Hi All,

I have had my 2011 Maxima SV for about 7 months and it has about 9K miles on it. I thought i ask here someone that probably either knows or experiences the occurrence.

If the car is sitting overnight, you get in it, start the car, let it run for a minute or so, then reverse off the parking, then without full stopping the car, you switch to forward, when you hit the gas at this point there is hesitation followed by a clunk as if the transmission is trying to catch up with the engine rotation!

I assume this is normal, but if that is not the case, someone please share their opinion!

Sincerely a maxima Owner!

 

That does not sound normal,I'd get it checked out...I had an older mustang,long ago that did the described symptoms and it was caused by a transmission leak which caused insufficient fluid levels and slippage.

 

Will try and check the Dealer first thing Monday Morning. Thanks, although it would really bother me if there is something wrong with the Tranny! Sometimes you buy a new car to not go through this, i guess sometimes you can't help it.

If anyone else has any information please share!

Thanks!

 

So although I have never heard a clunking sound, when it is cold out mine has done the same. Now keep in mind a few things. The computer controls the bands of the CVT and there is a torque limit when you go to take off that is released at about 40mph. This is exagerated when it is cold and the computer wants to protect the transmission. Thats why even when we turn off our VDC it still wont lay a crazy patch. There is simply a limit controlled by the engine at low speed. Sucks and wish a piggy back unit could remove the limitation but when really thiking about it I would rather not replace such an expensive tranny.

 

Thanks JB! In a way i thought that would be the case, I will post after the trip to the dealer tomorrow, just to see what they have to say about it! The car has Extended warranty / equivalent to the bumper to bumper for 6 years 72K Miles, so i am not worried that much, it would bother me a bit if the case is that something wrong with it. Anyways thanks for posting!

 

ive never had this happen, id reproduce it for your dealer and see what they say

 

I have had that happen with my wife's '11 Murano a couple of times but I cannot make it do it when I want to. If it starts to happen more frequently I will bring it to the dealer. Let us know what the dealer finds.

 

I would let the car come to a full stop before putting it in drive, over time that will kill your transmission. That's why I want a friggin manual.

 

I wish they would bring a fregging Maxima Manual, i don't get it why they don't do it!

I will post after dealer looks into it!

 

FWD trannies are the worst to do a rolling gear change. Simple task DONT DO IT! I like my tranny and a few more seconds of a complete stop isnt going to kill anyone or a transmission.

 

Cuz no one bought them. Manual mode is pretty fun to me.

 

They DID do it. In fact, they kept on building Maximas with fine manual trannies through the 2006 model year, although many years earlier, dealers had stopped taking them from Nissan because nobody was buying them. The fault is 100% THE PUBLIC, NOT NISSAN.

 

100% agreed! I would NEVER move my tranny to ANY forward setting if the car was moving backward, even if it was only moving one MPH. I often did that with manuals from 1949 until 1984, but that was an entirely different (and much more simple) tranny. Automatic and CVT trannies are not built with that in mind.

A clunk means either there is a tranny problem or we are not shifting properly. If there is no clunk when the tranny is shifted when the car is completely stopped, the problem is operator. If the tranny clunks when the tranny is shifted from neutral to a forward selection (such as 'D') while the car is completely stopped, the dealer has some warranty work to do.

 

How cold does it get over night, the trans is super sluggish after sitting especially in cold weather, and I have noticed the trans hesitates between D and R and vise versa, hitting the gas while in between gears, sounds like your problem is the driver being impatient modern cars can't take a beating like older cars, just take a stroll through a used car lot and see the new cars with the excessive premature wear and damage

 

Temperature today was low 30's, damn it and i am in Charleston SC, ah well can't do much about the weather. As far as shifting while moving, I don't do it often, it just happened to notice that one day, as i was pulling off my parking lot being late for work, then it stuck on my head, and every time i tried to replicate it, the hesitation was there, but as far as the Clunk goes, i have heard it maybe couple of times, nothing big of course, simple knock but noticeable. Anyways, dropping the car this morning, just a check to clear my paranoid head about little ticks and knocks.

I like the cars to not have any rattling noise or un-neccessary noises, and always use mobile one Oil / filters.

Thanks for the discussion!

 

Something else to consider on near or sub-freezing nights is that the ATF fluid in the CVT is going to be viscous until you actually get some rolling miles in the morning. Mine has always felt sluggish on a cold startup. Just take it easy for the first 5 mins of driving and you'll be fine

 

Believe it or not, you are correct. When i took it there this morning, one of the guys jumped in the car with me and said:
"Can you show me the problem".
I was like: "Sure"
I tried it 4-5 times to replicate the problem, and could not.
guy looks at me and start laughing, then he says : "Let me look at it anyways just to make sure"
So the car is in the shop as i am writing this. I will let you know on the findings!

Thanks!

 

Hahaha, I know a little about a lot my friend!

Never hurts to have a Tech check it out just to be on the safe side. Plus, you shouldn't be gunning a cold motor anyway...

 

dont throw it in drive when it is reversing. its simple. your going to wreck your tranny if you are hearing clunks. why would you put it in drive when your moving backwards. a good way to ruin your transmission.

 

Anyways, after a visit to the dealer , the results are:

"We checked the car mounts, shifting, the computer, and the oil level's, everything looked good, as a precaution, this kind of transmission are not build for switching gears while the car is in movement, not that will cause major issues, but we do not recommend it. If in R come to full stop, then shift to D. Good Luck"

I thought i share the findings, While the engine is cold, i personally suggest that if you want the car to be in optimal shape I suggest that you drive the car cautiously while cold, once it reaches normal temperatures by all means do as you please!

Thanks for everyone's time and effort, have fun, and enjoy your maximas!

Now time to shop for Wheels.

Sincerely, Crimson Black 2011 Nissan Maxima SV!

 

when its cold out and its gets cold in buffalo, i like to start my car a min a 5 min before i leave the house....plus it allows the seats and steering wheel to get toasty

 

And there u have it!

 

No ****. Anyone could have told you not to shift into drive when you are currently moving backwards. that will cause the tranny much stress that can be avoided by simply stopping fully before shifting into drive.

 

ya no kidding, shift your tranny only when in full stop.

the a35 max rocks, it's a filthy beast that commands the road.

 

I thought no matter what kind of tranny you need to be fully stopped before changing to R or it stresses it unnecessarily

 

same here

 

Not sure what u said but I will break it down... On RWD it isnt so harsh due to the fact the tranny dont get the full effect the FWD tranny gets. Meaning on a RWD it has to go threw the axles to the rear end, to the driveshaft then tranny so the effect is less.

On a FWD just goes from the axles to the tranny and then u get the gear slams/clunks/etc...

In the end its not safe on any platform but RWD is less harsh to do so then a FWD.

 

thanks, you basically said the same thing as me - that its not good for any transmission. my previous statement wasn't that hard to understand. maybe the R confused you? R means Reverse.

 

^ I know what R meant/means, but the OP was stating going from R to D. Thats why I was confused a little so then I started to blah blah blah... lol

 

oh my fault, yeah i guess i was just referring to the concept of jamming a gear spinning one way into the threads of a gear spinning the opposite direction which is sorta what you do by going D to R or R to D while still moving. i always full stop before changing directions, i also use my parking brake every time i park to take even more stress off the tranny - i def want my CVT to last lol

 

The damage is done

 

sad but true

 

Mine does that also when cold. Gonna make sure i stop completely and see if if still does it.

 

i think what people are saying is if your car does this you've already done the damage. stopping doing it is great to not damage it further but it will most likely still shudder/hesitate

 

wait the extra second and stop completely. Your tranny and wallet will thank you!!

 

Like^^..you always should come to a complete stop before putting it into D or R.

 

It's best that you do, but I also know that some of the earlier automatic transmissions would let you drop it into D (or 1 or 2) from R while going up to about 15 mph in R. Faster than that, either nothing happened at all or you got N instead. I don't recall what happened going from D to R while moving, but from R to D on the right pavement even a wimpy 2-barrel small-block car could put up a smoke show that today's supercharged V8 RWD guys would be envious of.

One thing I can't tell you is whether the extra band/clutch durability that allowed that sort of occasional nonsense has been "bred out of" current transmissions - or was ever designed into the CVTs. I would expect a little tolerance, but wouldn't count on it.


Happy New Year


Norm

 

That's not the way any automatic transmission has operated. The closest that AT's have ever been was to apply different bands or clutches to select the different power paths through the tranny's planetary gearsets. The gears themselves are always meshed, so there absolutely cannot be any clashing of gear teeth. But it is a good bit harder on the friction elements and will wear them prematurely if you 'shock' the direction change. In some cases, the end of a band would break off and render the tranny partially or completely inop.


One thing to also try is letting the car idle for a couple of minutes before driving off. The thicker the tranny fluid is, the longer it will take to engage whatever hydraulic mechanism and the harsher it will hit when it finally does. Keep in mind that you at least have to develop enough pressure to create sufficient friction against the CVT's "belt" for it to be able to move the car.


Norm