Nissan X-TRAIL Gearbox & Transmission Problems

It sounds like a problem with the Continuously Variable Transmission, and I would suggest you have it serviced and the transmission oil changed.

It’s impossible to know if it will get worse, all you can do is closely monitor it and keep a record of what you observe. I’m tempted to believe that there’s nothing wrong with it, that it’s just the CVT transmission doing its thing.

It is annoying, but it’s not unusual for carmakers to produce a car with a known flaw. They sometimes judge that it’s not serious enough to do anything about.

The transmission you've got is a CVT type auto, and I would suggest it's got a problem, possibly the computer that controls it. Take it back and demand they properly assess it.

The CVT oil should be changed every 100,000km. As for the fuel consumption it's best to do a check yourself by measuring how much fuel it is actually using. Judging the consumption by how far the gauge falls is very inaccurate, and I wouldn't stake my life on the fuel consumption gauges in the car. Do an actual measurement and you will know exactly what the consumption is. Nissan claims an average of 9.1L/100km, 7.7L/100km on country driving, and 11.5L/100km on city use. I would expect your car would fall somewhere between 9.1 and 11.5L/100km.

Good advice but some CVTs are beyond such a fix, as the problems seem to be in the core programming.

More than 80 per cent of cars sold in Australia are now automatics and that share is still rising, fast. When companies are looking to cut cost and complications from their line-ups, it's easy to drop a manual that few people want. Between X-Trail and CR-V I give The Tick to the Honda.

The main concern with the CVT transmission is shuddering, particularly on takeoff from a standstill. It's easily recognised if your car has it. If it isn't showing any signs of the problem I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

It depends on the weight you're going to tow and the terrain you'll be traveling over. Your caravan is well within the X- Trail's weight limits, but remember the weight the fully loaded weight, not just the weight of the caravan. If the caravan weighs 1300 kg fully loaded, and if the roads you will be traveling on are relatively flat then you should be able to get away without a cooler. But a cooler is good insurance against overheating the transmission, and overheating it is a good way to kill it.

Although you appear to be well within the towing capacity of the X-Trail it's wise to fit an external cooler. Overheating an auto-transmission is like a death sentence to it.