[[email protected]]

I am thinking very seriously of buying a NV200 new in North America. There is one thing holding my back - the presence of CVT scares me and the horror stories I have read about Nissan CVT's. But I also the ones the have problems are usually the only ones who post about it.

So my question is a simple one:

How many kilometers do you have on your NV200 CVT and have you had any issues?
The more responses the more I can get comfortable with the idea.

 

[jbird]

I have 2017 that I bought new. I have about 16,000 miles on it. I have had zero issues with vehicle. I average 26 to 27 miles per gallon. So far, I love it.

 

[sray53tntx]

I am thinking very seriously of buying a NV200 new in North America. There is one thing holding my back - the presence of CVT scares me and the horror stories I have read about Nissan CVT's. But I also the ones the have problems are usually the only ones who post about it.

So my question is a simple one:

How many kilometers do you have on your NV200 CVT and have you had any issues?
The more responses the more I can get comfortable with the idea.

I have had five of them as daily work vans and all them had over 50,000 miles when I turned them in. Max payload on many trips.

Never had a CVT issue with them. I liked them so much I purchased one as a retirement vehicle.

 

[EwokPoacher]

2013 NV200 SV in California with 96000 miles. No issues with CVT (knock on wood). I had to replace the alternator 5000 miles ago (out of warranty). That has been the only issue. Still get 27mpg on 87 octane overpriced California gas.

 

[cordybrown]

I have 21,000 miles on a 2017 which I have had for one year. It .gors in tomorrow to dealer to have a transmission looked at. There is squealing sound when the car is in gear and my foot is on the brake, also a reduction in power and less smoothness going uphill or backing up.

My regular non-dealer mechanic says it’s a warranty issue and it needs to go to the dealer at least I’ll have a second opinion On the diagnosis .

The car used to be so quiet at idle that it was like an electric car. I have a friend with same year and model and hers is still the same. Mine is not.

I had moderately high hopes for this car. It replaces a 98 sienna that I had set up for a Work van.

I had hoped to use this one for work (lugging dogs around ) and perhaps get another one to build out as a camper van. I loved the Big Bud van that Recon put out ! .

I rented an NV200 for four days before I purchased. I didn’t love it but I thought I could make do with less power, unless comfortable ride and a smaller front cockpit than the old car. Worth it to have an affordable new car that would not require repairs and was under warranty. . The smaller front cockpit is killing me. No room for any stuff. Useless center consul thing and no storage. And now this transmission issue and way more little rattling noises underneath than one car should have. I mechanic says there’s nothing obviously loose and no broken hangers.

Its still cute and a good look for business But I’m don’t care for it . I’m a little underwater on it I would get rid of it tomorrow.

I was attracted to the gas mileage -which is great – and the amount of cargo space for the overall footprint of the vehicle and it’s basic utilitarian vibe. It was between this the transit connect, and the ram cargo Pro master cargo. my mechanic says they’re all 3 pieces of **** 😞 . And on an 85° day this one is a particularly warm piece of ****. The air-conditioner is wimpy is the engine and transmission and cannot cool the cargo area . Needs a roof vent maybe

My brother has a Nissan SUV with the same transmission , 45k miles and he’s having similar tranny problems.

The transmissions are not really repaired as I understand it . they are replaced. Part of the deal I guess. My Toyota got 240,000 miles on the first transmission and has 120k miles on the 2nd . Original engine. I am quite sure this one’s not going to follow in the siennas tire tracks.

Some people say “yes but the Nissan was half the price of a new Toyota.” This is true. But much of the cost of the new Toyota is Due to a plush interior , gadgets, and technology . The Nissan is just bare bones. I believe the bones and drivetrain of the Nissan are not nearly as good as the bones and drivetrain of the Toyota - Either the 1998 or the new one.

Maybe should bought a used Metris.

There’s a real lack of little cargo vans in North America. In Europe and England they have gobs of great ones. The Volkswagen caddy comes to mind .

Anyway. Answer to your question. Not happy with that Nissan NV 200 CVT . I’m familiar with snowmobile trannies and this one is very similar except you can’t just change the parts and change fluid as easily

Off to the dealer tomorrow. I fear they are going to fight the regular mechanics diagnosis and it’s not going to be a simple process. I don’t have time for this crap. That’s not why I bought a new car.

 

[Bigfoot]

I have a 2015 NV200 gas engine with approx 65,000 miles on it. I've owned the van since new, drive in Florida with small to medium loads. I've changed the CVT fluid ( just 4 quart pan drain) twice. I'm using Valvoline CVT fluid which looks and smells exactly like the Nissan fluid. Both times I changed fluid, it looked like new fluid when I drained the pan. So far, no problems with the CVT or anything else. I changed tire size which made a huge (positive) difference in ride quality and handling. So far, I'm happy with the van. It is under-powered, AC does struggle a bit, and stock tires are ridiculous. I would buy another and probably will do a weekender type camper van build in the next few years.

 

[billibarou]

I have a 2017 with 40k miles on it. Really no issues. Front tires wore out very quickly, but I also never rotate them like you're supposed to. So I didn't have a big problem with buying new tires. There are only two makers of tires for this van. I went with cooper and have no complaints. I wish it had a bigger gas tank. I end up filling up twice a week because of how small the gas tank is. Dealer said to make sure I change the CVT fluid at 60k miles. So far I have had zero transmission issues.

 

[GaznPaz]

Gidday Dave
My 2014 7 seat NV200 Vanette has done 64000 km nice wagon, no problems. There is a fair bit of road noise, but the panel linings are easily removed and self-adhesive baffle padding is available for cutting to shape and installing. All the best, Gary

 

[roddo]

CVT problems

Hello I am a fleet manager for a large company/ 110+ fleet vehicles. Everything is done in house. My company owns 24 nv200's from 2015-2018. We run our fleet as long as possible. 95% of the fleet before where Toyota Tacoma's. regularly run them up to 300k+ with minimum problems before retiring and actually selling them for $2-3k after.. Getting nervous about the nv200 as of now 4 CVT problems 2 trans blew up at 41,000 and 66,000 miles. Also 2 have been in for replacement valve bodies. one at 780 miles, yes 780. one at 96000 miles. Currently have 2 more needing to go back for warranty service from transmission fault codes. The payload they carry never exceeds 400 lbs. Do not have a good feeling about the transmissions. Also have had 8 Altimas as salesman cars in the last 6 years. 5 0f the 8 needed complete transmissions anywhere between 80k and 145k. hope this helps.

 

[[email protected]]

I'm just going on my experience with my company provided NV200...

The CVT is the worst part of this vehicle. It is hyper-responsive when you do not want it to be hyper-responsive, and slow to react when you want it to attempt to move out of its own way. I genuinely believe the fuel economy suffers because of this awful transmission.

Mine does the squeaking thing like one of the posters above me, but the dealer claims to not hear it.

My average fuel economy is around 21 actual mpg between summer (much worse) and winter. 20/20/20/20/20 split of city/highway/interstate /gridlock/suburban. The vehicle says its getting about 23.2mpg. Nissan will not fix that because they say there is nothing wrong with the gas mileage calculator.

The air conditioning is GM / American car caliber. In other words Excellent! But it does take a LOT of fuel and engine power to run it.

There is insufficient room for people above 6'3" tall in the front seats, but the seats are pretty comfortable and supportive.

The door locks, door straps, weatherstripping, paint, and keys are terrible. The vehicle quality overall is suspect. The cruise control is worthless on anything but completely flat ground.

I do see why fleet managers buy these things though. They're way cheaper than anything else that holds 1400# of payload...and the "warranty" is good. I just don't expect much more than the seats and engine to last much longer than 100k miles. As an individual, I would be inclined to figure out how to get one of the non turbo, 2nd generation Transit Connects, for not much more money.

 

[pknopp]

This is old but in case someone searches for the same thing later.

2015 with 117,000 miles. Not a bit of trouble. Avg 26 mpg.

 

[[email protected]]

This is old but in case someone searches for the same thing later.

2015 with 117,000 miles. Not a bit of trouble. Avg 26 mpg.

Is that hand calculated fuel economy, or are you using the trip computer?

If you are using the trip computer, then you're more than likely actually only getting 23.6 mpg.

 

[pknopp]

Is that hand calculated fuel economy, or are you using the trip computer?

If you are using the trip computer, then you're more than likely actually only getting 23.6 mpg.

Thanks for that info. To be fair I suppose. It is hand calculated BUT I've only checked it a few times. My van is also stripped empty so that was calculated with nothing more than myself and perhaps a bicycle in it.

It most likely was figured with many of the miles being my 40 mile round trip to work which is done 50-60 mph.

I don't know how my van was used before I bought it but the inside is really clean and it did have shelves but they looked mostly unused. I am sure not being constantly loaded is also very good for the CVT.

 

[Liuyujb]

2013 NV200 SV in California with 96000 miles. No issues with CVT (knock on wood). I had to replace the alternator 5000 miles ago (out of warranty). That has been the only issue. Still get 27mpg on 87 octane overpriced California gas.

 

[Liuyujb]

Thanks for that info. To be fair I suppose. It is hand calculated BUT I've only checked it a few times. My van is also stripped empty so that was calculated with nothing more than myself and perhaps a bicycle in it.

It most likely was figured with many of the miles being my 40 mile round trip to work which is done 50-60 mph.

I don't know how my van was used before I bought it but the inside is really clean and it did have shelves but they looked mostly unused. I am sure not being constantly loaded is also very good for the CVT.

Southern California is different. If you live somehere has cold weather the cvt will be challenge

 

[Liuyujb]

CVT problems

Hello I am a fleet manager for a large company/ 110+ fleet vehicles. Everything is done in house. My company owns 24 nv200's from 2015-2018. We run our fleet as long as possible. 95% of the fleet before where Toyota Tacoma's. regularly run them up to 300k+ with minimum problems before retiring and actually selling them for $2-3k after.. Getting nervous about the nv200 as of now 4 CVT problems 2 trans blew up at 41,000 and 66,000 miles. Also 2 have been in for replacement valve bodies. one at 780 miles, yes 780. one at 96000 miles. Currently have 2 more needing to go back for warranty service from transmission fault codes. The payload they carry never exceeds 400 lbs. Do not have a good feeling about the transmissions. Also have had 8 Altimas as salesman cars in the last 6 years. 5 0f the 8 needed complete transmissions anywhere between 80k and 145k. hope this helps.

This sounds about right. Not reliable vehicle

 

[Fummins]

CVT problems

Hello I am a fleet manager for a large company/ 110+ fleet vehicles. Everything is done in house. My company owns 24 nv200's from 2015-2018. We run our fleet as long as possible. 95% of the fleet before where Toyota Tacoma's. regularly run them up to 300k+ with minimum problems before retiring and actually selling them for $2-3k after.. Getting nervous about the nv200 as of now 4 CVT problems 2 trans blew up at 41,000 and 66,000 miles. Also 2 have been in for replacement valve bodies. one at 780 miles, yes 780. one at 96000 miles. Currently have 2 more needing to go back for warranty service from transmission fault codes. The payload they carry never exceeds 400 lbs. Do not have a good feeling about the transmissions. Also have had 8 Altimas as salesman cars in the last 6 years. 5 0f the 8 needed complete transmissions anywhere between 80k and 145k. hope this helps.

I know this is a 2 year old post....I found the opposite with these vans. There are over a dozen nv200's in our fleet 2015-2021. All bought new and serviced in house. The only cvt that I replaced was ran out of oil after the oil cooler behind the lower rh bumper grille cracked(got hit by road debris). We're in Central Alberta so get temps of -40c to almost +40c. Where is your fleet located?
Ours are usually loaded light but it's not uncommon to haul to 1000lb or more in the back. The majority of our nv's in the fleet are 2018's with 250, 300 and 330k kms.

Southern California is different. If you live somewhere has cold weather the cvt will be challenge

Heat is just as bad, actually way worse imo than cold. We live in the cold 5 months of year. They're fine. Same with the other cars with jatco cvt's in the fleet. We can usually get well over 300k kms out of them. We have one cvt car with over 420k kms on the original drivetrain(mitsubishi mirage).

This sounds about right. Not reliable vehicle

I guess with all that said, there was someone just a few hours south of me that had a crappy experience with these van. Who knows, these are pretty janky sloppily assembled vans. I won't argue that.