Selling a dead or junk Nissan

The rest of this page is about Nissan in particular: the CVT behind most of its cars since 2007, the warranty extensions Nissan put on it, what owners have reported to federal safety regulators, and every model the EPA has rated since 1984.

How Nissan's CVT works, and when it arrived

A continuously variable transmission, or CVT, never shifts between set gears. Nissan describes it as a steel belt running between two pulleys that change width, so the ratio moves smoothly instead of in steps. Nissan calls its version XTRONIC.

The EPA's fuel economy list shows the rollout model by model:

• 2003: the Murano is the first Nissan listed with a CVT.
• 2007: the Altima, Maxima, Sentra and Versa get one.
• 2008: the Rogue arrives, with a CVT from its first year.
• 2013: the Pathfinder switches over. That year, 11 of the 17 non-electric Nissan model lines in the list offered a CVT.
• 2022 and 2025: the Pathfinder, then the Murano, move to a nine-speed automatic.

Not every automatic Nissan is a CVT. The Frontier, Titan, Armada, Xterra, the Z cars and the GT-R never had one in the list. Some Versas through the 2018 model year came with a four-speed automatic instead.

Nissan's CVT warranty extensions

Nissan has lengthened its CVT coverage more than once. The table shows the four extensions its own documents spell out; Nissan's 2020 bulletin also mentions an earlier one on 2013-2014 Pathfinders. The first in the table covered every 2003-2010 Nissan with a CVT. The other three came out of class-action settlements and stretched the original 60 months or 60,000 miles to 84 months or 84,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Two things matter if you are about to sell. First, these were not recalls. Nissan's bulletins ask "Is this a safety recall or campaign?" and answer "No. This is a warranty extension." Second, 84 months is seven years, so most covered cars have aged out. The newest ones, the 2019 Sentra, Versa and Versa Note, sit right at the edge. If yours is one of them and shows under 84,000 miles, ask a Nissan dealer to check the VIN first. Nissan tells its dealers to verify coverage VIN by VIN, because some owners opted out of the settlements.

Which Nissans draw the most complaints

We pulled every complaint in NHTSA's public database for eight big Nissan models, model years 2010 through 2024, on October 10, 2026. Each complaint is counted once, even when NHTSA files it under two model names, and "Total" is that count for each model.

A model that sells in bigger numbers collects more complaints, so a high count is not a verdict by itself. The patterns inside the counts say more:

• Power train is the component listed most: 6,191 of the 24,708 complaints, or 25%. It tops the list for six of the eight models. The Versa's top category is air bags, and the Maxima's is steering.
• 2013 stands out. It is the worst year in this window for the Altima, Sentra and Pathfinder. Nearly half of the 2013 Sentra complaints, 311 of 638, list the power train.
• The Pathfinder's jump is the sharpest. The 2012 model drew 23 complaints. The 2013, its first year with a CVT in the EPA list, drew 890, and 370 of them list the power train.
• The newest outlier is the 2023 Rogue, with 733 complaints. The engine is the component listed most often, on 289 of them.

Where Nissans for the US are built

Nissan has built vehicles in the US since 1983. Smyrna, Tennessee, the first car assembly plant in the state, builds the Rogue, Pathfinder and Murano. Canton, Mississippi, builds the Altima, there since 2004, and the Frontier, there since 2012. Engines and electric motors come from Nissan's powertrain plant in Decherd, Tennessee, open since 1997.

Selling a dead Nissan for parts

A failed CVT is the classic reason a Nissan ends up for sale as a non-runner. On an older car, a replacement transmission can cost more than the car is worth. Our bad transmission guide walks through that choice with AAA's repair ranges. If it was the engine that died, our blown engine guide covers that case.

You don't pull the transmission, the battery or anything else first. The whole car goes as it sits, and it leaves on a truck.

1. Have the year, model and mileage ready.
2. Say honestly whether it runs, whether it rolls, and what is damaged or missing.
3. Say whether you have the title. If it is lost, the fix depends on your state; start with selling a junk car with no title.
4. Tell us where it sits: a driveway, a street or the shop where it quit.

Pickup is free anywhere in the US. After the sale, handle the plates and the paperwork.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (877) 421-6008.

Every Nissan model in the EPA list

These are the 34 Nissan nameplates the EPA has rated since 1984. Years are model years. Gaps come from the list itself: it has no 2015 Maxima and no 2021 Pathfinder. The newest years are still filling in, so a model shown ending in 2025 or 2026 may still be on sale.