Nissan CVT
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
Nissan's Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs) are widely criticized on Reddit for poor reliability and high failure rates, often occurring well before 100,000 miles. The consensus among users is that these units have significantly damaged the brand's reputation, leading many to recommend avoiding CVT-equipped Nissans entirely in favor of manual transmissions or other vehicle brands.
Pros
- Nissan vehicles with manual transmissions are generally considered reliable alternatives
- Some users suggest that models from 2019 and newer may have addressed previous design flaws
Cons
- High frequency of premature failures, sometimes reported as early as 40,000 to 60,000 miles
- Prohibitively expensive replacement costs, often ranging from $5,000 to $7,000
- Transmissions are typically considered unrepairable, requiring a full replacement upon failure
- Negative impact on the vehicle's long-term resale value and owner peace of mind
Caveats
- There is conflicting advice on maintenance; some claim frequent fluid changes prevent failure, while others report failures despite diligent upkeep
- While some users claim post-2019 models are 'fixed,' others remain skeptical due to the brand's history with JATCO-sourced units
- Third-party warranties may specifically exclude CVT coverage due to their high failure risk
Best for
- Buyers looking at Nissan models with manual transmissions
- Lease customers who will remain under factory powertrain warranty for the duration of ownership
Avoid if
- You are buying a high-mileage used Nissan without a comprehensive service history
- You intend to keep the vehicle long-term past its warranty period
- You want to avoid the risk of a sudden, multi-thousand-dollar transmission failure
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 6-month half-life. The evidence is older (median age of 385 days), which may not fully reflect the long-term reliability of the most recent model years.
Sentiment
2 positive (5%) · 1 mixed (2%) · 40 negative (93%)
Trust + time weighted score: -90% · raw score -88%
What redditors said (10 of 43)
Nissan CVTs are bad, but the stickshifts are fine.
Nissan fucked the public’s opinion on CVT’s.
Or a Nissan with a manual shift, to avoid their CVTs that fail early and often.
Nah, former Nissan service employee, those Nissan CVTs are absolute dogwater and we saw premature sub 40k mile failures every single day in my town. Worst of the worst and maintenance really does not help them
Nissan is the only company that I am aware of that has problems with CVTs, they are absolute trash.
Just patrol the Nissan forums and see how many people complain about their CVT breaking around 150k and it costing 7k to fix it with a warranty.
I have a Nissan with a CVT (known to be shit). CVT went out on me and my only option was to replace it. Now about 10 months and about 16,000 kms they are just putting in my cars 4th CVT. OEM went out around 100,000 km and replacements have only lasted about 8,000 kms before shitting the bed.
Nissan is great but the JATCO CVT ‘s IN NISSAN just don’t last. The new nissan CVT’s may be better but once bitten…
One awful CVT from Nissan soured people on them
Nissan used to be great until the epic disaster of their CVT.
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