Help: Transmission Problems with my 03 5AT
 

I have an 03 5AT with 75k miles and I recently did 2 drain and fill's with Nissan J-Matic ATF. At low speeds the car seems to drive ok but when rolling on the freeway at 70 or 80 MPH, if I gradually accelerate (about 1/2 throttle) the RPM's creep up as high as 5 or 6k without speeding up more than a few miles an hour and it never downshifts. It feels like my tranny is slipping and the only way to get it to downshift is to accelerate quickly or let off the gas and blip the throttle.
However, if I put the car in manual mode it doesn't seem to slip as bad. :confused2:
My only thought is that when we did the drain and fill we didn't put the correct amount of fluid in? We used the dipstick from an 05 G35 (since the 03 doesn't come with an auto tranny dipstick). Does anyone know if this would give me an inaccurate reading?
Any other thoughts? I tried a search on the forums but everyone else’s problems seemed to be slow shifting, not actual slipping. If it is in fact my torque converter, does anyone have an idea what that will cost me?

sounds like something different - call the dealership - f the internet!

Has anyone with higher milage had their tranny slip? If so did you need a new torque converter?

Also should I be checking the ATF fluid levels when the car is idling? If anyone has any advice please let me know because I am at a loss, and on the verge of taking it to the dealer (whom I don't trust at all) :icon43:

Just called the dealership and the service guy said that he rarely sees issues with the AT trannsmissions but I could bring it in and they would check the level with a special tool. (Do they really have a tool to check the level)?????Anyone know of a way to check it myself? We used the dipstick from an 05 but I am wondering it it is giving an incorrect reading? He also said that if it is in fact slipping they would probably need to replace the tranny ($3,000+) :eek:

How much fluid do you replace when you do a drain and fill?

My 03.5 has 82K on it and no slipping. But I had them do the full fluid exchange at 30K and 60K. I also added a remote spin-on filter at 70K and lost about 1/2 qt. doing the install. Well, guess what?, there was some slipping. The fluid does not have to be very low to start sucking air as the pan is quite shallow. My 03.5 has a perfectly accurate dipstick once you remove the retaining bolt. The 05 should work, just make sure the tranny is warmed up and level. You may have to insert and clean a few times to get a clear reading. If it's low, add .5 qt and see if it improves.

A drain/fill should take about 3.5-4 qts. Just don't overfill. That's worse than being too low. As long as you have not driven it low & slipping
for many miles, very doubtful you will need a new tranny. Good luck.

ballisticus response is a good one. If the problem wasn't there prior to the flush/fill, then the issue most likely lies in underfilling the tranny.

It's been my experience that the proper way to check tranny fluid is:

1) Drive for at least 5 minutes to fully warm the fluid
2) With the car still running, put the car in R, N, and D, then back into park.
3) Check the fluid level with car still running.

My guess is the fluid is low.

FYI, automatic tranny fluid expands by about 15% when it's heated.

Thanks for the help guys... I just added some more fluid (a little less than half court) and did and ECU reset and it seems to be running perfectly so far)! I'll know for sure tomorrow when I am on the freeway.
I might go buy a dipstick at the dealership so I can keep an eye on the level and make sure I didn't overfill it.

this is why they keep it sealed, so people can't make mistakes by not adding enough QUARTS of fluid

Or too much ATF or putting coolant or oil or brake fluid or weird additives [sugar] in AT.............you would be surprised at what chemical analysis finds in failed trannies.

I'm happy to see even a drain and fill as any service will extend the day when you need to spend the $4,000 on a replacement AT.

I thought my worries were over but today it started slipping again. I was cruising at about 40 (light throttle) and when I gave it a bit more gas the tach started to go up but the speed didnt increase.
I had to give it about 75% throttle for it to force a cluncky downshift and start accelerating.
I think I am going to try to give it a bit more j-Matic fluid (about 300ml) and see if that helps at all.

G35inSD I'm having your exact same problem in an 04.5 coupe... works flawlessly in manumatic mode but accelerating from 20-40 sometimes gives extremely high RPM's and makes me back off the gas so it will shift. I almost redlined last week... if I hadn't let off the gas I have no idea what would have happened... it DID hit the redline mark right on the edge before I heard it rev so high the only reaction was to back off =(

Did you recently do a drain and fill or a flush? Did you check your fluid level? (Its easy if you have an 04). Just take of the plastic engine cover and you will see a dipstick cap (secured with a 10mm bolt) between the engine and the firewall on the pasanger side. Remove the bolt and check your levels. Low fluid seems to be the most logical explination so I am hoping that the fluid I just added to mine will fix the problem. I will know tomorrow. :icon43:

Keep me up to date on your issue and I will do the same.

The tranny design has only been around since mid 2002 so 5 years is not enough time to see how well they last beyond warranty.

One would expect at least 100,000 miles and maybe 150,000 based on previous 4AT.

I just bought the car 2 weeks ago, so the only maintenance that was done was at factory. They could have easily messed up the job, so I'll see what I can do about checking the levels. The issue doesn't seem to be as bad lately as I keep driving it, but we'll see. Maybe I'm teaching the ECU that a madman is behind the wheel.

Hey guys, just a heads up....

There's a factory dipstick available for the 5AT transmissions. The part number is 31086-CD100 and you're looking at just over $9 for the part. We keep them in stock too.

Hope this helps!


Thanks,