I did some searching on the forums and didn't find any information on this. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm looking to get the "lag" removed from the initial start up in sports mode. 40-80 is perfect, I'd just prefer a punchier start.

 

Oh Zach.... before you get jumped on by ALL the forum members for this question, I'll just answer it. Plain and simple, NO. I've been hoping that someone would figure it out since I bought my max in 2009 but supposedly the CVT is an insane animal that can not be tamed. So we all pretty much live with the low end lag, the only way I've seen anyone try and overcome this is by using nitrous but that is only a band aid on the problem.

 

Nos is nice..I am gonna add it to my car for fun. But, yeah on the line its not too quick. Sticky Tires + Ds is your best bet 0-40 it..and shift over to CVT. Atleast I know my car is quicker then the new bmw had no chance!

 

You are probably feeling the WOT restriction.

 

i dont like the sound of this i assume its been attempted to disable or change this to no avail?

and presumably since the CVT isnt shared by many other cars, the market to tune it just isnt there.

I really feel the lack of low end punch, being spoiled with 400+ hp cars for years. i agree that around 40 and up isnt bad at all, but we need SOMETHING to boost low end torque.

 

8th Gen coming out in 2014 my brother..maybe we'll have a surprise coming!

 

My prior post below to a CVT issue I experienced with my 2010.
Total valve body R&R due to "SLOWER THAN NORMAL ACCELERATION"

Note: Not all results will be typical due to specific dealer commitment to customer satisfaction.

Got the car back from the dealership on Sat with the new valvebody installed in the CVT. It does accelerate much better.
The tech said it now has the 2011/2012 configuration. No TSB-138 reflash
was accomplished .
The dealership is holding the repair order open so I can drive the car for a couple of days in case I notice any other issues with the repair.
I plan on stopping back in to pick-up the repair paperwork this week.
I will report back on what the NTB number was. I think the tech said it was NTB11-002A....?

2010 Nissan Maxima Power Train Service Bulletin 313508




NHTSA: Action Number: 10038184 Service Bulletin Number: 313508

• Report Date:
  Feb 28, 2011
• Component:
  Power Train

Summary: Nissan: the vehicle has a slower than normal acceleration from a stop. Updated on 06/08/2011. *kb updated on 06/13/2011. *rm

 

Haha well it looks like im complaining about the updated software. what about the bullydog tuner? that seemed promising in older posts but just died out. I was pleased with the similar Diablosport tuned on my hemi but I realize that's apples and oranges.

 

Thanks for the update. I have an '09 so i don't know if they will look into that for me, but I'll do my best.

 

I have an 09 and they did the TSB for me. Small bump in low end pull, nice for something free

 

Good luck, let us know what happens.
It's too bad that it often depends on which dealership you take your car to when trying to resolve issues like these.
I don't think they are always real thorough when they examine the symptoms versus the applicable service bulletins for the problem at hand.
I didn't even buy my 2010 from the dealership that serviced the CVT yet they know that if they treat me good and with respect they have a much better chance on selling me a new Nissan when that time comes.
That would be called customer satisfaction.

 

Yup, same here there is a TSB for a range of vins . You tell them about the lag and they will reprogramm the CVT... worked here

 

the TSB? is this for the dealership to reprogram? how long did you leave your car in for..I hate my dealership, would I be able to go soemwhere else?

 

You took the words right out of my mouth

The TCM and ECM talk to each other in these cars... meaning that the trans and motor are always working in harmony together to keep everything in sync. I can pretty much guarantee that there will never be a TCM tuner/reflash for our cars now, or in the near future.

 

Just my latest experience.

Pulled out of the driveway (5/23/12) and down the street. Took a right and stopped. Then a left, stopped. Continued down the road and then stopped. Turned right with the car in Ds mode and accelerated @ about 3/4 throttle and then the tach popped to 6800 rpm at 50mph before I realized what the hell was happening and backed off. The CVT did not go through the imitation shift points of the Ds mode. It did this once before in D. The unpredictable CVT does some very strange things....Thank god for the Nissan "brake override" system. I think I now know why Nissan has to commit to the extended warranty on the CVT.

 

I just dropped my Max at the dealership due to slower than normal acceleration. It is an intermittent problem and feels like starting in 5th gear when trying to accelarate from a stop. The dealership has decided to change the valve body even though they can not duplicate the problem. My question to dr 2010SV is do you feel the valve body has improved the safety/reliability of the CVT? Due to your experience, should I have the valve body changed? Are you ok with driving the car even with the most recent "incident" you posted? Any other comments would be welcomed too.

 

The CVT is a ram based circuit it learns by the you drive, if you drive with a light foot it keeps that in it's memory, if you drive with a heavy foot than you will see that the CVT will not lag as much!! Try it you will see the diff..

 

Thanks for the feedback. I know what you mean about the adaptive transmission. There are times when I drive for gas mileage and can really feel a difference when I try to punch it. This issue, however, is an intermittent issue that is drastically more pronounced than the TCM/ECM adjusting to my driving. Imagine pushing the throttle about 1/3 and the car's rpms rise slightly but the car doesn't move. You then push the pedal to about 3/4 and the car starts to barely move as the RPMs reach about 3500. You then floor it and the RPMs shoot to about 5000 and you are cruising at about 4 MPH. Meanwhile, the cars behind you are honking wondering what the hell you are doing! Once you SLOWLY accelerate to about 30 MPH (after about 30 seconds) everything seems normal again. This can be quite dangerous when crossing a 4-lane highway and not expecting your 290 horses to not be there!

 

It did correct the slugish acceleration. I don't know that the valvebody change-out is the cause of what I described above.
I don't feel that there is a safety issue at all with the CVT as the car did not accelerate on it's own. It just didn't (shift) for a lack of a better term.

 

I have a 2011 SV. Will the reprogram work or did they allready do it at the factory with the newer models!! Is it just for the 2009 2010!!

 

I was told by the Nissan tech that it was the 2009' and some 2010's that appearently had this issue. He didn't mention the 2011 models. I don't recall off the top of my head if the NTB that addresses this states the model years but I think it does. Try and inquire with the dealership.

 

Osiris.....reflashes the stock EPROM....., and i had the TSB done as well, i took it in the first time and the tech told me if it becomes sluggish again to come back. He tried to just reflash the ecu/tcm with the update, as this sometimes worked for the tsb without changing the valve body. So it started again in like a month, or at least this is when i noticed it, i took it back, they ordered the valve body, had my car for three days, installed, reflashed again, problem gone since... about three months ago

 

So the UpRev canned tune available will actually talk to the TCM? I thought I read somewhere that the tune kind of gives you a few different "modes" so to speak depending on if you're in "D" "Ds" or full manual mode.

Thanks for the input man, I appreciate the knowledge!

 

So I just bought a 2010 SV. Had a 2011 lease before. My 2011 seemed much faster. Do you think this is the problem?

 

Stopped by the dealer & checked to see if my car was one of the cars eligible for this. Was told "yes, but your going to use more gas". I told them I still wanted to do it. Dropping it off on Thursday. This particular dealership always seems to not be very helpful, except for one guy. He is not there anyomore though.

 

I dropped the car off earlier today. They called & said they are replacing the valve body as well as doing the reprogramming.

The person I met with today was actually a nice guy to deal with. He listened to what my concerns were & was not dismissive towards me. The guy I dealt with the other day was.

 

I have a 09 and I do notice the lag also, never went to the dealership on this, but now i have 73k on it, and figure i better get this done soon.
1 other question I have is, Have any of you that have had your Valve Body replaced and reprogrammed have a Aftermarket CAI on, I have the Stilen and am worried they might try to say it's from that. And I understand they have to prove that but just a hassle I dont need.
Thanx

 

I have an 09 had the Tsb done. I noticed a nice improvement. Car was alot more snappier on acceleration.
I'm not sure but you will probably have to pay $100 to have it done since your over the 3/36k

 

Hey guys, what exactly is getting a "tsb" done? I have a 2012, do I need to get it done or is it only for 2009/10?

 

He should be fine....my understanding was that both 09 & 2010 models were covered under the CVT 10 year 120k mile warranty. I would definitely check with the dealer before the works was done. The dealer told me that doing both the reprogramming & installing the valve body would have been a $1200 job without the warranty.

 

It was for the 09 & 10 model years.

 

I swear I feel I have this same problem with my cvt (2012) and when I took it to the dealer they said, "we've never heard of this problem on the maxima before? " they gave me a rental car for nothing! Any ideas or suggestions before I go back and get my car?


Posted from Maxima.org App for Android

 

The bulletin was for 09/2010 models. You could provide them with the bulletin number, just to give them an idea of what you are talking about. Take a ride with the mechanic in the car with you. Hopefully the car will exhibit what you are experiencing while he's in the car.

 

Again, do you think they will give me any trouble that I have a CAI (Stillen CAI) installed?

 

I actually have a stillen cai and they tried to say something about it but I said..."I got the cai because I couldn't take the sluggish feeling. Its been like that since day 1 and I just bought my cai last week!


Posted from Maxima.org App for Android

 

Depends on the dealer. If your worried about it, just change it out before taking it in. If not, then just tell them "you're not really expecting me to believe that right?". You could also just say what GNCMaxima told them....that's a good one .


By the way, I got my car back today. Feels better now, the slight hesitation is gone. For some reason my idle is smoother now....it would dip once in a while. Maybe resetting the ECU helped with that. They told me it would have been $1750 in parts alone, not counting labor or the TCM reprogramming.

 

Hey peeps kinda new here. Just a question I have that same sluggish start problem with my 09 maxima. How can I find out if my car is eligible to get worked on for this issue. I have 51, 000 miles on it now. Will it cost me anything?? I appreciate the help guys. Thanks for the help

 

Take it to the dealer & give them the bulletin number. Explain to them that you are experiencing the same issue. My cost was $0 because it was covered under warranty. They provided me with a loaner car as well.

 

Starting to wonder if this is the issue I've been feeling on my 2012.

Scenario:

Sitting at a light. Light goes green and I accelerate normally. Around 25-30 and up to 40 or so I notice the acceleration hesitates a few times. It is not smooth like other speeds. I've felt it under 25 before, but between 30-40 I notice it every time I accelerate.

Is this similar to what you guys are talking about?

 

I didn't really notice the speed but it was soon after accelerating from a stop. It would feel like it would drop off a little bit.