Sluggish performance - 06 M35x

[jwheaton]

Hey, I've been having a problem with my 2nd hand 2006 M35x

When I step on the gas, it takes a few seconds to kick in, and when it does, there is a jolt ... like it is revving high and then "catches" and then starts to move.

I don't know how to better explain it or search... any ideas?

[M4T5]

Is it still under warranty? This sounds like a transmission problem. How many miles are on it?Be sure to check all fluid levels. Make sure transmission is not low on fluid before you take it in to dealer.

J

[jwheaton]

excellent

Transmission fluid can be maintained by me?

It has the balance of factory warranty, can I call Infiniti with the VIN to be sure?

Bought the car in July 08 and no dealer around here.... (Nissan or Infiniti)

[jwheaton]

anyone? what can i try/do before going to a dealership (over 500km away)

[jwheaton]

??

[SilverForce]

I'm no expert but the deal is that you check the Trans fluid when the car is truly good and warmed up, like after a minimum of 1/2 hour mixed highway/city driving. If the fluid is within the crosshatches, there is enough fluid, however the "smell" of the fluid is probably as important as the amount. If it smells burnt that is bad. If it is blackish that is bad. I would get it checked out ASAP because I believe failure to maintain the proper fluid levels will void your warranty.

[odie]

excellentTransmission fluid can be maintained by me?

Does not seem that you're a gear head exactly...500km? I would try local first to save time and gas.

[Theo]

I'm having this exact same problem. Trying to make time to get it into the Stealership to get it looked at but havent had the time. Its very annoying and almost dangerous becasue the car doesn't accelerate as expected. I also have a slight delay when pressing the accelerator at really slow speeds.

Anyone have any insight on the issue. This is the only related post I can find.

Cheers

[dvan]

I'm having this exact same problem. Trying to make time to get it into the Stealership to get it looked at but havent had the time. Its very annoying and almost dangerous becasue the car doesn't accelerate as expected. I also have a slight delay when pressing the accelerator at really slow speeds.

Anyone have any insight on the issue. This is the only related post I can find.

Cheers

If i were you I would definitely FIND the time to take it to the dealership if you are lucky enough to still be covered on power train warranty.

[cruzad3r]

Hey, I've been having a problem with my 2nd hand 2006 M35x

When I step on the gas, it takes a few seconds to kick in, and when it does, there is a jolt ... like it is revving high and then "catches" and then starts to move.

I don't know how to better explain it or search... any ideas?

it's a frikin automatic ppl. what you experience is the auto rev match down shift to bigger gear; think of the manual car with the toe-heel approach. i doubt there's anything wrong with your transmission. if you really annoyed by it, do the drain and fill transmission fluid yourself.

[M4T5]

Hey, I've been having a problem with my 2nd hand 2006 M35x

When I step on the gas, it takes a few seconds to kick in, and when it does, there is a jolt ... like it is revving high and then "catches" and then starts to move.

I don't know how to better explain it or search... any ideas?

it's a frikin automatic ppl. what you experience is the auto rev match down shift to bigger gear; think of the manual car with the toe-heel approach. i doubt there's anything wrong with your transmission. if you really annoyed by it, do the drain and fill transmission fluid yourself.

Rev match doesnt mean it actually freespools before it engauges power to the wheels.
My M45 doesnt delay into gear. The Rev match just keeps the engine rpm into a higher range to eliminate the engine from dropping below it's power band RPM range.
Shouldnt have a delay and or a jolt into gear.

J

[dvan]

Ditto on what M4T5 says...

The whole point of RevMatch is so that when the engine is engaged to the transmission for a downshift the RPM's are at the perfect spot so there will be no 'jolt' or disruption to upset the chassis...i.e. a smooth shift. If he is really feeling a jolt on a regular basis, something is wrong.

[cruzad3r]

i can't speak for this "jolt" comment but on my m35, there's a slight delay when i press the gas hard. i haven't drive the m45 but engine wise the m35 is smaller and has less power. not to mention its body is huge therefore slight delay in power is forgiveable.

[dvan]

i can't speak for this "jolt" comment but on my m35, there's a slight delay when i press the gas hard. i haven't drive the m45 but engine wise the m35 is smaller and has less power. not to mention its body is huge therefore slight delay in power is forgiveable.

Yeah, the delay remark is normal for automatics. If i floor my M when cruising at a constant speed it can sometimes take a second or two get in the right gear

[svard75]

I have an 06 M35x with 110,000k and when I tromp on the gas at any speed it downshifts in a matter of seconds to pull me away. Something's wrong with something in your drivetrain, unless you just stepped out of an M3 with the 1 second shift and think ours are supposed to shift that way too

[Theo]

Hey cruzad3r, An automatic should not respond this way, what are you missing ?

I hit the accelerator at 40mph and the car readlines or free spools as someone mentioned and it goes nowhere , no increase in power , no acceleration, I am not putting it to floor either, simply trying to accelerate and pass someone. I have to come off the accelerator and apply pressure to the pedal much softer and easier. As jwheaton explained it revs way too high and then decides to find the correct gear and accelerate. It should drop a gear or two to bring the rev's up slightly not scream the engine.

The other issue is the throttle delay at really slow speeds. Never experienced this in any other car.

Neither of these are correct behavior. If my Xterra can pass and accelerate better than something is not right!

I'm trying to get it in to the dealership this week and yes, I have warranty remaining plus extended for a few more years.

[cruzad3r]

ok well hopefully the dealer will sort it out for you.

so how many M35 owners here experienced something similar to the orginal post and Theo?

[azeiler]

Yeah, the delay remark is normal for automatics. If i floor my M when cruising at a constant speed it can sometimes take a second or two get in the right gear

This is what happens to me too. I've read in some posts that a grounding kit eliminates some of this "hesitation".

I like the fact that my transmission learns the way I drive. It seems to stay in lower gears longer, which keeps me in the power range I like, unless of course I'm crusing.

The only problem I have with my transmission is a 2.5 sec delay going from Neutral to Drive.

[M4T5]

I have an 06 M35x with 110,000k and when I tromp on the gas at any speed it downshifts in a matter of seconds to pull me away. Something's wrong with something in your drivetrain, unless you just stepped out of an M3 with the 1 second shift and think ours are supposed to shift that way too

You pretty much said it yourself..."it downshifts in a matter of seconds to pull me away." Therefore, yours too has the delay some are talking about in this thread.
I'm just not sure exactly what your post is actually trying to say or prove compared to others that posted about the delay.

J

[EniGmA1987]

For me, it depends when I push the pedal to the floor. If I am already going slightly and then decide to punch it cause a car doesnt want to let me in, or if I am in a certain spot in the rpm's on each gear, things like that. I thought it had to do with thinking about if there is enough time to drop down to a certain gear before it will redline and then making its decision. I kinda know what areas I can push the pedal to the floor and have instantaneous response from the transmission now and which places it will take a while longer.

So you may want to check different speeds when you floor it and see what happens with how it shifts. It could just be that the ECU is thinking about if it is safe to switch down to a certain gear or not. As for that whole freespinning up to redline and not going anywhere for a while, I have no idea what that is. Mine doesnt start to rev high until it has shifted gears and when it revs high I have a ton of power.

[Theo]

So I finally got the car into the dealership.

Seems the transmission needed an ECU upgrade/flash. Throttle lag below 20mph is gone and acceleration seems to be improved. Shifts feel a little different but that could be my imagination.

Funny thing is they said it wasnt covered under the powertrain warranty or the extended I bought, I was pissed. $200 plus tax was the charge. Particularly since I just bought the car there 3 months ago. They backed down after I complained and decided not to charge me. The dealer should check this during the presales inspection. One thing I learned is to demand the all ECU upgrades are done before I buy another used car! In writing!

Cheers

[dvan]

So I finally got the car into the dealership.

Seems the transmission needed an ECU upgrade/flash. Throttle lag below 20mph is gone and acceleration seems to be improved. Shifts feel a little different but that could be my imagination.

Funny thing is they said it wasnt covered under the powertrain warranty or the extended I bought, I was pissed. $200 plus tax was the charge. Particularly since I just bought the car there 3 months ago. They backed down after I complained and decided not to charge me. The dealer should check this during the presales inspection. One thing I learned is to demand the all ECU upgrades are done before I buy another used car! In writing!

Cheers

They were wrong anyway saying it wasnt covered because it is, i had an ECU flash for hard shifting done as well under the powertrain warranty.

[Theo]

They were wrong anyway saying it wasnt covered because it is, i had an ECU flash for hard shifting done as well under the powertrain warranty.

Damn scammers, they tried to get me I guess!But they didnt., guess I'll switch dealerships. maybe it was just the service advisor, those weasels work on commission.

[MasterFoo]

So I finally got the car into the dealership.

Seems the transmission needed an ECU upgrade/flash. Throttle lag below 20mph is gone and acceleration seems to be improved. Shifts feel a little different but that could be my imagination.

Funny thing is they said it wasnt covered under the powertrain warranty or the extended I bought, I was pissed. $200 plus tax was the charge. Particularly since I just bought the car there 3 months ago. They backed down after I complained and decided not to charge me. The dealer should check this during the presales inspection. One thing I learned is to demand the all ECU upgrades are done before I buy another used car! In writing!

Cheers

I'm glad I searched this. I have a M35x with the same exact issue you're experiencing. Thanks.

[EniGmA1987]

I would do the ECU flash on my car, but Im afraid of losing my 2 degree timing advance :/

My car has great performance though and isnt really sluggish at all so I guess Im fine.

[MasterFoo]

I would do the ECU flash on my car, but Im afraid of losing my 2 degree timing advance :/

My car has great performance though and isnt really sluggish at all so I guess Im fine.

explain?

[EniGmA1987]

Well if the dealership flashes the ECU with an updated program, the old program would be gone. So with a 2 degree timing advance that is saved into my current ECU program, I am thinking would have to get deleted if the old ECU data is flashed away with the new changes to transmission stuff.


Or if you meant what is a 2 degree timing advance:

engine timing basically is how many degrees before top dead center to send the signal to fire the spark plug. There is a certain amount of time it takes for the electrical current to travel the distance to the plug, the plug to do its ignition, and the flame to spread from ignition point, up to the roof of the cylinder, spread outward across the top, and then finally burn downward on the compressed fuel and air mixture before the wall of flame hits the top of the piston in your engine. burn time with certain octane is a constant, current flow is a constant, and spark plug ignition time is a constant. The variable is how fast the engine is turning (RPMs). Modern ECU controlled engines have a timing table that the computer looks up that says how many degrees prior to top dead center to send the signal to fire the spark plug, this timing degree changes based on how fast the engine is turning. The faster the engine is running, the earlier the spark must be fired. The most pressure is achieved when the piston head is at exactly top dead center. If the timing is retarded (fired later) thee piston will be farther along its downward travel before the explosion hits the piston and pushes it down, thus power is lost as you have less compression (not as forceful of an explosion). Advancing the timing means the signal is sent sooner, and the piston is not as far into its downward stroke when the explosion hits it, and thus there is higher compression so you have more power and the engine runs more efficiently. Going too advanced can cause serious problems in the engine because the piston may not even have reached its top dead center position yet and the explosion would be trying to force the crankshaft backwards! The VQ35DE (my engine, the model the 03-07 M35's use) can have its timing set anywhere between 10-20 degrees before top dead center position, which is a large range of variable. The engine is tuned to a "more safe" position from the factory so that even in 130 degree heat with 87 octane fuel you dont have any knock or other problems from the engine. However, if you use better fuel the timing can be advanced farther, and there is quite a lot of headroom to change the timing to get more power from the engine from the stock timing. When I was reading up on the timing advance I saw one guy with a Maxima that has the same VQ35DE engine and he was running in 110 degree heat with 91 octane on many summer days where he lived in Las Vegas, and he was able to safely do 5 degrees of timing advance without any sort of early detonation problems. The guy only had problems one day when it was extremely hot and his timing was advanced 10 degrees from stock. A 1 or 2 degree advance is completely safe for these Nissan engines, and I would bet you can even go as far as 4 degrees advanced without any sort of problems in any of the engines as long as you are running decent fuel. Lower octane fuels are more prone to detonation, so it is recommended to run at least 89 on an 87 rated car with a timing advance, 91 octane with a large timing advance. Other performance cars is recommended to run 91-93 if you do any timing advance.

With a timing advance you are making more HP. Everyone says that the biggest change in performance from a timing advance is noticed at lower RPMs, so that is probably why I dont feel like my car is sluggish at all starting out like this thread is about. The amount it helps you cant really be said in scientific numbers as most Dyno's cant measure lower RPM ranges. The timing advance (which your dealer should be willing to do) and the grounding kit my car has are probably big contributors to my great low-end response. I know after I had the grounding kit on I could tell the difference in response time. WHen I got my timing advance I also changed my gear ratios to give a little more pep, so I cant say for certain just how much the timing advance alone helped me.


And here is a quote from a member on another forum about timing advances who probably knows more than I do:

Advancing your timing even by 5 degrees won't hurt a thing. You must run 93 octane though to prevent any detonation with that much advance. I am able to advance my timing by over 10 degrees before I have any detonation problems on 93 octane and the knock sensor disabled. That is with the VE30DE Maxima motor.

The only reason most people advance timing by 2 degrees is b/c that will ALWAYS be safe, even with crappy 89 octane gas and that's the most the dealerships will do. Companies that offer Upgraded ECUs will advance the timing by much more than 10 degrees in some areas.

[gavnator]

I had Infiniti do a transmission flush at 35,000. Differentials and transfer case fluids also done along with coolant changeout. Always use tier1 93 Octane. Oil change serviced every 3000. M looks and runs like new!!

[antzrus]

I had Infiniti do a transmission flush at 35,000. Differentials and transfer case fluids also done along with coolant changeout. Always use tier1 93 Octane. Oil change serviced every 3000. M looks and runs like new!!

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Prozac can fix that and/or your spouse will...

[Theo]

When I said the ECU needed to be updated I wasnt clear. I assume the Transmission has a separate Control Unit/computer and that was what needed the update not the the Engine Computer/ECU.

I am still not happy with the performance of the transmission, its still not 100% in my opinion. The dealer said they changed the transmission fluid when I bought the car, but I am now doubting this. I plan to have the transmission fluid changed to see if there is any improvement.

Cheers