[I]Its amazing, to me, how right the Germans can get something like an engine and transmission, yet everyone I know with any German car (BMW, VW/Audi, etc) has complained at least TWICE about the work that needs to be done JUST AFTER the warranty expires, along with a myriad of electrical issues both in and out of warranty.

Im sure I would enjoy driving one, but writing an >$1000.00 check for an alternator replacement would pretty much taint most of that enjoyment.

I suppose if you lease, no big deal. But I dont (maybe I should?) so I buy what looks reliable to me. Regardless of their sales, Nissan's status as an automaker, etc, Infiniti has always been reliable for me. Sure I replaced a set of calipers on my old i30, but it sure beats the seat heater turning on to full blast and not shutting off (my brother-in-law has a Jetta that this happened on)[I].

Agreed Chris..... From what I have heard from Bimmer and MB owners. A MB E350 owner at my POB, who went through a large puddle of water (flooded suburban parking lot after some heavy rains), the water went to the middle level of the wheels. That "fried" ECU and other electronic equipment - the Insurance company Totalled the car. Another associate has a BMW X-3 with 60 K miles. All sorts of AWD and electrical problems (CELs, etc) are surfacing. He has his own separate mechanic (former BMW tech) he emphatically stated that BMWs are notorious for those problems at the 50-60 K miles mark. And of course you are out of warranty with very expensive repairs. That's why so many people lease cars of this nature (including Infinitis) at least around the NY Metro area. I'm sure that is prevalent in many areas in the country. With the automation and expense of new cars, the "Classicness" is Gone With The Wind, IMO. Why should you lay out $10k or more as a downpayment, then take on a "Mortgage" of $30k or more for 5,6,or 7 years, when you can lease for much less of a monthly payment. Yes, you will have some equity at the end of your Mortgage, but you will be eager to get the New Car at time or sooner and then take on another "Mortgage", round and round you go....Unless you feel that the new 2014 G37X (excuse me, Q50), will be a classic car that you will keep for 10 years or more.

Sorry, got off topic. Too much rambling....Now Rambler, that was a Classic Car !!!!!!!!!!LOL

 

I'm not sure which update the dealership did for me last, but it's the first of the ones that actually started fixing these issues. My only problem with this update is the california stop shift from 2-1. If I come to a near stop, then start on the gas, the car is in second, and that would normally be just fine, but then suddenly it decides ti wants to shift to first, so that the car lags, then JERKS everyone's head back in the vehicle. It's so annoying. I just had my car in for work over the weekend. I wasn't aware there was a new transmission update, but I'll have to check and confirm what update was done before, so I can see what they can do next time.

I'm really interested in the new Q50, but if they are throwing the 7AT in there again, goodbye Infiniti. I will not buy another car with this POS transmission.

 

We've had BMW and Mercedes in the family for a couple decades. They've been brilliantly reliable, WAY past warranty. Simply put, there are people out there who will have problems with ANY car, regardless of brand.

Knock on wood, our G37 has been totally fine. But as this thread proves, the transmission falls well short of where it should. I'm sure it will perform its duties for years to come, way past the end of our warranty, but I will never enjoy it.

 

Not sure if its the cold weather here, but driving around in DS is a completely different experience now. Plain old D drives like you would expect a slushbox. Im sure its great for MPG. But pop it into DS and it does pretty much what *I* would expect it to....holds gears, keeps RPMs up into the powerband longer, etc.

Will be interesting to see how it acts in the warm weather. Im much more satisfied with the car now, realizing that DS really does work pretty well. Driving in D doesnt make me sad anymore because I know better performance is just a flick of the shifter away.

 

So strange of all the DS talk. Mine is just as stupid in DS as it is in D. It doesn't get smart until I'm the one controlling it. I actually find DS to be extremely confusing. One moment it's stuck holding 5k RPMs, and the next, it's shifting into 7th when I'm driving aggressively. It almost seems as if I have to be aggressively controlling the car side to side, taking a corner quickly, or slamming on the brakes. That's not how I drive. Especially with my kid or dog in the car. All I expect of DS is to change the shift points. I don't expect it to dynamically adapt to how I'm driving at that moment. I don't think it should EVER go into 6th or 7th gear in DS, unless I'm manually shifting. It seems DS opts for efficiency in some cases, and sportiness in others, rather than being a 100% sport mode.

 

has anyone gotten it done at Glendale, Infiniti? planning to take it there and have them service it.

 

Above are quotes of things you might want to ask dealer before making an appointment and bring printout of pdf just in case.

Just curious, what year is your car and is it a coupe or sedan. Can you elaborate on what you experiencing. IE When you hit the gas, there is a 1/2 sec delay and the car accelerate smoothly or when it accelerate its a bit jerky when shifting gears.

When I had my update, the car dont accelerate as hard, but the engine braking and harsh shifting is gone.

 

Interesting...I haven't been driving much so didnt get a chance to try what Almatti suggested. Curious to know if you drive in DS exclusively for a period of time and switch back to D, if there is any improvement. Please keep us posted and I'll do the same.

 

It actually seems to improve D at least a little. Its still not perfect, but DS seems to remain pretty close to correct so I dont mind D being a little castrated.

Ive basically started using DS around town and shifting into D on the highway. Havent done it enough to see if there is a large mpg difference. Interesting thing is that I got my best mpg ever the day I drove the car home (500 mile trip) and I used DS exclusively. While I think DS is more aggressive, I think the car ends up getting better mpg because its in the powerband, so there is less bogging down at 2K RPM to downshift eventually and then go up to 3500RPM. Rather, DS tends to keep you at 3K RPM while cruising, less downshifting and less RPM spikes lead to better mpg.

 

IMO, every car will have their share of issues. If you maintain it properly, you shouldn't have major problems. I think all the talk about reliability issues of the Germans are not completely accurate. There may be more reported problems, but it doesn't really explain what the problems are. An incident could be a window regulator, or an O2 sensor causing a CEL. Those are not really major issues to me. The transmission effects how the car drives and like you, I don't care how reliability Infiniti is in all other aspects outside or warranty, I will never fully enjoy the car because it is not a good driving experience. My family has had Mercedes for decades also, and aside from little issues, there had been no major problems with any of them. My gf just bought an Audi A3 last week with the DSG and it is stellar. Even their 7 speed tiptronic is nothing like the Infiniti's 7AT. So at the end of the day, what good is a car that has good reliability after the warranty if you hate driving it? I rather pay for something I would enjoy far more. But that's just me.

 

Agreed sniper 27...Your comments about your gf's new audi A3 seem to be confirmed by many reviews about VW's DSG tranny used in Audis and VWS. Reviewers state that its the best AT in the business. I've never had a Bimmer or an MB, but I'm trending toward to an E350 MB for my replacement when the G's lease is up in late summer. I also really have my eye on the Audi A6 3.0T Quattro. If Infiniti offers a Super early Termination deal - I would "consider" a new 2013 M37X. But that would require a very long test drive (all day long) or even renting one for a weekend.

But we are getting off topic here: the G37 7AT reprograming.....

 

My parents have owned nothing but Mercedes since 1983 and have never had any major issues. My dads last car went over 400,000 miles with only normal maintenance and replacement of worn parts. The transmission never had any repairs to it in all those miles.
But it seems some of the newer ones might be experiencing some similar transmission issues like we Infiniti owners are seeing.
My dads ML350 just spent a week in the service department with very similar symptoms to the G...they had to install updates to the transmission programing too. This was the 2nd or 3rd time for this particular vehicle. I've seen ML transmission issues mentioned in MB forums.
My mom's S class has not experienced this issue.

 

I wouldn't get hopes up about more updates... It took Infiniti 3 model years to solve some very obvious issues with the 7AT. Those were big issues like clunks, jolts, and lags of a second or two. Issues that most drivers would eventually experience or notice, whether they were aggressive drivers or not.

Now that it is "good enough", meaning now that it functions properly and comparable to other transmissions without any dangerous lags or jolts, I highly doubt that Infiniti has any plans to make it better.

I'd say it's never going to shift as brilliantly as the ZF 8AT used by BMW and Audi (and Chrysler now too!), but at least the 7AT is doing a very good job now (IMO).

I will add that the 7AT really seems to be able to take serious flogging without getting flustered and without overriding your paddle commands if they are within reason. I'm not talking about abuse, but I mean aggressive use of the paddles never seems to get the 7AT upset. I've driven the 8AT in the BMW and while it does an exceptional job, it also seems to second-guess your paddle commands at times, putting off a shift while it decides how to do it or time it just right.

My only real complaint now with this car is that it does not sort MP3 folders on the USB stick alphabetically, and can not browse the collection nor fast forward while music is playing.
.

 

Isn't the new Q50 still using this same driveline - vq37 and 7at combo? If so, I imagine more bugs should be worked out of it.

 

something that I noticed is that the car always shift to fifth gear before shifting to the right gear.Thats why you have to give extra gas.Dont matter how much you open the throttle the car always stop in fifth gear before going to the rigth gear .I belive thats is the main issue, and why it take so long to shift .When you press the gas it shift to fifth in no time ,and from fifth to what ever gear it need in no time is the whole transition that take time the fifth gear stop.