Forced to warm up the car??? 2012 Nissan Altima
Hi,
My 2012 2.5 Altima has had some problem since this winter.
While the outside temperature down to around 32 F or lower, my altima seems working at low gear for the first 5-10 mins (depends on how cold it is) driving once the car had been turned off for about 8 hours or parked overnight before driving.
In which situation, to keep the car at 25 miles the rpm is as high as 2000, to keep it at 35 miles requires about 3000 rpm. In general, the higher the speed, the higher the rpm. Of course, to accelerate requires even higher rpm and its response is slower than normal condition.
In addition, there is a sound like gears running in addition to the engine noise after the rpm hits 2000 or higher. But there is no such sound at high rpm while it has been warmed up.
It actually has similar problem in autumn morning. Just not as severe as it has in winter.
Once the car has been warmed up, the problem doesn't happen even if it has been turned off for less than 4~6 hours. The time to "cold down" the car depends on the outside temperature.
I had it inspected in the Nissan dealership but they told me it is normal and there is a sensor in transmission which forces the low gear before the fluid in the transmission warmed up.
I had rented similar mode of Altima several times in last winter and never found this problem.
And after googled this issue and found that nowadays there is no need to warm the car in such a long time: warm up by 10 mins idle + 2 mins driving or warm up by 5-10 mins driving.
So, I am wondering is this problem really normal among 2012 Altima?
If not, what should I do for figuring this problem?
Thanks in advance for all your advice.
Comments
most likely it s a fluid pressure issue in the cvt....the valvebody of the cvt controls the fluid pressure. most likely it is the transmissions vavle body
Are you sure this is just not a normal operating sequence in response to the colder temperatures? With modern computer-controlled vehicles, many of them are programmed to shift differently until the engine/tranny are up to operating temperature. Since we all drive more gently while the engine-temp is below normal temps... this programming helps us as we do this.
I see that you feel that your vehicle acts differently than others you have driven. I wonder if yours needs the software updated? Vehicles with CVT seem to get a lot of software updates for the first few years after they are released. (The manufacturers are constantly tweaking the software.)
Ya but the temps he is talking about is only 32 or a bit lower. No vehicle should be sold and delivered doing what his is doing at such a mild temperature. Darn well flash the thing properly before it leaves the FACTORY...and certainly if not then, then the dang stealership! I'm no CVT fan at the BEST of times, and this just helps put a big period behind it. Shame on Nissan though. The lengths a manufacturer will go to to meet CAFE minimums across the fleet. Subaru is allowing themselves to get cheapened up by this practice too. I commend other brands that will still sell you a 6 sp conventional automatic.
If the car has over 30k miles, flush the fluid in the transmission and replace with Red Line or some other synthetic.