[sammo034]

Just brought my first car ever so i am new to all this car talk.

I got a 2008 versa SL, for a good price and now i realized why. (private sale)
The transmission wasn't engaging occasionally and after reading all the extended warranty things on here thought i could get it replaced.

However, the dealer just told me that whoever had the car before has put the wrong transmission fluid in, its pink not green. Therefore the warranty is void, and thats what is causing the problem.

Ive been quoted by the dealer $4,300 +tax for a new tran or $3,300+tax for a used one.

My questions are:
A) Can you replace the CVT transmission with a non-CVT automatic? (they are less expensive)

B) Can you flush out the old fluid with new fluid to fix it?

C) Is it a job that I could potentially do myself?

d) Is $4,300/$3,300 the usual price or is it too much?

Thanks

 

[Kennethbokor]

Hi sorry to hear that. I too just got a used SL back in Feb, however my CVT is ok.

I will let the experts on this forum chime in, but I would think since you have no warranty then you might as well have a CVT fluid flush done by a Nissan Dealership (or other confident party) and see if that solves the problem you are having. It's not that straight forward to drain and flush the CVT so I would go to Nissan to have it done. They quoted me about $350-ish for this, since the Nissan green CVT fluid is like $30 per liter, and you need I think about 8 liters and change for the flush and refill.

That's a lot better than $3k+ for a new Tranny.

I am not sure if you can replace the CVT with a normal Versa 4-speed auto, but I would think so.

On price, that does seem high as a regular rebuilt auto tranny should be around $1500-$2000, plus install I think.

My two cents worth anyway. Hope it helps. Good luck fellow Canuck.

 

[JVersa]

That's a lot of money, and bs, warranty void do to something like that. Dealers are always looking for a way to not take responsibility. Plus you didn't do that, there has to be something they can do.

 

[JoshG]

Welcome. Try calling Nissan corporate. They should be able to help you. If worse comes to worst replace the CVT with a 5 or 6speed(manual).

 

[sammo034]

Ill try calling corporate. But im sure they just won't go near it, unless they are in a charitable mood.

Thanks for the advice.


edit: Been looking everywhere on the forum.... how do i contact corporate?

 

[sammo034]

A few things that are bugging me about this...

Should i have been charged for the mechanic to confirm what I told them when i dropped the car off for the recall?

I was charged $70 for them to "confirmed customers concern..."

I thought that if I put it into the garage under a recall, for the CVT problem and told them what the problem is that I shouldn't then get charged for them to tell me what the problem is.

Also the fluid in my tran is pink, now i know that its supposed to be green special monopoly nissan fluid, but if the previous owner put in honda CVT fluid would it really result in the nissan ctv going bad.

 

[robj80]

Pink? Maybe they put in automatic tranny fluid?

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

I think they do charge just to diagnose the problem, even if you tell them what it is.
I had a CEL on recently, and it had a service bulletin, they said that they might have to charge me to diagnose the problem, so I didn't even bother taking it in to Nissan.

That really sucks about the extended warranty.

 

[robj80]

Wasn't the CVT covered under warranty still? I thought nissan extended them for that year?

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

Wasn't the CVT covered under warranty still? I thought nissan extended them for that year?

Ya in Canada it is 10 years, or 200,000 kms (whichever comes first). But the original poster of the thread said that the previous owner didn't use the correct fluid when they changed the CVT fluid.

 

[Versa12]

Transmission fluid:

The majority of people think that transmission fluid is all the same, even if it is the same kind. Such as Nissan CVT fluid vs Universal CVT fluid that is compatible with Nissan CVT's. Wrong - universal fluids are junk and should never be used ina transmission.

Transmission fluid is generally synthetic oil with special proprietary characteristics based on shift points and types of transmissions themelves. (Ford = mercon, GM = Dexron I, II, II, Honda = Honda fluid, etc.) Therefore, fluids should never be interchanged and can cause damage when using the wrong fluid or universal fluids. Example, in an emergency on older Hondas you can use dexron III but it changes shift quality/points and therefore cause excessive wear/damage/failure.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but considering the car has 160k miles, was bought used from a private individual, and has the wrong transmisison fluid in it, then Nissan will have no obligation to assist you as they had no liability in it.

Considering the car will still drive and only sometimes will not engage, you need to get the CVT flushed YESTERDAY with OEM Nissan CVT fluid. While there may be damage, it is a good sign that the car still drives. My concern is that the previous owner may have put in different fluid to cover up a bigger problem.

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[sammo034]

Thanks everyone for all the help.
As I thought, corporate said the same as the dealer, "No warranty as the wrong transmission fluid was put in."

The Nissan Dealer was quoting $4,300 +tax for a new, $3,400 +tax for a used transmission.

Managed to get it done in another garage for $2,400 (including tax). If anyone in Vancouver wants a recommendation for a mechanic I'm really happy with the one I used.

The mechanic also took the time to explain and show me the old transmission and the damage, plus gave me a quick 101 of other engine parts, and things on my car to keep an eye on etc.

The lessons I have learnt from all this:

Research, research research.

Thanks again.