Helikido

Hey guys, I just recently bought a 2011 G37S with about 80k on the clock. Here are my initial thoughts, findings, and questions!

• 7 A/T: It's silky smooth at times, roughas hell at other. It's never really predictable when it's going to shift smoothly or not. I believe the car is running on 80k of original tranny fluid, so I'll be changing that out soon with OEM ATF. I read extensively about the G37 7A/T TSB, but I'm not sure if it's worth $$$ I have to pay a dealer to do it ($200 or so?). The car is out of warranty so it's not free as far as I know. It just sucks that the software is not as optimized -_-. Other than that, it's a smooth drive!
• When I first bought it, I started to notice that the steering was actually pretty heavy, and somewhat "jittery" whenever turning it really quick back and forth at 25+ MPH. Just changed the power steering fluid today with some Valvoline Max Life Full Synthetic ATF. The difference was HUGE. The steering became very light, responsive, and no jittery feeling anymore whatsoever. Fluids are really important in cars to change!
• Whistle screetch sound on Full Throttle: I noticed that my G makes a whistle/screetch sound whenever I'm flooring it hard and it shifts are redline or very very high RPMs. I looked it up, and it seems like that's a normal thing.
• Lights dim at slight throttle: I noticed that whenever the car is idling with cabin lights on, if I give the engine some the throttle, the lights momentarily dim (very noticeable dim). All the lights have been switched out for LEDs so I'm not sure if that's the reason?
• Stinky oil smell coming from the engine bay when idling or full throttle: I noticed that if the car is idling for a small bit and the fan kicks in to cool it down, I can smell a stinky oil smell. The same occers if I floor the car, I can smell that smell through my air vents. Not sure what it is, I do know that the engine bay has been steem cleaned so I'm not sure if that's why (pressure or steam cleaned, it looks really nice and clean). I did change my own oil and the engine inspected for any oil leaks, nothing was wrong.
• Whine noise at start up: For some reason, I get a weird whine noise at startup that varies with engine RPMs. It goes away whenever the car is warmed up, but it's still noticeable if you pay attention and try to hear it. Initially I thought it was the PS pump due to old PS fluid, but it's still there after the PS fluid change. I hope it's nothing more than a simple fix! I really hate wine based noises in engine, and hope that it's either normal or not.
• Question about alignments: Where is the best place to perform a full alignment for this car? Is Firestone or similar places adequate?
• ECU Reset: I recently performed an ECU reset. After the reset, the car imediately developed weird hesitations in engine idle after the first restart after the ecu reset. It quickly went away. Today after change the PS fluid (with allot of on and off), I tried turning the car on one of the times and then it just turned on then the engine stalled and shut off. The second time, it was as if nothing happened. The third time restarting the engine, it turned on but then slowly hesitated and dropped in RPM, shutting off. Never had this issue until I reset the ECU. I drove the car very easily after the ECU reset.
• Bose audio is disappointing. My prior car's stock sound had more bass and was louder significantly. Keep in mind I'm using BL however.

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Overall, it's a very nice car! Heavy, but nice as heck!

Victory

The reason you had issues after the ECU reset is likely due to dirty throttle bodies. Remember, the ecu changes its perameters over time to adjust to changing conditions. Its response to a dirty throttle body obstructing airflow and causing a low idle is to adjust perameters to open the throttle plate slightly more at idle. You reset this.

see the DIY on cleaning the throttle bodies and performing the proper learning procedures

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

I'm never happy with chain alignments. IMO they just get the settings "in range" and call it done.

I'd browse RennTech.org and the Miatia forums to find out where those guys are going, and find someone who specialized in lowered cars and who will take their time to do it right.

While I probably paid 2x the price of a chain shops lifetime alignment cost, the shop I went to did a solid job. Wheel properly aligned, equal L/R specs, and everything paint indexed so I can tell at a glance if anything changed.

I'll also agree on changing out the power steering fluid. I've used the syringe/turkey baster technique on my car twice now and can tell the difference immediately after.

Congrats on your new-to-you G37S

guy from norcal

iTrader: (2)

I would look into a grounding kit. Makes the 7AT shift much better.
Also the tranny should be serviced. You can use valvoline max life ATF, Thats what i and several others have used.
Here's a Link if you plan on doing this yourself.

https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-i...rop-clean.html

G37sPhoton

Hey congrats on the purchase- the whine noise, i hear too, but i think i stopped paying attention to it sometime ago, if its the same that i used to hear, dont forget diff fluid and regarding the bulbs, i had changed mine out with some led from amazon and noticed some weird flickers etc, so swapped them out again for standard until i find a suitable replacement, also check your belt as that may need to be changed if on original or at least consider it... enjoy the ride

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Welcome to the site! Sorry to hear of some of the issues you're having.

Not on my G, but on an older Maxima we bought last year, it started having that whine a while back, especially noticeable at start up, and a couple weeks ago we got that burned rubber smell. The lights started dimming, battery light came on followed bu other dash warning lights, then barely made it up our driveway. Alternator had failed, but this seemed to be a steady progression over a few weeks.

G/L with your current set of issues. I was one of the ones that changed ATF myself w/ the MaxLife ATF about 25k miles ago, still performing well FWIW.

Helikido

I'll get to that as soon as I can! It never actually occurred to me that the TB could be it, I was thinking that my MAF sensor where going out.... I searched up the DIY and it seemed really easy, so for sure I'm doing this next.

The PSF really made a big difference. I can't wait to change the ATF fluid as a result afterwards. As for the alignments, I really do need a place that can do alignments at leastonce every two months. The roads here suck....and I'd hate to have to pay allot of $$ just for accidentally hitting a pot hole...

I saw what people have had to say and it seems like the grounding kit made a big difference for many people when it came to shifting. Definitely going to follow the DIY for the grounding kit and get it implemented. Time to hit up Amazon for all the materials.

As for the ATF, I'm not really comfortable with going with anything other than OEM fluids for the ATF, unless it's proven that Valvoline Max Life ATF is better than OEM by taking ATF samples. I tried looking up some data, but unfortunately I couldn't find any comparisons. I do know that Valvoline ATF is really good.

Thank you! It's a really nice ride. I'm going to be installing the grounding kit and will see if it fixes the light problem (hopefully!). I'll for sure be changing the diff fluid as well. What do you think is the best diff fluid?

I wouldn't really call them issues, but rather annoyances. The only real issue I have is that whine it has developed. Here it is: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KwY4pLwv5xIhbqTh-Tbi7eDX0porGFFY/view?usp=drivesdk

My phone was placed right in front of the bumper on the grill taking this recording. Please let me know what you think is causing this whine. It may be a bearing of some sort....but I hope nothing major like a PS pump or so. Thank you once again!


On a side note every one, my rear got covered with a bunch of hard water spots. Lights, trunk, spoiler, and bumper have it bad. Not sure how to remove these hard water spots and what products work well or not. Anyone have any ideas?

Helikido

Does anyone know how long it takes a mod to approve a post? I had a nice lengthy reply to everyone and my post had to be pre-approved, possibly due to the length and a link.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

I approved that post so it should show up, let me know if it's not showing up for you.

Rochester

iTrader: (9)

Since you're on a fluid swap binge, don't forget the rear diff gear oil.

Helikido

Thank you everyone for your help. Unfortunately yesterday my G37 got totaled. An individual ran a stop sign and smashed my right passenger doors in and rear body panel. Not sure if it's totalled, but since the side curtains deployed, it pretty much is at this point -_-

kroy

You may also need a new battery. Are you still using the original?

Edit: Looks like you won't be needing that battery.

Helikido

Unfortunately...

iCrap

iTrader: (8)

wow. you only had it 4 days?

Helikido

Less than 4...