airic331

When I'm in manual shift mode and accelerate to say about 4K rpm then let off the gas, the CVT doesn't hold the "gear" or ratio like it's supposed to. As soon as I let off the throttle, the rpms dip down to about 3K but then shoot backup to 4K without me pressing the gas pedal. It doesn't matter which "gear" I'm in, whenever I let off the gas the rpms always dip about 1K rpm, then go back up to where they should be. It's almost as if the transmission disconnects for a second, then hooks up again. Is anyone else noticing this?

RickSmith

Where does it say "it's supposed to" operate like this in the Nissan Maxima Owner's Manual?

whit

airic331

The owner's manual doesn't exactly tell you how the CVT operates, it just gives general information. I believe Nissan refers to the "gears" as "Shift Ranges" since a CVT obviously doesn't have gears.. There are 7 shift ranges that you can put the CVT in. What is the point of having these shift ranges, that mimic actual gears, if they don't hold the rpm? Let's try to think beyond the basics of the owner's manual. In my buddy's Accord, which also has a CVT, whenever he does what I described in my initial post, the CVT actually holds the rpm. I'm trying to figure out if this is something that is only unique to Nissan's CVTs or if mine actually has an issue.

airic331

Sorry I should have been more clear. Let me give an example. I am accelerating from a standstill in manual mode and have the CVT in 1st "gear." I get up to about 4k rpms and let off the throttle. Without depressing the break pedal or gas pedal, on a level road, the rpms quickly drop from 4k down to under 3k, then quickly go back up to the correct rpm, about 3700 at this point given the speed lost. Keep in mind I'm keeping the trans in 1st gear the whole time this happens. I understand that when I let off the throttle the rpms will decrease, but they should decrease gradually. Mine always quickly drops then quickly returns to the correct rpm given the speed. It becomes a bit annoying when I'm doing some spirited driving and the CVT won't hold the "gear."

stodge

Sounds like a s/w programming issue in the transmission? I'm no expert at any of this... Unless the Max's transmission is programmed this way on purpose?

sschumer

airic331, maybe this helps address how Nissan would answer your question/concern: "Nissan’s Xtronic transmission is a system with 'stepless' gear transmission. It maintains optimum efficiency in engine rpm according to vehicle speed, resulting in improved vehicle fuel economy. At the same time, Xtronic is also characterized by its smooth acceleration."

http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/u...nic-technology

Fishlet

Not sure I've seen this behavior. I don't think it really stays in its fake gear mode as it's "downshifting", only when accelerating hard.

On a couple of rare occasions I've seen the engine seem to drag down the coasting speed when I let off the gas quickly... almost like a engine braking effect... although it's not that because I don't have the SR.

robtroxel

You may be on to something as my Platinum will provide strong engine braking when I move the gear selector to the left side of the shift stick pattern. I do this when I am approaching a stop light and the "4th" speed range is what shows on the dash. As I slow down further, I pull back in each speed range, ie 3rd, 2nd, 1st. Just had my 30,000 service and my brakes pads had minimal wear

whit

Fishlet

I was surprised to learn somewhat recently that engine braking is perfectly ok for a car, it always seemed abusive to the engine somehow. Never thought to try it deliberately by moving the shift lever but maybe I'll try it now

what I experienced was unintentional braking, because I expect the car to just keep rolling rather than slow down. Fortunately it has only been a very rare thing. I just hope I can figure out what variables cause it behave that way so I can avoid it in the future

Crisisx1

drops in rpm once throttle is let off is normal but the the jumps in RPMs after is not normal