[gmadigyal]

UPDATES:
First I want to sincerely thank the community. I bought a 2013 Maxima with over 100k miles and within 3 months, RPMs stuck at 3500 HWY at 69mph, in town stuck at 2500rpm and got the P1778. No transmission shop will touch Nissan CVT that I could find. Other forums and shops talk about "generic" code and it's usually the belts/pullies and need new tranny.

I did it myself, followed YouTube and this posts and want to share successes and tweaks.
1) no where did it talk about a new pan gasket. I bought one but didn't need because gasket was still in tact.
2) the 3.5L motors have step motor accessible without removing the valve body, the 2.5L you need to remove valve body.
3)I used 1.5 cans of brake cleaner for pan and removable filter.
4) Nissan NS-2 was $22/qt. You need 4.5-5 cans. I used Castrol and Valvoline mix (what the store had) at ½ the price.

It took 1.5 hours to do is all. Immediate first drive, in town was 1200 RPM and HWY @70mph was around 1800 RPMs.

@ argylee00 - Did you also replace the Step Motor or just a CVT fluid change ?

 

[argylee00]

I too got the dreaded P1778 death code. Have read through this entire thread (and others) and watched a few YT videos to replace the stepper motor for a 2012 Altima 2.5S. I spent 3 hours today dropping the valve body and replacing the stepper motor, put it all back together, crossed my fingers...and nothing. It starts fine, idles great, revs up in P but when I put it in Reverse I get no power at all. I push on the gas and the RPMs fluctuate between 1500 and 2000 (with my foot steady on the gas).

I am wondering if torque converter is bad based on some other stuff I read. It is not currently throwing a code since I've cleared it. It did start to act up about a month or so before it completely sh&t the bed. It was not shifting out of first and into second gear (very high RPM) but would generally do it if you let off the gas, higher pitched whine at times, but it was manageable in manual shift mode. Anyway, thanks for reading and appreciate any advice.

That doesn't sound like a stepper motor issue. Stepper motor issue is more like the car not shifting into higher gears and driving at too high RPMs. The dreadful whining sound is tranny issues. You have to make sure to change fluid regularly.
If it were me and there are no codes, start with fluid change. If that doesn't work, I'd still get it fixed based on difficulties buying cars these days.

@ argylee00 - Did you also replace the Step Motor or just a CVT fluid change ?

I have the 3.5L thereby my step motor is accessible without dropping the valve body. I replaced, cleaned everything and refilled. It purs now without any issues (thank God).

 

[Candienite]

About 6 months ago I received the death code P1778 (stepper motor) in my 2008 Altima. I searched far and wide, low and high, only to be told 2 things... you need a new transmission, or you need a new valve body. since I didn't have $2500 for a new trans, let alone $800 for the valve body I decided to look into this a little further. watched a youtube video the only one I could find was a Nissan armada, but thought what the hell. I drained the fluid, dropped the pan, yanked out the valve body, and found that little bastard that gave me such trouble.

now with part in hand I went to my local parts store, and told we don't sell that part, its not even in our system... went to the dealership, told the same thing and was told I needed to buy a new transmission as they are not "serviceable" funny but I had the part in hand, how can it be not serviceable?

lastly I took a gamble, I went to ebay, ordered a stepper motor. 20k miles later, still no code, no whine, and no lock up. here is how I saved thousands and bought a $35 part.

1)drain fluid.
2)drop pan (clean with brake cleaner)
3)remove the 3 bolts holding filter. (clean with brake cleaner while your at it)
4)remove the valve body about 11 bolts
5)remove the stepper motor from the top of the valvebody (the side you can't see with the pan off) 2 bolts
6)replace with the new stepper motor found here JF011E RE0F10E F1CJA Transmission CVT Stepper Motor For SENTRAN Nissan Dodge | eBay
7)take a piece of dental floss about a foot long and hold the spring loaded arm back against the stepper motor and return the valve body back to the transmission.
8)after you have a few bolts in place remove the floss before you tighten all the way.
9)reconnect trans filter and bolt back into place.
10)rejoin the fluid pan to the transmission and replace with quality cvt fluid. Amsoil makes a great product.

I hope this helps and if you have questions please feel free to ask.

I am having same problems. My 2008 Altima coupe which I just bought, does fine after it hasn’t been driven for a while. Then when temperature gets up to normal and I stop it doesn’t want to accelerate almost causing me to wreck, when it does accelerate gears don’t wanna change and rpms get to about 4 to 5000 eventually it gradually picks up to speed but once I stop it starts all over. Reverse works fine

 

[argylee00]

That sounds more like pulley/belts issues. I didn't have any acceleration issues, just that it stayed at too high RPMs and had a whining noise. But always worth a try for $30 and elbow grease. There are different kinds of stepper motors depending on whether you have a 4cyl or 6 cyl

 

[goodiesalguero]

Benzolorenzo, I am having some problems with my CVT. It works great if I drive it easy, light acceleration (1/4 throttle or less), under 60 mph.

If I drive it more aggressively, 1/2 throttle acceleration, 80 mph, then it starts to act up. When it acts up it does the following:

Will go into a neutral state at a stop sign, then bangs into drive when trying to leave the stop sign.

Throttle will sometimes not respond when leaving a stop sign, i have to keep pushing the throttle down but no RPM increase, then all of a sudden, it responds and opens the throttle and shoots away like I'm trying to race someone.

I'm wondering if your symptoms were anything like mine? Because I do have a P1778 code. But I also have a P0868 which is "trans fluid pressure low". I have the V6 model, not sure if that matters?

BTW, I live in the counry about 30 miles from the Twin Cities, and I sometimes have to go there. The drivers on the road near and in the cities are much more aggressive drivers than us country folks. That is the reasoning for the two different driving styles. My Altima hates the cities just as much as I do.

Appreciate any help you could give.

Benzolorenzo1, that's exactly how my Car started an now it just won't "go into gear" or move at all... I'm replacing the step motor this weekend... hopefully I won't need to buy a valve body because those "reman" run about $100 to $200 bucks on Ebay... I will try this first and give an update later...

 

[argylee00]

Benzolorenzo1, that's exactly how my Car started an now it just won't "go into gear" or move at all... I'm replacing the step motor this weekend... hopefully I won't need to buy a valve body because those "reman" run about $100 to $200 bucks on Ebay... I will try this first and give an update later...

Best of luck. Keep us posted and have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[Bill M.]

Good job. I've done the same thing on a couple Altimas now. Does anyone have any experience with the Nissan Quest 2013. Same stepper, different location. This one is on the front of the VBody. Drop the pan and it's in front of you. Replaced mine. Cleared out the 1778 code, but now it has no power and a code 0746 has come up.

Hello. I have an 2013 Infinity JX35 and did the same thing. P1778, replaced all filters fluid and stepper motor. Now i have P0746. Did you ever get it resolved???

 

[Kjthecarguy]

@argylee00 thanks for your input on this topic

unfortunately I purchased a 2011 Nissan Maxima from a lady , then 1 hour later when I drove home on the highway once it hit around 70/80mph it started making a whining noise then I scanned and code p1778 step motor/function

I am hoping replacement of the step motor will help. I see you had a maxima as well I was wondering could you help me find the step motor online where yours was purchased? I have a 2011 Nissan Maxima 167k miles vin number is 1N4AA5AP3BC807422 thanks !

 

[RYLZALTMA]

Hoping someone has experienced the same.

2012 Altima S 2.5

Changed the entire valve body. The car ran smooth and damn near perfect for 4 days. All of a sudden it doesn't want to shift out of first gear. Both in reverse and drive the car shudders/shakes and wants to hop down the road. Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated. Amazed at the feeling of success to failure in 4 days. Happy Friday!

 

[The1Moose]

About 6 months ago I received the death code P1778 (stepper motor) in my 2008 Altima. I searched far and wide, low and high, only to be told 2 things... you need a new transmission, or you need a new valve body. since I didn't have $2500 for a new trans, let alone $800 for the valve body I decided to look into this a little further. watched a youtube video the only one I could find was a Nissan armada, but thought what the hell. I drained the fluid, dropped the pan, yanked out the valve body, and found that little bastard that gave me such trouble.

now with part in hand I went to my local parts store, and told we don't sell that part, its not even in our system... went to the dealership, told the same thing and was told I needed to buy a new transmission as they are not "serviceable" funny but I had the part in hand, how can it be not serviceable?

lastly I took a gamble, I went to ebay, ordered a stepper motor. 20k miles later, still no code, no whine, and no lock up. here is how I saved thousands and bought a $35 part.

1)drain fluid.
2)drop pan (clean with brake cleaner)
3)remove the 3 bolts holding filter. (clean with brake cleaner while your at it)
4)remove the valve body about 11 bolts
5)remove the stepper motor from the top of the valvebody (the side you can't see with the pan off) 2 bolts
6)replace with the new stepper motor found here Transmission CVT Stepper Motor for Nissan Dodge Altima Roque Jf011e Re0f10e for sale online | eBay
7)take a piece of dental floss about a foot long and hold the spring loaded arm back against the stepper motor and return the valve body back to the transmission.
8)after you have a few bolts in place remove the floss before you tighten all the way.
9)reconnect trans filter and bolt back into place.
10)rejoin the fluid pan to the transmission and replace with quality cvt fluid. Amsoil makes a great product.

I hope this helps and if you have questions please feel free to ask.

Hey, I’m going through the exact same thing. Except I didn’t buy the stepper motor. I bought the whole valve body that I’ve taken out about four times already. I can’t seem to be getting the spring loaded arm lined right with the pivot pin. So I read in your post about the floss and tried it but failed. So basically I’m wondering how far exactly are you talking about filling the arm? All the way back?

 

[amc49]

One day (probably not soon) all of you that think that code means the stepper is bad will find out otherwise. The code actually means the stepper is not in a physical place the ECM expects and it can have like 20 different causes, mostly from worn variators/chainbelts.

Most steppers are changed for no reason, it's the latest conventional wisdom thing like earlier trans solenoid packs were which commonly did not fix a lot of broken transmissions, and for the exact same reason. The internet again spreading bogus claims.

One guy lucks out changing that one part and all of the rest of you assume that's it! that's it!
Soooooo desperate......

 

[Mskiff1]

UPDATES:
First I want to sincerely thank the community. I bought a 2013 Maxima with over 100k miles and within 3 months, RPMs stuck at 3500 HWY at 69mph, in town stuck at 2500rpm and got the P1778. No transmission shop will touch Nissan CVT that I could find. Other forums and shops talk about "generic" code and it's usually the belts/pullies and need new tranny.

I did it myself, followed YouTube and this posts and want to share successes and tweaks.
1) no where did it talk about a new pan gasket. I bought one but didn't need because gasket was still in tact.
2) the 3.5L motors have step motor accessible without removing the valve body, the 2.5L you need to remove valve body.
3)I used 1.5 cans of brake cleaner for pan and removable filter.
4) Nissan NS-2 was $22/qt. You need 4.5-5 cans. I used Castrol and Valvoline mix (what the store had) at ½ the price.

It took 1.5 hours to do is all. Immediate first drive, in town was 1200 RPM and HWY @70mph was around 1800 RPMs.

Hello,
I read your post and I’m going through the same exact problem as of yesterday. I wanted to know if you could tell me the location of the step motor please. I also have a 2013 Nissan Maxima S. Thank you so much for your post as well.

 

[Throckmorton]

Hello,
I read your post and I’m going through the same exact problem as of yesterday. I wanted to know if you could tell me the location of the step motor please. I also have a 2013 Nissan Maxima S. Thank you so much for your post as well.

@Mskiff1 said "I did it myself, followed YouTube and this post and want to share successes and tweaks."

Have you checked YouTube? Are you able to find it on YouTube?

 

[El tremendo]

Hi everyone, I have an Infiniti Jx35 2013.
I got the code p1778. ( step motor)
I saw the step motor on eBay for 40$ there were different versions one for 2.5L tran and other for 3.5 L tran. I purchased the one for the 3.5L.
I also saw that members here mentioned the 3.5L cars, the step motor was easier since you don't have to remove the whole valve body.

i called several shops and they refuse to touch or rebuild the tran even if I bring the step motor. I finally scheduled with a shop in Paterson NJ to replace the step motor but at my own risk.
i found a helpful video on youtube that replaces the step motor on a 3.5L.

the only thing i see the most delicate is the position of the step motor arm. meaning the new one must be in the same position.

My questions are, has anybody experienced, that needed to move the step motor in order to match the position the old one got stock?

Also any testimonies, of successful repairs? that after repaired they did not have any issue? because I am wondering if i should train in my car after fixing it. which i hope to avoid. i know all cases are not the same.

Thanks!!!

 

[jonwrodriguez]

About 6 months ago I received the death code P1778 (stepper motor) in my 2008 Altima. I searched far and wide, low and high, only to be told 2 things... you need a new transmission, or you need a new valve body. since I didn't have $2500 for a new trans, let alone $800 for the valve body I decided to look into this a little further. watched a youtube video the only one I could find was a Nissan armada, but thought what the hell. I drained the fluid, dropped the pan, yanked out the valve body, and found that little bastard that gave me such trouble.

now with part in hand I went to my local parts store, and told we don't sell that part, its not even in our system... went to the dealership, told the same thing and was told I needed to buy a new transmission as they are not "serviceable" funny but I had the part in hand, how can it be not serviceable?

lastly I took a gamble, I went to ebay, ordered a stepper motor. 20k miles later, still no code, no whine, and no lock up. here is how I saved thousands and bought a $35 part.

1)drain fluid.
2)drop pan (clean with brake cleaner)
3)remove the 3 bolts holding filter. (clean with brake cleaner while your at it)
4)remove the valve body about 11 bolts
5)remove the stepper motor from the top of the valvebody (the side you can't see with the pan off) 2 bolts
6)replace with the new stepper motor found here https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Jatco-...11E-RE0F10E-F1CJA-Transmission-CVT-Stepper-Motor-for-Nissan-Dodge-/282288900117
7)take a piece of dental floss about a foot long and hold the spring loaded arm back against the stepper motor and return the valve body back to the transmission.
8)after you have a few bolts in place remove the floss before you tighten all the way.
9)reconnect trans filter and bolt back into place.
10)rejoin the fluid pan to the transmission and replace with quality cvt fluid. Amsoil makes a great product.

I hope this helps and if you have questions please feel free to ask.

I have a 09 nissan versa 1.8l hatchback and I got this code I'ma do as u recommended thank u for your information.

 

[dojasackings]

What is the part number from Nissan for the stepper motor? I've found some on eBay and Amazon, but I want to get the genuine one from Nissan.

 

[Throckmorton]

What is the part number from Nissan for the stepper motor? I've found some on eBay and Amazon, but I want to get the genuine one from Nissan.

Stop by your local Nissan dealer's parts department.

 

[amc49]

Uh, they shouldn't even sell it separately at all. Entire trans only pretty much.

 

[Throckmorton]

Stop by your local Nissan dealer's parts department...to find out that there is no Nissan part number listed for that part.

There, I corrected it.

 

[t308madness]

Hello all, new here. First of all I had the 1778 code, stepper motor and was able to get one at AutoZone for 100 bucks. The original poster was absolutly right about the steps to replace it. I have a 2011 Altima 2.5 and was able to do it rather easily. Here is my question. After replacing the stepper motor, both filters (it has a little round one where the cooloer lines come in) and ofcourse fresh fluid the 1778 code is gone but after driving on the highway for about 20 miles or so, perfectly fine, it starts acting up. Downshifts into 5th, wont go back to high gear and then after a few minutes will go down another and thats it. Park it, next day take off fine for about 20 miles. Has anybody else had this issue? Thx in advance.