NHTSA Complaint #10524036 — 2010 NISSAN SENTRA

AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, THE TRANSMISSION DID NOT WANT TO COME OUT OF LOW GEAR. AT 35 MPH, I WAS AT ABOUT 6,000RPMS IN DRIVE. I CONFIRMED THE OVERDRIVE OFF BUTTON IS NOT ENGAGED, NOR IS IT IN "L", AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE IS OFF. WHEN IT HAS BEEN COOLED OFF FOR ABOUT 3+ HOURS, IT WILL DRIVE FAIRLY NORMAL FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES UNTIL WARMED UP, THEN IT ALL STARTS AGAIN. EVEN ONCE IT IS COOLED OFF, THERE IS A SLIGHT DRAG ON POWER AND IT WILL BEGIN TO HAVE ERRATIC SHIFTING (SIMILAR TO A REGULAR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SLIPPING) AFTER A FEW MINUTES ON TAKE OFF IT FEELS LIKE THE PARKING BRAKE IS ON, BUT IT IS NOT. THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT COMES ON, THE VDC CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON, AND ANOTHER LIGHT THAT IS ABOVE THE VDC LIGHT COMES ON. CODES P0720 AND P1778 WERE FOUND BY A LOCAL NON-NISSAN DEALER WHO CHECKED THEM AS A COURTESY FOR ME. HAVE DISCOVERED THAT NISSAN HAS EXTENDED THE CVT TRANSMISSION WARRANTY ON CERTAIN NISSANS UP TO 10 YRS OR 120,000 MILES, MY SENTRA IS INCLUDED AMONG OTHERS. GET MORE INFO AT: HTTP://WWW.NISSANASSIST.COM/PROGRAMDETAILS.PHP. HOWEVER, MY LOCAL NISSAN DEALER SAYS IF IT WILL COST ME 4 HOURS LABOR AT $125 HR TO TEAR DOWN FOR A FULL DIAGNOSIS. IF NOT COVERED, I HAVE TO PAY THAT. A CALL TO ANOTHER NISSAN SERVICE CENTER EXPLAINED THE SAME EXPENSE. HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT THERE ARE MANY COMING THRU THAT ARE UNDER THE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM DUE TO A DEFECT THAT CAUSES ENGINE COOLANT INTO THE TRANSMISSION. FOR THAT PROBLEM, NISSAN WILL REPLACE IT BUT THEY EXPECT THE CUSTOMER TO PAY $2,000 TOWARD THE BILL. THAT IS RIDICULOUS FOR A MANUFACTURER DEFECT IN DESIGN THAT THEY HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT CAUSES THE FAILURE. I HAVE FOUND IN THE NISSAN FACTORY CVT MANUAL THAT THE PROBLEM IS INTERNAL AND MECHANICAL ACCORDING TO ITS OWN DIAGNOSTICS SEE THAT MANUAL HERE HTTP://ALLSENTRA.COM/FSM/2009_SENTRA/CVT.PDF . I HAVE A 2010, BUT IT IS THE SAME. *TR