I think we can all agree that the G's tranny is not meant for super aggressive driving in the city. There's really no debating this. I have the issues, where sudden deceleration followed by aggressive accelearation results in a noticable lag, and there is always this one turn I take very aggresively and hat same lag happens exiting the turn. But that's 5% of the time when I'm driving like an idiot to be honest. Are other people's cars more affected by the quirks because they drove more aggressively from the get go? I'm sure it has. But I don't understand why you put yourself thru all this hassle for a problem that you know deep down can't be resolved to your satisfaction.

Infiniti is right, it's not designed that way. ie: very aggressive city driving. If you insist on driving aggressively in the city most of the time then the G is not for you. Just a consequence of 330 HP, 7 gears, and trying to get acceptable mileage ratings.

Don't waste your time complaining to the dealer\head office a gazillion times. Sell the car, get something else that suits your driving style while offering comparable performance #'s and maybe the next gen G will suit you better but a simple software fix or reflash or whatever mumbo jumbo they propose is not gonna work when it has to go against the whole design of the tranny and other related inputs to maximize mileage.

Does it suck for the people who's driving style is affected by the G's quirks. Sure does but there's alot more cars out there than Infinitis so you have alot of choices and your G has good resale value.

You are just chasing your tail if you think this issue will be resolved with this generation of cars. Infiniti has known about it for several years and if they haven't had the ability to fix it by now then it's not happening. Lease (if you've complained this much then getting out of your lease won't be a problem) or buy another used car (probably won't lose any money with a comparable model year of a different manufacturer).

 

Yes, and this is exactly why I am new-car-shopping again, just 6 months after buying this new 2011 G37. I will probably have the G long enough to see this rumored new TSB coming this summer, but I am not getting my hopes up at all and am ready to move on.

The point of all the ranting is that ALL OTHER AUTOMATICS I have driven ARE designed to work well in what you are calling "aggressive city driving". This is the source of our shock/disappointment/outrage or whatever you want to call it. It may never lead to a solution from Infiniti, but maybe there's jus ta little chance that if they get enough phone calls and enough survey respondents, something might be done. It's better than nothing. I'd rather keep the car and not take the financial hit, If it can be made acceptable.

By the way, I'm NOT driving like an idiot, and I experience the brake/turn/gas 1-2 second lag followed by a sudden jerk, multiple times per drive.

 

So I wrote Infiniti as suggested earlier on and their response was "Infiniti relies on its authorized retailers to provide technical support to our valued customers. Please contact or visit your local Infiniti retailer, as they are in the best position to address your vehicle concerns."

While I was at the dealership on Friday to get my oil changed, I talked to one of the Service Managers who said they were aware of this issue, however there is not a fix for it. He said the problem is that the transmission is controlled by an ECU now and its the response time from the ECU to the Transmission and visa versa.

 

Typical B.S. from dealer. They don't know anything about engineering, programming, electronics, etc, and routinely insult the intelligence of anyone with a clue - nothing new there.

Their primary area of expertise is to dissuade you from smashing the car through the front of the building, and to fill out forms for repair orders, that's about it.

They should be coached not to make silly statements like that because once in a while someone with an IQ over 90 will come along and call B.S.

I did, and the service adviser said to me "Look, this is what they tell us to say when people complain about this problem. I hear you and I totally understand its frustrating." This is encouraging in a way, since there is now apparently a "protocol" for how to talk about the issue. It's not energy directed in a useful way, but maybe we can hope that some effort is being made in doing something to help fix or improve it. I am not optimistic personally.

Don't expect any deep understanding or knowledge from the dealer regarding the problem.
Heck, the engineers at Nissan apparently aren't experts in transmission control design either
.

 

I understand your frustrations, but the trans response very well in aggressive or supper aggressive street driving. Actually, that is one of the complain that people have, too aggressive!! If you throw it in sport mode, as soon as you brake into a corner it will down shift and hold the gear ready to pull out of the corner. A typical behavior or any auto trans is when you lift the throttle, the trans will shift to higher gear. That is just how it supposed to work!
Even if you are driving a manual and you are in high gear and try to accelerate, you will get laggy acceleration, either from too high of a gear lugging the engine, or the time it takes you to crunch your syncros to down shift.
The trans has its quirks, but learning how it works actually make it more involving to drive, a little bit more fun.
If I have money I will trade in the car, but not because how the transmission behaves.

 

my Audi A6 with tiptronic shifts better than the G and gets better gas mileage. My previous A3 with DSG was the best tranny I've ever had. Smooth and flawless. That's my experience, so don't anyone start arguing with me about DSG and it's other issues. I'm speaking only on the shifting nature.

 

Very interesting.... I'll try to reprogram my brain not to stomp on it too agressively when I see a truck coming at me.

 

I've been driving for xx years, and I have never had a truck coming at me. When is the last time you actually had a vehicle coming at you in your lane? Me, never in xx years. Nor, did I ever have to make an emergency maneuver by flooring the gas to get out of the way. I've been able to avoid getting in a car crash by observing and braking appropriately, not by outrunning other cars.

 

I guess in your xx years of driving you've never had to pass anyone or make a left turn from a stop.

 

Hey dude, I was just explaining my experience with the car and how I've learned to drive it. I also drove cars from the 60's and 70's with ATs that had that kind of "lag" too...shockingly, I haven't been killed by oncoming trucks in my 32 years of driving.

If that's your response, then you are panicking instead of driving smartly.

Try stomping on it with a MT without downshifting...see where that gets you.

Stay out of the way of trucks...or better yet, don't pull out in front of them. If the reaction time of the AT downshifting means the difference in an accident, you are definitely in a bad position already.

 

If you are passing someone and you need to get out of the way of truck coming at you, then you made a bad decision in your passing timing.
Or like a lot of people I see, just don't care about safety.

 

Really? All other automatics you have driven are designed to work well in this type of situation? This is a bit over the top, no? But then again - you have not mentioned what other vehicles with automatics you have driven - maybe one? So it could be true. Especially if they were short test drives...with the owner in the passenger seat...

I really was trying to stay away from these transmission threads. In the grand scheme of things - a very small percentage of people are complaining. I am perfectly satisfied with mine - and I've driven and owned many, many automatic's: 350ZR, Acura MDX, BMW 540ia, BMW X5 4.4i, MB E420, even an old Taurus back in the day

It is sad that many folks became aware of these transmission characteristics after purchase. I assume you did little to no research on the vehicle before you decided to purchase. The posts on this board have been here for quite some time.

It is even more unfortunate that this board has been dominated by these conversations - they must be some of the most active threads. So - instead of getting rid of my new car...I'm getting rid of myg37. Maybe I'll be back. We'll see how the board morphs and gets over this.

Enjoy your car folks - you bought it for a reason.

- John

 

You know you can always ignore threads that are of no interest. Just saying.

 

It is sad that many folks became aware of these transmission characteristics after purchase. I assume you did little to no research on the vehicle before you decided to purchase. The posts on this board have been here for quite some time.

Malbec, (an excellent Wine btw,) aside from consulting this forum and these specific thread about the 7AT, yopu make the important point and expose the problems with Driver Magazine and Consumer's reports' reviews. None of those mention the quirky, jerky, hesitant 7AT. You know, it's not just the hesitancy, for like you I've been driving automatics: American & Foreign cars - for over 40 years. in fact, never owned a car with a MT. Yes, the old ATs and even the current ATs in other cars exhibit some hesitancy, but NOT LIKE THIS IMHO. That's why I am going to take this to the Limit. There's no Fix, that's BS. The Factory Rep told me so 2 weeks ago. They are just stringing everybody along trying to avoid class action suits and/or Attorney Generals' involvement.

It's a Flaw in the design. The 7AT that Infiniti / Nissan uses is a JATCO. I had problems in my 2005 V-6 Nissan Altima with the Torque converter over time and the Tranny in my 07 G35X was replaced after complaining about abrupt shifts up and down 2>3 and 3<2...After it was replaced (actually the hard shifts weren't That Bad), it terrific - best car I ever owned.

 

This long term multi-part review describes the transmission well IMO, although they didn't apparently notice the brake/turn/gas problem:

"The seven-speed automatic gearbox was the dynamic weak point in what was otherwise a polished and driver-centric package ... it just never seemed to deliver the requisite gearshift quality when it was needed. I got slushy when I wanted crisp, jerky when I wanted smooth and ponderous when I wanted quick ... Note to Infiniti engineers working on the next-gen G ... make sure it and the engine fully understand each other."

I should have taken the car for a longer test drive I guess. I never would have bought the car had I read this reviewer's comments about the transmission, because a good auto, like that is all of my other cars past and present, is important to me. I only read this after driving for several days and I started to wonder what on earth is wrong with this transmission? I take the responsibility for not searching for possible problems with this one car.

This quote later in the review really sums it up:
"The transmission software is a 'learner' ... To me it just feels old-tech and dim-witted - the very antithesis of what Infiniti is all about."

Here's a direct link for the whole multi-part long term review:
Infiniti G37S Coupe (2010) long-term test review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online