Driving Style and Poll Regarding Issues with the 7AT

[consultant1027]

I'm about to spring for a used 09 G37X. The things I'm reading here about the 7AT frankly scares me. I saw one owner that sold his G37X at 9K miles because he hated the 7AT so much. I'm wondering if there is much consensus on the following:

1) Is there any clear indication the issues are more common/pronounced on certain years or models (09 vs 10, AWD vs RWD) It is obvious some owners here, although the minority, have not noticed the issues or at consider them to be very significant.

2) Does putting the transmission in DS mode mitigate the problems and if so, has anyone compared gas mileage between driving the car in D mode and very conservatively in DS mode?

3) Is the shifting software not adaptive on these car and if so, could the problems be more pronounced with drivers with certain driving styles. If this is possible, my guess would be it is more pronounced with more aggressive drivers - ya, all you stop and go lead footers in California. Kidding. LOL. But I know one thing is that car forums for specific models have an overwhelming majority of owners that are more performance oriented. Your average Joe, old man conservative driver is not your typical poster here. If the software is adaptive, has anyone tried pulling the ECU fuses to reset the software and see if that make a difference. This would also confirm why people aren't noticing the issues on test drives and in the first few thousand miles of owning the car.

3b) How many people here can honestly say they drive like an old man all the time and still have the problems?

4) There seems to be some posts indicating there was a software update and people alluding to it making things worse? Could the update seemingly making things worse just be the car re-learning your driving style (assuming it is adaptive?) For those that did get the update did things improve over time or stay the same? Is the consensus to avoid the update and was it available on all 09-10 G37s?

5) I would assume full manual shifting mode (via paddles or shifter) completely eliminates these issues since you are in control of gear selection - but sort of defeats the purpose of driving an AT.

6) If the problem is widespread with all types of driving styles, both years and all trims, then I would highly suggest that someone volunteer to find the best contact information for Infiniti USA so that everyone can write a letter to their dealer service department and CC it to the appropriate contact at Infiniti USA. You should at least get a statement that either they are aware of the problem and working on it, will look into the problem and get back to you, or have investigated the problem and determined there is no issue and what everyone is experiencing is normal due to.....

[EdSac]

No problems driving the car hard, using all modes of the AT. I was just up to Lake Tahoe yesterday. Beautiful weather and good driving conditions.

I use D on the freeway and when I'm in no hurry. I use D and the paddles when I'm on a hill, or mountain road, or want to pass someone. I use DS in town in stop and go traffic for fast throttle response. I use DS on relatively flat twisty mountain roads. Because I don't have to "think." The computer does it for me. I really like that feature. Amazing! The computer downshifts for me! I hardly ever use the paddles in DS because of the close ratio seven-speed. I usually can't react fast enough to keep it off redline!

I really like the 7AT. I've had no problems. I surprised there's so much discussion here about the pros and cons. Maybe next time you should get the manual? Incidentally, I don't miss my five speed manual gear boxed Porsche Boxster I traded in on the Infiniti G37S convertible.

[consultant1027]

Odd timing on your post. Picked up a used G37x Sedan two days ago. Drive it 700 miles back to my home, stopped overnight in a city. So I've got about 12 hours in the car, albeit mostly freeway. But in the city I played with it a bit to get a feel for the shifting. Maybe it is because I'm coming from a 6MT from the last 5 years but sure seems smooth to me. (Knock on wood.)

[kmckis1029]

i drive in mostly manual mode... but ill cruise on the highway in D... sometimes the transmission will "think" about a gear when in D mode... but thats what i expected with 7 gear choices and the close ratio of the higher gears. In DS mode the transmission is noticablely quicker, but i wouldnt recommend always driving in DS mode as its not MPG friendly. In DS mode it keeps the car in the lowest gear possible and in the Gs powerband aka rpms always above 3k. My transmission has pretty much learned me (4 months of ownership) so its rare that it doesnt do what i expect. Overall i love the seven speed transmission.