The Nissan Path

My transmission has been shuddering for a few weeks and recently slipped a couple of times on takeoff. As I was aware of the Nissan transmission issue, I checked the coolant overflow tank and sure enough, it looked like it was contaminated.

I took the car in to the dealership this morning as it has 76,000 miles on it (just shy of the 80,000 mile extended warranty, according to this: http://www.nissanassist.com/web/Radiato ... hp?menu=22 ). The dealership just called me back to confirm that they found a "very small leak in the AT cooler tube" in the radiator.

The dealership is so far being very supportive but as it is a U.S. vehicle that was imported into Canada, they have to confirm warranty coverage with Nissan USA before they can proceed to next steps. That sounds a bit bureaucratic but as I work for a large organization myself, I guess I understand. Plus, I'm not too worried (yet) as the webpage above indicates that U.S. cars in Canada are also covered by the extended warranty.

According to the dealership, the next steps are (with or without warranty):
1. replace the radiator and then flush the transmission to determine if the transmission can be saved.

2. If the transmission continues to shudder / slip after this and/or if they find "transmission residue" in the flush (I imagine they mean gears??), then they will also replace the transmission.

The whole thing is supposed to take about 2-3 days in the shop, once they receive the parts.

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. Wish me luck!
Cheers, and Happy 2014 to everyone!

I think "transmission residue" would more likely be clutch material than hard part debris, but metal bits would definitely indicate a problem! Usually once the "shuddering" has begun, the damage is done. Hopefully they'll condone the trans and replace that as well so you won't see problems later.

Thanks smj999smj. That sounds right. The dealership called me back today as they finally heard back from the Nissan mothership who confirmed Nissan would cover the vehicle under the extended warranty.

The radiator replacement is scheduled for mid next week at which time they will drop the pan from the transmission. Quote "If we find more than 1mm of residue, we'll replace the transmission as well."

I guess all I can do now is wait and see. I'll post another update once the rad has been replaced.

Oh, and Happy New Year to everyone!

good thing it happened while under the warranty extension.

Good thing indeed, JAHBLESSINGS.

The dealership replaced the radiator today and flushed the tranny twice. They dropped the tranny pan the first time to check for "residue" and apparently found none.

They told me that they flushed the transmission twice: the first time is to clean out any possible coolant residue. After the first flush, they refilled it, test drove the vehicle at various speeds, took it back to the garage and dropped the tranny pan a 2nd time to check for residue once more.

According to them, my transmission got a clean bill of health.

I hate to admit it but it does seem to shift a bit better than it did prior to this service. I guess I'll have to wait to see how the transmission performs over the next few weeks and will take it back in to the dealership if there are any recurring issues. I'll update this post if that happens.
Cheers!

Just a quick update to confirm that 3 months later, the transmission is still running well.

Only 200 miles to go until I hit 80,000 miles (when the extended warranty expires) so fingers crossed that this repair lasts!