# Newbie needs advice



## Bassman13 (Oct 15, 2021)

Newbie here in need of your valued advice. I am going to look at a 2010 AWD Rogue today that in the pictures looks pretty clean
It has 110,000 and 2 previous owners. I ordered a carfax from a friend of mine and it should have it shortly. I'm told by the used car dealer
that his Auto Check report indicates no accidents. 
My major concern is the CVT transmission in these cars. At 110K on the clock, should I expect a major transmission repair in the near future.?
Any other hints would be much appreciated. So hard to find a nice second car with low mileage these days unless you want to spend big$
for a certified one off a new car dealers lot. Thanks for any replies!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

When you test drive the rogue, Listen very carefully for any whining sound, especially at 40 mph, this may be an indication of CVT chain wear. Also feel for any judder; judder will be most pronounced on a moderate to steep incline with light acceleration. Let off the gas at mid-hill, let the car coast momentarily down to 20~30 mph, then apply enough pedal to roll back up to speed. It should transition smoothly. If you feel any shuddering or surging, or the tach starts jumping around without pedal input, that's judder.

To enhance longevity, *the CVT fluid should always be replaced every 30,000 mi*. When the fluid stays in too long, the chemical properties of the fluid get compromised and it can no longer provide that cushion that's so needed between the steel belt and the cones. The fluid has two great enemies, and temperature is only one of them. The other is shearing force generated by normal operation of the belt, which increases on hills or with a load. This gradually breaks down and shortens the long-chain molecules that cushion the belt. You can generally deduce that by l*ooking at the fluid*; if it's very dark brown and has a burnt odor, it's shot!


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## Bassman13 (Oct 15, 2021)

rogoman said:


> When you test drive the rogue, Listen very carefully for any whining sound, especially at 40 mph, this may be an indication of CVT chain wear. Also feel for any judder; judder will be most pronounced on a moderate to steep incline with light acceleration. Let off the gas at mid-hill, let the car coast momentarily down to 20~30 mph, then apply enough pedal to roll back up to speed. It should transition smoothly. If you feel any shuddering or surging, or the tach starts jumping around without pedal input, that's judder.
> 
> To enhance longevity, *the CVT fluid should always be replaced every 30,000 mi*. When the fluid stays in too long, the chemical properties of the fluid get compromised and it can no longer provide that cushion that's so needed between the steel belt and the cones. The fluid has two great enemies, and temperature is only one of them. The other is shearing force generated by normal operation of the belt, which increases on hills or with a load. This gradually breaks down and shortens the long-chain molecules that cushion the belt. You can generally deduce that by l*ooking at the fluid*; if it's very dark brown and has a burnt odor, it's shot!


Thanks for the good information!
Will do.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

The main thing with the CVT is that it hasn't overheated. There are two parameters stored in the TCM called CVT-A and CVT-B that are basically a record of overheated fluid, both should be zero. Unfortunately, only high-end scanners can generally read them. If either one is non-0, you can probably expect issues. If they are both zero, give it a couple of immediate fluid changes just on general principles, and consider having a cooler kit installed. Nissan makes a very nice (but pricey) one for the gen1 Rogues, consider it a big plus if the vehicle already has one.


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