Automotic Transmission Life
 

Do you think the automatic transmission life is shortened by using the paddle shifters extensively versus just leaving it drive?

Probably not, Nissan's automatic transmissions are pretty bulletproof.

:iagree:They make excellent automatics!

It wont. Even old car which was a bmw, I literally use manunatic mode all the time for 3 years and the tranny was still performing like it was brand new.

Most important is change its oil after 30K km.

Not 100% sold on the auto tranny. I'm on my 2nd one already. The 1st one was replaced by the dealer under warranty at 10,000 miles and now at 34,000 this one is starting to act up again. it makes a loud thud going in/out of gear.

The 370Z automatic has no recommended oil change interval.

But we can change it like regular A/T,30 k km a guideline.

Transmission is a sealed unit making it maint free. No fluid change is necessary.

^^^ IT IS A SEALED UNIT BUT i CHANGE MINE EVERY 60k km

read triple's sig, rule #1 jeez

lets see I have already gone threw one trans and on my second. I will change it every 60K. But I am SC'd so I am putting a bit more tq and hp to it.

Gonna need to open it up with the new valve body

LOL I am actually still waiting to put the built trans back in the car that i sent to GTM.

yours is the 7 speed right?

I know of someone with an auto Z that also has his tranny go before he hit 20k miles

It's not really a sealed unit. It has drain and fill plugs (much like the rear diff), it just doesn't have an easy-access dipstick/fill tube, and the service manual doesn't state any maintenance interval on their chart that goes to 60K miles (and claims it's "maintenance free").

Also, the procedure for refreshing the fluid in the service manual is a pain in the *** process of repeating: partial drain, partial refill, warm up the transmission and shift through the gears, shut it off, repeat again x3-4 times. And for the final accurate fill level, you have to get the transmission warmed up to a very specific temperature for the fill hole's level to be accurate (and of course, the trans fluid temp isn't available via "normal" OBD-II diagnostics, only Nissan's proprietary Consult tool at the dealership).

I don't trust their "maintenance free" crap though. I've made it just a hair under 20K miles so far on my factory fill (well, + 1/2 qt or so that was added recently as part of installing the trans cooler). The small amount of fluid I spilled out of the lines while installing the cooler looked pretty fugly though, and so I do plan to replace all of the fluid soon now. I'll probably take it to a dealer here (Baker) for them to do their filling procedure.

The big question mark to me right now, is whether I stick with Nissan's Matic-S fluid, or switch to Redline D-4 (the only quality aftermarket one I've seen that actually claims Matic-S compatibility).

mmmmmmm

:tup: this

"Maintenance Free" and "Sealed Unit" also applies to BMW autos. But as a previous owner of one, I wouldn't have gotten too far by following those guidelines.

They will need to have their fluids replaced at some point if you plan to keep the car for a long time.

cc370s experience is a little scary, so I'm not going to borrow trouble; I think I'll use the paddles occasionally. I think a tranny should last longer than the engine and this car has to last at least 10 years. I don't see any downside to changing the tranny fluid at 36K but that's a long way off.

Thanks for all of your inputs!

Charles

the is nothing wrong with changing the fluid at whatever interval you want...

BUT...

if you have even the slightest inkling that a transmission problem may be happening in some way, shape or form, don't change the fluid, consult a transmission specialist first. It is VERY common for transmission fluid changes to exacerbate transmission problems, especially in automatics, not so much manuals.

Other than that, change away!

I'm not sure what the issue is with cc370s, but I don't think it's because he used the paddle shifters. I use mine constantly and no problems to 20K so far. has the dealership given you any diagnosis on what went wrong with the first one cc370s?

My experience with every car I've ever known of (mine, friends', etc) has been that automatic transmissions in general are one of the most failure-prone big-ticket items on any car. They're just extremely complex, and they do contain lots of internal wear items. Based on my past experiences, I think expecting any auto trans to live 10 years without some kind of service/rebuild is expecting too much. But then again, most of my experience is with older transmissions too. Perhaps these newer generation ones will be more sturdy for the long haul.

Still, a manual is going to outlast an automatic by a lot. It's just so much simpler mechanically.

You're probably right. I have two Maximas, a 95 and a 96. The 95 needed a tranny rebuild at 109K. The 96 is still going strong at 130K (I'm estimating that one since the odometer broke at 86K). In the case of the '96, the transmission is more reliable than the odometer!

Wow, that fluid replacement procedure sounds hellacious. I doubt I'll let Jiffy Lube do it. :-) Frankly, I don't understand the "maintenance free" issue either. You change every other fluid in the car and I think the transmission gets as stressed as the engine, though there's obviously no combustion involved. Still it gets very hot and must be subject to wear.

If you always drive in M there is more wear on the 2 magnetic torque converter sport clutches "less slip mode" .
Changinging the Oil is never bad, depending on drive style. The Gearbox is designed also for the 5 Liter Infiniti V8 with higher torque, so maybe this is the reason for the infinite transmission oil change interveal. I dont belive in that. You can always see the wear of the 7 planetary gears and the break bands in the automatic oil pan. So you can see what driver was on the car if you have there a lot of metall wear in the pan. The service manual says exchange the gearbox if you can find some one millimeter metalic peaces in the oil cooler of the gearbox. :-) This is the right idom " Where wood is chopped, splinters must fall"
On older automatic gear boxes you can adjust the gear break bands. You cant find anything in the service manual..so its a exchange gearbox if it is not self adjusting.
Also there are rumours that the turbo mods do not hold the torque with the smaler 6th and 7th gear diametor planetary gear brake bands.
Thats only my opinion

Actually, this is a myth. There are two versions of our 7AT made by Jatco, one is a lower torque rating and one has a higher torque rating. Our cars get the lower torque version, and Nissan/Infiniti SUVs get the higher torque version. Most of the details I dug up on this are over in this thread, starting around here: http://www.the370z.com/forced-induct...ml#post1151774

28000 km at least 100 pass down the drag strip 4.08 gears shift as 7500 to 7800 rpm, no issiues yet.
changed the fluid when i did the converter. too 3 tries to fill it , siimple to do it just takes time

So you made more investigations to find out whats concerning about torque at our 370z AT. :tiphat: But this is concerning only the fluid converter for the V8, am i right ?
I do not think that jatco is doing a redesing of the gear box.. so a more heavy non highspeed car has a different acceleration "speed" converter thats located bevore the gear box...maybe they do also something with the differential rear (awd behind the gearbox) ratio to handle it.. your are right .. i didnt thought about that :tiphat:

ZeeYouLater

This is not a rumor but ANOTHER MYTH being put forth by 6MT guys on this forum. NO ONE has blown a tranny OR HAD PROBLEMS with the tall gears on the 7AT except shumby. Truth be told......NO ONE KNOWS exactly why his tranny failed. We (FI 7AT guys) suspect the "clutches" between the tall gears are not strong enough to handle the torque (so most of us had line pressures increased in the tranny to keep clutch time between shifts to a minimum).

I will end this with a question......I have had 2 track days, 30 or so runs in the 1/4 and 1/8th mile, 4000+ miles of VERY SPIRITED driving with 500 rwhp.........Why havent I had any problems?

P.S. The truth is most of you nay sayers are working off hearsay like chuck05 above saying "I know a guy whos auto tranny didnt last 20k miles" and believing it without any proof or substantiation at all. Shumby is the ONE AND ONLY that is a proven failure.

P.S.S. Please dont bring up the thailand guy.....no one ever really figured out what he was saying happened.

P.S.S.S. Why is the rumor "turbo mods"??? Shumby in an SC guy???

LOL good myth as my SC G37S blew 5th 6th and 7th gears. but this was befor uprev was able to increase the pressures for the trans. I am now on a used trans and it is holding up fine 30000km later but still getting A built trans from sam

Shumby, let me know how the new tranny works out as I may try and talk to Sam about one. I am working a deal on a 2012 GTR right now, so if I get it I will be unloading my Z and wont need the tranny.

The AT is most definitely not sealed, and the flush methodology is clearly spelled out in the service manual. For AT's the service life with the modern fluids can be as long as 100,000 miles, which for most manufacturers that is considered the "life of the car". The oil will only last that long however if it is driven very conservatively, get the oil hot on a regular basis and it will degrade much more rapidly. Regular mountain carving, consider 30,000. If you track the car you ATF may only last 5000 miles. A transmission cooler is a worthy investment in extending the service intervals in that case.

All I said was a local Z guy had his tranny go before 20k. No idea why or how but it was at Nissan getting a tranny when I was there. And we discussed it. Not a myth. He was NA and Nissan replaced it.

Chuck, I have been following this particular subject for over 2 years, mostly to make sure I dont have any issues on my car. Oddly enough, there are tons of people who make statements like the one you did YET on this whole forum ONLY ONE PERSON and ONE 370 7AT has gone bad.

To me, this is just an example of either jealousy of the 7AT tranny or fear that someone bought the wrong tranny.

If its a problem, and this forum has so many members, why have we HAD ONLY ONE go bad on this whole forum??

P.S. Lots of TT'd and SC'd 7AT's out there now.....and still no issues.

The 2009 Service Maintenance Guide, even for Premium service, says no AT fluid replacement up to 120,000 miles.

Lmao must be jealousy. I will try to get his work order and scan it. Thats hilarious.

A lot Of stuff happens that's not posted on this forum too. I know of several members issues that were never listed here. No transmission problems though.

i change mine every year. Its cheap insurance . Not cheap to change but it better than bying a new tranney

Z

^^ ya Z i do mine once a year too.

Shumby you still havent gotten the trans back from Sam......damn