Paddle shifters on cvt

CHRISTIANMONRO

MEMBER
2023 NISSAN ALTIMA
2.5L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
60,061 MILES

I recently got a 2023 Nissan Altima sr 2.5 and did a muffler and resonator delete and I often use the paddle shifters because when coming to a stop if you down shift or up shift it pops I use the paddle shifters daily almost every time I drive almost the whole time will that put any extra stress on the engine or Cvt over the whole life of the car I down shift around 2000 rmp and upshift around 2900 rpm every time

Thursday, October 16th, 2025 AT 7:29 PM

4 Replies

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
15,433 POSTS

CVTs are fragile units in Nissans and have been for a long time. I would say that what you are doing is going to cause it to lose a lot of life because of the internal design of those CVTs. In normal use the internal chain moves evenly across the sheaves and the load is constant. Using the paddles in the way you are essentially unlocks the sheave on either the drive or driven end to allow the chain to drop to a different place on the sheaves rapidly. It gives the sensation of shifting gears but causes a lot more internal wear because of the shock loading on the system.

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Thursday, October 16th, 2025 AT 10:21 PM

CHRISTIANMONRO

MEMBER
6 POSTS
2023 NISSAN ALTIMA
2.5L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
60,073 MILES

I’ve got a 2023 Nissan Altima sr 2.5 L
With a muffler and resonator, delete the pipe, still goes all the way to the back of the car the resonator was just replaced with a straight pipe, and I often use paddle shifters almost daily because it makes the exhaust pop I was just wondering if there’s any long-term damage that I could cause my engine or transmission by using paddle shifters every single day I downshift at 2500 RPM and up shifted 3000 RPM if it will cause damage should I be worried about the 4000 miles that I have been driving like that for?

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Friday, October 17th, 2025 AT 7:41 AM (Merged)

CHRISTIANMONRO

MEMBER
6 POSTS
2023 NISSAN ALTIMA
2.5L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
60,000 MILES

Can I use my paddle shifters every single day for the whole life of vehicle without damage if I’m not aggressive in downshift at 2500 RPM in upshift at 3000 RPM will me doing that prevent the car from reaching 200,000 miles

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Friday, October 17th, 2025 AT 4:13 PM (Merged)

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
54,591 POSTS

Short answer: yes, you can use the Altima’s paddle shifters every day, for the life of the car, without hurting it. It won’t keep you from reaching 200k miles, especially with the gentle RPMs you’re describing.

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Friday, October 17th, 2025 AT 4:15 PM