Throttle Response

[BillK]

I recently bought a 2012 M37x, with 7500 miles. I like the car. I have one quibble. When accelerating from a stop, under light throttle, the car surges and sags. Not smooth at all. The way it does it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the shift points.

I had a car with a fly-by-wire throttle that had a similar problem. But you could feel a stickiness in the movement of the foot pedal. Replacing the foot pedal assembly fixed the problem. With this car, the foot pedal seems completely smooth.

I seem to recall a reviewer of this car complaining of toe-in acceleration. I interpreted this as a sensitive pedal. That isn't what I have. I have more a feeling of surging and sagging, or roughness.

I am trying to understand, in the context of the review that I can no longer find,Is this a normal condition for this car, or do I have a problem? I live a long ways from the dealer, so it isn't convenient to drop it off and have it checked out.

[svard75]

You can attempt to perform the Throttle reset and idle air relearn procedures listed in the FAQ at the top of the page. That can be done at home in your driveway before taking it in for service. Seeing that it's as new as it is may just mean it needs to be serviced. I've had my TB replaced once since I bought the car for a similar issue.

[BillK]

Thank you for the advice. I would like to try the reset procedure before I do anything else. I am afraid I can't find it in the FAQs. Can you be more specific re. where I should find it?

[svard75]

Thank you for the advice. I would like to try the reset procedure before I do anything else. I am afraid I can't find it in the FAQs. Can you be more specific re. where I should find it?

Try these in the following order. Keep in mind an ECU reset will reset your radio stations and memory seat settings as well as the express window down/up feature and sunroof. You will have to reset those things yourself individually after performing these steps properly. This will not guarantee a fix for your issue rather something you can try which won't harm your car. I would still recommend taking it to a dealer if this doesn't work.

ECU Accelerator Pedal Reset Procedure
Note: Timing is critical for this to work!
1. Turn the ignition switch to on. Dash gauges lit. Don’t start the engine!
2. Wait 3 seconds.
3. Fully depress and release the accelerator pedal 5 times within 5 seconds.
4. Wait 7 to 10 seconds.
5. Fully depress the accelerator pedal for approximately 10 seconds. At this point the check engine light starts to blink quickly indicating Diagnostic Test Mode II (Self-diagnostic results) has started.
6. Release accelerator pedal and wait 5 to 10 seconds.
7. Fully depress the accelerator pedal for 10 seconds. At this point the check engine light should change to blinking slowly indicating “Erasing ECU Memory”.
8. Release the accelerator pedal and turn the ignition switch to off.
9. Restart the engine. The check engine light should be out.

Accelerator Pedal Release Position Learning Procedure
1. Make sure that the accelerator pedal is fully released.
2. Turn ignition switch “ON” and wait at least 2 seconds.
3. Turn ignition switch “OFF” wait at least 10 seconds.
4. Turn ignition switch “ON” and wait at least 2 seconds.
5. Turn the ignition switch "OFF" and wait at least 10 seconds.

Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning
1. Make sure that accelerator pedal is fully released.
2. Turn ignition switch is “ON”.
3. Turn ignition switch is “OFF” wait at least 10 seconds.
Make sure that the throttle valve moves during above 10 seconds by confirming the operating sound

Idle Air Volume Learning (Throttle Position Learning)
It's best to time with a watch/clock.
1. Perform “Accelerator Pedal Released Position Learning”.
2. Perform “Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning”.
3. Start engine and warm it up to normal operating temperature.
4. Turn ignition switch “OFF” and wait at least 10 seconds.
5. Conform that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch “ON” and wait 3 seconds.
6. Repeat the following (steps 7a, 7b) procedures quickly five times within 5 seconds.
7a. Fully depress the accelerator pedal (HARD)
7b. Fully release the accelerator pedal.
8. Wait 7 seconds, fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for approx. 20 seconds until the Check Engine Light (CEL) stops
blinking and turned ON.
9. Fully release the accelerator pedal within 3 seconds after the CEL is ON.
10. Start engine and let it idle for 20 seconds.
11. Rev up the engine 2-3 times to ensure the idle speed and ignition timing are within spec.

[BillK]

Thanks, I'll try these things.

[bejjutsu]

@BillK, I may have the same issue with my 06.
Would you say that you can avoid it if you are really careful?

[BillK]

Somewhat, yes, with attention to it, and care. Also, I have sport mode on my transmission and in sport mode it seems somewhat better. Which would lead me to believe that it has to do with the shift points on the transmission. But I think there's more to it than this. I sometimes notice what seems like a slight stumble when accelerating after going around the right-hand corner.

Two more comments: first off, it is noticeable enough that my wife made comments about how this car is not real smooth for her as it takes off when she is driving it. My wife normally doesn't pay much attention to cars, so that's an indication of how noticeable it can be. Her comment to me was that she will have to find a way with her foot to control the smoothness.

Second, I am completely new to the world of Infiniti but I would think that, since you have a 2006 and I have a 2012, there would be significant differences between the two cars, and not so much a common problem?? Come to think of it, is the driveway procedure applicable to my 2012 M?

[bejjutsu]

For me, it's more of a "jerk and sag." It doesn't always happen, but when it does and I have people in the car, it's actually a little embarrassing...
It appears to them that I am messing around, when I'm not at all.

Come to think of it, I am always unconsciously trying to avoid having the car do that. Time for me to run those resets as well, I suppose.
(mine doesn't react to right turns like yours.. just FYI)

As for the different cars, I would assume the same thing. Msvara is an Infiniti guru though, so I'm sure it is applicable.

-Hope this doesn't scare you away from the car. They really are fantastic compared to the competition. They hardly spend time in the shop, and have great performance as well as a ton of features.

[White-Rush]

Somewhat, yes, with attention to it, and care. Also, I have sport mode on my transmission and in sport mode it seems somewhat better. Which would lead me to believe that it has to do with the shift points on the transmission. But I think there's more to it than this. I sometimes notice what seems like a slight stumble when accelerating after going around the right-hand corner.

Two more comments: first off, it is noticeable enough that my wife made comments about how this car is not real smooth for her as it takes off when she is driving it. My wife normally doesn't pay much attention to cars, so that's an indication of how noticeable it can be. Her comment to me was that she will have to find a way with her foot to control the smoothness.

Second, I am completely new to the world of Infiniti but I would think that, since you have a 2006 and I have a 2012, there would be significant differences between the two cars, and not so much a common problem?? Come to think of it, is the driveway procedure applicable to my 2012 M?

Bill

You may be having some transmission related issues. Well it's not really an issue, but more of a programming issue. I have read that the dealerships have offered reprogramming of our transmissions and several people have reported that this fixed a lot of their issues with similarities to yours. I got my 2011 a few months back and haven't really had a chance to see if mine needs it yet (it's been garaged for the last two or so months). However, my wife did report back that it drives much different from the 2006 M35 that I traded up from. She was driving in the Sport mode and didn't like the throttle response at all, not to mention the aggressive downshifts the car will perform when slowing down.

Soo, with that being said, You may want to check into the transmission reprogram. Either way, good luck to ya and let us know how it works out.

[BillK]

-Hope this doesn't scare you away from the car. They really are fantastic compared to the competition. They hardly spend time in the shop, and have great performance as well as a ton of features.

I have several quibbles, the throttle response being the biggest of them. But nothing is perfect, and I like this car a lot.

I have/had two 5-series BMWs of the e39 variety. In my view, the e39 is the last really great 5-series. I just sold one of them after we bought the Infiniti. We drove the new BMW 535 and Audi A6 before settling on the Infiniti. The BMW drives like a sled. The Infiniti feels 500 pounds lighter, and I think it actually weighs about as much. The Infiniti is what I would have expected a BMW of this size to be, and isn't. I thought the new A6 was a great driving car, too, like the Infiniti. But I've had five Audi's in the distant past, and all of them had major reliability problems. I have been doing all of the maintenance and repairs on the BMW that don't need a lift. BMWs last forever, but they do need repairs. I expect the Infiniti to do better. I like this car a lot.

[BillK]

Somewhat, yes, with attention to it, and care. Also, I have sport mode on my transmission and in sport mode it seems somewhat better. Which would lead me to believe that it has to do with the shift points on the transmission. But I think there's more to it than this. I sometimes notice what seems like a slight stumble when accelerating after going around the right-hand corner.

Two more comments: first off, it is noticeable enough that my wife made comments about how this car is not real smooth for her as it takes off when she is driving it. My wife normally doesn't pay much attention to cars, so that's an indication of how noticeable it can be. Her comment to me was that she will have to find a way with her foot to control the smoothness.

Second, I am completely new to the world of Infiniti but I would think that, since you have a 2006 and I have a 2012, there would be significant differences between the two cars, and not so much a common problem?? Come to think of it, is the driveway procedure applicable to my 2012 M?

Bill

You may be having some transmission related issues. Well it's not really an issue, but more of a programming issue. I have read that the dealerships have offered reprogramming of our transmissions and several people have reported that this fixed a lot of their issues with similarities to yours. I got my 2011 a few months back and haven't really had a chance to see if mine needs it yet (it's been garaged for the last two or so months). However, my wife did report back that it drives much different from the 2006 M35 that I traded up from. She was driving in the Sport mode and didn't like the throttle response at all, not to mention the aggressive downshifts the car will perform when slowing down.

Soo, with that being said, You may want to check into the transmission reprogram. Either way, good luck to ya and let us know how it works out.

Good to know. I would say there is a transmission component of the problem, but probably not all of the problem. It's better in the sport setting. It's better if I shift it manually. I had the car into a dealer a couple of weeks ago, shortly after I bought it, and when I was there I asked generally about updates, and they told me I am up to date. This visit to the dealer is actually what made me realize how annoying the problem can be. They gave me a late model loaner G, which I think has about the same drivetrain (?) and it was much smoother.

[BillK]

I'd like to close out this topic.

I went to my Infiniti dealer to have the available transmission software update installed. This update made a major difference. I'm satisfied now.

[White-Rush]

Good to hear.