1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

Have you guys ever noticed when you put the car into d (drive) it takes a long time for it to get into gear. Its almost impossible to make a fast U-turn. Am i the only one to notice this?

Mreim769

May I ask why you put it into D to make a fast U-Turn? I assume you are referring to taking it out of Ds mode and putting it into D correct? The only real delay I notice is from R to D mode.

lightonthehill

He is probably making a U-turn on a narrow street, so is switching between Reverse and Drive quickly in order to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. This would cause him to encounter the R to D delay you mentioned, which is not unusual in trannies.

I am so thankful for the much tighter turning circle on this '09. My 6th gen was difficult to make a U-turn in, but most times, I can U-turn in this '09 with a simple flick of the steering wheel.

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

yea i live in nyc so alot of congestion, and yes the delay is from R to D, sorry i shouldve been more specific

Mreim769

Ahh. So there is nothing to worry about. All is normal

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

ohh ok sounds good i was just wondering cause my altima with the cvt never did that

IFuXwiTuZ

AUTOMATIC KID....thats what happens

Mreim769

I don't know if that was necessary. He had a legitimate concern, no need to get snippy.

MT2CVT

I searched through 6pgs of threads to find out if anyone else thought it took an unusually long time for the transmission to switch from R to D - it seems to take longer than moving from P to R or P to D.

After moving the gearshirt from R to D, the auto-tilting mirrors actually return to their normal position before D engages.

Is this normal?

LtLeary

Hmm, I didn't notice much delay (I just went out and tried it) of course my car was already warmed up. I also tried it against my bride's Grand Cherokee and found the difference pretty slight. Of course, I didn't put the throttle down as if I were making an "agitated cause I missed my turn y-turn" but didn't come to a stop before putting it into D either. How much delay are you experiencing?

LVleo78

FWIW, My 06 Murano w/CVT had about the same amount of delay as the Max wen going from Reverse to Drive... I am sure this is an intended design to prevent damage to the numerous drivetrain parts that could be destroyed by a sudden change in direction, especailly at any kind of speed...

lightonthehill

Although I began driving with manual trannies in the late 1940s, I have driven mostly automatics since, and I have always noticed a brief pause when switching from D to R, and from R to D. This is one of the few areas where I have always felt a manual might have a slight edge over an automatic. My '09 CVT seems to have about the same delay as my many previous Maxima automatics.

One thing that has definitely improved over the years is power steering. When I would get into a fishtail back in the '50s and '60s, the ditch was usually where I ended up, because the power steering balked at instant major switching between directions. Now, in this '09, I can switch directions instantly. Not that I need to, because the VDC prevents any sort of dangerous situations such as fishtailing from happening.

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

it must be a cvt thing, cause with all the other automatics i have ever driven , the delay in the cvt is the longest

DConrad2007

Is the VDC feature basically traction control for the Max?

lightonthehill

No.

Traction Control is a feature that has been around a few decades. It simply detects a drive wheel that is slipping (spinning instead of gripping the surface the car is on), reduces the throttle, and transfers more torque to the wheel that is not slipping. Traction Control generally comes into play when the car is having trouble moving. Traction Control is designed for one purpose only: To help the car move forward in a situation where it is having trouble doing so.

VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) is Nissan's name for Electronic Stability. Electronic Stability is a fairly recent system (a decade or so old) that is much more complicated than Traction Control. VDC senses which direction you are trying to steer the car in, and if that is not the direction the car is actually going, the system takes whatever action is necessary to make the car go where you are steering it. VDC can selectively apply braking at any one or more of the four wheels, alter the engine speed, etc, in order to correct for oversteer, understeer, or any condition that it feels will lead to a spin or fishtail. VDC generally comes into play when travelling at speed. VDC is designed for one purpose only: To help you keep control of the car at a time it is threatning to go out of control.

Traction Control and Vehicle Dynamic Control should not be confused with ABS (Antilock Braking), which eases the brake presure on a wheel that is about to lock (stop turning, which results in the tire simply sliding, with no driver control).

Neither should Traction Control or VDC or ABS be confused with EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution), which senses the weight distribution of the car, and applies a greater than normal brake pressure to the rear brakes if it finds a greater than normal weight in the rear portion of the car (such as back seat passengers, or 100 jugs of moonshine in the trunk).

The '09 Maxima has all four of these safety features: Traction Control, Vehicle Dynamic Control, Antilock Braking and Electronic Brake Force Distribution.

BMWHIGH1

lightonthehill: Originally Posted by DConrad2007
Is the VDC feature basically traction control for the Max?

The answer you gave him was correct, but nissan put the traction control and the vehical dynamic control under one button. Yes, they are two different systems, but if you turn the VDC button off the traction control system will also turn off.

lightonthehill

Which is even more reason to never turn the VDC off unless we are in a very unusual situation - say drift-racing on a dirt track, etc.

1sik4dsc

iTrader: (1)

and better 0-60 times

illjc25

anyone else feel its rough from R to P?? and like my car starts like rocking now like back and forward when I park it.. is that normal??

lightonthehill

I have not noticed anything like this. The only way I can think of that this might happen would be if you did not set the parking brake before moving the shift lever to park. On second thought, even if you did not set the parking brake, moving the shift lever from R to park should cause no more than one very tiny lurch as the CVT releases from reverse.

I hope your car is OK, but from your description of the problem, this does not sound good. We have not had much in the way of CVT problems with the 7th gen, and I sure hope we don't have any.

I know there is never a convenient time, but you should probably let your dealer have a look at this as soon as possible.

illjc25

thanks ill get it checked out also after i got a carwash today you can hear the damn fan from the HVAC loud as helllll wtf?? anyone else have this problem??

lightonthehill

I'm assuming that HVAC means you are talking about the fan that blows air inside the cabin. I don't see any connection between that fan and getting a car wash. If you had the engine running throughout the car wash, the fan speed should change very little, if at all.

If, however, the engine was turned off during the car wash, we have a different situation. As soon as we start our car, an HVAC system under Automatic Climate Control will usually try to get the cabin temp to whatever we have the temp set for very quickly, and so will rev the fan up to a very high speed. In that situation, I always immediately turn the fan speed down and let the system reach the proper temp gradually, because I don't like a tornado whistling past my ears.

IFuXwiTuZ

i dont know about the maxima but i know with my altima that if i was going R and i just threw it into D to quick the car would turn off.......

so if you guys are saying theres a delay for a reason not to break anything..well i dont know if thats 100% accurate info

02maxima76

Mine does it to. Before I leave for work in the morning, I let it run for a min or two and leave. Today when I shifted from Park to Drive, it took about 6-8 secs for the transmission to engage and the car started moving. It's done it a few more times in the past and one time I pressed the gas a tiny bit by mistake after Reversing out my driveway and it slammed into gear with an ugly sound. It's got 94k on it and I have no clue what's been done to it. I bought it from Carvana about 2 months ago and now things are popping up close to the end of my extended warranty lol. No accidents, one owner, previously from Arizona so it's rust free. This morning I thought my transmission went out from shifting into Drive from Park cuz it took so long to engage. I'll be calling them to figure it out and fix it but any ideas or comments are welcomed.