M37 7 Speed Issues?

[MDB]

Hello forum!

I am currently looking into purchasing a used M37x. However, the only thing stopping me are the transmission complaints I have found online.

Most claim the transmission cannot decide what gear to shift into. Does anyone here experience this?

If I were to buy a grounding kit for it, would the, "lag," between gearshifts decrease? Does this issue get better with a tune?

I have yet to test drive one, but will in the near-future. Thank you.

[mazz]

mine shifts just fine..........are you trolling? if you wanted to know if all of them are bad just drive one

[SwissCheeseHead]

I don't think OP is trolling and is a legit question. Many ATs tend to "hunt for gears." It's especially relevant if you're used to driving MT and are switching to AT, (as I will be). Slushboxes usually tend to downshift rather abruptly, typically jolting when they do so, which is not really desirable when all you want to do is get a little speed for passing. That's not to say the it is the case for this car. I test drove a 2012 M37 yesterday and it does exhibit the acceleration lag and it does jolt a little when gassing but it's not as prevalent in other ATs I've driven. It shouldn't be a deciding factor. The shifts are really smooth during acceleration. HOpe that helps a little. I only spent about 20 mins in the car but it was a very enjoyable 20 mins.

[wideopn11]

I think most complaints about the transmission are solved with the factory service bulletin for software upgrade. No issues with mine since then.

[Demiroquai]

This is actually a legitimate problem on the 7 Speed AT.

I noticed a HUGE lag when I'm in standard mode going about 40 mph. I'll hit the gas to the floor and there's a full 1 second delay before anything happens. I took my car to Infiniti and the service advisor and I went out for a drive. I showed him what happened and he said this is a design/software flaw and here's why:

The car transmission is a 7 speed while the engine was designed for a 6 speed. The software was not built from the ground up. It was made by taking the existing software and creating a new gear for it. By doing this the car wants to go down one gear when it needs to go down two. Therefore the gears have to sync up and it causes this lag.

There is no immediate fix for this and probably not one in the future. Trust me when I say I am thoroughly annoyed.

The work around is stick to sport mode on the streets. The car sits at one lower gear and won't have the same lag.

[wideopn11]

I never take mine out of sport mode and/or I manual shift a lot so I don't notice any lag.

[SwissCheeseHead]

I have a BMW e91 that exhibits the same lag. They did a software update which helped a little but it's still there. It will probably be something you will have to learn to drive with. Or use sport mode all the time.

[Panzer Leader]

I checked with my private mechanic who has a 2012 M37. According to him, there is a software update..... He plans on driving mine and checking to see if he thinks I need it. He did his, and is quite pleased. Check with the Dealership nearest you.