[tenspeedpete]

Hi all, I'm new here & glad I found the site-lot's 'o great info and tips.
I've just recently noticed on my '03 SE AWD that my CVT seems to slip under hard acceleration. The engine will wind up and the car seems to have to 'catch up' to it. This seems to be more noticeable when it is wet or damp outside. When I first got the vehicle it also seemed to be really quiet under acceleration, but now is much noisier. I'm going to take it in to the dealer but just wondered if anyone else has experienced something like this.
Thanks all!

 

[seaofdunes]

just some ideas to think about as i am no mechanic...

The engine doesn't have as much torque and power low down as it does higher up in the rev range.

You are driving an all wheel drive car. Perhaps the wheels are slipping under load and once they stop slipping, the engine revs quicker.

It is a fairly heavy vehicle and the heavier the vehicle, the more force is needed to get it going. Once you are moving, the engine probably has an easier time.

 

[Eric L.]

By design the CVT will always feel like it is slipping, since you will not get a linear increase in revs as your accelerate due to the constant reshuffling of "gear" ratios in the transmission. Its an unsettling feeling for many new CVT owners but you get used to it after a while. I think the biggest downside to the CVT's slipping sensation is that it dulls the engine's sporty nature.

But then again, maybe your are experiencing an exaggerated slipping sensation and there really is something wrong with the transmission. Let us know what the dealer says, and make sure you demonstrate the problem to them by taking a tech for a ride, else you will get the typical "could not duplicate" response.

 

[senza]

"my CVT seems to slip under hard acceleration. The engine will wind up and the car seems to have to 'catch up' to it."

The CVT is not slipping....this is the basic operating function of the CVT...under hard acceleration, it allows the engine to reach high RPM to provide more power to accelerate..it stays at constant high rpm as the vehicle speed increases.

Don't understand the relationship to "dampness"...unless your tires are in very poor condition, you will not be spinning wheels even on damp pavement, with an AWD...

The "noise" shouldn't have changed...unless one of the mufflers or part of the exhaust system has been damaged...The Murano is one quiet vehicle...too quiet...

 

[Eric L.]

Amen to that - the engine is WAY too quiet, compared to the same engine in every other Nissan vehicle which sounds great. In the Murano, you hear a muffled whir but nothing like the growl the VQ should have.

 

[murano123]

I have been experiencing something similar when I make a sharp turn with sharp accelaration especially when making quick U-turns and when making a right from a mall into the street. If I turn slowly nothing happens and also when I accelarate sharply when driving straight, this does not happen.

 

[Eric L.]

A few months ago it was noted that after extended highway driving, the accelerator would become unresponsive. Turning off the engine and restarting would fix this problem - its probably a glitch with the electronic throttle, but no one has complained about it recently.

 

[tenspeedpete]

Thanks y'all for your info, I appreciate the responses. This problem is something that has recently appeared and wasn't there originally. My MO (and all of yours too) used to have great acceleration from a dead stop, now I have a lot of hesitation and lag. Senza-I've got the same notion about an exhaust issue but haven't had the time to crawl under and check it out yet.
I'll let you know how things go after my visit to the dealership.

 

[ppeter78]

lost RPM's

Well i was going 80 and pushed is.. hit about 100... then the car seems to just stay at that speed and i have gone 127 once before just testing it out.... So i tried the S setting on the CVT went to 105 then L went to 115 and then the RPM's went from 6 to 4 and would not accelerate and slowed to 90 or so and would not go faster.... OH and the gas gauge said i used 1/4 of the tank in 4 min but now the car will not register full anymore when i fill up..

 

[jaak]

It's unfortunate that your Murano does that. I've not seen it reported by others, which suggests, it's either a problem specific to your Murano, or something that only manifests itself under certain conditions and could happen to any Murano.

I know if mine did that, repeatedly, I'd be documenting it and working with Nissan to resolve it.

FYI, A similar incident happened with a friends Dodge RAM truck after a sustained long distance constant velocity drive. It seemed that the computer "learned" after a while, that it was not to react quickly. He noted that the fuel milage seemed to increase after about an hour on cruise, so I can't help but wonder if this is part of the issue. The truck had to "relearn" to respond to the throttle. He found it very sluggish and finally had to pull over to the side of the road, shut it off and restart, to get it to run well again.

Also saw the same thing happen with a Ford Taurus, and it was smoking like crazy until reset.

The engine program is software. Software can have bugs and these bugs can be resolved if there's enough detail for the engineers to work with, to debug it. Also, like any software, it can get corrupted and need to reboot to clean up things. Usually engine controllers are incredibly reliable, so it's not an issue.

Overall, I think the Murano programming is outstanding. Try putting a vehicle that's not software controlled in the transmission, into L while at highway speeds. This would usually mean broken parts and a trip to the side of the road. Or shifting a standard into 1st while doing a 100 mph. (And no, R is not for Race...)

So I think we have to be realistic in what we ask it to do. While the engineers would try to put in code to deal with inappropriate actions, they can't protect people from their own foolishness.

 

[mattsmurano]

That is terrible for you guys! So sorry to hear abotu the bad luck.

I have driven my Murano Phoenix to San Fransisco, and back 2 times; Phoenix to Palm Springs and back, and Phoenix to LA and back. Flawless trip every time. 19 to 22mpg too.... I love the CVT in the mountains.... I have 26,000 miles now and it seems to run better than ever. I will have it as long as it continues to make me smile the way it has been...

Only failure was the alternator at 22,000 miles. It died, they fixed it the next day, and I haven't had a hiccup since.

 

[murano123]

Yes, the accelaration is very sluggish especially in the mornings. I usually don't push it too much in the mornings, let the vehicle accelarate at it's own comfort level and generally keep a low profile on the freeway.

However after a few hours of rest, when I drive it in the afternoon, it is much more responsive.

Another thing that happens is, if you floor it on the ramp, it stays rough during the rest of the journey.

In other words, the "smoothness" is not consistent in this vehicle and keeps changing during the course of the day and with changing driving patterns.

Mileage I get is about 19.8 on the freeway. I think the cost of ownership is pretty high on this vehicle. You have to use 91 octane gas and it gives a poor gas mileage. Though 4-5 K more than the Murano, I think RX300 or MDX probably have lower cost of ownership and more residual value.

 

[Eric L.]

Well, sometimes it is hard to state a complaint because some members will come out of no-where, insult your intelligence and twist what you have said and make calumnious statements about you.

Here is a quote from a post I made to Homer on 2/26/2004. I am talking about events that occurred in the Spring of 2003. I removed most of the original post on 3/25/2004.



The bottom line is that I no-longer have a reason to complain because I simply do not take trips of more than 60 miles in my Murano.

I certainly hope you are no way implying that I have been disrespectful to a member of this board. I have always intended my replies to be helpful and try to understand the problem in further detail so other members who experience similar problems can report their experiences as well.

I wish you luck in dealing with your unresponsive throttle problem - if it were me, I think not being able to drive 60 miles is unacceptable for a car. If its a consistent problem, its up to you whether you want to demonstrate it to the dealer before your warranty expires.

 

[Eric L.]

Eric L.

I absolutely have no problem with any of your posts that I have read. They have always been informative and respectful.

On the other hand, I'm not sure why you have brought this up because I know that you know EXACTLY what I am talking about and it is not about you or anything you have done. In fact, on 3/25/2004 you and I exchanged private communications in which we discussed some events on this board and you gave me some advice about this board and about my Murano that was very helpful.

-----------------------------------------

In your last post, you suggested that I demonstate the problem to the dealer.

How can I do that?

So far, they have not been able to reproduce the problem. They have been unwilling to drive it for 60 to 100 miles non-stop on the chance that the problem might occur.

On the other hand, if I take the Murano on a trip and encounter the problem should I leave the car running in the middle of an intersection until a Nissan mechanic can come and look at it? Chances are that by the time they arrive, the problem will be gone.

Ok I understand what you mean, just wanted to clarify.

Yep, tough one - how to reproduce it for the dealer. At the very least the dealer should test the TPS I would think, not that it would help much.

I dunno - I would still bug the dealer about this problem - the Murano is a great vehicle, but not if you can't drive more than 60 miles without the gas pedal going dead.

 

[GripperDon]

Drive by wire, doesn't work very well when the number of electrons in the wire are below that required. GRIP

 

[Eric L.]

Very interesting. Dennis, did you check the water level in our wonderful maintenance required stocker battery?

 

[zofsuvs]

A few months ago it was noted that after extended highway driving, the accelerator would become unresponsive. Turning off the engine and restarting would fix this problem - its probably a glitch with the electronic throttle, but no one has complained about it recently.

I continue to experience the same problem you and Dennis mention here - lag in acceleration after a full stop after long drives, until the engine is restarted. Happens frequently, but not every time.

I reported it well over a year ago on the freshalloy forum, and several other people have also reported the problem there and it has been discussed in various threads. Some owners had full transmission replacements while others had control module replacements. I can provide some links if you like, or you can search for threads there using "CVT" or "acceleration" as keywords.

My dealership said I would need to take my Murano in for a diagnostic when the problem was actually occuring. I did a lot of highway driving but was unable to ever get it to a dearership at the right time. My Murano is out of warranty now, but if I ever am able to take it in as the problem is happening, I'll still do so.

I had hoped that after the alternator failed and was replaced, the acceleration problem might go away as well. But it was only a matter of days before I saw the problem again. (I reported all this at the time on the F.A. forum.)

The good news is that restarting the engine seems to be a consistently reliable fix. Acceleration response is restored immediately. Rather than restarting the engine right at a stop light, etc. though, I try to play it safe by pulling over first if I can, just in case there's a bigger problem I'm not aware of.

 

[murano123]

Solution to all the Murano problems:

The 2006 ML. Hang on guys. Trade in when this comes out.
268hp, 258lb-ft, this should rock.

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/w164.html

 

[GripperDon]

Quite nice, unfortunately IMO they missed the boat on the back end. Bet it will cost more that the MO +$10k. GRIP

 

[Kris]

Looks good. And the specs - WOW!!!

Unfortunately the price will also be - WOW!!!