel bearings. 10 days later, the CVT catestrophically failed. Even though this $5000 repair was done only 8 months before, since we were over the 12k miles guarantee, Nissan and the dealership refused to help us out at all. So in 120000 miles this car went through 3 CVT transmissions and was ready for its 4th. How on earth could this be okay?!? Avoid these like the plague. We still owed quite a bit on this car and was told that the cost of the repair exceeded the value of the car. Nissan needs to come clean here. These CVT’s are total junk and their customers are getting totally screwed.

Unbelievable how this people play with consumers like us i bought a 2012 altima and had this issue back from when the car only had 28k miles on it now i have just over 100k on it but they'll give you the number of nissan consumers affairs and the answer was denied........now the problem has definitely gotten worse and the car hardly drives and obviously don't have $4500 to dish out, anyone knows of any class accion lawsuits going on please let me know....

Just bought a 2013 altima last night after a high pressure sales pitch. Then got home to find dozens of threads like this. Desperately trying to return the vehicle to the dealership. If they won't take it back we'll baby it for a year before trading in and hopefully not have to join: https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2017/nissan-transmission-cvt-class-action- lawsuit.shtml

I will never buy another Nissan worse cars EVER! I don't have money to throw into a transmission. I almost got HIT today by an 18 wheeler because my stupid car couldn't make it up the hill. I am a single Mom of two and have to drive from Murfreesboro to Nashville and everyday, I can't afford to miss work. But I have no power to accelerate which was very scary for me. I had to use my flashers to try to move to the emergency lane. Nissan should be ashamed of the poor quality of vehicles with those high prices attached to them. The external part of their cars are beautiful but underneath them, it's a nightmare.

Bought a 2015 nissan, car start acting up, took it to the dealer and just find out need to replace the transmission, it will cost is almost 4k this is crazy, reading all the comment here having same problem, nissan has to be the problem here

I guess I will just add my troubles with the CVT transmission to this list! So around the summer time of last year in 2017, my 2011 Nissan Altima started making the infamous whining noise when accelerating over 65 mph (which takes RPMs over 3000r/min). At first I didnt think much of it until eventually my car stop accelerating! I dealt with the transmission slips and low gear changes until I decided to finally get a Transmission Fluid flush at Nissan. Costs ~$350. This got me through the winter but the problem resurfaced with a vengeance here in May 2018. I now have the "Service Engine Soon" light with the error codes of "Torque Converter" and "Shift Circuit Intermittent". I have gotten replacements quotes of $2250 for a used transmission and $4500 for a brand new one. There have been several Class Action Laws Suites recently filed against Nissan's CVT transmissions. Hopefully I can use this as fuel to have Nissan subsidize this cost! Will never buy a Nissan or CVT again!

so my brother has a 2013 Versa 160,000 miles... transmission went out this weekend (sounds like it went in limp mode... will not go over 50mph). From what I am reading he got the most out of it, but Nissan wants $3,600 for a new trans.. but only offers 12 mth warranty. That tells me they don't trust the ones they are putting in.

first lets undesrtand how it work,that noise on a cvt can be cause by a cooler not effective and sometime wrong oil,or chain being demaged cause CVT oils are disigned to work in chain/belt driven cars only cause of their additives .you use wrong oil it wont work.

i have 10 years of using Nissan premera 2000,i nevr have any problem with CVT gear boxes i like it and i want all my cars to be having same gear box,i make sure i replace oil after 2 years and make sure the correct oil is used and insure that the cooler is working quet well..its super its the best fuel wise and speed.

Renault=Nissan=Junk! Stay away from Mitsubishi after 2017 cause Renault merged/bought them too

This extended warranty apparently only covers 2003 - 2010 models.

I also have a 2012 Nissan Altima. I was having the same problem as you all. I didn’t take it to the dealership because I know they charge an arm and a leg for service. So I took it to another mechanic. All my car needed was transmission fluid. It didn’t have any at all. My car miles were at 85k. Every time I accelerate my transmission was slipping. It wasn’t changing gears and made a loud hissing sound. Once I bought the transmission fluid and not no Autozone or O’reilys. But actual Nissan brand transmission fluid. It worked right off back. Each bottle cost me $17 but it’s better than paying $500+ for something so simple. Don’t go to dealerships unless if you have warranty.

Another case of 2013 nissan altima 2.5 SV with 90000 miles(located in Texas) started shuddering and died at a stop light. I initially thought it is bad gas or some sensor and boy i was wrong. Took it to a dealership and came to know i need to shell $3900 as current transmission is compromised. Trying to deal with their ***ty Regional consumer folks who are incompetent bunch. Going to escalate it everywhere until a resolution is made. Not going to buy nissan or infinity ever again. I wonder percentage of their CVT's are shitty now. reported the case to nhtsa.dot.gov.

I have a 2009 Nissian Altima and my service engine light came on yesterday. I took it to an auto repair shop because I have an after market warranty but they told me to take it to the Nissian dealership because the have extended the warranties on the tranmissions. Is this true.

Yes, I think it is. but not sure if they are still entertaining them. They rejected my claim just today for 13 Nissan.

YES I BOUGHT A 2010 NISSAN ALTIMA USED WITH 14K. AT 32K TO 35K TRANAMISSION SLIP WITH NASTY HISSIN NOISE. SO THEY REPLACED IT. AT 65K ANOTHER ONE SAME ISSUE. AND NOW AT 107K ITS BAD THAT BOT ONLY OTS SUPER HOT BUT THE HISSING NOISE ETS LOUDER. NO SHIFTING N IF IM GOING AT 70mph AND I LET GO IT CANT GO ABOVE 45mph IN THE FWY SO I TOOK IT NOW THEIR GOOING TOCHECK IF THE TRANSMISSION COOLER THAT THEY NEED TO PUT ITS COVER BY THE WARRANTY AND SOME VALVE COVER. TOO. IF NOT I HAVE TO PAY? OH AMD ONLY HALF TRANSMISSION REPLACED. WTF? OKAY! I HAVE TO WAIT TILL MON TO FIND OUT THESE DUMB NEWS.

My mom is currently searching for a reliable used car, our budget is limited because she's retired. A local private seller was willing to sell their 2012 Nissan Altima with 106,000 miles for 6k, that's how I found this thread... doing research. I assume that none of you would advise buying the 2012 Nissan Altima 2.5 s? I don't want my mom to buy a lemon, she can't afford that. Which kinds of sedans are more reliable for our situation and don't have CVT? I wish all of you the best of luck, Nissan needs to make this right!

I have a 2012 Altima with 132,000 miles on it. It did the whining and stuttering thing. I thought I had bad gas. The next day it wouldn’t shift and rpms went up high. Long story short, the crappy CVT transmission is out. The mechanic said a new one would only last about 6 months and to get rid of it. Nissan is a bunch of douche bags to keep selling these cars

Wow having the same issue with my Altima 2010, but all though this was my first driving Altima, my last couple of cars was Nissan and loved them both specially my Nissan Cube, but should have done more research on the Altima part. No more getting an Altima that's for sure

By any chance did you make sure you have transmission fluid in you car? I was having the same problem. I took it to my mechanic and it didn’t have any transmission fluid. I bought the Nissan Cvt transmission fluid. I put 2 bottles in it. Now my car runs fine without a prob. It saved me a lot of money. The only thing each bottle cost $17. But still better than paying $500 +.

I have a 2008 Altima 2.5L with 103,000 miles on it. The CVT transmission went out three months after the 10 year warranty was up. I called Nissan consumer affairs for help. The rep said Nissan would not help me since the 10 years was up even though the mileage was considerably under the 120,000 miles limit. Gee thanks. This was my third brand new vehicle from Nissan. No help for brand loyalty. I can't say that it was my last, but it is certainly my last vehicle with a cvt transmission.

3 months ago mine did the same thing i took it in 3 times saying its the cvt each time i was told its not. I needed a time up after doing tuneup same thing happened. One day leaving my apartments i went over a speed bump at exit gate and stayed stuck i couldn't push it over the bump alone so the gate started closing on the car. Maintenance helped me stop gate and push car. I had it towed to the dealership and was told its the cvt that was done. I called consumer affairs because i read of a recall. Well the recall only works while cvt is good which they should have done in the 3 visits but didn't. They wanted me to pay 4k i said no and i wanted a supervisor. No one ever contacted me from consumer affairs. They said my number was bad each time. Said tmobile had it blocked. I fought with tmobile and they said no such block or program to block it on my line. 3 weeks later with no car i get a call my car is ready. I ask how if cvt is shot guy said its driving its ready. I get to the dealership and they wanted 4k i fought with them why did they put it in when i didnt agree to pay that. They offered to take it out and put old cvt back in when i complained they would be using the cvt in a different car and thats bs they let me take the car. 5 weeks later same thing. I took it to a different shop they told me the clamp and hose was not put on correctly and cvt didnt look new to take it back. I did and the tech gave me a hard time. Within 30 min my car was done and it said clamp replaced and fluid added. It worked fine for 3 weeks and we are back at square one. I told dealership i dont trust that tech they told me go somewhere else. I called consumer affairs again and gave my work number never got a call but they did contact my husband my phone was again unavailable and not working but they will review the case on Monday. Long story short nissan is a pos company that does not care about peoples safety. Never again will i buy a nissan as i am paying double the car worth in repairs alone.

I can't believe this . ya me too. Bought new 2009 Altima. At 46 k tranny went. Like clock work 2nd tranny went at 94k . doing better on the 3rd one. Lasted to 177k. (Which is 83k) noise is back. Going to do oil replace and fill instead of flush which they say cloges filter. Wish me well.

Mine started whining and losing power on hills. Threw code p0744. Watched the youtube video on checking and adding trans fluid and the power issue went away. Will check total fluid volume and assure its filled but since they hide and latch the dip stick its not intuitive to check and add. No doube because dealers want to do it and im not saying it might not need service, but check the fluid before spending a fortune.

There is a design problem with transmissions overheating when going on long trips and it's hot outside. When this happens the car loses power and seems to rev higher like it can't into lower gears. It feels like it is slipping or not fully engaging. You would notice that you can't get past a certain speed below the highway speed limit. After the transmission cools in a few hours it's back to normal. Nissan had an secret expensive fix for this which they would perform under warranty if requested, however they would check the car's computer to see if this overheat problem happened to you. If not then you would not qualify. The solution was a cooling kit retrofitted to your existing transmission. In hind sight the best thing a Nissan customer could have done while the car is under warranty is take the car on a super long road trip barely stopping for anything but gas on the hottest forecasted day you can go on. Then when the problem happened, go to Nissan right away and insist on the cooling kit installation under warranty. If it's past warranty you are out of luck, not only is it not a recall but they won't even sell one to you.

Kenai Batista v. Nissan North America Inc., case number 1:14-cv-24728, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. U Can Rent, LLC et al., v. Nissan North America, Inc. Pinto of Montville Inc. v. Nissan North America, Inc. These are just a few of the cases.

I am having the same problem with my 2012 Nissan Altima went to my mechanic and gave me a code of P1778, called Nissan and they said there is no recall on these transmissions and they know their transmissions are crap. Lets all come together and file a class action, please contact me at mstekim@aol.com if you want to be part of this action.

I have same problem in my Nissan Rouge 2012 , I’m hearing some noise when I step on the gas driving to the hill, and my friend told me it’s probaly CVT and it’s cost a lot of money

2012 Altima 80k. Basically going to scrap. NUTS.

IVE BEEN A MECHANIC FOR 35 YEARS AND THE LAST COUPLE YEARS HAVE DEALT WITH CVT TRANSMISSIONS. THEY CANNOT BE REBUILT, THEY ARE CHAIN DRIVEN. THE PROBLEM WITH THE CVT IS PEOPLE NEGLET TO SERVICE THEM AND THEN RUN LOW ON FLUID AND STARVE THEM OF FLUID AND THE WHINNING STARTS AND THEN THEY BURN UP. I SERVICE THEM EVERY 25,000 MILES AND THATS JUST A DRAIN AND REFILL NEW CVT FLUID. IF YOU DO THIS THEY WILL LAST ALONG TIME. THEY GO OUT ABOUT 130,000 MILES BUT SINCE I SERVICE MY CARS WITH CVT"S EVERY 25,000 MILES THEY ARE NOW AROUNG 170,000 TO 190,000 MILES AND NO PROBLEM, THEY RUN GREAT. SO THE MAIN THING IS SERVICE , SERVICE , SERVICE EVERY 25,000 MILES.

My tranny just did it out of nowhere in my 2012 Nissan. It has 100,000 miles and has been serviced and well maintained. 2012 isnt covered by Nissan's extended warranty or the cvt motor replacement that they gave to prior yrs. I dnt understand why if so many people with 2012 altimas have similar or exact cvt motor issues they wld ex lude that yr.

Nissans are the worst cars. I just rebuild my transmission for $4,756 from Downtown Los Angeles, CA. With on 93,350 miles and never had any major problems with it. Until it wouldn’t switch gears while driving. It was brand new off the lot. I would never buy Nissan again or any vehicle with CVT transmission.

Don't understand how the above mechanic could say: I SERVICE THEM EVERY 25,000 MILES AND THATS JUST A DRAIN AND REFILL NEW CVT FLUID. IF YOU DO THIS THEY WILL LAST ALONG TIME. THEY GO OUT ABOUT 130,000 MILES BUT SINCE I SERVICE MY CARS WITH CVT"S EVERY 25,000 MILES THEY ARE NOW AROUNG 170,000 TO 190,000 MILES AND NO PROBLEM, THEY RUN GREAT. SO THE MAIN THING IS SERVICE , SERVICE , SERVICE EVERY 25,000 MILES. So after 170k to 190k you should expect a transmission failure and a $4,000 to $5,000 bill - sounds like a great used car to never buy!

Hey guruLDFJ8 Well the reason I said it is because I'm a mechanic of 35 years and you're not so with that what I'm saying is if you service a CVT transmission because people neglect to service them like they do any car that's the reason they have the problems so I've come to realize if you keep them serviced every 20 to 25 thousand miles you won't have that problem if you understand that any car built on the road today if you don't service them they won't last. That's 35 years of experience with a CVT transmission so I know what I'm talkin about

If servicing them helps then why doesn't the dealer offer it? I take my car in every 5-6K for oil changes and do whatever services are recommended. Not once was transmission service ever recommended. I would have gladly paid for service rather than paying to replace my transmission.

2012 Nissan Altima 51,000 miles and 7 years old so technically out of warranty by a year. Same problems as above, car was serviced and the transmission fluid level is normal. Not a fan of CVT transmissions.

Nichole, You mentioned that you traded in your 2012 Nissan Altima for $5,800 and got a Kia Optima LX. Your comment: "I just traded in my car last week and didn't say anything about the transmission and I got $5,800 for it and put it towards a 2015 Kia Optima LX" How do you like the Optima? It doesn't have the CVT Transmission? I just started having transmission problems on my 2011 Nissan Altima 2.5S that I bought in used in 2012 from CARMAX in Maryland. It has about 82,000 miles on it now and is in the shop. I'm having the mechanic try the Redline Non-Slip CVT oil and replacing the internal transmission filter. It's probably clogged. Mechanic said another guy had an Altima with the same issue as me, & he got the trans flushed/drained and the filter changed. Then re- did the whole process about 60 days later to make sure the old oil was out. Said he NOW gets the trans/filter changed EVERY YEAR and has NOT had ANY trouble with his Altima since that time. This was about 3-4 years ago. SO, I am hoping this same mechanic can do the flush/drain and re-drain after 30 days to get the trans and the filter cleaned out. I'm waiting to see if this first attempt works.!! I want to get it running and THEN consider trading it in for something WITHOUT A CVT Transmission. Shirley

I have a 2012 Altima with 243,000 miles. Last year it started losing power after driving for an extended period of time in hot weather. Considered adding a transmission cooler but it has numerous error codes. So it is time to go. Up until now brakes, tires, and standard maintenance, no other problems.

This is insane. I wish I would have known all of this before buying my 2012 Altima. Last year while driving to my mom's (2 hours away) I was on the interstate and it was like my gas pedal just stopped working. Wouldnt accelerate, wouldn't do anything. It's done that twice last year but not since. Then yesterday I was sitting at the light and my car jerked VERY hard. Like I looked up to see if I was hit hard. And then it starts shaking when I let off the gas. Today sitting at the light ( THE SAME LIGHT) it jerked and jolted as if the motor and transmission were going to fall out. It is almost paid off go figure but I also bought mine thru DriveTime. I bought it in 2016. 8 months after I had to replace the computer entirely. Other than that, it was a good car. What is going on?????

Well, I bought this 2011 Altima 14 months ago 121k miles on it.. Recently had a whining noise. Had the fluid drained and filled twice and didn`t solve the problem. Nissan dealer told me to drain and fill again after I drive it 500 miles. I have probably driven only 20 miles off and on since the whining noise because I`m afraid to make it worse despite what the dealer said. Took it to a transmission shop and was told that multiple codes are coming up. Bad Converter, Step motor fail, pump maybe bad and some part inside is about to fail. Replacement cost $3800 plus tax. After buying the car, 14 months later and 25k miles driven and it breaks down. Now I owe $6500 loan payments and maybe have a $4k repair bill. Making payments on a junk car. FYI- Carfax sheet said that the car was serviced following manufacturer guidelines. Nissan Dealer performed all maintenance , yet the car still failed. I joined the class-action lawsuit. But so now I have a 2011 Altima with payments sitting in my drive-way. I can`t afford $4k repair bill, I`m retired. What to do? Shame on Nissan. People should be told up front about purchasing used Nissan`s cars.

Your Altima is probably only worth $5500-6000 retail in good running and clean condition. You have two options. Sell it now as is with a bad transmission and you might get $1000-1500 tops. Maybe less. Or get it fixed and owe $10,000+ (6500 loan + 3800 repair). Remember the cvt transmission will be a rebuilt one that are notorious for failing in a few years anyway. Fix it, drive it a year or two, and sell it, you might get $4000 to $5000. Either way you're going to take a bath.

MamaOfBoys3, See my post (ShirleyTa) from about 3 weeks ago.(scroll up 1/4 page). It starts with the sentence: "Nichole, You mentioned that you traded in your 2012 Nissan Altima for $5,800 ....." UPDATE - UPDATE - to my 2011 Nissan Altima transmission problem. So on July 12th - car started having the delayed start from a light, gas pedal seemed to not be working;high idling jerking forward...etc. I call my mechanic(NOT Nissan dealership connected) ;explain the symptoms. He say's it 'sounds like the transmission'. So, I cannot drive it to his shop cause I barely made it home with all the slowness from stopped positions. I call my insurance, they send a tow truck to tow it to my mechanic. Sat July 13th - he says it's definitely the transmission. Said he DROPPED THE PAN and found SO MANY METAL SHAVINGS INSIDE that he does not think the transmission could be saved. Said it looked like the FILTER INSIDE had NEVER been changed. Informed him I had a transmission service BY THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP. HE said, the dealership technicians DO NOT Service the CVT transmissions correctly. They should ALWAYS DROP TO PAN AND REPLACE THE FILTER!!!. MOST, if not ALL of them JUST drain the transmission oil and then re-fill it with good clean oil....NEVER removing the PAN to see WHAT is inside...AND NEVER replacing the clogged filter. So he finds a local place that has CVT transmissions that are still in good condition. He gets two of them, both he did not like how they looked so he sends them back and orders another. This process takes 2.5 weeks. He gets the 3rd CVT transmission - it looks good, no indication of shavings. he installs it, adds a NEW filter and I PERSONALLY PURCHASED The Red Line Synthetic Non-Slip CVT Transmission Oil from SUMMITRACING.com at the recommendation of someone on this forum...and because I DISTRUST the cheaply made Nissan CVT oil at $22.00/quart!!!!. The REDLINE oil was $14.00/quart and shipping from Ohio was 2 DAYS & FREE for orders over $99. I ordered 1 case (12 BOTTLES)...so the mechanic would have enough to add to the new transmission and flush it again IF he needed to. He used the oil, side it was really good oil compared to what he has been using. Gave him Summit Racing's website, item #, etc. Got my car back on July 29th, PRICE: $ 2,400 plus the tip I paid. Been driving it since. NO indication of the previous problems-high idling, jerking, etc. BUT I WILL BE HAVING HIM DROP THE PAN & CHANGE THE FLUID AND FILTER AGAIN IN ABOUT 30 DAYS....JUST for MY reassurance!!! I will be ordering another case of the REDLINE CVT Oil to have him use. Paying $180.0 for the oil and $250 for the service is A MUCH BETTER PRICE to pay then $2,600.00 for a NEW CVT transmission.!!!! I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE DEALER FOR THEIR 'Recommended Maintenance' again!!!!! I think the Mechanic's at the Dealerships are CONTRIBUTING to the problem because they are NOT DROPPING THE PANS & REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FILTERS when a customer requests Transmission flush service!!!! They should STOP doing a half- as** job and DO IT RIGHT. YOU are going to have to DEMAND THE DEALERSHIP TECHNICIAN LITERALLY DROP THE PAN or else you will still have the OLD clogged filter and new oil going into the trans!!! People - DO NOT LET THE Dealership tell you there is NO TRANSMISSION FILTER!!!! IT is and IT MUST be replaced just like the filters are when an Oil change is done. NO FILTER lasts FOREVER!!! Much less for the 'life of the car'!!! Then everyone's Nissan's won't get so damaged by clogged transmission filters!!! Hope this helps someone who is JUST STARTING to have these problems. You might be able to SAVE YOUR TRANSMISSION!!! but the Dealership is NOT going to be your friend in that case. You need a mechanic who understands what: "drop the transmission pan" means!!!!

2012 altama.... THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM.. TRANSMISSION

Nissan does offer assistance for out of warranty repairs. My 2013 Altima with 70,000 miles just had a transmission failure. I'm the original owner. The repair was $4325. I called Nissan (1-800-Nissan1) and expressed my displeasure and the known issues with the CVT. They called me back the next day and agreed to cover 80% of the cost.

So I got a 2010 altima for a deal,My transmission has jerks when switching into gears about 40mph I feel a slight jerk as well,any tips .....I read from some of you to simply change trannies fluid and filter with redline?...did it improve for anyone?

Guru1BHLQ, your post stated: "2012 altama.... THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM.. TRANSMISSION". Can your transmission be saved??? If you haven't already, try getting a mechanic to drop the transmission oil pan to see if any metal shavings are in there. If it is NOT extensive shavings, you MIGHT be able to have the mechanic just change the Filter AND drain ALL the oil out, even it he has to let it drain OVERNIGHT. THEN put NEW CVT trans oil in it AND a new filter. See if that helps. Hopefully its not too late. I have not had any trouble with mine since the 'newly-used' CVT transmission was installed on July 29th. It's Sept 13th now. My plan is to have my mechanic drain the transmission again later this month. I want to see if he sees ANY METAL SHAVINGS on this newer CVT trans.

Derrick, you stated: "Nissan does offer assistance for out of warranty repairs. My 2013 Altima with 70,000 miles just had a transmission failure. I'm the original owner. The repair was $4325. I called Nissan (1-800-Nissan1) and expressed my displeasure and the known issues with the CVT. They called me back the next day and agreed to cover 80% of the cost." That is awesome that they assisted you with the cost!!! Your are lucky!!!.Your car is newer than mine is. I didn't have that help with my 2011 / 80K mile Altima. It was out of the extended warranty by 7 mths and I was the second owner.

Caliproblems, regarding your question: "So I got a 2010 altima for a deal,My transmission has jerks when switching into gears about 40mph I feel a slight jerk as well,any tips .....I read from some of you to simply change trannies fluid and filter with redline?...did it improve for anyone?" The changing of the trans fluid AND filter MIGHT work IF, ONLY IF your transmission doesn't have alot of metal shavings INSIDE the transmission oil pan. The more extensive the shavings inside, the longer the metal parts have been grinding against each other, the more damage the parts will be...and as a result, the LESS chance you will have to 'save' the transmission by JUST changing the fluid/filter. I did the fluid/filter change FIRST even though my transmission was too extensively damaged. It was worth it to me to try that BEFORE getting an another newer CVT installed. ......... Find a mechanic that IS WILLING TO DROP THE PAN AND REMOVE THE FILTER, letting the car sit while old trans oil is drained out(overnight or a few days if necessary), then re-filling it with GOOD CVT oil AND a NEW FILTER....before you just have the transmission replaced. IF you are JUST STARTING to have a little bit of jerking, DO NOT WAIT. The longer you wait the quicker the problem will escalate to a 'replace the transmission $3,000 job'. Checked out the video by B&M Performance & Off-Road(California company) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30IcuVN4Olg&t=5s It shows them removing an old transmission pan. At that video's 2:00 minute mark, they mention changing the trans filter. Take a look! ......... Hope this helps!!!

I have a 2012 Nissan Altima and am the second owner of the vehicle. This CVT issue actually happened for the first time back a few years ago with only 30K miles, however after pulling over and waiting 15 mins the car started working just fine again. Now at almost 95K miles the car has done it twice in the past few weeks on long drives where the RPM's go through the roof and car cannot accelerate. I researched the issue and found everyone else's common problem with the CVT. I brought it to a local dealer where they confirmed the CVT needs replacing; spoke with NISSAN customer care where they agreed to 70% assistance even though car is outside of warranty; however after all of that now NISSAN is telling the dealership they have to replace the body valve in the transmission first to see if that corrects the problem (50% success rate apparently). Why would anyone pay $450 for a body valve that may not be the solution, when the technician at dealer already confirmed the car needs a replacement?!?! Completely absurd, and doesn't sound like a great business model for consumers.. Is anyone aware of a Class Action Lawsuit for the 2012 Altima??? Any help is appreciated.

Check https://www.consumer-action.org/lawsuits# The only one's I've seen are the Class Action for the Takata air bags. Read further back on this comment string, someone listed the Nissan link...but it might not be for your model Altima. There probably isn't a class action for the CVT's because Nissan would have to foot the bill to pay for ALL of them to be fixed!!!.

I have a 2009 Altima that I bought new. I have only put 72000 miles on it and it has been a great car for me. Only money I’ve spent other that routine maintenance and tires was an a/c repair of about $1000. However after reading these horror stories it makes me wonder if I should be proactive and trade it now before my transmission goes. It’s more than ten years old now so would not be covered by the extended warranty. Thoughts?

I had the same issues but being newly disable and stuck on the car payments, my mind just pretended there was no problem. I've had my 2012 when it was only two years old with 34k miles. I generally drive slow snit in long trips uphill I would lose power.. I just continued to drive it slow and pretended I was the one who was at fault... That I did something wrong. I'm at 200k and atoll drives well if I drive 60 or below otherwise it's awful if I ever need to accelerate in an emergency situation. The motor is good but if the transmissions were as good I'd still love Nissan. Not anymore!

AltimaCVTSettlement.com Looks like you only get $1000 voucher toward a new Nissan or $1000 for documented repair (doesn't look like a $1000 repair exists of course...) Newer car owners can extend warranty, rest of us get a crumb...maybe...someday...after filling out forms...

GuruXY367, Im glad some law firm is working on our behalf to sue Nissan...but they should also INCLUDE Altima's for 2010 - 2018...not just 2013 - 2016. THANKS for giving the AltimaCVTSettlement.com website. People who have these versions NEED TO TAKE PART IMMEDIATELY!.

Lindamini, I'd suggest you take it to a mechanic who will DROP THE Transmission PAN and OPEN the transmission filter and TAKE THE FILTER out and check INSIDE the transmission pan for metal shavings. Tell them to DROP THE PAN & REMOVE THE FILTER(replace it with a NEW ONE)! Get this done NOW....BEFORE your has any issues. It is MUCH CHEAPER to have the transmission serviced PROPERLY then to run out and buy another car that just might have the SAME TYPE of Transmission(CVT)!!. Just my humble opinion!:) ShirleyTa

Nothing I can add to this, my Altima 2013 is whining and i need to take care of it and NissanUSA said SOL pay up $4300.... I think it is time for another petition ...