# Will my Murano transmission live or die?



## Mountain enthusiast (11 mo ago)

2014 Murano sl awd, 117,000 mi, been running fine. Loaned it out, and evidently the transmission overheated. He said it wouldn't shift into overdrive, and when he pulled over, he could see a trail of transmission fluid on the exit ramp. He was in the mountains, and I know he has a lead foot. He had it towed to a dealership, who's only diagnosis reads "mutlti cvt codes. cvt failed." They only want 6k for a rebuilt one with 12/12 warranty. I had it towed back to my place, and took it for a ride; Seems to run just fine. I drained 4oz shy of 5 qts, and added back the same. I drove it 30 mi and back, seems just fine. The fluid was a little black, but didn't smell bad. I've not had it changed previously, so it's way over due; I only wish I'd paid more attention to the schedule. Should I do more than drain and fill next time? I'm always nervous to remove that many bolts, afraid of seized ones breaking off, and leaving me with a mess to repair. Thoughts?


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

With black fluid and 117K, do another change very quickly, and then another. You don't need to worry about crud holding the seals together like you would with a regular A/T, CVT's have almost no clutch material and never make "ATF soup" like an A/T would. It sounds like it may have just gone into overheat protection and might be savable, but if so, you'll need to get most of that old fluid out ASAP. The fact that it drives okay after a change is hopeful, but It's very important to know what codes are/were in it. If you don't have a TCM-capable scanner, the dealership he took it to should be able to give you a copy of their code sheet, it will always be stapled to the repair order. The diag was paid for and that sheet is technically your property in most states, so I wouldn't let them give you guff about it. Post the codes and I'll give you a better opinion about how bad it is.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

PS - Tranny pan screws on CVT's rarely seize up. Dropping the pan and posting some pics would also be helpful.


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## Mountain enthusiast (11 mo ago)

I have a friend offered his lift. Would you suggest changing the screen and filter also? Thanks for your help.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

Not the screen, there's no "soup" so the screens never clog. If you find a lot of fine metal in the pan then you should probably change the paper filter underneath the beehive. Nissan doesn't normally recommend changing that because it's only for catching metal shavings from break-in and changing it can put shavings back in circulation. However, if the tranny is swimming in shavings then it could clog. If you find any larger pieces of metal then the belt is damaged and it's hopeless. I'll cross my fingers and toes for you.


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## Mountain enthusiast (11 mo ago)

Didn't drop the pan, just another fluid change, and the old looks like new after driving a month, including a 250 mi round trip mostly highway. No hiccups. Thanks for the input. 
I'm puzzled what could have happened; wondering if he could have accidentally bumped the overdrive button, taking it out of overdrive. I'v done this myself, but quickly realized, and put it back in overdrive. I don't want to make my son-in -law feel stupid, it cost him more than me, but I'd sure like to know. If I ever broach the subject, I'll update you. Thanks again.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

You're most welcome, I'm just glad it worked out okay for you. Dunno if you have a Droid phone, but if so, one thing you can do on the cheap to investigate is download a copy of CVTz50 and get a VeePeak VP11 adaptor for your diag port (the VP11 is the cheapest ELM327 that works right with CVTz50, not all of them do). With that, you can read any CVT codes yourself, read the CVT temperature in realtime, and also check the CVT-A/CVT-B count for any history of overheating. If something bad did happen, at least you'll get an inkling of what it was from the past evidence.


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## Mountain enthusiast (11 mo ago)

Mountain enthusiast said:


> 2014 Murano sl awd, 117,000 mi, been running fine. Loaned it out, and evidently the transmission overheated. He said it wouldn't shift into overdrive, and when he pulled over, he could see a trail of transmission fluid on the exit ramp. He was in the mountains, and I know he has a lead foot. He had it towed to a dealership, who's only diagnosis reads "mutlti cvt codes. cvt failed." They only want 6k for a rebuilt one with 12/12 warranty. I had it towed back to my place, and took it for a ride; Seems to run just fine. I drained 4oz shy of 5 qts, and added back the same. I drove it 30 mi and back, seems just fine. The fluid was a little black, but didn't smell bad. I've not had it changed previously, so it's way over due; I only wish I'd paid more attention to the schedule. Should I do more than drain and fill next time? I'm always nervous to remove that many bolts, afraid of seized ones breaking off, and leaving me with a mess to repair. Thoughts?


 Several trips to the mountains, and one to beach: Not a hiccup.


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)




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