I was babying my car (08 G37S, auto transmission, nav, sport package, premium package) around town last night when I stopped at a stoplight.

As I accelerated from the stop, I realized the car was not in first gear. I was driving in auto mode, and I hadn't driven in manual mode all day. I had to press harder on the accelerator to get the car moving, and by the time I got it to 3000 RPM I realized the car was in 4th gear. The D for "Drive" on my display disappeared, and my "service engine soon light" came on. I drove the car home and shifted it into neutral, reverse, and park. It seemed to change into neutral, reverse, and park, but in reverse the back-up camera did not come on. When I put the car in drive, it would not come out of 4th gear.

I turned the car off and tried to turn it back on. This time the service engine light stayed on, and the "key" light came on as well. I jumped the battery, but it still would not start. I'm having it towed to the dealership in a few hours; does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?

 

It could be many things so the dealer will need to pull the codes that are associated with the CEL and preventing the engine from starting. I do believe that the transmission being stuck in 4th is part of a fail-safe mode that will keep it in one gear if the computers determine there's a problem or inconsistent data from the various sensors. It could be that a sensor failed that's serious enough to keep the ECU from letting the car start. The dealer should be able to pinpoint the issue fairly quick.

 

Sensor failure seems to make sense. The absence of the "D" on my display is very strange, but I'm glad I have a CEL (as opposed to having a problem and no CEL). I hope my transmission isn't shredded.

Thanks.

 

Apparently my car's ECM was not communicating with the rest of the car. My service advisor told me that Infiniti is aware of this problem, though it has not yet prompted a recall.

 

Very weird. Did they just reflash the ECU?
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I'm not sure what they did. It took them an entire day though. It seems to me that disconnecting the battery might have done the trick.

 

ya sounds like limp mode - fixed with an ecu reset.

 

edit: the codes from the service engine light were P1000 and P1001

I took my car to firestone today for the 30,000 mile service, and I had them flush the transmission fluid. They completed the service but did not flush the transmission fluid, because they said that the transmission fluid bypassed the coolant with a hose, and this is very dangerous. I am taking my car into Infiniti on monday to see why the coolant is bypassed. Is this normal?