Hi all,
So today, I decided it was time for a CVT fluid change. I am at 91,000 miles on my 2015 Nissan Murano, mostly highway.
CVT fluid change is not like performing an oil change; you have to ensure the level is correct, the fluid has to be at the right temp before you drain it, and most importantly, you need to refill it at the right amount.
Since Nissan has had so many CVT issues over the past years, they made it hard for the CVT fluid to be serviced by the consumer; they only want the dealer to perform it.
This will most likely void your warranty, so do it at your own risk.
I like to service my car myself; since I started doing oil changes, I came to realize that most of this maintenance service, I can do it myself.
Regarding when you should do this, there are so many different opinions, depending on who you ask. Some people say you should do it every 30,000 miles for city driving, some say every 60,000 miles, some say 100,000 miles, and others say it can last the car's lifetime.
The service manual does not say the approximate mileage you should perform the CVT fluid change, but instead asks you to take it to the dealer so they can test it and tell you whether it needs to be changed.
But it can't hurt to change it now and then; make sure you do it right.
The fluid does break down for sure, all those microscopic particles will mix in with the fluid as you drive, and you can see at 90,000 miles how dark my fluid is.
This is not a CVT fluid flush, meaning you take all the fluid out and put new fluid in. But instead of a drain and refill, you drain 3/4 of the fluid and repeat 2 or 3 times within one month; this will allow most of the old fluid to be replaced by the new fluid. A CVT flush is only performed when putting in a new CVT transmission.
The dealer will probably charge you between $300 -$350 for this service, only use genuine NISSAN NS-3 fluid, and this is not cheap, ~$20/qt if purchased at the dealer.
I was able to buy 5qt for $67 on amazon; you will need at least 4qt if you do a drain refill. The pan holds around 4 ft, while the rest is within the transmission.
This is how I performed my CVT drain/refill, there are different methods, but as long as you do it right, you will be fine.
* 5qt of NISSAN NS3 CVT fluid
*The CVT drain pan is located by the driver's side.
*Before performing this, ensure you drive the car around first; this will warm up the CVT fluid and thus make the drain easier.
STEP 1: LIFT THE CAR
TURN OFF THE ENGINE
Lift the car so you can easily access the CVT drain pan underneath.
Remove the MUG guard; there are lots of clips; take your time and remove them one at a time. You will most likely break one of the clips due to the weather making them very hard. Don't worry; make sure you have some spare around. The clips are very cheap on amazon or eBay.
STEP 2: DRAINING THE FLUID
Once the CVT drain pan is exposed, you will see two nuts. The black one is the CVT drain plug, and the silver one toward the back is the overflow plug (see pic).
Unscrew the drain plug and watch the CVT fluid come out.
At this point, if your car is not levelled, just try to make it as level as possible; this will get more fluid out. I just lowered the car while the fluid was pouring out.
This takes approximately 5 to 10min to drain before you start seeing droplets.
One mine, exactly 1 gallon/4qt, came out.
The goal here is to refill exactly what came out.
At this point, you can lift the car and put the NUT back on.
Important:
Nissan recommends never reusing the crush washer, so make sure you have a new crush washer before you put the nut back on.
I did not have one, so I just reused the old one. I ordered some but won't get them until tomorrow.
STEP3: REFILL WITH CVT FLUID
The way NISSAN/Dealer do this step: They fill the reservoir from the bottom using a pump connected to the overflow plug.
But you can refill it from the top on the dipstick plug.
The dipstick is not like the oil dipstick, there is no stick, so you won't be able to check the level.
To remove it, you will need a long skinny flat, head screwdriver. There is a tab on the dipstick; you need to insert the screwdriver to move the tap while pulling up on the dipstick. If you are going to perform this, I am sure you will figure it out.
The opening is small, so make sure you have a skinny funnel that will fit in the dipstick hole.
Pour exactly what came out (4qt).
If you pour in too much, you must open the overflow drain plug and let the excess out.
The service manual says to fill more than came out and open the overflow valve when the fluid temp reaches 95F. With the car levelled, you know it is at the right level when you start seeing a thin thread of fluid coming out of the overflow plug.
Once refilled, start the car, and move the shift from P to N to D, hold the lever to each position for 5sec.
If you want to change more fluid, you can repeat this step after a week or so because the new CVT fluid will only mix in with the old fluid while driving. If you repeat this 2X, most of your old fluid will be replaced.
This is in no way a guide, and I am not an expert Nissan mechanic; I am just sharing my experience.
So today, I decided it was time for a CVT fluid change. I am at 91,000 miles on my 2015 Nissan Murano, mostly highway.
CVT fluid change is not like performing an oil change; you have to ensure the level is correct, the fluid has to be at the right temp before you drain it, and most importantly, you need to refill it at the right amount.
Since Nissan has had so many CVT issues over the past years, they made it hard for the CVT fluid to be serviced by the consumer; they only want the dealer to perform it.
This will most likely void your warranty, so do it at your own risk.
I like to service my car myself; since I started doing oil changes, I came to realize that most of this maintenance service, I can do it myself.
Regarding when you should do this, there are so many different opinions, depending on who you ask. Some people say you should do it every 30,000 miles for city driving, some say every 60,000 miles, some say 100,000 miles, and others say it can last the car's lifetime.
The service manual does not say the approximate mileage you should perform the CVT fluid change, but instead asks you to take it to the dealer so they can test it and tell you whether it needs to be changed.
But it can't hurt to change it now and then; make sure you do it right.
The fluid does break down for sure, all those microscopic particles will mix in with the fluid as you drive, and you can see at 90,000 miles how dark my fluid is.
This is not a CVT fluid flush, meaning you take all the fluid out and put new fluid in. But instead of a drain and refill, you drain 3/4 of the fluid and repeat 2 or 3 times within one month; this will allow most of the old fluid to be replaced by the new fluid. A CVT flush is only performed when putting in a new CVT transmission.
The dealer will probably charge you between $300 -$350 for this service, only use genuine NISSAN NS-3 fluid, and this is not cheap, ~$20/qt if purchased at the dealer.
I was able to buy 5qt for $67 on amazon; you will need at least 4qt if you do a drain refill. The pan holds around 4 ft, while the rest is within the transmission.
This is how I performed my CVT drain/refill, there are different methods, but as long as you do it right, you will be fine.
* 5qt of NISSAN NS3 CVT fluid
*The CVT drain pan is located by the driver's side.
*Before performing this, ensure you drive the car around first; this will warm up the CVT fluid and thus make the drain easier.
STEP 1: LIFT THE CAR
TURN OFF THE ENGINE
Lift the car so you can easily access the CVT drain pan underneath.
Remove the MUG guard; there are lots of clips; take your time and remove them one at a time. You will most likely break one of the clips due to the weather making them very hard. Don't worry; make sure you have some spare around. The clips are very cheap on amazon or eBay.
STEP 2: DRAINING THE FLUID
Once the CVT drain pan is exposed, you will see two nuts. The black one is the CVT drain plug, and the silver one toward the back is the overflow plug (see pic).
Unscrew the drain plug and watch the CVT fluid come out.
At this point, if your car is not levelled, just try to make it as level as possible; this will get more fluid out. I just lowered the car while the fluid was pouring out.
This takes approximately 5 to 10min to drain before you start seeing droplets.
One mine, exactly 1 gallon/4qt, came out.
The goal here is to refill exactly what came out.
At this point, you can lift the car and put the NUT back on.
Important:
Nissan recommends never reusing the crush washer, so make sure you have a new crush washer before you put the nut back on.
I did not have one, so I just reused the old one. I ordered some but won't get them until tomorrow.
STEP3: REFILL WITH CVT FLUID
The way NISSAN/Dealer do this step: They fill the reservoir from the bottom using a pump connected to the overflow plug.
But you can refill it from the top on the dipstick plug.
The dipstick is not like the oil dipstick, there is no stick, so you won't be able to check the level.
To remove it, you will need a long skinny flat, head screwdriver. There is a tab on the dipstick; you need to insert the screwdriver to move the tap while pulling up on the dipstick. If you are going to perform this, I am sure you will figure it out.
The opening is small, so make sure you have a skinny funnel that will fit in the dipstick hole.
Pour exactly what came out (4qt).
If you pour in too much, you must open the overflow drain plug and let the excess out.
The service manual says to fill more than came out and open the overflow valve when the fluid temp reaches 95F. With the car levelled, you know it is at the right level when you start seeing a thin thread of fluid coming out of the overflow plug.
Once refilled, start the car, and move the shift from P to N to D, hold the lever to each position for 5sec.
If you want to change more fluid, you can repeat this step after a week or so because the new CVT fluid will only mix in with the old fluid while driving. If you repeat this 2X, most of your old fluid will be replaced.
This is in no way a guide, and I am not an expert Nissan mechanic; I am just sharing my experience.
