Why Nissan CVTs FAIL

Here’s an in-depth look inside a continuously variable transmission, how it works and what some of the common causes of failures are. The continuously variable transmission made it to the mainstream thanks to Nissan’s push for CVT’s in its front wheel drive vehicles 18 years ago with the Nissan Murano. CVT’s employ the use of a steel belt with adjustable pulleys to achieve various drive ratios. Since the pulleys do not have steps or stages like a traditional automatic, manual or dual clutch transmission, it can continuously shift input / output ratios without abrupting power flow. Nissan’s CVT’s have been the topic of many due to its extremely high failure rate. In this video, a continuously variable transmission from a 2006 Nissan Murano is taken apart, torn down and dissected to see how individual components are like and how they function as part of the transmission. We also discuss failure modes, advantages and disadvantages of Nissan’s CVT’s what you should do if you own a vehicle with one