CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2008 Altima has a defect trend of CVT transmission failure showing up around the 100,000 mile mark.

It's an expensive repair at nearly $4,000 average repair cost. For more information see Nissan Altima CVT defect info on NissanProblems.com.

7.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$60
Average Mileage:
110,000 miles
Total Complaints:
2 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. don't follow the manual, drain and fill the cvt fluid (1 reports)
  2. not sure (1 reports)
2008 Nissan Altima transmission problems

transmission problem

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2008 Nissan Altima Owner Comments

problem #2

Jul 042011

Altima S 2.5L I4

  • CVT transmission
  • 60,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The CVT Fluid in 2008 Nissan Altimas (and Nissan/Infiniti) vehicles in general require draining and filling. Do not believe the owner's manual. The manual does not list a change interval in months or miles for the CVT Fluid. You might even hear that the OEM fluid lasts a "lifetime" from the dealership. That is a lie! It will last until the factory warranty runs out, then the transmission will hesitate from a stop. Eventually it will fail. I drain and fill every 5 years or 60k miles by removing the bottom of the transmission pan and letting old CVT fluid out. It takes about 4-5 qts of Valvoline CVT Fluid to refill to the bottom hole of the dipstick depending on the angle of the ramps. CVT Fluid expands when hot so it's close enough. The car in question has 212,000+ miles and it's still on the same transmission. You do not need the Nissan brand CVT Fluid since I've been using Valvoline CVT Fluid which is Nissan NS-2 compatible.

- Klub M., Miami Beach, FL, US

problem #1

Jan 012019

Altima S 2.5L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 160,000 miles

If I am accelerating from a stop sign or a traffic light or even a plain old stop from traffic, my car sometimes will not go anywhere. When this happens, I have to press the gas pedal to the floor (for roughly 7 seconds), and then the car will zoom to 60 mph and the RPMs will sky rocket. There is never any warning when it is about to happen and happens whenever it wants wherever it wants.

I brought it twice to the shop and my mechanic couldn't find anything. Nothing came up on the test he preformed and he even took it for a long ride twice. There were no recalls last time I checked (I can't remember when I looked). It's a pain to deal with and I am still not sure what it could be. My mechanic said it COULD be the transmission, but he was not positive. If anyone is experiencing this please let me know.

- paul michael, Wethersfield, US

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