i don't know if it's just my maxima or if everyone experiences this but my maxima drives very very differently when the engine is cold vs when it's warmed up. i never really thought too much about it but my girlfriend's honda accord and several other cars i've driven don't seem to be affected too much by a cold engine. my maxima drives very jerky and holds gears much longer than it should when it's cold. it really drives like $hit. when it's warm it's fine though. i find it hard to believe that back in 1995 it drove like that when it's cold, so what would cause that? does anyone else feel my pain? lol lemme know guys

 

I have a 5 speed and besides the fact the the engine runs a little rough right at start up it runs great when cold even feels like there is a little more power, even though it's not good to drive hard when the engine is cold. The reason the transmission shifts hard is because the transmission fluid expands when the car warms up. When i had an automatic i used to do burnouts and not mean to because the trans was so jumpy

 

mine drives lean.. runs about 15.3-15.4 af.. till it warms ups.. but other than that it runs fine..

 

everythings still cold so the car will drive like the king of the road till the engine gets heated up then it will go normal

 

Idles a lil higher....thus making clutch work a lil different then when it s at operating temp....FYI cold air = more power.....so winter = more power...to bad it snows alot here....but when it doesnt its fun

 

i'm talking to those people with auto trannys. mine shifts hard through almost every gear and holds gears like too long and just seems like it makes a lot more noise and runs really crappy. i hate driving it when the engine's cold. i know cold air = more power but i feel like the car would fall apart if i gave it WOT while the engine was cold. it runs really badly. could this be a problem? i'm sure it didn't drive off the showroom floor in 1995 driving that way when the engine is cold so what happened over the years? other cars drive fine when the engine is cold. is it something i could clean out or something?

 

cold air = dense air. In winter, you are basically getting a cold air intake for free for a few months. Kids in the auto club up here call it "magic turbo." It's a big inside joke.

 

I Know cold = dense....i just simplify for the folk here.........LOL at the Magic Turbo

 

ok then....i had an auto...when it was cold it would hold shifts a tad longer and doesnt not go into OD until the tranny is at operating temp....they all do

 

doesn't it also mean more gas being used too? i like power.. but my mpg isn't that good

But my max, also an auto, does the same as OP posted.. i thought it was normal cuz we got older camry's and they do the same - but not too jerky.

 

if u hold it at WOT all the time...but under normal crusing MPG wont really be that effected

 

What does WOT stand for? ... i kno, n00b ...

 

Is there any reason you drive while the car is cold? I refuse to move the car until its warmed up,but the few times i have it sucks....Oh yea it Wide Open Throttle,WOT,lol

 

W.ide O.pen T.hrottle

 

cause ur paranoid....driving the car cold is fine..its actually the best way to warm teh car up....but going WOT and redline while cold is another story thats is bad

 

i'm not talking about the cold weather outside. it could be 100 degrees in summer. i'm just talking about when the engine temp is cold on the temp meter on the dash. i know maximas back in 1995 didn't roll off the assembly line driving all crappy when the engine is cold. so this leads me to believe that over time, something has gotten clogged, dirty, worn-out, etc to make it drive like this. surely this is something that other people are frustrated by also. i can't be the only one

 

YEA....i am talking about operating temps...not ambient air just cause its 100 outside doesnt mean the parts are at proper operating temps.....honestly it prolly does it for likw 1-2 mins....

 

Well to be honest with you.... I have an auto and when the engine is cold my car does not jerk it might hold the gear a little bit longer but i do not see any performance issue.. and plus i never WOT it when its cold AT ALL "VERY BAD IDEA"...
basically i'm not frustrated when its cold

 

I have the same issue.. Here in AZ it can be in the 90's at 8A.M. and the car will still drive weird.. My car will hold gears longer and shift into every gear really rough. Once it has been in every gear, everything gets much smoother. One time I did do a WOT to avoid an accident while leaving my neighborhood, and the car seemed normal. I have only done that once tho . But yea I hear ya, I have a hard time believing these cars drove off the line like this! I have 86k still on the original tranny fluid (I think, I doubt the original owners changed it, thats why I have not bothered to, I figure its too late).

 

Ok so you let me make sure were together here,are you only talking about the vehicle temp its ok to drive cold...cause I live in Philly bro and it gets pretty damn cold in the winter,so Im just confused here. Lol,perhaps Im a bit paranoid but its routine but now Im curious. Ok lets say its 80 outside,its cool to just start and go?Does that apply if its 30 outside?Even with all this said I cant see that saying it the "Best" way to warm the car up right? If so why? Im not saying your wrong Im just trying to understand.

 

dude, just drain & re-fill ur tranny fluid. It's still better than just leaving it in there.

 

Oil is thinner....

 

GodSon, I don't claim to be a mechanic I get my vehicle insights directly from them or from personal experience. My personal experience being it's not harmful to drive your car right away after you start up in winter. Just don't drive too fast until you get to operating temp. I say this because, while I lived in Germany where it gets hella cold, it's actually illegal to let your car sit and idle, its a huge fine. I also asked the Nissan technician and he confirmed what I said earlier. Besides it only takes 2 to 3 minuts of driving to get the engine relatively warm.

 

I thought that after a certain amount of miles your just supposed to leave it alone. Since the metal shavings have worn away too much.. It shifts fine tho, except for in the morning, and when I changed my radiator the fluid looked really pinkish red (good right?) So maybe it has been done before? I got the car with 61K a year and a half ago and didnt know nearly as much about cars as I do now.

 

the reason it drive better is cuz of 2 things... one the fast idle cam is opening the throttle.. second the motor is running pig rich to get the engine to start and to get it up to temp..

 

+1 dude, just let the rpm drop off to about 1K and start driving. It's better to start driving to get up to temp faster than just sitting still and burning gas while the engine isn't working in it's most efficient state.

 

You're right about that, it's just that people say not to "FLUSH" the tranny fluid if it has been in there that long; You can still drain/re-fill the ATF, and that still leaves plenty of old fluid in there, the new fluid just "replenishes" the old one.

 

hmmm... I think I will look into this it will most likely give me some more time with my Tranny anyways right? It wont die right there when I do it right? like some of the stories that have been told here lol

 

Well that depends If you're noticing trouble right now, don't touch the ATF, just put some "Lucas OIL Tranny fix" where you tranny dipstick is. That can help you if it's not 2 late.

Yeah, i've looked @ every ATF thread on the .org 2 months ago when i bought my max with some 126K miles on it. The general concensus was that if you've never had your tranny "flushed", then you should just "drain/refill" the ATF. But if you're already noticing problems, your best bet is to add some lucas oil additive in there. It will help to smooth things out (a lot in some cases), but it doesn't perform miracles like fixing damage to worn mechanical parts (unfortunately)

 

when it's really cold outside, as soon as you start the car you should floor it and hold it at rev limiter for 10-sec. That helps get the oil pressure up nice and high while improving oiling in the upper end.....

 

Ok, well I will probably do a drain and refill then, since I am having no problems at all.. so thanks!

 

It's good to "refresh" your ATF every 15K miles. Since you don't have any problems, you shouldn't worry about anything

 

how about u DON'T drive ur car with a cold engine... I always warm it up

 

good idea! how did i now think of that?? genius!

 

this turned into another "should I change my atf fluid or not? " thread

5 spd FTW

 

...

 

Gas is also winterized = diluted = lower MPG.

 

My car has far more power early in the morning when it's cold. I'm guessing having a CAI contributes a lot to that. I have a 5 spd, so can't really comment on AT problems.

 

If you know about cars, and energy, anyone will tell you that you should wait till coolant reaches operating temp,...Its so sad to see all these people everywhere i go start up there brand new cars and take off. eventually you will blow all your gaskets., and blow smoke evertime you start..even if car is already warn you should wait till engine rmp steadies before moving. . .

 

The problem is, in a lot of situations that is impractical.

I keep the rpms low and the throttle light, but sitting and waiting while I stare off into space is not really an option for me.