— A Nissan CVT lawsuit settlement has been preliminarily approved for current and former owners and lessees of 2017-2018 Nissan Altima, 2018-2019 Nissan Sentra, 2018-2019 Nissan Versa and 2018-2019 Nissan Versa Note vehicles.
According to the transmission settlement, Nissan denies all claims made by the plaintiffs and denies wrongdoing and liability. The automaker says it will settle the CVT lawsuit to put an end to the "protracted, burdensome and expensive" litigation.
The Nissan transmission class action lawsuit alleges the vehicles are equipped with defective continuously variable transmissions that cause the vehicles to judder, shudder, clunk, jerk and experience acceleration problems.
The Nissan CVT lawsuit asserts the transmission cooler is too small to regulate the transmission fluid temperature which prevents proper lubrication of the components. The CVT will allegedly overheat and cause the Nissan vehicles to jerk and fail to accelerate.
The class action alleges replacing the CVT is useless because Nissan uses the same defective transmission as the original.
The CVT class action lawsuit alleges Nissan should recall the vehicles and replace the transmissions with alternative CVTs that are not defective.
The plaintiffs also want Nissan to stop selling the vehicles and to reform the warranties "in a manner deemed to be appropriate by the Court."
Additionally, the plaintiffs want Nissan to "disgorge, for the benefit of the Class, all or part of the ill-gotten profits it received from the sale or lease of its Class Vehicles or make full restitution to Plaintiff and Class Members."
Nissan CVT Warranty Extension
Nissan will extend the terms of the new vehicle limited warranty for only the transmission assembly (including the valve body and torque converter) and automatic transmission control unit (ATCU) by 24 months or 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
The CVT lawsuit settlement says the warranty extension will be subject to the same terms and conditions of the original new vehicle limited warranty.
Nissan Reimbursement for CVT Repairs/Replacements
According to the CVT settlement, Nissan will reimburse customers for parts and labor paid for qualifying repairs involving the replacement or repair of the transmission assembly or ATCU.
The work must have been done after the expiration of the powertrain coverage under the original warranty but within the mileage and time limits of the warranty extension (or before the earlier of 84,000 miles or 84 months of service).
The full amount will be reimbursed if the CVT replacement or repair was performed by a Nissan dealer, but for work at a non-dealership Nissan will reimburse up to $5,000 for that repair or replacement.
In both cases, the replacement or repair must have occurred on or within the mileage and time limits of the warranty extension. You can also be reimbursed for all qualifying repairs subject to the above limits if you paid for repairs on more than one occasion.
Nissan New Vehicle Voucher
Current and former owners who had two or more replacements or repairs to the transmission assembly (including the valve body and torque converter) or ATCU during their ownership (as reflected by warranty records) are eligible for a voucher in the amount of $1,000 for either a purchase or lease of a new Nissan or Infiniti vehicle.
However, the CVT lawsuit settlement says prior software updates and/or reprogramming do not count as a prior repair. In addition, the use of the voucher must occur within nine months of the effective date of the settlement.
A Nissan customer eligible for a voucher but also eligible for reimbursement must choose only one.
According to the Nissan CVT lawsuit settlement, you may still make a claim for reimbursement if your Nissan vehicle is now outside the mileage and time limits of the warranty extension.
However, this applies only if you previously paid for parts and labor for replacement or repair to the transmission assembly (including the valve body and torque converter) or ATCU by a Nissan dealer or other non-Nissan automotive repair facility while your vehicle was within the mileage and time limits of the warranty extension (or before the earlier of 84,000 miles or 84 months of service).
A Nissan CVT lawsuit settlement final fairness hearing is scheduled for December 1, 2022.
According to the CVT settlement, each of the seven named plaintiffs will receive $5,000 each, and the attorneys who represent those plaintiffs will receive $3.5 million.
The Nissan CVT lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California: Minerva Martinez, v. Nissan North America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Miller Shah LLP, Capstone Law APC, Maddox & Cisneros, LLP, Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP, and Berger Montague PC.
