I wish there was a better way to measure the amount of trans fluid. I saw a video online that said the reason modern transmissions don't have dipsticks is because they don't want DIY guys putting in the wrong fluid and decreasing the life of the transmission. I'm kinda regretting using the Castrol Syntec CVT fluid instead of Nissan brand. Lots of mechanics say the transmission is designed for ONE kind of fluid. But now that I've got Castrol in there.... I don't know what to use next time I mess with the trans fluid.
Do y'all know if these CVT transmissions are the same as other Automatic transmissions where HALF the fluid is stuck in the transmission? Even after draining?
I wouldn't worry about using Castrol, Valvoline, Lucus, etc. CVT fluid. That's what my intentions are when the extended warranty (class action law suit) is out on my '16. I think the reason they did away with the dipsticks has more to do with trying to prevent people from doing there own maintenance meaning more traffic to the dealership service department. I'm not saying that the wrong fluid doesn't get used sometimes but there have been multiple types of automatic transmission fluids around ever since before I started driving in 1975 and I've never known anyone that ruined a transmission using the wrong fluid. As far as transmissions being designed for one type fluid Nissan must not have it right since many of their transmissions go out using only Nissan branded fluid. I've used various brands of transmission fluid other than that sold by the dealership over the years and never had a transmission failure. I used to run gear oil in a Ford 4 speed manual transmission that was designed for automatic transmission fluid. When I retired the car it still had the original transmission and was shifting fine at 518K miles. The only negative effect I saw was stiffer shifting in the winter.
It's the same way with motor oil. Lots of people say you shouldn't use any weight other than what's listed in the owners manual. I've been using 10w40 in all my cars since I started driving and have never had an engine failure. Nissan recommends 5w30 but the owners manual for my '16 has a temperature/weight graph and as I remember approves of oil weights as high as 20w50. I think these lighter weight oil recommendations are more related to CAFE standards than any other reason.
I suspect I've driven well over 1M miles in the past 46 years and have never had a major transmission or engine breakdown.
I found the capacity of the CVT-7 transmissions somewhere. Maybe the service manual? I'm nearly certain it was over 7 qts. so yes around half the transmissions capacity is still in the torque converter when the transmission is drained. Years ago I had a Chrysler and it had a drain plug in the torque converter so all the fluid could be changed/serviced. I never changed the fluid in it without draining the torque converter so don't know how much it took with just a pan drop but it took 14 quarts when I dropped the transmission pan and drained the torque converter.