HELP! My '95 CVT transmission sounds wrong!

[CMF_Agentsu]

Hi all,

I'm new around here and not exactly the most technically minded.

I just bought my first car - a second hand '95 SLX not 3 days ago and already something's going wrong with it. I'm afraid I might have got a dud!

Before I got the car, we had an RACQ inspection on it and a Road Worthy Cert done the day before I picked it up, on top of that i brought it to a Nissan dealership to get them to have a listen to the engine and all. RACQ had concerns about the sound of the transmission / gearbox but couldn't tell me more (the mechanic didn't have much experience with CVTs) - hence i took it to the dealership which said it sounded a little louder than usual when floored, other than that, the sound could be an issue with a brush or something that needed replacing...

The car has been regularly serviced at Nissan Service Centres, all except the last one in December '08.

So i went ahead and bought it and the next day, at low speeds, in drive and reverse i get this whiring sound from the transmission (doesn't happen in Neutral or Park). Has anyone had something similar happened to them? Do you know what it might be? Do i have a screwed gearbox!!!???

I hope i don't have to spend an extra 4 grand replacing the CVT, it won't make much sense seeing that the car cost me $6,150.

HELP! My first car experience looks crap!

 

[CMF_Agentsu]

Sorry, i forgot to add that it only has 89,000kms on the clock.

 

[CMF_Amy]

Hi, I have that exact same thing with mine (it's also only done around that many k's). The mechanic had a transmission specialist look at it but he said to pull it apart would be more trouble than it's worth and it's probably just something loose in there. I asked if it was going to be ok and if it was nothing to worry about, and he said "not yet". Not exactly settling information cause I also spent quite a bit to buy it, but apparently it had made the noise since the previous owners bought it. I don't know if it's just me or if it's getting louder, but it's beginning to sound like a pile of junk haha! You can even hear it from outside the car and I'm sure a few heads have turned cause they think it's going to break down or something. Or maybe that's paranoia. Anyhow I'm rambling but yes I have that problem and I have no knowledge on how to fix it myself/no money to do it. Does anyone know if cvts are any noisier than regular autos?

 

[CMF_xero]

have you tried changing the gearbox oil?
sounds stupid but its probably never been changed ever.. and doesnt hurt to change it.

 

[CMF_nsm]

take it back for warranty....those cvt boxes cost heaps to repair...

 

[CMF_david (2)]

I'm not an expert, but I think in P and N the CVT would not be engaged. I'm not sure how lound your whirring sound is, but the CVT does just get faster and faster which might be what your hearing...in which case it's nothing to worry about.

 

[CMF_Amy]

It doesn't do it in P and N, just reverse and drive. It's pretty loud, you can hear it from outside the car, it does get faster and slow right down as you come to a stop but I just didn't think it should be so noisy which was why I was concerned.

 

[CMF_david (2)]

I would really say mine is noisy. I have had comments that it sounds a bit like a plane landing when I slow down though, but I think that's a bit exagerated. If it is really loud, I suppose there is a problem, but I don' know what it is.