Nissan Pulsar Gearbox & Transmission Problems

CVT transmissions in general have been the subject of criticism; it's not only Nissans that can be affected. CVT transmissions are not new; they've been used since the 1970s when they were fitted to DAFs. General Motors looked at them in the 1980s, but abandoned the plan to build them in France for use throughout the GM world, including Holden. The problem was the Van Dorn belt, which is the heart of the transmission. In those days they wouldn't handle high torque, so they were ok on small engines, but on larger engines, such as a six-cylinder. They've come a long way since those days and they are much better, but they can still have problems. The things to look for are slipping on take-off and shuddering. It's not something you should be overly concerned about, but it's something you should be aware of and conscious about. The use of fish oil is a good idea if you live near the sea. Even though cars today use good quality steel treated to prevent rust the extra protection of fish oil makes it worth doing.

It's far better to have more ratios, since it keeps the car's engine operating at maximum efficiency for more of the time. Top-end car companies are now going for eight speeders, which are brilliant with diesel engines. But Japanese companies are turning to constantly variable transmissions, which don't have cogs - just adjustable belts that stop at preset ratios - and these are often disruptive and the operating software is poorly tweaked.

The first thing is that it would seem that the so-called fix isn't a fix. Adjusting the idle would seem to be a stab in the dark in the hope it might alleviate the problem. Take it back to the dealer, and refuse to be stonewalled. Demand an answer, and an explanation of what they are going to do about it.

The dealer’s advice is correct that your transmission is working normally as it should. Nissan specialist Jerry Newman told us there is no quick fix that would enable the transmission to select fourth as you would like it to.

YOU'VE only drained the oil in the transmission oil pan. The rest of the oil is in the clutch packs and torque converter and you won't be able to drain that. The four litres you've added sounds about right.

THE Pulsar is generally a solid, reliable small car, but I have had one or two reports of head-gasket trouble. Because there were only one or two reports, you couldn't say it was a widespread issue.

If it's a manual it could be that she's trying to drive it in too high a gear and she should change down to a lower one. If it's automatic I would be looking at the engine idle settings to make sure that they are correct and the engine is not idle is not set too low. Changing fuel makes no sense at all.