2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ?

Post by **nicolasj** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:09 pm

Hi all,

am I the only one to have this annoying lurching of my M45 (non-sport) when the automatic transmission shifts from 1st to 2nd when accelerating slowly (shift happens around 1800 RPMs)? The other shifts are not completely smooth either but better (again, when taking it very easy on the accelerator). When accelerating a bit hard the first shift is very smooth and seems to occur at higher RPMs, and this is true for all the other subsequent upshifts. When using the manumatic mode it's kind of the same rough shift from 1st to 2nd also.

For instance I usually park on the last floor of my parking garage at work and there are speed bumps ridiculously close to each other on the way down. For this reason I go down quite slowly and rarely make it past 2nd gear. I always anticipate the moment when the transmission will make that rough shift and it bothers me. As a matter of fact this is the thing that annoys me the most about the car.

Any input welcome...

Post by **elwesso** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:36 pm

It seems a lot of nissan transmissions have this problem, its plagued the Q45, J30, M30, and, well you get the idea.....

doesnt sound normal for the 5 speed auto, the above all had the RE4R series trans (4 speed).... 1-2 shift may/will be a little firmer than the rest....

I would see what the dealer says, actually you might ask them if you could drive one of the Ms they have on the lot.... maybe that would do you good....

Post by **nicolasj** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:02 pm

I actually went to my dealer the other day to do exactly that, try a car on the lot. It was a M45 sport but I wasn't sure what to make of it. The drive was too short and the conditions not really similar. The transmission seemed to have somewhat of pronounced first shifts, but not that bad. Then I drove my car with a service technician and of course for once I thought the shifts were ok (I actually found myself thinking, you're actually complaining about that!?). But looking back I guess a 2-minute test drive was not sufficient...Thanks for your reply!

Post by **elwesso** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:51 am

How many miles do you have on your M?? Sometimes it takes a while for things to "break in"....

Post by **nicolasj** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:31 am

I think everything's broken in now, I have over 4,000 miles on it...

Post by **BJB** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:08 pm

nicholasj,

I have not noticed this with my '06 45. I have put about 1300 miles on it. In fact, I find this transmission to be much better than my '03 45. I will pay some more attention to the 1-2 shift at around 1800 rpms and let you know.

Post by **nicolasj** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:10 pm

Thanks BJB... Watch for this especially in slow traffic, when after the upshift to 2nd gear you never really reach a high speed but hover in that 1/2/3rd gear zone. As the car shifts to 2nd, the best way to put it is that suddenly the car gets a "push" and lurches forward. It makes the ride very uncomfortable... I am just aware of it and the only thing I can think of is, here we go, here's that rough shift coming up. Hate it!

Post by **BJB** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:17 am

Just ran to the grocery and tested it out. First thing I noticed is that you have to be accelerating really slowly to get the car to shift under 2k. However, I can see how you are dealing with this in a parking garage. I did not feel it at all from 1 to 2, but I did feel a little bit of a push from 2 to 3. I have driven some high HP muscle cars that do this as well. At slow speeds the shifts a very "stiff". This is usually the result of high performance shift kits in automatic transmissions. The shift points are extended and quicker which makes for stiff gear changes.

Obviously you don't want your car shifting like a '69 Camaro, but it may be because of the high HP and performance drivetrain.

I wonder if an adjustment could be made by the dealership. If not, you should consider leaving work later and driving through the parking garage faster (Just kidding)

Post by **szh** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 8:57 am

The M has an adaptive transmission. It learns how you drive and then adjusts the shift points and blipping accordingly.

So, if you have been driving fast and hard (like I tend to do ), then the shifts for more sedate driving seem a bit rough for a while.

You might try going on a city roads "Granny Drive" for about 15 or 30 minutes and then going to test this shifting problem again. If it demonstrably changes, then this may be it.

Of course, I am assuming that you have done the usual level-checks for the transmission fluid, etc.

Remember: do NOT top off with anything other than Nissan Fluid J, else you void your warranty.

Z

Post by **nicolasj** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:12 pm

BJB, thanks a lot for trying it out... You are right sometimes the "push" to 3rd is more noticeable than when upshifting to 2nd. And indeed, you must accelerate very slowly to keep the car shifting under 2k... If I accelerate a bit harder, the shifts happen at higher RPMs (shift to 2nd for sure happens higher than 2k) and are smoother, why is that (sorry my knowledge of car engines is not that great)?As for leaving later from work... I guess I'll just try to park on the 1st floor of the parking garage

Post by **nicolasj** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:15 pm

szhosain, thanks for the reply. I usually drive the M pretty "easy". I don't accelerate to hard... So I was thinking, I should notice the opposite of rough shifts, isn't that right? The funny thing is that it's when I drive the car harder that the transmission feels great and the shifts are almost only noticeable because of the engine sound and also looking at the tach!My car was at the dealership 3 weeks ago for an oil change, would have they checked the transmission fluid levels?

Post by **elwesso** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:17 pm

They *should* have... its not that hard to do it yourself... when the car has been warmed up, park on a level surface with the car still running, and pull the dipstick and see where its at.

Post by **nicolasj** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:59 pm

Ok, I'll give it a try. I have opened the hood only once, so I have to locate that specific dipstick, but I guess it's all in the manual

Post by **szh** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:03 am

nicolasj wrote:szhosain, thanks for the reply. I usually drive the M pretty "easy". I don't accelerate to hard... So I was thinking, I should notice the opposite of rough shifts, isn't that right? The funny thing is that it's when I drive the car harder that the transmission feels great and the shifts are almost only noticeable because of the engine sound and also looking at the tach!

Interesting! It does sound like the adaptive transmission is affecting you. Although backwards from what I would expect (given my experience on my 2003 M45 with the same transmission, albeit I do not have the blip feature.) My wife and I swap cars back and forth each month till she gets her new one, and she only drives on city roads, more gently than I. When I get the car back, the first 30 minutes of shifting are always different from what I would expect till it gets used to my harder driving.

Note that the effect is less when I shift to the Manual or M mode! The shift points there are different from the D mode, and may be worth for you to explore as well.

nicolasj wrote:My car was at the dealership 3 weeks ago for an oil change, would have they checked the transmission fluid levels?

Like Wes said, it is relatively easy to check once you find the dipstick (should be in your manual.)

Z

2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ?

2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ?

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (nicolasj)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (elwesso)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (nicolasj)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (elwesso)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (nicolasj)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (BJB)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (nicolasj)

Re: 2006 M45: how smooth is your transmission ? (BJB)

Re: (szhosain)

Re: (nicolasj)

Re: (elwesso)

Re: (nicolasj)

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