# 2017 Sentra Transmission Problems



## djwilder15 (8 mo ago)

Hey everyone,

Just took my 2017 Sentra to the shop and they say the CVT transmission is toast. The car only has 110,000 miles on it and the local dealership says it’ll cost $5400 to replace it, even though this has been a problem for many Nissan owners? I really like the car, but why would I want to continue owning or buying a new Nissan if they’re always gonna have these transmission problems and still make you pay in full rather than just do a recall? I was just wondering if anybody has had experience with this and has somehow gotten it down to a 50/50 payment for the new CVT transmission


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

Did you do any service on it? If you gave it at least one fluid change and can prove it, you'll have a decent chance of getting Nissan to help out with "goodwill". If you just ran it 110K and never serviced the tranny, you're seeing the usual results. CVT's use a metal belt riding on metal pulleys, so they're entirely dependent on fluid quality. When metal meets metal, it's bye-bye birdy. Fresh fluid at 30K's practically turns them into perpetual motion machines. No fluid means an eventual death sentence. Pretty simple.


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## djwilder15 (8 mo ago)

VStar650CL said:


> Did you do any service on it? If you gave it at least one fluid change and can prove it, you'll have a decent chance of getting Nissan to help out with "goodwill". If you just ran it 110K and never serviced the tranny, you're seeing the usual results. CVT's use a metal belt riding on metal pulleys, so they're entirely dependent on fluid quality. When metal meets metal, it's bye-bye birdy. Fresh fluid at 30K's practically turns them into perpetual motion machines. No fluid means an eventual death sentence. Pretty simple.


I


VStar650CL said:


> Did you do any service on it? If you gave it at least one fluid change and can prove it, you'll have a decent chance of getting Nissan to help out with "goodwill". If you just ran it 110K and never serviced the tranny, you're seeing the usual results. CVT's use a metal belt riding on metal pulleys, so they're entirely dependent on fluid quality. When metal meets metal, it's bye-bye birdy. Fresh fluid at 30K's practically turns them into perpetual motion machines. No fluid means an eventual death sentence. Pretty simple.


I’ve definitely been servicing it. Changed the oil 3-4 times since I’ve had it. That’s why it’s frustrating. Done everything right, and then the transmission gives out.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

One more question then, is it possible you overfilled it (or whoever did the service did)? That's the other bane of CVT's, they're utterly intolerant of overfilling. They won't even notice half a quart under, but half a quart over is death. On a Sentra with the 2-speed, most of them also don't have heat exchangers (Nissan's fault and not yours) and can succumb to hot climate, constant hills, lead-footing, or anything else that chronically heats them up. I kind of have a knee-jerk about those trannies from the get-go, because the 2-speed clutches are rather like combining the worst aspects of a CVT and A/T.

Anyway, if you can demonstrate that it got proper maintenance then you should be able to get the dealership SM to go to bat for you on some goodwill. You're quite right, 110K is abysmal for a well-maintained unit.


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## Thommo455 (8 mo ago)

BEWARE OF NISSANS FAULTY CVT TRANSMISSIONS - The Nissan CVT transmissions were fitted to any number of vehicles from 2012 to 2018. Several models of Nissan vehicles received the transmission, including the Sentra, Versa, Versa Note, Altima, Rogue, and Murano models. I live in Australia and own two Nissans; a 2015 Murano and a 2015 Altima TiS. The transmission in my Altima recently literally fell apart after just 52,000 klms. I later discussed the matter with two independent transmission specialists who both described the CVT as "lemons", The transmission was repaired by one of the specialists at a cost of AU $6,500.00 - what a joke that a car so young would cost this much in repairs. I wrote to the General Manager Australia regarding the extreme costs involved but of course they have rejested any of my claim. To add insult to injury they naturally outsource all their work to NZ - the reply I received might as well have been written by a 2 year old






















and a disgrace to the Nissan brand.


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## Dmead (8 mo ago)

Thommo455 said:


> BEWARE OF NISSANS FAULTY CVT TRANSMISSIONS - The Nissan CVT transmissions were fitted to any number of vehicles from 2012 to 2018. Several models of Nissan vehicles received the transmission, including the Sentra, Versa, Versa Note, Altima, Rogue, and Murano models. I live in Australia and own two Nissans; a 2015 Murano and a 2015 Altima TiS. The transmission in my Altima recently literally fell apart after just 52,000 klms. I later discussed the matter with two independent transmission specialists who both described the CVT as "lemons", The transmission was repaired by one of the specialists at a cost of AU $6,500.00 - what a joke that a car so young would cost this much in repairs. I wrote to the General Manager Australia regarding the extreme costs involved but of course they have rejested any of my claim. To add insult to injury they naturally outsource all their work to NZ - the reply I received might as well have been written by a 2 year old
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## Dmead (8 mo ago)

Dmead said:


> i’ve had the same problem and my Sentra 2017 who has been very faithful to me 133,778 (easy Betty when new, drove hundreds when I became a rideshare driver) Sentra left me on the side of the road with a power train issue. I had to get towed back home. A local mechanic told me that he would run diesel fuel through my engine to flush out particles that have attached to my timing belt and timing sensors. Bank one, camshaft sensor ANB have been replaced since May 15, 2022 . It’s scary to think that he would run diesel through my car but it makes sense! 19 minutes of diesel supposedly would clean out my engine and free the particles attached to my camshaft… HMMMMMMMM 😍 best car, mech knows it!


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## Dmead (8 mo ago)

Thommo455 said:


> BEWARE OF NISSANS FAULTY CVT TRANSMISSIONS - The Nissan CVT transmissions were fitted to any number of vehicles from 2012 to 2018. Several models of Nissan vehicles received the transmission, including the Sentra, Versa, Versa Note, Altima, Rogue, and Murano models. I live in Australia and own two Nissans; a 2015 Murano and a 2015 Altima TiS. The transmission in my Altima recently literally fell apart after just 52,000 klms. I later discussed the matter with two independent transmission specialists who both described the CVT as "lemons", The transmission was repaired by one of the specialists at a cost of AU $6,500.00 - what a joke that a car so young would cost this much in repairs. I wrote to the General Manager Australia regarding the extreme costs involved but of course they have rejested any of my claim. To add insult to injury they naturally outsource all their work to NZ - the reply I received might as well have been written by a 2 year old
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Dmead said:


> That’s what my local mechanic told me, the CVT transmission in a 2017 Sentra is a lemon which is why he wants to run diesel through my engine to help clear the CVT clogging issues. I suspect it’s the solenoid and the timing belt. Diesel will clean deposits from both!


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## Dmead (8 mo ago)

Dmead said:


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

Dmead said:


> That’s what my local mechanic told me, the CVT transmission in a 2017 Sentra is a lemon which is why he wants to run diesel through my engine to help clear the CVT clogging issues. I suspect it’s the solenoid and the timing belt. Diesel will clean deposits from both!


I'm afraid your mechanic isn't the sharpest tack on the corkboard. There's nothing wrong with a little diesel in the oil to flush sludge from the engine, but a) the engine and CVT do _not_ share any fluid, and b) the MRA8 has a chain, not a belt. Sounds like he isn't exactly a font of knowledge.


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## Dmead (8 mo ago)

VStar650CL said:


> I'm afraid your mechanic isn't the sharpest tack on the corkboard. There's nothing wrong with a little diesel in the oil to flush sludge from the engine, but a) the engine and CVT do _not_ share any fluid, and b) the MRA8 has a chain, not a belt. Sounds like he isn't exactly a font of knowledge.


My post was incorrect. My old school/new school mech told me he would put deisel in the oil and get my tran warm enough to remove deposits. I was so stressed out I misunderstood. Desiel through my oil-timing belt/chain (yes, metal chain. Sensors too and filter with a full oil change) The crankshaft causing shift hesitation btwn 3-4th gear. replying back to original post: *Thommo455* after my “not exactly a font of knowledge” mech. VStar650CL- I will leave a performance post after the oil/engine flush.


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