Nissan Murano CVT

I own a 2008 Maxima with a CVT and I suspect that I have put it in neutral under many different situations (although I don't know why I would have) without doing any harm.

OTOH, why would you want to put it in neutral at a stoplight even if you were there for several minutes? I have put it in "park" while waiting a long time at a car wash, but neutral?????

Don

Jerry G. wrote the following:

I know nothing about CVTs, but does the CVT have hill-hold like the automatics have? I drive a standard shift (5 speed) and I just depress the clutch while holding the brake pedal down until I get a chance to move..

willshak wrote in news:hfOdnY0d57GSwofQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@supernews.com:

it doesn't hurt them to put it into neutral when you're stopping somewhere,so why should it hurt at a light,as long as the car is not moving?

What purpose is that for? actually,you can put an automatic into neutral at any time. I guess it's necessary if "unintended acceleration" occurs(runaway/stuck throttle).

I once put an auto tranny car into -reverse- when I began sliding on ice and couldn't brake to a stop before hitting the car in front of me,it was a pushbutton shift 63 Dodge Polara.It worked,I stopped immediately and even began going backwards,didn't hit the car in front of me. I don't think you can do that with modern automatics.

does the CVT have a torque converter or an electric clutch? Torque converters have "creep",clutches don't.

For hillholding,I use the handbrake that is between the front seats;that is what it's designed for. Generally,auto trannies don't need hillholding,they already have enough creep built in,except for really steep hills.

Jim Yanik wrote the following:

I also did that when braking on snow or ice downhill. With the foot on the brake, shift into reverse and apply gas. I last had to do that in about 1996 in a 1995 Ford Crown Vic. That's when I had to drive in snow or icy conditions. Now, I just wait for the highway dept. to clean the roads.

When I am just coming to a light that I know will be a long one, I like to put the vehicle in to neutral so I don't have to keep my foot firmly on the break to stop it from rolling forward. Sometimes a light can be a few minutes.

Sometimes the vehicle has been still rolling about 3 to 5 mph while I am slipping it in to neutral and still gently applying the breaks to reach the full stop.

I was curious to know if this would cause damage with a CVT.

I was told by one mechanic when driving along at let's say 30 mph or so, with any automatic or CVT transmission, coasting it in neutral is not good practice, and especially if the driver puts it back in to Drive while still moving along. I would also like to verify if this is true...

Jerry G.

That one mechanic who advised against neutral in CVTs and ordinary automatics? Questionable. I've put regular automatic trannies in neutral at 50 to 60 mph and re-engage often. The tranny smoothly engeges the gears with no issues whatsoever. No massive thunk or disconcertaing feeling at all. Putting a car in neutral is good for the auto tranny because heat is the biggest enemy to the tranny fluid, and the tranny fluid is the life blood of an automatic transmission. When you leave the car in D while at stoplight the engine is sitting there pushing against the tranny, warming up the fluid. Of course the tranny fluid is not overheating, but it is getting warmer than if it were in neutral. By putting the car in neutral you give the tranny a chance to cool down because you;

1. remove the load from the engine, and
2. let the car idle a a slightly higher rpm which circulates more coolant which cools everything down, including the tranny.

I suspect that CVTs are also vitally dependant on their tranny fluid so they would want to reamin cool as well. At a stoplight I would put a CVT in neurtal. At speed though, I can't really say.

To Bill (wilshak),

I used to hold the clutch as well while braked at a stoplight. Once I changed my clutch and got a clearer understanding of whats' going on inside, I changed my habit. When you have the clutch depressed, you are engaging the throwout bearing, wearing it out. By putting your manual tranny in neutral and letting go of the clutch and holding only the brake, you are in the best position of least wear to your tranny. It would suck to wear out your throw out bearing before the clutch has worn out because replacing the clutch or the throwout bearing involves open heart surgery to your tranny. I had a 5 speed maxima and my thowout bearing got incredibly noisy. You could hear me engaging gears from 100 feet away:) When the throw out bearing is worn, that gear whining noise as you engage gear goes up significantly. The car kept working but I knew I was on borrowed time and I eventually bit the bullet and changed the clutch, replacing the throwout bearing as well.

CD