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Oil and CVT temperature gauges wrong in sport view?
Does anyone else have this problem? After letting the car sit overnight, I can start the car in the morning, and the oil temperature gauge
reads right in the middle as if it is warmed up immediately. It never seems to move from that middle position, unless I turn off the car.
The CVT gauge will stay at 0, even after driving for about 15 minutes. It doesn't gradually increase in temperature and seems to suddenly read in the middle at some point during my drive, after I know it's definitely warmed up. I can also force the cvt temperature to reset and read in the middle if I turn off the car and turn it back on right away. It will show completely cold, and turning the car off and back on will cause it to read in the middle.
Anyone else see this issue? Funny thing is I was researching this and found a Nissan screen shot that shows exactly what I see in the sport view temperature gauges right when I start the car in the morning.
Sorry I might not have been clear with the issue I'm having. The issue seems to be that the gauge doesn't update for a long time. I can be driving for 10-15 minutes and it will still read "0/Cold". If I am just sitting there idling and it shows 0, I can turn off the car and turn it back on, and it will immediately read as fully warmed up (in the middle). It seems that the temperature doesn't update for a really long time, and I never see it at any other setting other than 0 or middle (it doesn't gradually warm up like the coolant temperature gauge). Is that how your car behaves? Thanks!
It works just like your water temperature gauge which doesn't move until you drive it around for awhile.
Ok now I understand what you are saying. You never see any other reading on the gauge other than cold or fully warmed up. More than likely that is how the sensor works, the gauge does not read anything until the sensor is fully warmed at normal operating temperature then the normal temp icon in lit up in the center.
I have seen the same on my Platinum. For the Oil side I know it shows pressure but thought we would see slight changes with change in engine rpm's. Now the CVT temp
gauge does exactly as you stated. I can be driving for 10 maybe 15mins and it shows zero. Change the display view or shut the car and restart the gauge now reads
almost in the middle. You never see the gauge slowly increase as you do with engine coolant temp gauge.
I tested this when I left this morning. From the time I pulled out of the garage until it showed a temperature reading on the right was 12 minutes. That was driving in town and sitting at a couple of traffic lights. When it registered, the gauge was probably at 30% of its full height. This seems reasonable to me. The sensor probably has to read a certain temp before it will register anything.
Thanks guys for confirming that your CVT temperature gauge behaves the same way. Seems like a poor quality gauge to me. I wonder if it is even connected to a physical temperature sensor or if they use software to approximate the temperature based on other conditions. Not a big deal now that I know mine isn't defective...
There seem to be several types of sensors that are either not actually functional until a large sampling/elapsed time has passed, or that Nissan chooses to wait until things settle down a bit before displaying data.
On my 7th gen, my 'outside temp' gauge would drop fairly quickly when I left my heated garage on a cold day, but when I left my air conditioned garage on a hot day, it would be around eight to ten minutes before the gauge would slowly begin to rise. This never changed in seven years.
On my 8th gen. the tire pressure readings do not display the first mile or so, even though we know the sensors have been sitting in the tires and know what the cold pressure is before we leave the garage.
And the fuel guage begins showing low fuel displays with the tank only three-fourths empty. But I undrstand the reasoning for that, and have no problem with it.
I am guessing that the referenced light in the OP is actually more of an idiot light than an actual gauge. I would say that this is more typical than most folks realize, with most all manufacturers.
It works just like your water temperature gauge which doesn't move until you drive it around for awhile.
I have the same issue with the display not reading anything for the CVT temperature for a long period of time. Yesterday I drove my 2016 max for over 40 minutes and nothing registered on the CVT temp. display. A lot of things can go wrong in 40 minutes and I am counting on the display for advanced warning if there is trouble. A blank display tells me nothing. This is not a reasonable amount of time for any kind of gauge to begin to register. I talked to my electrical engineer friend. He thinks the sensor could either be poorly calibrated to the circuit and the display (is not sensitive enough) and/or the sensor is in a bad location on the CVT and that it is not in close enough proximity to where the CVT fluid is physically located or it's a batch of bad cheapo sensors from China and everyone is stuck with the same problem.
Looks to me like yet another quality issue and/or poor design on this brand new Nissan with only 500 miles on it.
I have the same issue with the display not reading anything for the CVT temperature for a long period of time. Yesterday I drove my 2016 max for over 40 minutes and nothing registered on the CVT temp. display. A lot of things can go wrong in 40 minutes and I am counting on the display for advanced warning if there is trouble. A blank display tells me nothing. This is not a reasonable amount of time for any kind of gauge to begin to register. I talked to my electrical engineer friend. He thinks the sensor could either be poorly calibrated to the circuit and the display (is not sensitive enough) and/or the sensor is in a bad location on the CVT and that it is not in close enough proximity to where the CVT fluid is physically located.
Looks to me like yet another quality issue and/or poor design on this brand new Nissan with only 500 miles on it.
That is not right. Mine comes up in 5-7 minutes, which seems reasonable to me. Take it to the dealer for service.
Most vehicles have dummy gauges that only begin reading at or above mid point when there is a real problem. The 02/3 Maxima temp gauge is in the middle from 160ºF - 220ºF, after that it will begin to rise.
On the previous generation Pathfinder, tehy had real oil pressure gauges until I believe the 08 MY. Some people thought it was because many people were seeing fluctuations and were freaking out and so tehy trhen began doing the basic dummy/oh sh^t gauges.
Most vehicles have dummy gauges that only begin reading at or above mid point when there is a real problem. The 02/3 Maxima temp gauge is in the middle from 160ºF - 220ºF, after that it will begin to rise.
On the previous generation Pathfinder, tehy had real oil pressure gauges until I believe the 08 MY. Some people thought it was because many people were seeing fluctuations and were freaking out and so tehy trhen began doing the basic dummy/oh sh^t gauges.
This makes a lot of sense but it sucks that other people have ruined our ability to get real gauges...
I know that with an obd2 set up with a android phone/tablet, you can read current information from the ecm, and most software will allow you to create digital gauges to display that information with their real current values. I know it's something extra, but that's if you're really concerned with that information. I like having that information for joyrides, and can follow things like IAT, Coolant temp, and more.
I feel like the oil pressure gauge is more of a gimmick in this car at best. At least with a coolant temp gauge, you can use that to know when you're at operating temperature for every day use.
I have seen the same on my Platinum. For the Oil side I know it shows pressure but thought we would see slight changes with change in engine rpm's. Now the CVT temp
gauge does exactly as you stated. I can be driving for 10 maybe 15mins and it shows zero. Change the display view or shut the car and restart the gauge now reads
almost in the middle. You never see the gauge slowly increase as you do with engine coolant temp gauge.
Randy
I have a 16 SR and have the same thing occurring. I have to put car in park to get a water temp read out. I have my car at the dealership to investigate. Changing the display on the info center does not make the temp display on the gauge on my maxima
If this is normal it goes against every experience all drivers know about gauges and would be pathetic
So, to understand correctly, for coolant, temp sensors do not actually read/display after the fluid starts flowing in and out? And, the pressure gauge is directly measuring inside the (transmission) casing? Right?
I am guessing that the referenced light in the OP is actually more of an idiot light than an actual gauge. I would say that this is more typical than most folks realize, with most all manufacturers.
BINGO! These 2 bogus gauges ARE just digital idiot lights. They are switched either off or on. They don't move and they don't register temperature or pressure. I believe Nissan put these "gauges?" in to go with their "sports car" thingy. This is one of my wants for this car: A working set of gauges showing oil pressure and water temperature (trans temp is ok but really meaningless to the avg. driver) at a minimum. I was very surprised to find out that even the DIC had no options to show this. What real "sports car" omits these vital gauges? Now I will say that having a digital idiot gauge for oil pressure is better than nothing. Before calling the dealer when I first bought the car, I actually marked with tape where each gauge rested when hot, and yep, they do not move from their set positions once they trigger on. Gawd, I talk too much. :-)
I brought this same issue up with my service avisor about a year ago and he confirmed that the CVT temperature gauge is nothing more than a glorified idiot light.
These gauges ARE Functional. They are just not 'analog' gauges that give you incremental changes in either pressure or temp. They do read "Cold", Normal" and/or "High" (pressure or temp as the case may be for the Engine Oil pressure or Tranny Temp). They are useful in knowing when your Tranny Temp gets to Normal, especially on Cold days, or if you have an issue with the Tranny and you end up with an overheating problem, in which case you'll see the gauge go to full. Same with the Engine oil pressure. If it does not read, or reads all the way up, then you have a problem (Low Pressure meaning the oil pump has failed (Ouch), or extremely high pressure meaning something is clogged and you should stop the car and get a Tow Truck either way before you lose your engine). They do also 'enhance' the look and feel of the Sports Display as they also do provide some basic information on the status of your Engine oil pressure and Tranny temp. It's no more complicated than that. If, however, you are one of those high tech fancy or professional drivers who are uncompromising with their vehicles, then you may want to add some aftermarket analog gauges that read incrementally so that you are always aware of every small change in Engine Oil Pressure and Tranny Temp as you drive down the highway with the family... or the Girlfriend...
These gauges ARE Functional. They are just not 'analog' gauges that give you incremental changes in either pressure or temp. They do read "Cold", Normal" and/or "High" (pressure or temp as the case may be for the Engine Oil pressure or Tranny Temp). They are useful in knowing when your Tranny Temp gets to Normal, especially on Cold days, or if you have an issue with the Tranny and you end up with an overheating problem, in which case you'll see the gauge go to full. Same with the Engine oil pressure. If it does not read, or reads all the way up, then you have a problem (Low Pressure meaning the oil pump has failed (Ouch), or extremely high pressure meaning something is clogged and you should stop the car and get a Tow Truck either way before you lose your engine). They do also 'enhance' the look and feel of the Sports Display as they also do provide some basic information on the status of your Engine oil pressure and Tranny temp. It's no more complicated than that. If, however, you are one of those high tech fancy or professional drivers who are uncompromising with their vehicles, then you may want to add some aftermarket analog gauges that read incrementally so that you are always aware of every small change in Engine Oil Pressure and Tranny Temp as you drive down the highway with the family... or the Girlfriend...
Yes, as you so well describe it. Even the Nissan badge on the front is functional. But as the "irregular" gentleman put it, "I wanna see movement".
Not a TSB is it? Anyway, thanks much for posting this. And I'll be dipped; I know I read about the CVT temp gauge in the book, but guess my mind blanked that right out. I've been thinking that temperature was water temperature. My bad. That said, I always thought those gauges were for dummies anyway. Never pay much attention to them.
11-09-2015, 05:31 PM
