2012 Kizashi CVT issues

[shinyapgh]

Moto: Juke is a bit too small anyway. I'll give up the AWD, and get a new 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5SL. And slap a set of snow tires on in the winter.

[Blackbelt]

Shinyapgh,
I assume your car is at Wright? Never been a fan of them myself, for reasons like this.
First of all, the CVT that is in your car is a JATCO JF011E. Suzuki does not make this transmission, they purchase it from JATCO. JATCO was a spinoff from NIssan, and ALL Nissans use JATCO transmissions(CVT). If you drive a NIssan Altima with a CVT, you are driving a car with a JATCO JF011E.
I have a 2010 Kizzy. As i was driving from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia for business, my tranny started to act up, revving to 3K+ at 60, whining. My car had 3600 miles on it.
I managed to nurse it to Philly, and then back home across the turnpike. I had the dealer tow it from my driveway. Within 2 hours, they called and said they ordered a new CVT and to stop by and pick up a free rental car. It took a little over a week for the new CVT to arrive and be installed. I didn't pay a dime for the rental. My Kizzy now has 19,800, and the CVT has performed flawlessly. In addition, i had a Dodge Claiber R/T AWD that had a CVT in it. Guess which one they use. Yep, the JF011E. I sold that car with 50K trouble free miles, not one issue with the tranny.
I understand your frustration, and usually when a car strands me, i take that personally and i get rid of it in short order. I am glad i did not do that with my Kizashi. It took a month or so for me to get comfortable with it again, but since then it hasn't skipped a beat, and i couldn't be happier with it.
I just think that it would be ironic for you to get ride of the Kizashi because of the CVT probelms, especially for a Nissan, since Nissan made the defective transmission in your Suzuki!

[Stodge]

I thought the Sentra/Versa used the JF011E and the Altima used a different one? I'm probably wrong.

[MNSLS]

@Blackbelt,

Interesting... If true I wonder if Nissan will be updating the JF011E usages with the newer CVT on the 2013 Altima? Nissan claims a 40% reduction in friction and an improvement in MPG with their newer Altima tranny.

[Blackbelt]

IIRC, the 2.5 Altima uses the JF011E and the 3.5 uses the JF010E
MNSLS, could be, OR they may have develeped a new unit. Since Nissan owns JATCO, they might keep a new design for themselves for a few years. I will look into it and see what i can find.

[Stodge]

I expect companies like Suzuki have licensed the current CVT transmission for a number of years so I doubt the Kizashi will get a new model for a while. Does the Altima 2.5L's transmission share the same characteristics as the one in the Kizashi?

[MNSLS]

Nissan new CVT indicates it was built for 2.0L - 3.5L ranges. Perhaps the 2013 Nissan uses the same tranny no matter the engine?

Green CVT indicates this CVT can lock the ratio for a more linear response. Also, it improves MPG by 10%. I wouldn't complain if the Kizzy got a better CVT. Or if my 31-32MPG daily driver went to 34-35MPG.

I suspect Nissan will want a few years of the new transmission before it shares it out. Maybe the 2014 (?) Kizashi upgrade.

[Blackbelt]

The new "CVT8" transmission has 2 model number designatiuons, the JF016E and the JF017E. I would venture to say one is for the 2.0-2.5 liter class while the other is the 2.6-3.5 liter unit. Major difference being a more robust belt to handle the additional torque of the larger engine.
That will be the Altima's new unit. I doubt anyone else will be getting that unit for a while. JATCO will keep building the JF011E for Suzuki, Chrysler, Renault, mitsu, and others for the foreseeable future. I am sure it's profitable for them to keep cranking them out.
Stodge, the automaker buying the CVT generally does the software mapping for it, so although they are the same transmission, they may behave a little differently. The Trans in my Caliber acted a little different than the one in my Kizzy, even though they were both the same model.
JATCO can make a defective unit the same as any other manufacturer can. I can understand The OP's frustration, i went through it, although my dealer experience was much better.
People rave and bow down at the altar of Honda, but i had TWO Accords that blew their transmissions before 50K miles.

[eatrocks]

I have similar prob with my 2012 kiz, man date 9/11.....yea
I do mostly city driving and mine makes such a rattling whirlin noise at 2500-4000 Rpms, under med throttle in 3rd gear manual it will stop at 3500 for a sec then drop 150-200 Rpms then rise...noise is worse now during the summer heat. Gonna take it back to dealer next week, I took it in a few months ago but it was 70 degrees outside all that week and the service dept were morons but now it's so obvious something is wrong...starts makin the noises after about 10 minutesof driving...noises change and get louder when im shifting in manual mode...I put some vids of the noise here 3 months ago

[Ronzuki]

Anyone have a clue as to what's preventative maintenance to perform on these CVT's? I was a big fan of closed loop flushing our conventional autos in the burb and the '08 SX4. I'm very cautious about touching the CVT at all. I've 'heard' the absolute worst thing is to get any contamination in the fluid (even lint from a shop towel). Common wisdom would dictate replacing the fluid at some point, and then, how?