@@MonkeyHunch1 Bless! Clearly from all the commenting you are one of those, desperate for some form of attention, types (I mean you did drive the same Micra for 20yrs lol!!). If it boosts your self esteem crack on , it only pushes the video stat up and increases the income for me! There is about 200 other vids you can go through and do the same on.
Under the air filter is a tiny crank case breather filter- a small triangular shaped foam piece. that gets blocked with oil. Replacing that stops the revs from dying when the engine is under load.
@@ChopsGarage dirty maf kills power Contact or maf cleaner fixes it had a few loose power like that Bosch plugs are terrible But that seems wrong the way its behaving tbh , got a cube cvt and nothing like it and daily a 97 micra 1ltr manual its defo not slow like it Also its a none electro magnet one its a conventional oil one Serive on. The gearbox can be some the issue or bining brakes Brake switch
I had one of these. Picked it up for £200 with 12k miles on it. Drove it for 10 years. Never missed a beat! I only ever used the 'L' mode for starting off on very steep hills. Think of it as a low range mode 😂. I'd change the gearbox oil which can only be drained just like the engine oil and can only be refilled through the dipstick hole with a funnel.
Not plugging my channel, but, feel free to check it out for K11 Facelift tips. So, the transmission in yours is a later Nissan CVT, I think it is called the H CVT, it will use a conventional torque convertor, no powder clutch, so don't worry about the carbon contact brushes. To drive, don't expect a ball of fire, especially on the 1.0, however, it should, in normal operation, rev to around 3K when cold, it will feel note sluggish when cold, the ECU gets the box to hold a lower ratio, so as to warm up the Engine, quicker and improve emissions. Once warm, when cruising, you may notice the revs drop, you'll also find the engine will just rev to around 1500 rpm under part throttle, and get to 30mph quite quickly. Under hard, foot to the floor acceleration, it'll rev to 4000 rpm, and get you to 60 mph.......in about 14 to 15 seconds. If you're local to West Somerset, you're more than welcome to have a drive in mine, to compare the two.
I have owned a manual version of the k11. It was a 5 door activ spec, high spec model, 1.3L. I loved that car. It was absolutely rapid. Mine always managed a hill without a problem. The only reason I got rid of the car was due to needing some work otherwise I would still be driving it today. Good find these little cars. Keep up the good content 👍🏽
My wife is still running a K12 version with a 1.4 engine so quite nippy around town but very noisy at anything over 60mph. This model has the gears controlled electronically so changes the 4 ratios much the same as a normal auto. Lovely as a "shopping trolley"!
I had a Primera GT in the late 90s and often got these Micras as courtesy cars. They were never that bad. They should cruise at 90+ mph and drive like a normal car (I.e, the more you press the accelerator the faster it goes. You shouldn’t need to mess with buttons and feather the throttle to go up hill.
If you go up hill, the engine should just rev up and the car should not drop in speed so much. I think replacing the oil in the CVT may help a lot. BTW, they are not rubber bands, that was the Variomatic on the DAF. They had two rubber bands each driving one wheel and thus the DAF did not need a differential gear. When the rubber bands would wear out they would snap with a big bang, and you would loose it on the road. Usually only one band would snap at a time, so you could get back home in limp mode. But the car would pull like crazy to one side having only one drive wheel. They could also go as fast backwards as forwards and so the backwards banger racing became popular in Holland. Sadly this is the reason there is hardly any DAF remaining. They where designed by Michelotti (who also designed some of the Triumph TR models) and they have aged gracefully, specially the fast back.
I know about hills in the West Country! My parents used to relate their experience of a holiday in Devon and Cornwall pre second world war in an old Morris or Austin which required going up some of those hills in reverse gear as it wouldn't do it in 1st as the ratio was just not low enough. Your Micra is a vast improvement on that!!
Hi James, great video as always. Just a heads up the 2nd facelift K11s had grey plastic trim rather than black from the factory (so that will save you chasing super dark trim!)
The early Micra's have a problem with faulty throttle bodies. That could account for it not giving you more beans on kickdown. I would expect if you were planting your foot down it should rev up and so change down on the CVT if working correctly.
your description of CVT was a good description of the DAF and the early Volvo CVT the Nissan CVT is a little bit different to that but along the same lines. the old invacars like HubNut has got has a CVT exactly as you described
I had a Volvo 340 cvt it was awful. wore the belts out twice and the engine by 100k. low compression on three cylinders and it was garage serviced. DAF gearbox and Renault engine.💩
Great video, we all have to learn, can’t beat tinkering with an old shitter. I had a 2002 focus TDCi with a dodgy injector issue, if you clogged it in 5th it would go in to limp sometimes, Paid £150 in PX for it, decided to smoke it around as the daily runner car, ran that for 3 years before the injectors finally gave up altogether. Loved that car. Abused it and it kept going.
Man in the US the focus was an absolutely terrible car to have. Roads are different though, I imagine driving a dually 350 would be a nightmare in the UK
I'm loving following this wee car. For £100 and a fault that will hopefully turn out to be nothing you want it to be a proper Bangernomics star. I'm still convinced the 6 figure mileage is caused by a fault with the mileage display. The bodywork, steering wheel, seats etc are way too tidy for that mileage. I would love to see that China Blue paintwork after a polish. I think it needs to be a Chops Garage courtesy car or raffled with channel subscribers given thr chance to take part
I think if we follow on the example of HubNut with his "Twk" it always struggled up the hills but once he installed the right pullie (spelling...?) and right belts it was much better (even if it still wasn't ideal)
Since it is down on power, I would check the plugs, wires, and coil. Also, change or top off the transmission fluid. Those should be your lowest effort and cost items for performance improvement.
Hey James, you're not alone in learning the CVT. I knew how they worked already, but my first time out in one led me to describe the accelerator pedal as a volume control for the engine. It seemed that it just didn't go any faster at all even with the revs screaming away. That was a Mercedes B Class hire car, I learned that driving much more moderately got the same if not better performance from it and it was sublimely smooth and quiet, not to mention pretty fuel efficient too. I recently was given a Merc A150 CVT auto for a really good price (I wasn't looking for one!) and I'd say it's a great little car really, for what it is. It needs a much bigger engine than the 1.5 it has, but it'll pretty effortlessly move around town, quietly too, and at 60mph it'll be only doing just over 1800rpm. There are videos on here on how CVTs work and what's inside them, well worth a look if you haven't already. Finally on the Micra, it might just be a slow little car, but I found it odd that just pinning the throttle didn't push the revs up even though the speed was dropping. Perhaps it's more intelligent than my Merc, which will simply rev its guts out. Worth checking the live data feed if your Topdon or Carly goes that old, is the throttle pedal working right?
A CVT is similar to an automatic in that it doesn't use any input from the driver, but that is where the similarities end. A CVT doesn't have any gears. Instead, it has two pulleys. One pulley connects to the engine, and the other connects to the wheels. A flexible belt connects the two pulleys The width of the pulleys changes depending on how much power the vehicle needs. When one pulley gets larger, the other one gets smaller. Since neither the pulleys or the belt are fixed, they can provide an infinite number of gear ratios, unlike the automatic, which has a set number of gears. Not all CVTs are created the same. The most common type is the pulley-based, but some other types include the Toroidal CVT, which uses rotating discs along with power rollers to produce the same result as the pulleys. The hydrostatic CVT uses pumps to control fluid flow, which then produces a rotational motion.
@@article21gdpr Yep, mine's the hydraulically controlled pulley type with a chain type belt and a torque converter for setting off. I changed the fluid and filter in mine, it wasn't a hard job and there was a little grey sludge on the magnet, so I would say at 67k miles it hadn't yet been changed. It's a great gearbox, though, I find it hard to fault once I got used how best to drive it.
I got one of these given to me for £0 as it wasn't going into gear The old lady had RAC out, garages etc. Linkages were fine, RAC topped it up with box oil and the garage checked the oil and just said scrap it as new gearbox needed lol. Fixed it for £30 by soldering new brushes on the gearbox switch and it worked lovely. Drove it down the M25, etc it was fine. Comfy ride to be honest, really soft suspension. It was a 1L CVT, Best way to explain it, as you said mashing the throttle isn't great. The engine will rev independently of the box, while the box catches up, almost like a slipping clutch. If you keep the engine in the powerband (say 3.5k rpm) it's fine for building speed, at 6k rpm it won't do anything as the powerbands gone May be worth inspecting the brushes if you've still got the car? They're on the front of the gearbox, 2 bolts and it's an oval shaped metal thing with a plug coming out Never had any issues up hills with the one i drove weirdly Offered it back to the old lady for £50 but she'd already got another car so i exported it to Africa for £500 lol.
Nice vid James - it‘s actually something of a dark art maximising these CVT’s, and the “lock in“ button (as I understand it) it for better control on hill descent (and also if you‘re going up a REALLY steep incline - when I’ve driven these I‘ve found that you have to drive them almost like a manual, and anticipate what’s ahead of you, so a little more time (and active thought, not just thinking she‘s a straight out automatic) will get the best out of her. Plastic shine and a full machine polish will have her gleaming again, although I did think that I could hear some knocking on the road test - ball joint? Keep ’em comin‘ JCHK
The previous owner of the garage where I usually have my car serviced had a courtesy car. It was one of the original square box Micras and Danny said one of his customers brought it in with a worn out clutch. The customer didn't want to pay for a new clutch so Danny gave him fifty quid for it and fixed it himself. That fifty quid car ran for years!
I had an original square Micra many moons ago, probably about 1986, it was on a Y plate 82 i think, big end went at 60k and it rusted out a few years later, almost over night. Pile of early Nissan rubbish.
It will have a centrifugal "clutch" using springs or magnets (probably magnets since it's electronically switchable) to stop weights on the cones, the belts run on, flying out to the sides and raising the gearing. Then pulling the cones back closer together for the belt to run on a larger diameter "drive wheel" lowering the gear ratio. With an opposing belt driven cone going to the axle which works in opposition. I've fixed a lot of these systems on scooters, and the belts and springs tend to end up getting stretched at the same time, as when one starts to go it puts the extra load on the other. Working right the acceleration should be pretty good and hills not a problem. Sometimes it's just low on (or wrong) oil or can be a blocked breather or filter, but I don't hold out much hope from what I've seen taking scooter CVT's apart. I'd say yours is not broke but it is pretty knackered.
small suggestion: please balance audio levels between your ad bits, super loud! also we’re all learning along side you! im quite invested in this little car. it truly seems like for what you paid, you can only go up! love the series!
I used to have a K11 Micra, albeit with the 1.3 engine. Mine was quite nippy, and got up most hills without trouble. However, it was the bigger engine, and it had only done 40k miles. Having seen you drive it now, I suspect something might be amis, as even the 1.0 shouldn't be this slow to accelerate or reluctant to 'kick down'. I'll just add that I've never driven a 1.0 though, so I might be wrong. Have the gear belts checked, plus there's a little breather filter that gets blocked, and this does effect performance. From experience, repairs are very cheap, and these cars run literally forever. Once done, someone will love this. Brilliant little cars.
I had a Honda HRV CVT it was like driving a car with a slipping clutch every time you accelerated until the engine was screaming if you tried giving it some welly so the key is gently accelerate and keep the momentum going, I think newer cars with CVT are improved greatly, it is what it is.
Is the odometer correct on this vehicle? as is shows as having 28,000 miles in dec 2014 then 144,000 miles in dec 2015 is it even possible a car can do that in a year or were the clocks replaced and this is in fact a lower miles car ??
You probally find the NVCT has a limit of 30mph as if it's supposed to be used as a "hill-assist" then there would be a limit to how fast it could go before destroying itself so the 30mph redline is probably an indicator to disengauge the NVCT if you are approaching 30mph
@@ChopsGarage These need CVT fluid not ordinary ATF and the brushes need to be checked, if they wear down too far they will badly damage the transmission
If it goes better with less throttle (less air) maybe lack of fuel, had one a while ago, came up fuel trim rich, but it wasn't, the ecu was trying to compensate, turned out to be the fuel pump, took ages to sort it out, swopped loads of bits before I found it, check fuel trim while your driving, should be fairly near nought, on my scanner anyway.
Hi Chops. You should hear the revs go right up even on the hills whatever selection you are on on the gear lever. Mine used to almost rev line when flooring it up hills. They're basically like a moped Sounds like something isn't quite right there, may be worth checking the brushes
James, it's a 22 year old Micra with a 1 litre engine, 60 bhp and a 0-60 time of 18 seconds (!) It does not need to be quick up hill or have enough torque to pick up it's skirt and get going. It will have about as much torque as a left handed screwdriver, you've just got to be patient with it 😆 ...but, the 15 mph uphill isn't quite right!
Check if mil light actually works bud, someone could have popped the bulb hiding the problem, the basic engines are fairly bullet proof, could be, fuel pump, blocked cat, maf, throttle body, plenty to keep you occupied mate.Even tho it's old it will still obd scan like a later car, had one a while ago, scanned it and it came up miss fire, new coil pack and sorted, they still go well these 1.0 micra autos so if its megga slow somethings amiss, I've had dozens of k11 micras, one with 225k on it, in bright yellow!
we had a tiny Perodua Kelisa once and wow, tiny little 800cc -1L engine and just like a Micra, was awesome and well fun to drive, just like a gokart, it was manual aswell which made it even more fun. 54BHP and 55MPG.....what mroe could you want.
I had one of those Nissan Micra automatics they’re bloody good car extremely reliable for the time they were made, it shouldn’t lose much speed on hills because the automatic gearbox should change to suit there’s something not quite right with the engine
As far as I remember CVT is very similar to the scooter transmission (continously variable transmission, so it has an infinite number of gear ratios as the two pairs of cones can change the ratios without actual gear sets). Paired with a small displacement engine I could imagine these are not the sportiest runabouts around. On the other hand whilst the owner learns the gearboxes (and older generation gearboxes are not that smart to serve and cater all the best as modern ones do (learning driver habits and adjusting the gear changes like modern DSG does). Some of the modern CVTS btw can kinda simulate of gear changes jumping between predefined ratios (I think Mercedes does that). A lot of manufacturers have these kind of endevours to transmissions, for example audi has their own called the multitronic. I drove one of those and it was hilarous to see the car was accelerating without engine RPM change. The audi version was really problematic though, so there is a reason they discontinued it.
Work with a lady who is looking for one of these, she is under 5feet tall and that car is the only one that she can sit in and reach the pedes. Her last one died.
I had a manual W reg 1.0 brand spanking new. It did lose speed on a big hill and if you let off the accelerator you’d never get it back. Always remember how bad it was going up that big old hill on the A23 coming out of Brighton towards London. I’d have to take a proper run up getting it around 70ish (honest) before it or I’d be well below 50 by the top. Can imagine a car that old with that many miles being even worse especially with no maintenance
I found out CVT transmissions when I bought my MG TF from Copart.. never driven one so didn't know what to expect. Anyway I mostly drive it in sports mode and use the steering wheel controls!
Red line at 30 is just to denote the speed limit around town, which is what those cars are designed for. I drove to Devon in my mk.v Cortina 1.6 auto, even using the auto box manually it still struggled up some of those hills.
With the price you paid, and the fact these cars can fetch well over a grand in good nick I think it may be worth spending abit to repair it. I would say theres a provlem with the box up hill no way can a car that light struggle so much. Box may need taking apart, could be better to source a good second hand one and switch boxes, either way its going to cost you less than a grand to fix and its going to fetch upto 1500 quid when its ready.
I think there is something going on with the engine maybe needs a tune up or not getting enough air or fuel when under full load but that is just my opinion I think the gear box also needs a service since it was low on fluid anyway
It truly was the original gutless wonder, having had two over 6 years! Although I could change my current one for something with a lot more, get up and go, I'm used to it dying on hills. I know in advance where to use that button on the g.lever, in my area. & with fuel costs as they are, I rarely go further than my area. Mine had 46 K on it when I got it, and drives more or less exactly like yours now. They also did a 13cc, & they upped it to 1.4 cc eng, I envy them. Mine's 20 yrs old, rust free, 61 K. Very reliable. Goes from A to B easily, if slowly. Is extremely cheap to maintain. So why change it? Ian Shane G. (p.s. Love your video's!)
I have had 2 CVT transmission cars (92 Orion 1.6 CVH and a 96 Escort Saloon 1.6 zetec) and never needed to use the “low gear” option even when using hills. I suspect it’s slow because it’s a 1.0 engine rather than the transmission. I must say that’s my opinion rather than experience with this particular car.
Idk, that medical talisman and the fact its 21 years old leads me to think that it was probably owned by an older person that died and someone's sold it to an auction house
Yup... I have Zero mechanical knowledge... But something in that CVT box is fooked... I've done 1000s of miles in K11 cvts all engine sizes 1.0 ,1.3, 1.4 Loved em all just leave it in drive and it should just go.
I think something is wrong with the cvt gearbox. I think it should go up hills a lot better than it is. Not had a micra, but I did have a 343 Volvo cvt back in the 80's and hills was where it shined. The cvt always kept the engine in the power band. The low ratio gear lock was for driving on a very slippery surface to stop the engine revving and the car not moving. Never had to use it. £100 is a bargain!
We had one of these for years in hilly Hastings. Never had a problem with hills. Sticking it in low won’t help - that will limit its top speed to the max for low. You need to be gentle (ish) with the throttle it should be fine. Having said that it could just be clapped at 168k. Just put it in drive and leave it.
if you have a fuel pressure gauge, i'd check that. a faulty fuel pump, pressure regulator, kinked or clogged lines, or a clogged filter could cause it to run lean with more throttle, which could cause this exact issue. regardless, I'd be surprised if it costs more than 100 pounds to fix.
Slap a new belt on it change the fluid as another customer stated good engine service to and yeah polish it up bulletproof cars £500-£600 back all day maybe more depending how it cleans up and no a cvt in a micra is a bit better but change as you called it the elastic band as another bloke sed also change the cvt fluid but be very careful make sure that the fluid is fine for that car there cvt is very sensitive to the cvt oil they always struggle with big hills tho it’s never going to pull like a manual or a proper auto but it should be a bit better than you experienced considering the car wasn’t loaded with more people or luggage
CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION or CVT gearboxes first appeared in DAF cars from Holland in the early seventies. They were called variomatic . DAF was shortly thereafter bought by Volvo who used the last DAF as the Volvo340 series. For anyone who has driven a manual or conventional automatic the throttle use is quite counter intuitive. Once you adapt they are pretty much ok to drive. What they all were was dog slow. We sold one to a retired jazz drummer who went through three gearboxes in six months. He just couldn’t get to grips with the different driving style.
You can service the ctv gearbox they are a wet belt system and they use special oil from Nissan and there is a filter that needs changing. That's probley what's wrong with it.
All CVTs were the same you press the accelerator hard the engine revs rise really high then the car's speed increases and the engine revs drop. We have had a Fiat Uno Selecta CVT, Fiat Punto Selecta CVT and Nissan Micra CVT (older than your facelift model) we just left them in Drive didn't mess with any buttons always found the acceleration fine (not slow)
It sounds like it's a fuel problem like it's not getting enough fuel if you floor it and it doesn't like it but if you let off the accelerator and it moves it's definitely a fuel pump or maybe a MAF sensor or a throttle position sensor does the service engine soon light even worklook at live data and see what does the fuel trims say they should be as close to zero as possible at idol
I think that generation of Nissan CVTs tha sportt mode button stuck even if you turned off the car and on again. They got a lot of criticism because of this. The newer CVTs actually reset this sport mode everytime you turn off the car and on again. Nice work James. CVT boxes in The small Nissans aren't fans of going quick but they're smooth changing that's what their advantage was. I used to own a Nissan Tiida with CVT and that sport mode goes off on the newer models. CVTs aren't good on hills either. Watch out for a whine noise that's the sign that the CVT is on its way out
If you de grease it, mask it up and 2k clear it, it'll be as shiny as a new pin, be good content as well, check sills and front box section on it as well, there all going now bud, I'd be surprised if its rock solid, before you get too carried away.
Hi James, I'm sure I've got one of those wheel trims in my garage? I'll have a look tomorrow and if I find it I'll pop it in the post to you. ( Maybe in exchange for a chops sticker or two 😉)
The plastic trims which you think have faded to grey are supposed to be grey. I worked in the motor trade when these cars were being sold new. If you don’t believe me, look at the colour of the stone chip on the sills. That’s grey and wouldn’t fade.
Finding better performance when you back off the throttle is a classic symptom of dirty injectors! Not able to supply sufficient fuel at big throttle openings under load. Get the injectors ultrasonically cleaned and shout it a set of plugs. I would also bet that at 160k miles you might have difficulty poking your little finger through the carbon clogged intake ports. I think this car will improve enormously after a visit to your friends at Moors! Good luck with it.
For future reference LOW as you call it of for setting off from rest on hills or inclined not for dropping down into, that's what the button in the gearshift is for The 1.3 CVT was the one to buy really but the 1.0 is strictly only a city car, they were always dog slow on hills
@@ChopsGarage best thing to do would be to change the cvt oil, Nissan say it's for life but chances are you'll find it black, they are pretty famous for failing in USA because of lack of servicing Also it isn't a belt like a daf, it's a chain on a Nissan cvt
i had of these in a manual but and they are known for just being small car. comeone think about it a 20 year 1.0l car up those hills. i live in Norfolk and they struggles with hills.
I had the misfortune to have a CVT Auto Nissan Pixo as a hire car for a day. That had the 1.0 engine and CVT gearbox. It was beyond awful. No power, couldn't get out of its own way, just revving and not a lot else. As that Micra is basically the same setup the performance seems about right.
Hi question for you. If you are like me, unemployed and have scraped together about 1200 quid, for a little motor, as my upper limit. Given that old used cars are going to have breakdowns, is it better for me to buy something like a Ford fiesta or something, because they're easier to fix and get the parts readily? Even though I'm older, I want like a beginner's car, small engine. What would you recommend? Joe Scotland.
CVT gearboxes were dreadful in Puntos back in the day, I can’t imagine what a Nissan one’s like but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t last years for a couple of hundred quid.
K11 was a great car apart from the Rust !! K12 timing change stretching reporting a cam sensor error was a much bigger Issue!! I served my time on Alfa's 30+ years ago so can handle a bit of rust ;)
K12's only had an issue with chains when they weren't serviced properly. Stretched chains are very uncommon. Door actuators however are a very common problem.
@@tommymann1783 I've changed a few chain kits on them and looked over a few for people with this problem up here !! Possibly everyone looks after there cars where you live mate ;)
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@@MonkeyHunch1 Bless! Clearly from all the commenting you are one of those, desperate for some form of attention, types (I mean you did drive the same Micra for 20yrs lol!!). If it boosts your self esteem crack on , it only pushes the video stat up and increases the income for me! There is about 200 other vids you can go through and do the same on.
@@ChopsGarage No thanks .
Under the air filter is a tiny crank case breather filter- a small triangular shaped foam piece. that gets blocked with oil. Replacing that stops the revs from dying when the engine is under load.
Oh interesting cheers
@@ChopsGarage dirty maf kills power
Contact or maf cleaner fixes it had a few loose power like that
Bosch plugs are terrible
But that seems wrong the way its behaving tbh , got a cube cvt and nothing like it and daily a 97 micra 1ltr manual its defo not slow like it
Also its a none electro magnet one its a conventional oil one
Serive on. The gearbox can be some the issue or bining brakes
Brake switch
That button locks the car in a low range, it is for descending steep hills and will provide a form of engine braking.
Mind you, it also works might fine, for going uphills that bit faster ..at a more like - normal speed!
I had one of these. Picked it up for £200 with 12k miles on it. Drove it for 10 years. Never missed a beat! I only ever used the 'L' mode for starting off on very steep hills. Think of it as a low range mode 😂.
I'd change the gearbox oil which can only be drained just like the engine oil and can only be refilled through the dipstick hole with a funnel.
Might be worth Looking into being a Nissan Micra specialist as they seem to be a good reliable honest little cheap run around.
Not plugging my channel, but, feel free to check it out for K11 Facelift tips. So, the transmission in yours is a later Nissan CVT, I think it is called the H CVT, it will use a conventional torque convertor, no powder clutch, so don't worry about the carbon contact brushes. To drive, don't expect a ball of fire, especially on the 1.0, however, it should, in normal operation, rev to around 3K when cold, it will feel note sluggish when cold, the ECU gets the box to hold a lower ratio, so as to warm up the Engine, quicker and improve emissions. Once warm, when cruising, you may notice the revs drop, you'll also find the engine will just rev to around 1500 rpm under part throttle, and get to 30mph quite quickly. Under hard, foot to the floor acceleration, it'll rev to 4000 rpm, and get you to 60 mph.......in about 14 to 15 seconds. If you're local to West Somerset, you're more than welcome to have a drive in mine, to compare the two.
I have owned a manual version of the k11. It was a 5 door activ spec, high spec model, 1.3L. I loved that car. It was absolutely rapid. Mine always managed a hill without a problem. The only reason I got rid of the car was due to needing some work otherwise I would still be driving it today.
Good find these little cars. Keep up the good content 👍🏽
My wife is still running a K12 version with a 1.4 engine so quite nippy around town but very noisy at anything over 60mph. This model has the gears controlled electronically so changes the 4 ratios much the same as a normal auto. Lovely as a "shopping trolley"!
Because K12 Micras are normal autos, not CVTs
I had a Primera GT in the late 90s and often got these Micras as courtesy cars.
They were never that bad. They should cruise at 90+ mph and drive like a normal car (I.e, the more you press the accelerator the faster it goes. You shouldn’t need to mess with buttons and feather the throttle to go up hill.
If you go up hill, the engine should just rev up and the car should not drop in speed so much. I think replacing the oil in the CVT may help a lot. BTW, they are not rubber bands, that was the Variomatic on the DAF. They had two rubber bands each driving one wheel and thus the DAF did not need a differential gear. When the rubber bands would wear out they would snap with a big bang, and you would loose it on the road. Usually only one band would snap at a time, so you could get back home in limp mode. But the car would pull like crazy to one side having only one drive wheel. They could also go as fast backwards as forwards and so the backwards banger racing became popular in Holland. Sadly this is the reason there is hardly any DAF remaining. They where designed by Michelotti (who also designed some of the Triumph TR models) and they have aged gracefully, specially the fast back.
Superb info 👍
I know about hills in the West Country! My parents used to relate their experience of a holiday in Devon and Cornwall pre second world war in an old Morris or Austin which required going up some of those hills in reverse gear as it wouldn't do it in 1st as the ratio was just not low enough. Your Micra is a vast improvement on that!!
I agree, when I was a kid we had a Ford prefect ?? and we went up Porlock hill in Devon in Reverse!! Yes.
Hi James, great video as always. Just a heads up the 2nd facelift K11s had grey plastic trim rather than black from the factory (so that will save you chasing super dark trim!)
The early Micra's have a problem with faulty throttle bodies. That could account for it not giving you more beans on kickdown. I would expect if you were planting your foot down it should rev up and so change down on the CVT if working correctly.
just about to put something up on throttle bodies
your description of CVT was a good description of the DAF and the early Volvo CVT the Nissan CVT is a little bit different to that but along the same lines. the old invacars like HubNut has got has a CVT exactly as you described
I had a Volvo 340 cvt it was awful. wore the belts out twice and the engine by 100k. low compression on three cylinders and it was garage serviced. DAF gearbox and Renault engine.💩
Great video, we all have to learn, can’t beat tinkering with an old shitter. I had a 2002 focus TDCi with a dodgy injector issue, if you clogged it in 5th it would go in to limp sometimes, Paid £150 in PX for it, decided to smoke it around as the daily runner car, ran that for 3 years before the injectors finally gave up altogether. Loved that car. Abused it and it kept going.
I'd an old Saab like that, kept going for years with the minimum of money spent on repairs until the thing just rusted through. Great seats too.
Man in the US the focus was an absolutely terrible car to have.
Roads are different though, I imagine driving a dually 350 would be a nightmare in the UK
15:52 “well I’ve smoked the guy behind”….to be able to say that in a an old Mica is definitely worth a £100 quid 👍
I'm loving following this wee car. For £100 and a fault that will hopefully turn out to be nothing you want it to be a proper Bangernomics star. I'm still convinced the 6 figure mileage is caused by a fault with the mileage display. The bodywork, steering wheel, seats etc are way too tidy for that mileage.
I would love to see that China Blue paintwork after a polish.
I think it needs to be a Chops Garage courtesy car or raffled with channel subscribers given thr chance to take part
I think if we follow on the example of HubNut with his "Twk" it always struggled up the hills but once he installed the right pullie (spelling...?) and right belts it was much better (even if it still wasn't ideal)
I hired a brand new one of these in Ireland in 2001. It was like that on hills then. That one actually sounds much quieter than the one I drove
Since it is down on power, I would check the plugs, wires, and coil. Also, change or top off the transmission fluid. Those should be your lowest effort and cost items for performance improvement.
Yes, someone's daughter wanted something more stylish, a Mitsuoka Viewt.
Hey James, you're not alone in learning the CVT. I knew how they worked already, but my first time out in one led me to describe the accelerator pedal as a volume control for the engine. It seemed that it just didn't go any faster at all even with the revs screaming away. That was a Mercedes B Class hire car, I learned that driving much more moderately got the same if not better performance from it and it was sublimely smooth and quiet, not to mention pretty fuel efficient too. I recently was given a Merc A150 CVT auto for a really good price (I wasn't looking for one!) and I'd say it's a great little car really, for what it is. It needs a much bigger engine than the 1.5 it has, but it'll pretty effortlessly move around town, quietly too, and at 60mph it'll be only doing just over 1800rpm. There are videos on here on how CVTs work and what's inside them, well worth a look if you haven't already. Finally on the Micra, it might just be a slow little car, but I found it odd that just pinning the throttle didn't push the revs up even though the speed was dropping. Perhaps it's more intelligent than my Merc, which will simply rev its guts out. Worth checking the live data feed if your Topdon or Carly goes that old, is the throttle pedal working right?
A CVT is similar to an automatic in that it doesn't use any input from the driver, but that is where the similarities end. A CVT doesn't have any gears. Instead, it has two pulleys. One pulley connects to the engine, and the other connects to the wheels. A flexible belt connects the two pulleys
The width of the pulleys changes depending on how much power the vehicle needs. When one pulley gets larger, the other one gets smaller. Since neither the pulleys or the belt are fixed, they can provide an infinite number of gear ratios, unlike the automatic, which has a set number of gears.
Not all CVTs are created the same. The most common type is the pulley-based, but some other types include the Toroidal CVT, which uses rotating discs along with power rollers to produce the same result as the pulleys. The hydrostatic CVT uses pumps to control fluid flow, which then produces a rotational motion.
@@article21gdpr Yep, mine's the hydraulically controlled pulley type with a chain type belt and a torque converter for setting off. I changed the fluid and filter in mine, it wasn't a hard job and there was a little grey sludge on the magnet, so I would say at 67k miles it hadn't yet been changed. It's a great gearbox, though, I find it hard to fault once I got used how best to drive it.
I got one of these given to me for £0 as it wasn't going into gear
The old lady had RAC out, garages etc.
Linkages were fine, RAC topped it up with box oil and the garage checked the oil and just said scrap it as new gearbox needed lol.
Fixed it for £30 by soldering new brushes on the gearbox switch and it worked lovely.
Drove it down the M25, etc it was fine. Comfy ride to be honest, really soft suspension.
It was a 1L CVT,
Best way to explain it, as you said mashing the throttle isn't great. The engine will rev independently of the box, while the box catches up, almost like a slipping clutch. If you keep the engine in the powerband (say 3.5k rpm) it's fine for building speed, at 6k rpm it won't do anything as the powerbands gone
May be worth inspecting the brushes if you've still got the car? They're on the front of the gearbox, 2 bolts and it's an oval shaped metal thing with a plug coming out
Never had any issues up hills with the one i drove weirdly
Offered it back to the old lady for £50 but she'd already got another car so i exported it to Africa for £500 lol.
Does the engine management light go out as it should or has it been blanked??
Nice vid James - it‘s actually something of a dark art maximising these CVT’s, and the “lock in“ button (as I understand it) it for better control on hill descent (and also if you‘re going up a REALLY steep incline - when I’ve driven these I‘ve found that you have to drive them almost like a manual, and anticipate what’s ahead of you, so a little more time (and active thought, not just thinking she‘s a straight out automatic) will get the best out of her.
Plastic shine and a full machine polish will have her gleaming again, although I did think that I could hear some knocking on the road test - ball joint?
Keep ’em comin‘
JCHK
The previous owner of the garage where I usually have my car serviced had a courtesy car. It was one of the original square box Micras and Danny said one of his customers brought it in with a worn out clutch. The customer didn't want to pay for a new clutch so Danny gave him fifty quid for it and fixed it himself. That fifty quid car ran for years!
think it might be this one
50 quid those older square Micra's were turds I wouldn't give a fiver
@@article21gdpr Errr no lol
I had an original square Micra many moons ago, probably about 1986, it was on a Y plate 82 i think, big end went at 60k and it rusted out a few years later, almost over night. Pile of early Nissan rubbish.
It will have a centrifugal "clutch" using springs or magnets (probably magnets since it's electronically switchable) to stop weights on the cones, the belts run on, flying out to the sides and raising the gearing. Then pulling the cones back closer together for the belt to run on a larger diameter "drive wheel" lowering the gear ratio. With an opposing belt driven cone going to the axle which works in opposition. I've fixed a lot of these systems on scooters, and the belts and springs tend to end up getting stretched at the same time, as when one starts to go it puts the extra load on the other. Working right the acceleration should be pretty good and hills not a problem. Sometimes it's just low on (or wrong) oil or can be a blocked breather or filter, but I don't hold out much hope from what I've seen taking scooter CVT's apart. I'd say yours is not broke but it is pretty knackered.
small suggestion: please balance audio levels between your ad bits, super loud! also we’re all learning along side you! im quite invested in this little car. it truly seems like for what you paid, you can only go up! love the series!
Learned something new myself. Nice to see it's covered in the local bales :D
Just had a 07 micra 1.4 auto in and it drove really well, plenty of performance and a normal auto box, that's progress and an extra 400 ccs.
I used to have a K11 Micra, albeit with the 1.3 engine. Mine was quite nippy, and got up most hills without trouble. However, it was the bigger engine, and it had only done 40k miles. Having seen you drive it now, I suspect something might be amis, as even the 1.0 shouldn't be this slow to accelerate or reluctant to 'kick down'. I'll just add that I've never driven a 1.0 though, so I might be wrong. Have the gear belts checked, plus there's a little breather filter that gets blocked, and this does effect performance. From experience, repairs are very cheap, and these cars run literally forever. Once done, someone will love this. Brilliant little cars.
I had a Honda HRV CVT it was like driving a car with a slipping clutch every time you accelerated until the engine was screaming if you tried giving it some welly so the key is gently accelerate and keep the momentum going, I think newer cars with CVT are improved greatly, it is what it is.
Toyota hsd - no belts uses plantery gear sets so much more reliable. I've seen Prius with over 300k on the clock
Is the odometer correct on this vehicle? as is shows as having 28,000 miles in dec 2014 then 144,000 miles in dec 2015 is it even possible a car can do that in a year or were the clocks replaced and this is in fact a lower miles car ??
James. I had exactly that colour Micra a few years ago. For what it's worth, the exact shade of it is China blue 👍
Try changeing the atf in the gearbox i had an automatic that slipped like that and atf change did the trick and the filters if it has one .
will it go as fast in reverse as it will in forwards
You probally find the NVCT has a limit of 30mph as if it's supposed to be used as a "hill-assist" then there would be a limit to how fast it could go before destroying itself so the 30mph redline is probably an indicator to disengauge the NVCT if you are approaching 30mph
I had to learn about a cvt gearbox too, I had doge calaiber and hated it, luckily I knew the dealer well and he exchanged for me.
Where did you find this cheap micra?
Good video James. Give the CVT transmission a service and it will improve it. I have nissan CVT and they are not fast and take time build up speed.
Will do buddy
@@ChopsGarage These need CVT fluid not ordinary ATF and the brushes need to be checked, if they wear down too far they will badly damage the transmission
Could this be donated to a college that does mechanics? It would help lots of young people gain valuable skills. Not one to retail me thinks James. 👍
If it goes better with less throttle (less air) maybe lack of fuel, had one a while ago, came up fuel trim rich, but it wasn't, the ecu was trying to compensate, turned out to be the fuel pump, took ages to sort it out, swopped loads of bits before I found it, check fuel trim while your driving, should be fairly near nought, on my scanner anyway.
What an honest bloke, been watching a couple of his videos today. I like the way he does business, may he prosper in life, he deserves to!
Many thanks!
Hi Chops. You should hear the revs go right up even on the hills whatever selection you are on on the gear lever.
Mine used to almost rev line when flooring it up hills. They're basically like a moped
Sounds like something isn't quite right there, may be worth checking the brushes
I love the free windows video editor text 😂
James, it's a 22 year old Micra with a 1 litre engine, 60 bhp and a 0-60 time of 18 seconds (!)
It does not need to be quick up hill or have enough torque to pick up it's skirt and get going.
It will have about as much torque as a left handed screwdriver, you've just got to be patient with it 😆
...but, the 15 mph uphill isn't quite right!
Check if mil light actually works bud, someone could have popped the bulb hiding the problem, the basic engines are fairly bullet proof, could be, fuel pump, blocked cat, maf, throttle body, plenty to keep you occupied mate.Even tho it's old it will still obd scan like a later car, had one a while ago, scanned it and it came up miss fire, new coil pack and sorted, they still go well these 1.0 micra autos so if its megga slow somethings amiss, I've had dozens of k11 micras, one with 225k on it, in bright yellow!
we had a tiny Perodua Kelisa once and wow, tiny little 800cc -1L engine and just like a Micra, was awesome and well fun to drive, just like a gokart, it was manual aswell which made it even more fun. 54BHP and 55MPG.....what mroe could you want.
James the best mechanics never stop learning great vids
I had one of those Nissan Micra automatics they’re bloody good car extremely reliable for the time they were made, it shouldn’t lose much speed on hills because the automatic gearbox should change to suit there’s something not quite right with the engine
As far as I remember CVT is very similar to the scooter transmission (continously variable transmission, so it has an infinite number of gear ratios as the two pairs of cones can change the ratios without actual gear sets). Paired with a small displacement engine I could imagine these are not the sportiest runabouts around. On the other hand whilst the owner learns the gearboxes (and older generation gearboxes are not that smart to serve and cater all the best as modern ones do (learning driver habits and adjusting the gear changes like modern DSG does). Some of the modern CVTS btw can kinda simulate of gear changes jumping between predefined ratios (I think Mercedes does that). A lot of manufacturers have these kind of endevours to transmissions, for example audi has their own called the multitronic. I drove one of those and it was hilarous to see the car was accelerating without engine RPM change. The audi version was really problematic though, so there is a reason they discontinued it.
Haha love the micra my mate and I took his mum's rallying through a forest in Wales years ago fond memories!
Had one last year and the back box broke up inside, blocking the exhaust, saw some hair out of the tailpipe.
Work with a lady who is looking for one of these, she is under 5feet tall and that car is the only one that she can sit in and reach the pedes. Her last one died.
I had a manual W reg 1.0 brand spanking new. It did lose speed on a big hill and if you let off the accelerator you’d never get it back. Always remember how bad it was going up that big old hill on the A23 coming out of Brighton towards London. I’d have to take a proper run up getting it around 70ish (honest) before it or I’d be well below 50 by the top. Can imagine a car that old with that many miles being even worse especially with no maintenance
The Vw up! Auto is exactly like this half the time think it’s cut out when it jerkily changes up and down the box
I found out CVT transmissions when I bought my MG TF from Copart.. never driven one so didn't know what to expect. Anyway I mostly drive it in sports mode and use the steering wheel controls!
haha you bought a sports car with a cvt. i feel so sorry for you. i had an mgf and it was shit even with the manual vvc
How much should I be looking to pay for a C1/107/aygo around 2007 with 100k miles and a year mot?
1200-1400
Red line at 30 is just to denote the speed limit around town, which is what those cars are designed for. I drove to Devon in my mk.v Cortina 1.6 auto, even using the auto box manually it still struggled up some of those hills.
With the price you paid, and the fact these cars can fetch well over a grand in good nick I think it may be worth spending abit to repair it. I would say theres a provlem with the box up hill no way can a car that light struggle so much. Box may need taking apart, could be better to source a good second hand one and switch boxes, either way its going to cost you less than a grand to fix and its going to fetch upto 1500 quid when its ready.
I think there is something going on with the engine maybe needs a tune up or not getting enough air or fuel when under full load but that is just my opinion I think the gear box also needs a service since it was low on fluid anyway
It truly was the original gutless wonder, having had two over 6 years! Although I could change my current one for something with a lot more, get up and go, I'm used to it dying on hills. I know in advance where to use that button on the g.lever, in my area. & with fuel costs as they are, I rarely go further than my area. Mine had 46 K on it when I got it, and drives more or less exactly like yours now. They also did a 13cc, & they upped it to 1.4 cc eng, I envy them. Mine's 20 yrs old, rust free, 61 K. Very reliable. Goes from A to B easily, if slowly. Is extremely cheap to maintain. So why change it? Ian Shane G. (p.s. Love your video's!)
They had a similar gear box in early Fiesta's, CVT,'s, don't remember you having to mess about with them like that though to get up hills.
Quality output James, nice aspect ratio, very watchable ;)
Much appreciated!
I have had 2 CVT transmission cars (92 Orion 1.6 CVH and a 96 Escort Saloon 1.6 zetec) and never needed to use the “low gear” option even when using hills. I suspect it’s slow because it’s a 1.0 engine rather than the transmission.
I must say that’s my opinion rather than experience with this particular car.
James put 3 passengers in it and drive again up and down those hills 😂.
😂😂😂
Had a auto transit motorhome (m reg) you could get out and walk up hills, things have changed from 20 plus years ago.
The red line is the speed limit I believe there should be one at 70 aswell correct me if I'm wrong 😉 I'm sure someone will
Idk, that medical talisman and the fact its 21 years old leads me to think that it was probably owned by an older person that died and someone's sold it to an auction house
Bloody hell it would be a nightmare 😳 😕 driving one of these ! can you imagine going on a motorway in this 😳 !
Yup...
I have Zero mechanical knowledge...
But something in that CVT box is fooked...
I've done 1000s of miles in K11 cvts all engine sizes 1.0 ,1.3, 1.4 Loved em all just leave it in drive and it should just go.
I think something is wrong with the cvt gearbox. I think it should go up hills a lot better than it is. Not had a micra, but I did have a 343 Volvo cvt back in the 80's and hills was where it shined. The cvt always kept the engine in the power band. The low ratio gear lock was for driving on a very slippery surface to stop the engine revving and the car not moving. Never had to use it. £100 is a bargain!
Check coil. Spark plug, had similiar problem on my 05... Top the gearbox up too or itll be damaged
We had one of these for years in hilly Hastings. Never had a problem with hills. Sticking it in low won’t help - that will limit its top speed to the max for low. You need to be gentle (ish) with the throttle it should be fine. Having said that it could just be clapped at 168k. Just put it in drive and leave it.
if you have a fuel pressure gauge, i'd check that. a faulty fuel pump, pressure regulator, kinked or clogged lines, or a clogged filter could cause it to run lean with more throttle, which could cause this exact issue. regardless, I'd be surprised if it costs more than 100 pounds to fix.
Slap a new belt on it change the fluid as another customer stated good engine service to and yeah polish it up bulletproof cars £500-£600 back all day maybe more depending how it cleans up and no a cvt in a micra is a bit better but change as you called it the elastic band as another bloke sed also change the cvt fluid but be very careful make sure that the fluid is fine for that car there cvt is very sensitive to the cvt oil they always struggle with big hills tho it’s never going to pull like a manual or a proper auto but it should be a bit better than you experienced considering the car wasn’t loaded with more people or luggage
They do have a clutch, that engages as you drive away and stays locked until you stop, when it opens. Could be that slipping.
CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION or CVT gearboxes first appeared in DAF cars from Holland in the early seventies. They were called variomatic . DAF was shortly thereafter bought by Volvo who used the last DAF as the Volvo340 series. For anyone who has driven a manual or conventional automatic the throttle use is quite counter intuitive. Once you adapt they are pretty much ok to drive. What they all were was dog slow. We sold one to a retired jazz drummer who went through three gearboxes in six months. He just couldn’t get to grips with the different driving style.
Ouch 3 gearboxes
You can service the ctv gearbox they are a wet belt system and they use special oil from Nissan and there is a filter that needs changing. That's probley what's wrong with it.
All CVTs were the same you press the accelerator hard the engine revs rise really high then the car's speed increases and the engine revs drop. We have had a Fiat Uno Selecta CVT, Fiat Punto Selecta CVT and Nissan Micra CVT (older than your facelift model) we just left them in Drive didn't mess with any buttons always found the acceleration fine (not slow)
It sounds like it's a fuel problem like it's not getting enough fuel if you floor it and it doesn't like it but if you let off the accelerator and it moves it's definitely a fuel pump or maybe a MAF sensor or a throttle position sensor does the service engine soon light even worklook at live data and see what does the fuel trims say they should be as close to zero as possible at idol
I think that generation of Nissan CVTs tha sportt mode button stuck even if you turned off the car and on again. They got a lot of criticism because of this. The newer CVTs actually reset this sport mode everytime you turn off the car and on again. Nice work James. CVT boxes in The small Nissans aren't fans of going quick but they're smooth changing that's what their advantage was. I used to own a Nissan Tiida with CVT and that sport mode goes off on the newer models. CVTs aren't good on hills either. Watch out for a whine noise that's the sign that the CVT is on its way out
If you de grease it, mask it up and 2k clear it, it'll be as shiny as a new pin, be good content as well, check sills and front box section on it as well, there all going now bud, I'd be surprised if its rock solid, before you get too carried away.
The MoT history makes for interesting reading! Fun times, definitely a whiff of Hubnut in this series...Excellent video..
Cheers
Stick a manual box in it and take it rallying 😎
Is this one of the Rolls Canardley specials? Rolls downhill, canardley get up hill...😯😂
lol
Hi James, I'm sure I've got one of those wheel trims in my garage? I'll have a look tomorrow and if I find it I'll pop it in the post to you. ( Maybe in exchange for a chops sticker or two 😉)
The plastic trims which you think have faded to grey are supposed to be grey.
I worked in the motor trade when these cars were being sold new.
If you don’t believe me, look at the colour of the stone chip on the sills.
That’s grey and wouldn’t fade.
Finding better performance when you back off the throttle is a classic symptom of dirty injectors! Not able to supply sufficient fuel at big throttle openings under load. Get the injectors ultrasonically cleaned and shout it a set of plugs. I would also bet that at 160k miles you might have difficulty poking your little finger through the carbon clogged intake ports. I think this car will improve enormously after a visit to your friends at Moors! Good luck with it.
After the hell I’m currently going through with the adblue system on my car, I’m seriously considering ditching it and buying an old banger.
I bought a Corsa £100 it lasted 18 months not complaining it did the job.
For future reference LOW as you call it of for setting off from rest on hills or inclined not for dropping down into, that's what the button in the gearshift is for
The 1.3 CVT was the one to buy really but the 1.0 is strictly only a city car, they were always dog slow on hills
Cheers for feedback mate
@@ChopsGarage best thing to do would be to change the cvt oil, Nissan say it's for life but chances are you'll find it black, they are pretty famous for failing in USA because of lack of servicing
Also it isn't a belt like a daf, it's a chain on a Nissan cvt
i had of these in a manual but and they are known for just being small car. comeone think about it a 20 year 1.0l car up those hills. i live in Norfolk and they struggles with hills.
Similar to the daf variomatic, forward to go forward and backward to go backward!
Volvo 66 and Volvo 340 then used it
I had the misfortune to have a CVT Auto Nissan Pixo as a hire car for a day. That had the 1.0 engine and CVT gearbox. It was beyond awful. No power, couldn't get out of its own way, just revving and not a lot else. As that Micra is basically the same setup the performance seems about right.
Had a K10 with CVT & 0-60 was about a week. 1 litre or 1.2 litre auto were not built for performance
Hi question for you. If you are like me, unemployed and have scraped together about 1200 quid, for a little motor, as my upper limit. Given that old used cars are going to have breakdowns, is it better for me to buy something like a Ford fiesta or something, because they're easier to fix and get the parts readily? Even though I'm older, I want like a beginner's car, small engine. What would you recommend? Joe Scotland.
Toyota Aygo 1.0 or a Hyundai i10
Thanks appreciated.
CVT gearboxes were dreadful in Puntos back in the day, I can’t imagine what a Nissan one’s like but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t last years for a couple of hundred quid.
But didn't those old auto punto's not have the creep function. Which made them a pain waiting at traffic lights on a slope!
K11 was a great car apart from the Rust !! K12 timing change stretching reporting a cam sensor error was a much bigger Issue!! I served my time on Alfa's 30+ years ago so can handle a bit of rust ;)
K12's only had an issue with chains when they weren't serviced properly. Stretched chains are very uncommon. Door actuators however are a very common problem.
@@tommymann1783 I've changed a few chain kits on them and looked over a few for people with this problem up here !! Possibly everyone looks after there cars where you live mate ;)
bear in mind its only a one litre with cvt i had many dafs same system and yes its a different way of driving