What they need to do is give you an options setting to how you want the tranny to operate. Default would obviously be the way it is now, but then give other options to fine tune downshifting, lockup points, etc..

Wait, can't this be done with a tune already? Or that's just for the ECU, not TCM?

 

1 in 3 is about 10% more than 30%, a significant distortion statistically. I think the numbers in this poll reflect that about 2/3 of owners are happy with they way the 7AT works, and about 1/3 are not. Are 1/3 of the transmissions defective? Almost certainly not. Are some of the transmissions defective? Probably. But the noise from those who just made a bad buying decision gets lumped together with those who have atypical problems, and this probably detracts from getting Infiniti to fix the defective ones.

Flamers forgiven in advance. I know you're hurting.

 

Not sure what you mean about 10% more than 30%. Right now the poll above has around 30% unhappy in city driving. 1 in 3 is 33%, 1 in 4 is 25%. Either way, there is a large group of folks that aren't happy. I'm pretty positive Infiniti is NOT excited about the fact that 20, 30, 40% are not happy with something about their product. That isn't the kind of success rate that any car company would like. In the end, they hope you like your G enough that you'll back and buy another one in a few years.

Are the transmissions defective? No way. I agree with you. Calling buying it a "bad buying decision" is hardly fair. How would I know that my car would jump a few hundred rpm's (the "Flare") after the car is warm and then parked then driven again. Or that my car can't smoothly roll to a stop UNLESS the A/C is ON (which puts the engine under a bit more load and a higher idle). Guess it's my fault for not test driving the car without the a/c on and then off. Or driving for 15 mins and parking and then jumping in and driving again to see if it "Flares".

Infiniti know's there are issues. Hell, even JD powers slammed them for their 7AT. When SO many people complain....something is up. Where there is smoke there is fire.

When I first got my 09 G37xS, you could roll up to a light without even braking..LOL. The downshifting was pretty aggressive. It wasn't rough or slamming into gears...the car just wouldn't roll up to a stop. Then they released a flash for the TCU. This fixed the problem, but not the others. The car sometimes jerks from 3 to 2 as if it waited to long to downshift (the rpms might drop to 800 then jump up to 1100 as it drops from 3 to 2...and this produces a quick jolt or jerk. There there is the "flare"...a jump in rpms as the car is shifting from 3 to 4 or 4 to 5. For me, this only seems to happen after the car is fully warmed, shut off (say i run into a store), then started and driving again.

Is there anything wrong with the transmisson? NO. This is all software.

I had the second TCU/ECU flash applied last winter when it came out. Seems to be no different. Still flares, still not a smooth downshift. Heck, my dealer may not have installed it right. Maybe they didn't flash the ecu and only did the TCU. I'm so tired of asking I've become a pest.

Here is a quick clip of my car, I took it the other day. Watch at the 8 second mark for the "flare". You can see it jump a few hundred rpm's. You can feel it. Its not right. That's why they have supposedly addressed it in their latest ref lash. So to say folks are crazy or have regrets about making a bad decision is just not right.

Car.MOV - YouTube

For the record, I'm not a flamer. I don't hate my car. I'm not a troll. I'm only 32, but have been driving Nissan/Infiniti since I was 18. Had a 93 Maxima, then an 06 Altima SE-R and now the 09 G37.

Thanks,
Mike S.

 

1 in 3 is about 33%. 33-30=3 30/3=10. So 33% is 10% more than 30%. That's what I meant.

I consider that a lot of people made bad buying decisions because the buzz about how the 7AT works was out there when they were making their decisions. Some, like you, may have bought before that was the case. I apologize for implicitly lumping everyone together.

 

Watching your video, how is that flare an issue I don't see what or how it actually affected your driving experience it was a millisecond blip, the car didn't drop two gears or accelerate I just don't see the issue, if you didn't have a tachometer I highly doubt you'd even know it was happening?

 

Unfortunately, you can feel and hear it. The car sort of jerks a bit as the flare happens. Likely, the the torque converter is unlocking just as the car shifts (remember it has variablely locking parameters) resulting in a quick 200-300 rpm jump a split second before the shift. This interups the flow of acceleration since an locked TC puts less power to the wheels. Passengers have noticed it too.

 

Weird I don't feel it at all on my 2011, it was built last July I wonder if they changed the valve body or programming besides the TSB because it's very smooth unless I drive it aggressively.

 

I take my wife's 2007 G35x whenever I can (I've got the 2010 G37x and hers is a lot more fun and responsive). Not sure if there's any difference in gas consumption.
My 2010 lags and has caused near misses on a couple of occasions because of this.