I test drove an SV today in the cold. Well by cold it was about -15C. One thing that surprised me was that the transmission didn't do any fake shifts. I thought it was supposed to? Is there a specific set of rules that defines when it does?

Secondly, does anyone drive the Maxima in city stop/go driving? I drove in some slow traffic today for a bit and I found it difficult to regulate the throttle. I guess it's because it's a powerful engine - I kept giving it too much throttle when all I wanted to do was crawl a few feet, then stop, then crawl a little etc.

 

The transmission is programmed to give the preset ratios (what you call fake shift) when you have over one-third throttle, I believe.

I have no problems regulating the throttle.....Takes a little while to get used to.....

 

Use sport mode and drop the hammer. Becomes lots of fun. I also believe there is more engine noise played through the cabin. Not sure how they did this though.

 

the fake shifts actually slow you down since the flow of torque gets momentarily interrupted; otherwise the Max would be closer to 5.5 in 0-60 runs.

 

And this is why I have never been a proponent of fake shifts. We don't have them in our airplanes and our boats, and I certainly do not need the fake ones in our Maxima. I have logged well over a million miles with manuals during the last seventy or so years, and today's traffic takes all the fun out of the manual for me.

 

I wondered about that too. I'd be willing to get used to "CVT drone" if it actually gave me better acceleration. I know some aspects of car behavior can be changed by custom performance chips or programming. I'm not sure if such a thing exists for the transmission or not, but I'd probably give it a try if it did

 

I remember an old Nissan Tv commercial extolling the CVT with the woman applying lipstick while the guy makes fake gear shift noises.

 

It is not engine noise at all, it is acoustic frequency that the speakers put out to help mimic engine sound. Its all electronic.

 

Oh. I thought the Maxima piped in the real engine sound. Not that I would want it in my cabin...

 

I've read in some online reviews that it is actual piped in sound (sorry I don't have reference). But I don't know for sure if it is or isn't real. Seems like it would be technically simpler to just put a mic down near the engine and amplify it a bit.

in any case, if it sounds fake it can be disabled according to his YouTube video

 

So what does it sound like with the radio off?

 

Active noise cancellation has nothing to do with the electrically piped-in engine tone. It just cuts out the "white noise".

 

Driving in NYC everyday, you get use to it like any car. Shave some rubber off your sneakers

 

for less throttle response

 

I haven't posted here in a while

I was in a rental 2017 Maxima a month or two back. The thing is fast.

Can the fake shifts be turned off? I thought they were utterly despicable. They did not feel like anything except a slipping transmission. But even then, the synthetic nature of the experience is akin to the artificial piping in of engine sound some cars are doing today (which is also not genuine).

So, can these be turned off? If you're outside of sport mode and in D, will it still do the fake shifts? The reason they are so bad is that they don't dump RPM like a normal transmission would do, but just lower it briefly by a few hundred RPM every couple of seconds. It's really an unimaginable sin to this car to do it. In my day I owned two Maximas, and loved them both. What Nissan has done to the line now is pretty disheartening. 4DSC, you must be kidding.

This fake shifting, if it can't be disabled, would prohibit me from purchasing another Maxima (and yes I always do consider it every few years when it's time to switch cars). I had a V6 Altima a few years back that did the same thing and it was hateful.

 

Sorry Skoorbymax,

I don't believe there is anyway to disable it. If you push the accelerator hard enough, it will go into that fake shifting mode. I can't fault Nissan for doing it, the average Joe likes to have the illusion of a car shifting when you pedal to the metal, and don't like the "CVT drone"

Perhaps if anyone ever succeeds in cracking the code , software tunes may offer the ability to turn off the fake shifting part.

I might be imagining things, but it seems like the last time I hit the gas hard enough for fake shifts; acceleration still seemed just as smooth as if it had none. In other words, it seemed like the rpm dial and sound effects were pretending to shift but the acceleration was actually linear. If it was actually stopping at virtual shift points, it was too smooth to notice

 

I agree, it seems like if you "mash the gas" just right, it'll bypass those fake shifts. Maybe it has to do with the rate with which you depress the pedal. (Or, actually, if you continue to press where the shifts would normally take place, it seems like it never does it).

 

And I believe it's only in models with the Bose system (active noise cancellation), so SL, SR, and Platinum models.

 

compyelc4 is absolutely correct. Noise cancellation is simply Nissan's way of reducing the portion of normal interior noise that Nissan has deemed to be less pleasant, while the piped in 'engine noise' is Nissan's way of trying to reinforce the sound of the engine that reaches into the cabin in order to enhance the feeling of 'performance.'

 

There are no fake shifts if you floor it. Nor are there fake shifts with light acceleration. There are only fake shifts under somewhat heavy but less than full throttle.

 

It does fake shift when you floor it Did it several times today

 

Is it at all possible these fake shifts help protect the CVT? I have read Nissan took it to the max no pun intended with this CVT for the car.

 

No, Nissan put them in because people would complain that their CVTs wouldn't shift. They complained of a drone. Just people who don't understand CVT

 

This would be your so called "enthusiasts" that complained. The whole concept behind the CVT is to have constant power when you need it. The CVT is so superior to the traditional automatic, as it just keeps giving you power.

 

Problem is, the enthusiast will complain anyway... guess there's no keeping some people happy. Haters gonna hate

I was a bit sceptical too before I bought my Max, and aside from the torque converter feeling a bit rough at times, I'm starting to love the way the CVT performs.

 

In my old 2010 Maxima Premium bought new, I just hated to "motor Boating" or "rubber band" feeling under heavy acceleration. At lower throttle positions it ran just fine and would settle in a low rpm routine that worked great in delivering higher MPGs. When I traded up to a new 2016 Platinum I really feel they got rid of the disconnected complaints. I for one like the "fake" shifting based on a 7 speed. At lower gas pedal inputs still gives me easy 34 MPG readings on the open road at 75 mph! At any rate my lease will be up in October and I currently don't see anything that will compete with the value on this car so I will probably go for another one, loaded with all the options. Right now the heated steering wheel is better than sliced bread here in the cold midwest climate.

 

Of course there is a way to disable it. Just keep your finger off the Sport Mode button! There.... no more simulated shifts.

 

false

 

Please explain. That's how my '17 SL works. I get fake shifts only in Sport Mode.

 

 

Wow, never knew the SR trans did virtual shifts no matter what. First I've had this explained. Thanks.

With SL if I mash it in Sport Mode I get the fake exhaust note increase plus the virtual shifts. Then if I turn off Sport Mode I immediately lose the engine noise and the trans returns to rubber band mode. :-)

 

I also get the fake shifts in both modes, in my 2017 SL.

 

Thanks. I'm going to test mine again tomorrow...... and probably eat crow!

 

Bump for any updates. I can't believe, and I mean I CANNOT BELIEVE that Nissan is selling a Four Door Sports Car, with the advantage over all it's competitors that it doesn't need to shift, and they're not RUNNING with it! Great engine! Light 4 door! And you don't need to slow down to shift!
I want to buy one of these, but it'll be a big swallow if I can't turn off the fake shifts which feel horrible, like I'm damaging the transmission (and if I'm technically not, I"m certainly putting completely unnecessary strain on it).
And fake engine noise I can't turn off either? Who the hell are they selling to? Have they never heard of guys who like and know cars? Baffled.

 

4 door sports car would have a MT........not a CVT....any guy who likes and knows cars knows this. The Maxima with a 5 or 6M was an ANIMAL

 

They could make it but very little would be sold. It is a family car and probably would sell less than 10 percent. The Corvette sells less than 25% manuals and that is a pure sports car. And it would probably be more expensive, the 2019 Genesis G70 can be had with a manual transmission but it a $3000 option.

 

3 k for a manual...WOW

 

Yeah, but they've got the best CVT, which means HIGHER performance. Granted it's a paradigm shift, but there's plenty of other stuff involved in going fast and removing shifting gives your attention more mental horsepower to focus on those elements.

Sports cars are sold on PERFORMANCE. If mine doesn't need to slow down to shift, or spend Ferrari money to shift quickly (which still cuts power even if briefly), or add strain to the weak point of the powertrain (the transmission) every time you step on the gas, I call that a SELLING POINT! Why they don't run with it is beyond me.

A million add execs would kill to get their hands on an account to sell a CVT. Nissan seems retarded to me, but maybe they know marketing better than I do. I still think it's an overly conservative missed opportunity though...

 

Thank you for this video with going inside the diagnostics and turning OFF the ANC. That feedback noise in my '16 Max SL from my two 12 subs was upsetting, thinking the auto-stereo installer was somehow responsible for not grounding my amp/woofer properly, or whatever...

...Saved me from "embarrassing myself", lol.