Vehicle
Nissan Murano
The mid-size crossover, and the model where the Xtronic CVT question is sharpest — it is the only transmission offered across most of its life, it sits behind a 3.5 V6 making more torque than the class norm, and its failure history at moderate mileage is well documented. So a slip, judder or overheat complaint on a Murano is a transmission investigation from the start, including fluid condition and cooler flow, rather than an engine one. The VQ35DE itself is among the better-understood engines in this catalogue.
Generations
-
Z50 2002–2008
The first Murano and one of the first mainstream CVT cars; its Jatco unit is where the family's fluid-temperature story begins.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan FF-L
- Engines
-
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DE · petrol · 170–232 kW (228–311 hp) · 333–363 Nm (246–268 lb-ft)
- 2.5 — QR25DE · petrol · 108–149 kW (145–200 hp) · 213–251 Nm (157–185 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- CVT · 4-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive
-
Z51 2008–2014
CVT-only behind a 3.5 V6 — fluid condition and cooler flow belong at the start of any driveability complaint, not the end.
- Body styles
- SUV · Convertible
- Platform
- Nissan D
- Engines
-
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DE · petrol · 188 kW (252 hp) · 333–363 Nm (246–268 lb-ft)
- 2.5 dCi — diesel · 140 kW (188 hp) · Europe
- 2.5 — QR25DE · petrol · 108–149 kW (145–200 hp) · 213–251 Nm (157–185 lb-ft)
- Transmissions
- Xtronic CVT · 6-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive
-
Z52 2014–present
Still CVT-only and still the VQ35DE; a hybrid was offered briefly and shares the same transmission architecture.
- Body styles
- SUV
- Platform
- Nissan D
- Engines
-
- 3.5 V6 — VQ35DE · petrol · 170–232 kW (228–311 hp) · 333–363 Nm (246–268 lb-ft)
- 2.5 supercharged hybrid — hybrid
- 2.5 — QR25DE · petrol · 108–149 kW (145–200 hp) · 213–251 Nm (157–185 lb-ft) · China
- 2.0 turbo — petrol · 4-cylinder, US market 2025-2026
- Transmissions
- Xtronic CVT · 6-speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- Front-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive
Service information
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
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