Just a quick scroll through the forum & you'll see typical threads w/ 20 replies, this one is going on 57 pages and approaching 850 posts. Houston, I think we have a problem

 

After reading through this novel of a thread I nervously tried to duplicate the various issues described in my '12 G37S. It is only a couple hundred miles out of break-in. So far everything seems great, I just got back from a drive around town and surrounding highways. Very little lag, when I needed some go, it went. No jerkiness when downshifting either manually, D, or DS. Never any sudden jerks when coming to a stop.

 

I don't have a big lag if I step on the gas while in D. The only issues I used to experience was the rough downshift and that's long gone. My only issues with this gearbox as of today is the car like to cruise in 7th gear way too much for my taste. But I have adapted to this behavior.

I hate when people post in a thread about AT gearboxes "you should of bought the 6MT", but this does apply to a lot of auto gearboxes issues. Although to be fair the 6MT is not perfect either. All autoboxes make some compromises along the way. If you buy one you have to learn it's quirks and adapt.

I had the 5AT, 08xS, drove for over a year. It used to cruise in 5th gear all the time also. The difference here is the top gear. The G35 used to cruise around town in 5th, the G37 cruises in 7th. You had to expect more of a delay from the 7AT since it has to downshift from 7th. If I have to have an auto, and all of my past cars till my 08 G35 where manuals, I prefer the 7AT over the 5AT.

No auto type gearbox ever works as well as a true manual gearbox. Not even the twin clutch gearboxes. Spend a couple of weeks with a DSG in stop and go traffic and you'll see. But if you have one you'll eventually learn it's quirks and adapt.

The only thing I would to see fix for my gearbox is cruising in high gear. I want 6th & 7th gear lock out at speeds below 45 mphs. If they ever issues a TSB for that I'm in. If they don't release one I'll live because I have adapted to this quirky AT gearbox.

 

The loaner car always feels faster because most people drive it like they stole it. The ECU adapt to a more aggressive driving style. Most people don't drive their cars like that, me included. But I do drive the loaner cars hard, but not in a abusive way.

 

This is my biggest complaint. It is the one that makes me no longer trust the car to "go" when I need it to go. And then the brain wakes up and seems to "gun" it. The delay followed by the unrefined lunge is silly. $300 cars with 150k on the odometer don't do that crap. It is even more ridiculous when the road is wet. The car's sudden jerk to accelerate sometimes triggers its traction control, and then you get another delay after the first delay! Delay-jerk-delay-go. It's sort of a battle of the poorly designed systems to see who's turn it is this time to ruin the driving experience.


Sudden Jerk=Luxury?? Unpredictable Delay=Performance?? Which one of these is this feature?

I hope that the few positive reports from '12 owners are true, which would suggest that maybe another software update will come for the '11 and earlier ones. I'm not optimistic, because it seems like half of the '11 and earlier owners claim there is 'no problem', and it seems it can be a perception issue. All of the 7AT I drove had the problems, which I could duplicate in just 10 minutes of driving. "Works as designed" is new in my vocabulary. Even the service advisor said "They all have this problem."

It would not surprise me at all if the lag is worse with the TSB. I am told the early ones had a nasty occasion to gun the gas as you were coming to a stop, albeit once in a long while. This (again I am told) resulted in some fender benders when pulling into parking spots. TRULY unexpected acceleration. When you have a major bug in your software and desperately need to patch it asap to avoid getting sued, you throw in a delay.

 

I've had the DSG gearbox from Audi and it was silky smooth. In fact, I couldn't even feel when the car shifts. Currently, the A6 has the auto tiptronic and it is smooth as butter also. My dad had the 7AT in his Mercedes SLK previously and it wasn't jerky or had any lag either. Not saying they are perfect, but everyone knows the Infiniti AT can and should be a lot better.

 

Yep...its now got 440. Its my weekend car if its not raining - usually drive the maxima otherwise which has 77k year 2009

 

I like the reliability of Infiniti....but I highly doubt I will acquire another one when my lease expires unless the transmission issues are appropriately addressed. Although I have learned to live with the "challenges" of my transmission....its truly unacceptable for a $41,000 car. If a $22,000 Chevy Malibu or a $21,000 Hyundai Sonata can have a smooth transmission, I fail to understand why Infiniti can't offer the same.....grrrrrrrr.

 

financeman, well said... For all of you who have posted your protests about the 7AT in your Gs, please notice that Fractionalized Threads have been started addrssing the same Lagging / Hesitation issues. That doesn't serve our consumer purposes too well. We should continue to post on One Thread, in fact a survey should be taken since some respondents indicate they have No Problem at all... Then that Link can be sent directly to Infiniti and Consumer Magazines, Auto review Magazines, etc., creating a Loud Voice of Protest and Displeasure.
I'm sure we are all looking for the answer. I don't think there is one. I've finally been able to reschedule my Factory Tech meeting for this coming week at the Dealership (Pepe Infiniti, in White Plains, NY), but again, not expecting anything more than just marketing BS.

 

Here you go.
VWVortex.com - The "Unofficial" DSG Issues Thread
No auto type gearbox, or twin clutch gearbox is ever going to be perfect. And the more gears you have the more issues you will probably see.

 

That's true of course. Nothing is perfect.

Just today it made a VERY hard down or upshift when I began to accelerate after slowing to around 15mph. Nice gentle driving, and this junk decides it wants to slam a gear in. Gear selector was in "D", and I never touched the paddles. Really, I just rolled my eyes. One more thing to add to the list of problems with this garbage. With any other car I'd bring it right to the dealer. Don't care anymore at this point, it is always screwing up, so I just say to myself "working as designed", as I have been trained to by the service advisers, and smile while thinking about what future vehicle may replace it.

In my own experience with many many cars, only one auto trans has ever been annoying. Only one would I describe as "buggy". It's this one. None are perfect. This one is a just a total mess, that's all.

If it was a DSG, I would forgive it as new unrefined technology.

 

Sometime this summer they will be releasing an update to the 2012 programming for the older ones, should fix it, keep in mind, yes there are a lot of threads on this issue with quite a few people, but think how many cars are actually out there with absolutely no problems...when you think of the ratio it is really quite low. Its a numbers game, you wont get people to start threads on how their transmission works fine, but if there is an issue then of course people are going to vocalize it. Not saying there is not an issue, just it's not as huge an issue as it is made out to be. Just wait it out until the update and get it done.

 

I got a 2011 G37 and I too have noticed some of the tranny issues many here have discussed, my main complaint is the hard 2 > 1 downshift, it can feel like you just fell into a large pothole, it seems to only do it when cold, the dealer say's that they can't do anything and that last years TSB doesn't apply to my car and that there may be a updated version coming out, I have also called Infiniti Consumer Affairs and only got a apology for any inconvenience that this may cause

I have owned many cars that cost alot less than a G37 without transmission problems, so far I'm not sold on their "Inspired Performance" slogan, if they spent less money on fantasy TV ad's showing cars drifting, changing color and chasing extra large snowballs down a mountain, and fix this problem, it would be money better spent

 

I had the DSG in my A3 and yes (i may have even posted on that thread or on Fortitude), there may be some harsh downshifts at times, but they are no where near the G. Nor did it have the lag. I can slam on my brakes, then step on the gas and the car will go. No 3 second lag before the tranny decides what gear it wants to be in.

I agree, no AT will be perfect, but from my personal experience, the DSG is no where near the G's lag and jerkyness. Go drive one and let me know what you think.

 

You know...I do have a 2011 EX 35...it has a 7AT in it...THERE IS NO LAG AND NO HARD DOWNSHIFTS. Why cant they just fix this if they already have a 7AT that works great????