Gearing Up Issue

[NSShaolin]

Hey guys, what are your thoughts on this;

I jumped in my car this morning to take the short drive to work and right away noticed once I was half way down the street that while in drive the car wasn't changing out of first. Weird I thought, so I popped it to trippy and tried paddle shift with no joy. It was the weirdest thing, my little display would change as I hit them (only up to 4, weirder) but for some reason gears weren't changing. I pulled over put it into park, I could put it into reverse, feel it go into 1st but while I was driving it's like there wasn't 2nd there at all. So there I am getting late for work trying to drive slowly and not rev the shit out of it and all of a sudden after i'd put it up to neutral and back, it was finding gears again. I was 5 minutes from work and not wanting to jinx it I didn't put it over to see if I could cycle all the gears again.

Then work sucked.

Back in the car 11 hours later and the same problem. Almost the same distance of babying it, trying to cycle gear modes for the miracle fix and it happened only in manual. This gave a bit more light that even though the gears were changing, I knew it wasn't going into 8th and could see it see didn't act as if 8th gear was there.

Help What on earth is the problem with my new car? I've had it (2002 GT-8) for less than a month. Any ideas?

Edited October 20, 2009 by NSShaolin

[rs73]

oh my, have the car's special trans fluid been changed? the fluid cost about $1k excl labour,

and if that doesn't work, wish u luck cos a new cvt-8 trans will cost probably over $15k.

probably the cost of your car in the 1st place

[ogz007]

^+1 yeh thats one of the major problem for the CVT-8's - gearing issues. very sensitive in a bad way.

[fcruz3r]

when u take it to the dealers, they always recommend a gear oil flush n change 1st....and if that doesnt work then its a new tranny. kinda sucks coz u would have pissed away 1.5k for nothing. Isn't there a viscosity gauge they can use to determine if a trans oil change is required??

[dodes47]

Sorry to hear about that man, i feel ya.

How many Ks have your GT-8 done? The tranny fluid change is recommended when you hit 80,000Ks. some even recommend before that.

I've got one too and so far i haven't got any problems with it. Mine's done 35,000.

There are lots of horror stories associated with our car, but i believe if you take good care of it, it's gonna last a long time.

Just a thought, would resetting the ECU perhaps fix it?

[NSShaolin]

Yeah, it sucks a whole lot. Where should I be taking the car in Perth? I mean I feel kinda of ripped of by the dealer, don't feel like trusting him to send it somewhere to be fixed. Even though the whole reason I bought from a dealer is so I'd have something to fall back on, I just want to know its going in good hands for a big job.

[dodes47]

I wouldn't have a clue on where to find an Extroid Tranny expert in Perth mate, sorry. But i could recommend a few places that might be able to help you out.

Go and see Jamie in Autoworkshop at Welshpool. http://www.autoworkshop.com.au/ Maybe he can point you to the right direction.

Or go see the fellas at Autoworx : http://www.autoworx.com.au/site/

[GoldV35]

Hey man, this is the deal, I have a 2005 5sp V35 sedan and the Mrs HAD a 2003 V35 350GT-8.

After only 1 month of ownership, the tranny played up in the 350GT-8, much the same as you described with yours.

We bought it in Sydney so under the statutory 3 month warranty, it was transported back there, where it stayed for over 7 months.

In that time they f*#ked around trying to fix it, as their so called 'mechanics' in house hadn't actually worked on that transmission before, and were unwilling to pay to get a real expert in.

We would get an email saying, 'yeah, new parts in transmission, its back in car, just being tested now, be ready in a few days', but then it wasn't. This happened 6 times.

We were basically letting them do a lot of trial and error, so obviously we had zero trust in these jokers from then on.

After almost 7 months they admitted defeat and just bought a second hand transmission replacement, which I thought they should have done pretty much from the start instead of making us wait so damn long.

I suppose its possible, but don't expect them to give you a replacement car while yours is being fixed either, so if its all you have, then you're up the creek.

Whats my point? Just giving you a heads up on what you may have to deal with.

At the end of it all when it was finally returned, we got our own back by selling it to a, no doubt, scumbag used car dealership without us losing any money on the deal, and hopefully in a few months it will break on them.

PS. the Mrs went and bought a new G6 Ford instead, but I'm still flying the flag for Nissan, haha.

[fcruz3r]

mate, if it is your g/box...and I'm hoping for you that it isnt then there's not many places in Perth that would specialise in the Extroid CVT

which leave's the option of salvage yards or http://www.cvt.co.nz/

also ask around if its possible to swap a normal 5sp auto in?

[skygo2xs]

Sorry to hear mate, last thing you want when 1 month into a new car is issues like that.....you may want to check your warranty though. If you are still covered by the dealer, then you may have to take it to them for warranty claims. If you go somewhere else and find out its a big job, you may be up for the cost yourself. Good luck, hope its not too much of a problem for you.

[NSShaolin]

I can see my future, and it looks a lot like what GoldV35 went through. These dealer might sell a lot of the skylines but their own workshop feels more like a backyard chopshop than a real garage. I had to take it to them for the warranty but the customer service I keep getting is bullshit.

I watched their guy plug in the car to identify the problem, which it did come up with. He showed me it said transmission problem but didn't specify so he reckons he'll be taking it apart to find out if he can find the problem. I have serious doubts. On top of that he outright told me it would take him ages… when he gets to it.

To say I'm pissed off doesn't sum it up.

The good news is that I jumped up and down long enough that one guy came to the party and got his mystery 'boss' to put $30 a day toward a rental car.

We'll see how it plays out, until then I'll be rocking out in the coolest 3 door getz around….

Edited October 21, 2009 by NSShaolin

[GoldV35]

I can see my future, and it looks a lot like what GoldV35 went through. These dealer might sell a lot of the skylines but their own workshop feels more like a backyard chopshop than a real garage. I had to take it to them for the warranty but the customer service I keep getting is bullshit.

I watched their guy plug in the car to identify the problem, which it did come up with. He showed me it said transmission problem but didn't specify so he reckons he'll be taking it apart to find out if he can find the problem. I have serious doubts. On top of that he outright told me it would take him ages… when he gets to it.

To say I'm pissed off doesn't sum it up.

The good news is that I jumped up and down long enough that one guy came to the party and got his mystery 'boss' to put $30 a day toward a rental car.

[/size]

We'll see how it plays out, until then I'll be rocking out in the coolest 3 door getz around….

yeah man, I knew they would be a joke to deal with.

Are you under warranty still?

If so, they have to fix it, so don't take it anywhere else or you will have to pay, unless they approve of beforehand which won't happen.

[NSShaolin]

Yeah mate, warranty is still good, paid for an AWN top cover for 3 years too. Down side is it has to go through the dealer, which is useless. I'm hoping to find out more tomorrow. I would love to know about anyother cases along the same lines.

[n15m0]

Sorry to hear about ur issues with the CVT8. There has been plenty of warnings discussed/debated over the risks of purchasing a CVT8 in this forum.

You are lucky your are still covered under warranty. Some may debate the usefulness of warranties but I personally have had a good experience with them with one of my imports years ago. (Engine blew within a week of purchase, was replaced promptly by the dealer under warranty).

Make sure you excercise your right to this warranty to the fullest (repair/replace tranny). Once thats done get rid of it!

Hope all ends well.

[NSShaolin]

Ok, the good news is it's all fixed… somehow.

The story goes, from the mechanic, that he notice a second error regarding a break switch. Something along the lines of the circuit has four point and 2 are complete even when the breaks aren't on and that's where an error was starting. Once he had fixed that the other problem has totally gone.

Which it has…somehow. His explanation was he thinks that when the car thinks the breaks are on it detunes in a way, like it is sensing a slip… somehow.

The best part at least is that we have sorted it about and it's running like a dream again. I guess I went though all those worse case feelings for nothing but it evens out because we have the car back. Even if they used almost half a tank of fuel testing it over 3 days.

Edited October 24, 2009 by NSShaolin

[whtbox]

maybe now just incase should start searching for CVT oil

[NSShaolin]

Heh, yeah it's worth while. What should I be using?

[GoldV35]

Heh, yeah it's worth while. What should I be using?

hey, do a search, I have posted heaps of information on this gearbox, what oil it uses etc.

[n15m0]

Glad you got it sorted out and for your sake I hope the dealer has been truthful with you with regards to the problem and not just applying a band aid fix on it.

Sorry if I sound like a pessimist but u may want to consider getting rid of it while u still have a working CVT box. I only say that because I don't want to be the one who posts "I told you so" 6 to 12 mths down the track.

DOn't get me wrong, I have nothing against CVTs as I just sold one of my V35s and am now driving a Merc with CVT and loving it. Its the lack of support and extreme costs to repair & service in your case with the CVT8 that turns me off completely.

If you are looking for the CVT oil, do a search, been discussed many times and costs as well...hope you have deep pockets though.

[NSShaolin]

Yeah, I'm doing my reading on what's been said about it before. I cross examined the dealers about the issues to make sure of just that. I don't have any issues with the mechanic that worked on the car, just everyone else I'd had to deal with.

I'm not sure you mind sounding like a pessimist or telling me I told you so lol. At the end of the day, I think it would be a bit of a knee jerk reaction to off sell it when it suits the family, is very nice and we have a top AWN warranty covering it too. I know by acknowledging it means I'm even more open the the 'I told you so's