[Kafka45]

If you're in a hurry, just skip to the last 3 min or so to get the various failure reasons... real informative video.

CVT video link

 

[Pilgrim]

There's a lot of good info in there, as well as the best visuals I have seen to understand how that transmission is structured and works.

He may or may not be on target with his suggestions of failure points; I'm not sure whether any of us can confirm his claims. If he is correct, one thing which would be a good idea is to add an aftermarket transmission oil cooler to a Murano. He claims that excess heat due to inadequate transmission oil cooling is a problem.

 

[I need coffee]

I think someone else circulated that link before. A good presentation and teardown of the CVT (that one was a 1st generation RE0F09A). A lot of transmission shops have these kinds of videos online now, presumably for marketing purposes in part, as techs have figured out how to fix CVTs and aftermarket parts are now being made available--in some cases, parts with claimed improvements.

Failure points seemed to change with each generation and these show up in the various teardown videos. Once common failure in the earlier generations was that the variators used small ball bearings inside the drum that fills up with oil and these would inevitably wear out the groove they ride in. This would result in the ball bearings coming out, the variator would lose oil pressure and the belt would break. Interestingly, maintaining the CVT well probably wouldn't prevent this specific failure. There's one rebuilder on YouTube who replaces those ball bearings with steel rods and that purportedly makes the rebuild stronger. Newer CVT generations use roller bearings w/ keepers instead so presumably a design change like that would suggest that there was a flaw with the ball bearing design. Another common failure point is supposedly the oil control valve, which would get stuck. Aftermarket parts suppliers offer kits to install oversized valves as the original valves are said to be too small. The newer CVTs use a different valve design.

I think most people would agree that there were at least some significant issues with earlier generations of CVTs, hence the numerous class action lawsuits (some of which led to extended warranties and reimbursements to customers for CVT repairs they paid out of pocket). Even then CEO (and current fugitive) Carlos Ghosn acknowledged years ago that there were issues Jatco needed to address with quality control. Nevertheless, it appears that Jatco has pretty much worked out the major kinks with the CVT (...even though it took them like 15 years). My main problem with Nissan isn't that the CVTs had issues--it's that their customers literally had to drag them into court to make things right. That typically doesn't generate brand loyalty...