7 Speed Auto Trans Fluid Change

plato

My AT was giving me some serious issues. I got it changed and all the problems went away. YMMV

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JARblue

OP, I think you're smart not to trust the dealer mechanics with that job. If you don't track the car, I would worry about it unless it starts giving you problems or you hit 100K miles and just really want to change it.

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MEZZZER

any one have issues with trans not shifting properly when cold, maybe?
sometimes mine wont downshift when cold seems like. i give it gas and nothing...like it wont get out of its own way but then get back in it like headed back home from lowes the other night and it worked fine then, like aftewr warmed up...idk any thoughts or direct me to proper thread. thanks, G.

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SouthArk370Z

Sounds a lot like low fluid level.

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Jordo!

If it's in regular D mode, the ECU probably tries to spare the clutchpacks too much wear when the AT temps are low (thicker fluid, means too viscous -- actually, flooring it isn't great for the motor either until the oil comes up to temp).

You may also get an occasional "clunky" downshift for similar reasons -- Nissan may have further "refined" the tune on the newer MY's. Additionally, the ECU has a sort of "trim" table for shift points based on your driving patterns when in M mode which can make the car shift a bit oddly in regular auto for a bit.

I think if it seems ok when warmed up, you are probably fine, and if you ever get a tune, you can have the torque tables adjusted for much faster, firmer shifts

If it continues to act clunky, it might be worth seeing if there's a new-ish OEM reflash to adjust the shift characteristics -- there very well may be.

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EZT

I've had two tranny flush and refills at my dealer, cost 189$ each time. Roughly 30k between flush and fill.

jchammond

In the process of flushing mine now,,,the only special tool i bought was a new 1gal. chemical and bleach sprayer from Walmart (14$)
the system holds about 10qts..and it only drains about 3 at a time...so i plan to repeat this process 3/4 times-till fluid is clean.
1st drain-remove 19mm or 3/4 plug at L/R of trans..and let drain in suitable container.
then remove 5mm allen overfill plug at L/F.
i have car on ramps at this time-but on my last one,car needs to be level.
fluid that came out on first drain looked like coffee (very dark) but didn't smell burn't.
i put 3.5 quarts of s-matic approved fluid in sprayer (Valvoline LV Multi $16.97 gal.) and connected the locking sprayer nozzle to the hose....pumped 15-20 times & held over overfill hole & squeezed fluid into trans.
only had to stop once to repump sprayer.
installed 5mm allen plug & started enginei wanted a complete flush and don't have a fluid exchange machine...so i drove car about 5 miles in manual mode..making sure i used every gear...no hard accelerating.
car is back on ramps for second drain and fill.
on last one,,,very important.......car needs to be level & after filling with approx. 3.5qts of fluid...let vehicle warm till pan is lightly warm to back of hand...around 105 degrees.
(note-engine temp will go to about normal and oil temp will come up to around 160 before trans. temp gets this high)
while car is level/remove 5mm allen overfill plug & let excess drain into container,till it comes to a drip & install and tighten plug....finished.
manual says to replace overfill plug? not sure why.
i spent about 70-75$,,,including chemical sprayer....i was impressed how it pushed that tranny fluid out of that container...didn't take long.
i will repost final results & would add photo's if i knew how...new at this site.
hope this helps people..& dealerships around here get 200$ to do this and dont drive car inbetween..they just flush a couple times///with a bulk approved fluid (they don't even use genuine Nissan S-Matic) imagine that.
have a nice day...rain here.
2011' base,touring,,,best qtr. mile track times is 13.139@104.89mph
1/8th was 8.451@85.74mph 60' was 1.955 bone stock,1/4 tank fuel + me and helmet (300 lbs.)

JARblue

Always remove the fill plug FIRST. You're screwed if you start draining the oil and then find you can't get the fill plug off cause some numbnuts at the factory or dealer decided it needed to be torqued to 200 ft-lbs

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ZKraken22

I changed mine at 60k think that's what the manual said. Cost me 120 bucks.

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jchammond

ok-completed transmission service...didn't mention to remove overfill plug first(in previous post) but i had mine already loose because i ck'd the fluid level with the car straight to see where it was before i started.....and it was about 1 pt. low.
When i drained trans while on ramps-5 1/2 qts. came out...good deal..so 5 1/2 went back in before 2nd drive.
parked the car level-so that i could acess both plugs and let cool.

Drained fluid a third time & about 3 1/2 qts. came out and fluid was looking good.
filled with 3 1/2 qts. & started engine...shift trans. through different gears & went underneath.
pan was still cool,so i knew fluid would ck. low.......allowed fluid to warm some & remove overfill & let excess come out till started to drip & installed & torqued plug.
trans temp was about 105*
car drives great & ended up putting in a pint more fluid than what came out.
will ck again at next oil change-but feels great/no problems with other fluid-just 50k miles on it & it looked like coffee.

JARblue

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nis350

thanks for the write-up.

Have a question about fluid level.

Does it make a difference on the fluid level check with the engine running or not (in Park or Neutral)?

Has anyone heard of Liqui Moly Top Tec 1800 ATF or Eneos? I was told that both are good ATF (Matic-S) with Liqui being better (full synthetic).

Tractionless

Engine running and in park or neutral is fine.

Have you confirmed beyond word of mouth they are Matic-S compliant?

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nis350

Thanks for the info.

Yes, Matic-S is listed for both ATF. Heard the Liqui Moly is really good and it is very popular among European cars. I've used their motor oil for my M3 before. I did some research and found that many European cars use Japanese transmissions.

jchammond

If you’re using a different fluid than oem; I’d recommend to flush & ensure that you end up with what you switch over too
Wouldn’t trust mixing fluids in this pricey trans

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