The continuously variable transmission shared across Infiniti and Nissan's lineup — one of the more extensively documented reliability concerns in the mainstream used market, significant enough to prompt extended warranty coverage.
This transmission's documented issues span overheating, shudder under load, and in more serious cases, complete failure — significant enough that the shared manufacturer extended the powertrain warranty specifically for CVT-equipped vehicles in response to the volume of complaints. Earlier production years are more commonly associated with the most serious failures, while later revisions improved cooling and durability, though shudder complaints have continued to be reported even on some newer examples.
Not a guarantee, but a pattern seen consistently across owner forums and independent-garage reporting.
Shudder and overheating symptoms, on affected early examples, most commonly surface within this range.
A reasonable point for a proactive fluid service regardless of official interval, as a preventative measure.
Complete failure risk rises meaningfully on unaddressed early-production examples at this stage.
Test drive extensively under both light and firmer acceleration, feeling specifically for shudder or hesitation, and watch the temperature gauge for any unusual behaviour.
Ask whether a transmission fluid service has ever been performed, and treat an unserviced example as a candidate for proactive service regardless of official 'lifetime fluid' claims.
Check whether extended warranty coverage still applies in your region before assuming any repair cost falls on you.
Model-specific pages, with notes on how it behaves in that particular car.