Random NISSAN question

Hi all!
It's been a while since I've posted, reason being is that I did the buy back. However no worries as that wasn't my first vw not will be my last.

I recently embarked upon a random possibly profitable project. I got a 2010 Nissan Altima pretty much for free.
My buddy who's not car/mechanically owned it. The car basically does not drive. For those of you who don't know, Nissan uses a cvt transmission that is put together with chewing gum and already broken chopsticks. Okay this is slightly exaggerating how crappy these trans are, but seriously their cvt issues make the V10 TDI look like a Toyota 22re reliable, that's how bad they are.

My plans are to fix this cvt issue and then sell the car. Apart from the trans, the car is real nice! I am genuinely impressed by the overall feel, fit/finish and features in comparison to it's German counterparts, that is apart from the power train which is the most important aspect of any car.

I guess I should get to my question(s):

1. Does anyone on here have any suggestions as to the best forum to join? In other words, is there the equivalent to the TDI club for Nissan's?

2. Does anyone care to impart some knowledge regarding the rabbit hole I've just placed myself in? Lol.


The searching that I've done had yielded several things. The first being is that the CVT issue is notorious. Not a matter of if, but rather when it will fail. I have also noticed that despite multiple forums and posts I've seen few that have the level of detail and forum member involvement with regard to repair, in comparison to tdiclub/rosstech and pretty much any other vw specific forum.

For those of you that might have some Nissan knowledge that you can share with me, here's some additional info:
The car doesn't show any codes. That said I've not scanned it yet to see if any are hidden/pending.
When the issue first presented itself, the previous owner stated that the car just lurched a few times and would not move forward. He took it to a shop, shop claims that they added fluid and did nothing to fix the issue.
Since taking ownership of it a few days ago, I was able to get it moving under its own power. Initially from a stop, power was severely restricted then once up to 5 mph she picked up speed but with significant lurching which eventually smoothed itself out. This is the extent of diagnosis I've done with the car.

I'm not familiar with cvt in a car but I've owned ATV with them. It almost seems like a slipping belt...but from what I've searched and seen doesn't seem to be the culprit for most. Most of the issues are simply resolved by a complete trans job and the few that have actually done diagnosis rather than just throwing money, state that it's the valve body, pump or selenoid. I've not found any showing the belt as the culprit.

I am lucky enough to live near a pick and pull with thousands of vehicles in inventory. A quick look shows they have 12 altimas on the lot. I can at a low cost pull whatever I need, obviously id only pull from a crashed vehicle.
This post is lengthy but I figured I'd give it a shot, considering how knowledgeable some of you are on here!
Who knows, maybe I yield enough profit to find myself in another TDI!

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I have a Nissan Rogue with what I think is a dead CVT. What a piece of junk transmission, when not if sums it up, the 01M is a reliable transmission compared to these.


Pull one and replace it.


Nicoclub.com is probably the best I have found and even that is not like Fred's. Mostly they talk about sound systems and whats wrong with my driver assist.

Tdijarhead said:

I have a Nissan Rogue with what I think is a dead CVT. What a piece of junk transmission, when not if sums it up, the 01M is a reliable transmission compared to these.


Pull one and replace it.


Nicoclub.com is probably the best I have found and even that is not like Fred's. Mostly they talk about sound systems and whats wrong with my driver assist.

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I'll check it out, thank you. And yeah it's crazy how junkie Nissan CVT are. Hah I was reading on of the forums and some were bragging about having 100k miles, calling them reliable because they made it to 100,000 miles.

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We have dead Nissan CVTs here all the time. Most of them get junked, but a few get new (Nissan OEM) transmissions. Not really much to tell you other than what you already know.

That Altima is a pretty crappy car, really. Free is about all I would pay for one, too. Good news is, Nissan knows how awful they are, and they have kept the price pretty low... usually for the 4cyl Altima they list around $2700. So, you could potentially buy the trans, install it, and sell the car and make a few bucks. Not sure what those cars are worth in the used market, I'd never own one, and anyone that we get here that asks about one (we are also a dealer) we generally talk them into something else.

oilhammer said:

We have dead Nissan CVTs here all the time. Most of them get junked, but a few get new (Nissan OEM) transmissions. Not really much to tell you other than what you already know.



That Altima is a pretty crappy car, really. Free is about all I would pay for one, too. Good news is, Nissan knows how awful they are, and they have kept the price pretty low... usually for the 4cyl Altima they list around $2700. So, you could potentially buy the trans, install it, and sell the car and make a few bucks. Not sure what those cars are worth in the used market, I'd never own one, and anyone that we get here that asks about one (we are also a dealer) we generally talk them into something else.

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Lol I was kind of hoping/waiting for you to answer oilhammer, as I figured that was the case based on prior posts.
My plans were to not even buy new but rather used. Pick and pull by me i can get entire transaxle with differential and valve body for about $150. The goal is to pull from a car with relatively low miles that has been wrecked.

I share your sentiment, I wouldn't spend anything of significance. I paid $325. I figured if all goes to hell I can sell a few random parts and or just junk it and make that back.

But it literally blew my mind as to how ****ty the entire Nissan lineup is. From the versa to the Maxima, they're plauged with issues. And for those just browsing this thread, while folks complain and have their own issues pertaining to VW, it is not even close as to Nissan.
I've used Honda as an example before, but new Nissan takes the Cake of Japanese doesn't always equal reliability.

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The stripper Versa with a manual gearbox is not "awful" in terms of reliability. They suck to look at. Suck to drive. And are not all that frugal on fuel for being a little tin can that full size humans like me can barely fit in, but they do at least hold up reasonably well.

The Frontier is still mostly a good truck. It is still old school Nissan. The Z-car is not so bad either. But literally everything else they have now gets saddled with that STUPID CVT as an option (Versa, Sentra) or standard no matter what. And that really truly makes them much, much worse.

Nissan has been circling the drain for a long time, nothing new. They were in trouble before Renault took them over, they are in worse trouble now. And Renault is thinking of ditching them, and they just took over Mitsubishi. Imagine your prom date leaving you standing by the punch bowl and going off to dance with someone else. Well, Nissan is standing at that punch bowl, and all that is left is a festering floating turd.

What sucks is Honda and Toyota are jumping on this CVT nonsense. Honda has had some for a long time, and they are mediocre at best durability wise, but still are awful to drive. Now Toyota is starting. I drove a newer Corolla with one and about gagged at how bad they completely ruined that car all because of that awful transmission.

Still, the absolute worst modern car I can ever say I have ever experienced, largely due to the CVT, is the Mitsubishi Mirage. Seriously, everyone should experience one of those at some point. Literally everything this side of a donkey cart is better. That movie Dumb and Dumber, where Jim Carey asks "what is the most annoying sound in the world"? Yeah, that is the Mirage's wheezy little chainsaw 3 cyl struggling to get the car up to speed while you have your foot bending the floorboard down trying to push the accelerator harder to the floor and nothing is happening but THAT awful noise.


Nissan really used to be a good brand. Every bit as good as Toyota. The old Maximas and Stanzas and such were all great, really. The downturn started in the early '90s, but didn't get really bad until just the last decade or so.

oilhammer said:

The stripper Versa with a manual gearbox is not "awful" in terms of reliability. They suck to look at. Suck to drive. And are not all that frugal on fuel for being a little tin can that full size humans like me can barely fit in, but they do at least hold up reasonably well.

The Frontier is still mostly a good truck. It is still old school Nissan. The Z-car is not so bad either. But literally everything else they have now gets saddled with that STUPID CVT as an option (Versa, Sentra) or standard no matter what. And that really truly makes them much, much worse.

Nissan has been circling the drain for a long time, nothing new. They were in trouble before Renault took them over, they are in worse trouble now. And Renault is thinking of ditching them, and they just took over Mitsubishi. Imagine your prom date leaving you standing by the punch bowl and going off to dance with someone else. Well, Nissan is standing at that punch bowl, and all that is left is a festering floating turd.

What sucks is Honda and Toyota are jumping on this CVT nonsense. Honda has had some for a long time, and they are mediocre at best durability wise, but still are awful to drive. Now Toyota is starting. I drove a newer Corolla with one and about gagged at how bad they completely ruined that car all because of that awful transmission.

Still, the absolute worst modern car I can ever say I have ever experienced, largely due to the CVT, is the Mitsubishi Mirage. Seriously, everyone should experience one of those at some point. Literally everything this side of a donkey cart is better. That movie Dumb and Dumber, where Jim Carey asks "what is the most annoying sound in the world"? Yeah, that is the Mirage's wheezy little chainsaw 3 cyl struggling to get the car up to speed while you have your foot bending the floorboard down trying to push the accelerator harder to the floor and nothing is happening but THAT awful noise.


Nissan really used to be a good brand. Every bit as good as Toyota. The old Maximas and Stanzas and such were all great, really. The downturn started in the early '90s, but didn't get really bad until just the last decade or so.

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I agree. I had a 96 Maxima 4dsc and boy oh boy was that car a smile generator.

The Mitsu story has to be the saddest of all, considering what the brand used to be. Fell in love with them early. Dad bought brand new a 1989 Montero LWB. Crazy, at one point few years ago I found the original invoice from Potamkin Mitsubishi in Plainfield nj, he paid $25,000 for it! Got every package, leather, LSD, CD player etc. Big money for an SUV back then.

As a kid nothing was cooler than those front suspension seats, the inclinometer, the 100 different switches devoted to the equilizer, and the jump seat in the cargo area haha.

Thing was a tank reliable too. Dad sold it with something close to 400k miles, original power train.

Definitely not made like that anymore!!

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What are fairly recent examples of cars or trucks worth owning today?
Someday I will need a replacement for my BHW wagon.
Does Subaru use the same crappy CVT as Nissan?

truman said:

What are fairly recent examples of cars or trucks worth owning today?
Someday I will need a replacement for my BHW wagon.
Does Subaru use the same crappy CVT as Nissan?

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I'd wait to see if oilhammer replies, but from what I have seen and heard, Subaru quality has gone downhill too. Don't think it's as bad as Nissan though.

To be honest and perhaps I am a bit biased, but all things considered the newer vw aren't all that bad. I had a mk6 tdi. Rode hard put away wet and it was reliable. Vw buy back with almost 130k miles.

Camry gets good marks as always and anyone ive ever known with a Prius only has positive things to say about it's reliability.

Strictly speaking with cars, my interaction has been limited with newer models. I did have a rental Ford focus and I was genuinely impressed.

Also with the SUV/truck/crossover trend, the focus in terms of r&d has shifted away from cars. Even with the Japanese mfg like Toyota.

I hear that apparently Kia/Hyundai are now reliable?
Lol take that however you want, I know I wouldn't buy one personally. I don't know how much they could've improved from the late 2000's when I still considered them sub 100k mile cars.

Safe to say stay away from anything FCA made. That's just my humble opinion.


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The PowerShift automatic transmission in the Fiesta/Focus is a disaster. It was meant to be an answer to the VW DSG, but they never got it right. There's lawsuits in progress on those. Focus/Fiesta with manual transmission are pretty good.

The last couple of Hyundai/Kia rental cars that I've had, were fine to drive. The i30 that I had for a few days in Australia (same as Elantra GT in North America) was pretty good. No CVT in those. The objections that I've historically had to H-K products was their ride and handling, and in some cases, uncomfortable seats. The i30 was fine. For that matter, the last Kia Rio that I had as a rental was decent enough.

I have two FCA products in the driveway ... and they have been fine. Not perfect but it's only been one or two little things on each, no major problems. No CVT in those.

Mazda doesn't use CVT, either. The latest Toyota Yaris iA is a latest-generation Mazda 2 underneath ... and the rental that I had was quite surprisingly good - nothing like the old Yaris (which was a Toyota with no Mazda involvement).

Subaru uses this worthless pile of crap CVT:



And that is how we see them all too often.... being replaced. They are junk. The drive axles are junk. Seriously, how something that has hardly any power pushing a car made of cardboard and spiderwebs through a CVT with AWD can trash front drive axles in under 80k miles is beyond me. No split boots, or anything like that. Just the ubiquitous "click-clack-click" like mad around turns. They also love to crack the catalyst Y-pipe assembly under the engine. We service a fleet of Foresters for a medical courier company, lots and lots of experience fixing those crap bombs. At least the newer engines don't blow head gaskets every 50k miles. They do burn oil like a Kuwaiti well fire, though. They turn to rust underneath very quickly too, even in our climate. Whatever bolts and screws they use are awful, which makes taking the suspension apart to replace the failed drive axles and wheel bearings (another weak spot) a chore.

At least some Subie models can avoid the CVT with a proper manual gearbox still. Oh, and I have to point out: anyone seen that commercial they have for the Crosstrek with the guy and the gal and the gal's dog that initially does not like the guy but warms up to him in the end? It is a nice commercial, but if you watch it, you do not realize that the actor and actress must be the smallest people they could find. Because they actually look comfortable inside that car. When I get in one (I am 6'1" ~260 lbs) I have to hold my breath, and I can barely see out of the windshield as my face is up next to the sunvisor and my legs are all bent at some odd angle. If I spent more than 10 minutes driving one of those I'd need physical therapy for a month.

Not sure how some car designers can figure out how to make a small car comfortable inside even for full sized humans yet others fall so short (no pun intended).

But getting back to Nissans: an Altima got towed in yesterday with a locked up engine. If anyone wants another free one, LOL.

Take that one plus the original poster's blown-transmission one, and make one functional car out of both!

I almost said "good" instead of "functional" ... but realised that it would be inaccurate ...

P.S. Nothing says lame like a Subaru WRX with a noisy aftermarket exhaust system ... which makes it plainly obvious that it is a CVT model. zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz ... I was behind one of those a couple of days ago, that's what it sounds like accelerating away from a stop.

GoFaster said:

Take that one plus the original poster's blown-transmission one, and make one functional car out of both!

I almost said "good" instead of "functional" ... but realised that it would be inaccurate ...

P.S. Nothing says lame like a Subaru WRX with a noisy aftermarket exhaust system ... which makes it plainly obvious that it is a CVT model. zzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz ... I was behind one of those a couple of days ago, that's what it sounds like accelerating away from a stop.

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I call those 'little weeny mufflers"....so the teenage driver says "look at my....."

"fart cans" is the term I have always heard. Makes it sound basically like a lawn mower or scooter . . .

truman said:

What are fairly recent examples of cars or trucks worth owning today?
Someday I will need a replacement for my BHW wagon.

Click to expand...

It's off the topic of the original thread, but this is something I have been wondering the past few years as well.

Most late model VAG products don't seem to measure up to the older cars. Had a new Tiguan as a rental on the east coast for a weekend last summer and it was tolerable, but if you had pulled off the badges and said it was a Kia or Toyota I would have believed it. Engine loud and buzzy, cheap feeling interior, thin carpet, lightweight doors, uneven driveability and engine/transmission calibration, easy to confuse, like the guys responsible for dialing in the cals just didn't care about working out the last few rough edges and called it good enough. Sufficient power and response but not enough to be interesting. Ride and steering OK but nothing special. Even small details that used to set VAG cars apart from domestic and Japanese competition, like the old rotary manual seat recline rather than a lever, have disappeared as they have surrendered to doing it like everyone else does. Don't seem to really take much pride in finding a better, more clever engineering solution anymore, even though that's always what set them apart in the past, with everything from the air-cooled cars to the VR6 to the TDI, 4-link front suspensions, etc. They're just aiming for the lowest common denominator and the least offensive product for the largest potential number of buyers now, not trying to please a discriminating niche customer.

The car did its job for the time we had it, and wasn't bad in any serious way, but not good enough to stand out against the competition. And a long way down from the finish, refinement, dynamics, and general effort that went into the A4, A5, B5 chassis cars of 10-20 years ago.

Other modern rigs feel equally weak and joyless. Seems like the prevailing logic is that everyone will be focused enough on the infotainment features and the number of USB ports that they won't notice the rest of the product in decline. Don't think there's anything for sale today that I would have an easier time living with than the old B5, C5, T4 platform stuff that is in my fleet now.

Hard to see what the way forward is other than just continuing to keep the old rigs going, but at least it makes decisions easy when there's no temptation to spend money on something new off the showroom.

You are not kidding that the "infotainment" nonsense has taken over. Some of these cars I get in just give me a headache trying to bring up the odometer or reset PM reminders or the stupid TPMS idiocy. And they cannot seem to make it consistent.

Why does Audi allow you to (once you find it) reset the oil change interval and reset the TPMS in the MMI, but will NOT allow you to reset the "extra" redundant service reminder, and instead require that be done with a scan tool, that now is a dreadfully slow affair to interface with due to the "improved" UDS protocol?

And every version of the Prius seems to have its own way of resetting the PM, that may or may not be different than other Toyota models?

And of course, the best thing is the navigation software upgrade stoppage, so now your 20 year old $40k+ SUV (that is in otherwise good working order) makes you have to experience this:



Yep, every single time you get in and start up your RX300, your navigation screen calls out for that new disc that does not exist, so you get to stare at that for a few minutes, and you cannot adjust the HVAC or anything until it finally realizes the navigation system is bricked.... gives you time to punch in your destination on your Tomtom that you bought 10 years ago for $100 that still seems to work perfectly fine, though.

And to think my first car didn’t even have a radio.

Yeah, screens and operating systems in vehicles is an asinine idea, no question.

Aside from the distraction effect and the annoying complexity of simple functions like operating HVAC, heated seats, radio etc, it also puts the car on a tech obsolescence timeline, rather than the normal obsolescence timeline for vehicles. A 15-year-old car or truck can still be a fully viable piece of equipment for its original purpose if kept in decent condition, and can even be desirable. A 15-year-old cellphone or computer or software program is unusable and worthless, completely antique.

If your 15-year-old car is nice, but has a 15-year-old unsupported dinosaur interactive tech device embedded in the dashboard that you have to constantly interact with and fight with, it'll be frustrating to use the car no matter how well it may drive.

No point trying to push sand against the tide though. Screens and USB ports are what most folks want.