If you read the procedure in the service manual, its pretty involved. Checking fluid temp, adding a bit, re-checking temp, re-adding, etc. Its the one thing that might actually be worth paying a dealer to do.

Not quite sure if Id let it go the 100K miles that Nissan suggests, but $300.00 service every 30K miles could get a little much. Not quite sure when Id have mine replaced, Ill worry about it when I get there.

 

^Maxpilot: I stand corrected. Sorry for taking issue with you.

It's strange that they say it's maintenance free in the maintenance section, and in another section have a procedure for changing it labeled "Periodic Maintenance". They do somewhat strongly warn against using anything other than Nissan ATF, though.

Now I'm looking for the 100K change recommendation....

 

OK, so I took my 2009 G37S (7,780 mi) to the dealer this morning, complained AGAIN about the flaring and asked them to apply ITB 10-075. When I got it back, they said that TSB/ITB was not compatible with my VIN number and they applied ITB 10-076a instead, released on April 26, 2011, and didn't give me much information about it. When I got home, I immediately started looking for that ITB and I find absolutely NOTHING ANYWHERE about it. So who knows what it does, why it exists, or what models it is for!?! (I do have a mechanic friend looking into it).

Anyway, on the way home, there was no flaring at all. I stopped and did some shopping. Then went somewhere else. Then went home. Then after eating lunch, I went out again and back home. Still no flaring. It certainly WOULD have flared several times prior. But it could just be that the wipe of the transmission memory put it in full "learn mode" again and that masks the problem. Can't say... only time will tell. And in my case, it could take months before I really know.

HOWEVER, I *know* it did *something* to the transmission behavior, because when I bought the car, the engine braking was extreme. ITB09-032 cut that engine braking in half. NOW after 10-076a, there is almost no engine braking AT ALL- I can coast with no throttle for what seems like forever. I can't say that upsets me, this is not a manual transmission, and I really didn't like engine braking in an automatic anyway.

 

^That's a little weird. That date IIRC corresponds to about when Infiniti updated 10-075 with VIN numbers, but they somewhat notoriously do not change TSB numbers when they update one. It sounds like what you got was the same update as in 10-075, from what you say about the braking.

 

Does anyone know: Are the Ms experiencing the same thing? I'm about to trade in - early my 2010 G37X for a CPO - 08 or 09 M35X, if I swing the deal w/o any real termination fees, etc. I Have logged numerous complaints with the Dealer and Infiniti of North America, well documented on this Forum in this and other Threads !!!

I will be "pushing Infiniti of NA to make this deal happen. Thus the question cited above. Did the 09 M35X go to the M37X in that year? and most importantly, did thys use the 7 AT in the 09? They did NOT in the 08....

 

Are you trading it in solely because of the tranny issue?

Im wondering if I should worry about mine getting worse. its a little annoying when not driving aggressively, but seems to be OK when I really lean into it.

 

Chris11LE: I am Considering trading solely b/c of the 7 AT Tranny. The same with me, if I drive it hard it's better, but in city roads, stop and go traffic, I generally Can't Stand It.... I did have the 07 G35X, that has spoiled me... I am going to take a new 2011/12 M37X for good long spin - maybe keep it as a Loaner overnight. If that does the same thing, then I won't consider it and either go for Plan B: take a Buy of a CPO 09 or 08 M35X or go to a different automobile (Acura TL, BMW, dare I sy it, mabe even a Taurus/Lincoln !!).

BTW, I've mentioned before but an associate of minje has the 2010 Lincoln MKS, nice roomy car, with a 6 AT. He does experience that Jerkiness - gear hunting type stuff in his car too. They reset his ECU, after 2 weeks - it's back. This is all done for Mileage Gains over the entire Manufacturer's Fleet to meet the US gov'ts requirements. Add this, I have Subaru Legacy 2.5i with a CVT tranny [first time for us having a acr with a CVT], bougt it as a CPO 3 months ago, the car for the $$$$ is just plain Awesome !! 28-32 mpgs on the highway, 22.5-23 in the City / Suburban driving, and notwithstanding that it's Not an Infiniti or Acura as far as the Interior, but it certainly not bad. Wish I could've gotten a Limited version which would have contained some nice upgrades _ leather, HK stereo system, auto climate controls, 17" wheels and tires, for about $5 k more on a New Basis, probably $3k more as a 2010 CPO...The car does not do what my G37x does, no hesitation, granted less power, but roomier, handles very well for a "large" sedan, and it has one of the best if not the best AWD systems in the Business....

 

What's the beef with a little flare? It's like driving a stick and keeping the throttle mashed while shifting.

 

To me, it's not the Little Flare, it's the H e s i t a t i o n....like some cars used to behave in the Old Days.

 

Well, you certainly should never have any hunting or jerks with that, since it doesn't have discrete gears. But the reason Subaru isn't selling a GT with auto any more is because they wanted to reserve the 5EAT for the 6 cylinder in the new car, and the CVT won't handle the torque from the GT's turboed four.

Which is why I have a G37x now after '05 and '08 Legacy GTs. On paper, they were close in performance to the G, but sitting behind the wheel, there's no comparison whatsoever. I love my G, 7AT quirks and all.

 

The hesitation is my beef too. The flare doesn't bother me as much. It's unclear to me from previous posts if this TSB does anything for the hesitation.

 

The legacy gt has almost 100hp less than the g37 how is that close on paper???

 

What little I have driven the post-ITB10-076a G37S so far- WOW! Smooth! (Let's see if that lasts or if it will "learn" to misbehave again)

I was finally able to get ahold of the info on 10-076a and it is very description terse and confusing. I suspect it addresses the same issues as 10-075, but the wording says only:

"2008 G37 Coupe, 2009-2010 G37 Secan, Coupe & Convertable. If you confirm An applied Vehicle has the MIL "ON" with DRC P1421 (Cold Start Control) stored in the ECM" [then reprogram as follows...]"

Followed by an incredibly long/complex set of instructions, including lists of "current ECM Part Numbers" to match, etc (9 pages!) Why they left off all descriptions of what issues this is supposed to address, I don't know.

I do find it interesting the mention of "cold start control" errors or being perhaps stuck on, when the vast majority of my transmission flaring was after a warm start and rarely a cold start....

 

It is unclear to me what the TSB does [10-076a] at all, even after reading the whole thing. I will report back more experiences with it after I have logged a lot more time and miles.

 

Because we are NOT driving a manual. It is the same reason I don't want engine braking either in an AT. That is normal and common on a manual, but is irritating on an automatic.

When I am in total control (manual trans) it does what I want. When it is in control and trying to guess what I want to do, I want it to guess correctly and not be annoying.

I (for one) am not comparing the 7AT to a manual. I am comparing it to the 5AT in the previous Nissan higher-end generation (the Maxima and the G35) which NEVER had flare, NEVER had engine braking, NEVER had extra-hard/bad downshifts (THUNK!), and very RARELY had indecision or hesitation. It was nice- nine years of driving something that just worked and worked well. It was not misbehaving in ways that would draw your attention/distract or make you lose confidence in the transmission, thinking it was malfunctioning or going to fail.