SadVanMan 
2012 Nissan Quest Minivan SV 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl CVT)
Tranny troubles
 We enjoyed our Quest for the first five years. The van had a smooth ride. I liked the interior layout with the folding seats and no need to remove large middle-row seats. We could haul large objects without having to remove clunky middle row seats, and we thought we were getting a better quality van than a Chrysler product. With the back two rows of seats folded flat, we had a bedding area for long trips to Florida. The hidden trunk in the back provided nice storage. We were making some nice memories with our van. In the first year or two we started to worry a little when our van would stall on downhill angles with 1/4 tank of gas or less. A technical service bulletin software update fixed that problem with no cost.  Routine maintenance generally kept our van rolling along. Second set of tires at just over 40,000miles and that set lasted nearly 60,000 miles. Brakes replaced at about 88,000 miles. Only unexpected repair had been a rear A/C line at 80,000 miles. Well, things began going bad in the last few months. The van began lurching or having RPM surges while driving at speed--especially with cruise set while going up a small grade or hill. Was that the transmission slipping? The problem happened rarely enough that our local Nissan dealer could not replicate it during a test drive. Then after the 105,000 mile service the transmission problems worsened. On a long trip we had lots of cruising on the freeway. The tachometer would bounce while maintaining speed. If we encountered a hill the RPMs might bounce from 2000 up to 2400 with no gain in speed. The bounce lasted a second or two and it occurred on minor inclines. Local driving too and from work seemed fine, but then a short trip to family was the last straw. A couple times on this trip shifting from reverse to drive produced a clunking sound with marginal acceleration. (That can't be good.) We had two or three episodes in which the van took a long time to move from a stop on an uphill grade. (That experience seemed marginally dangerous.) Then the check engine light confirmed our fears. We nursed it back to our dealer. The tranny was dead. We are now two weeks into waiting for a replacement. Five years with the van was fine, but then we learned the error of our ways in purchasing the Nissan Quest with the CVT. Our dealer is still waiting for a replacement transmission while we kick ourselves for not purchasing the Honda, Toyota, or even the Chrysler. While it may not help our efforts to unload this thing in a year or so, buyers should beware of Nissan CVTs...especially in the Quest. A quick contact with corporate produced the expected apology for inconvenience with no real help.  Five years old and just over 100,000 miles and the transmission pukes? Please learn from our experience.Update in 2018: So we had the dealer replace the transmission at 107,800 miles and hoped for the best. After another 5,000 miles or so, my wife began to worry about being stranded if the new transmission puked. I thought that we could just drive it into the ground. After laying out over $3,000 for a replacement transmission, I was not eager to get rid of the vehicle. My opinion began to change when I noticed hesitation shifting from reverse to drive. Initially I thought it was just paranoia because of the first transmission failing. The issue happened a few times, with a hesitation and a lurch. Okay, I am not the guy to leave my wife driving a marginally reliable vehicle (or maybe it gave me an excuse to shop for a replacement). We decided to replace the van, and we sold it with a little over 116,000 miles on it...about 5 months after replacing the transmission. (Sigh) Not a great experience, and I wish that we had purchased a Toyota back in 2012. Live and learn. Nissan, you lost me with this one.