My owner manual says that in manual (p5-11) that the car will automatically shift to 1 and we have to shift up as necessary.

I don't see this happening for my G35. It stays at whatever gear it was at before the stop.

Any ideas?

 

Yes, it says/displays the gear that it was in when you stopped, but it starts in 1st and then the highest gear it will shift to is the one displayed. So if you are in 3rd, it will stop there and you have to manually shift to a higher gear, once you start going again.

Merlin.

 

I disagree, whenever I go to manual mode it starts out in 4th. It did this also on all of my test drives on all the differnet cars I drove.

Twilight Blue/Willow/Premium/Nav/Wood/Winter/Xenon/ 3M Clear Bra

 

This is not what he is saying... If you are already in the manual mode, and say it is in third gear when you come to a dead stop, and you start rolling again, it is actually in first gear, and will shift normally through the gears, but will not shift above third gear without you manually shifting it above that gear. In other words if you are at a dead stop it is not going to try to get you rolling in thrid gear from a stop but rather first.

 

I find this confusing, too. It happens because the manual mode also doubles as the traditional manual gear (ie D4, D5). However, the car is clearly starting in first every time you stop. Awkward because the number on the dash doesn't indicate "1" and if you don't upshift from here, it's essentially in automatic.

HTBomb's Magical Hot Wheels

 

Hey htbomb, You've hit the nail on the head: As you said: if you're in 'M' mode but leave the INDICATED # in say 4(M) then the tranny upshifts and downshifts to that 4M only. and the indicated # doesn't change.Likewise with 2M or 3M or any of the choises- the tranny goes up and down automatically. (without the indicated gear changing). I've just traded my Sedan for a Coupe and it took me by surprise the first time I drove it in that the Coupe's tranny if left in say 4M will downshift normally all the way to first if you slow and stop BUT ALSO THE INDICATED GEAR CHANGES DOWN TOO! So if I drive my Coupe along in say 3M and then stop, now I have to remember that not only the tranny has shifted down to first gear but also the Indicated gear# has changed down too> 1M. ......... It is a little confusing at first, but just remember that in the Sedan the INDICATED gear # doesn't move until you change it , and in the Coupe it goes down as the tranny goes down. Hope this helps-

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by gsedanman on 01/12/03 07:09 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

VQ, Merlin isn't talking about the default setting - which is when you engage M-mode it defaults to '4'. He's talking about going one step further and changing the selection to say 3 where the transmission will only go up to there or down from there (automatically). This feature is confusing and what further confuses the issue is that the Coupe's automatic varies slightly: not only does the transmission go down (when slowing) from say a selection of 3M to first gear but also the indicated selection goes down too, so then it won't change back up (to 3M) like in the Sedan..........Hope this helps....

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.

 

Thanks for the info so far guys. From what I've read here so far, in manual mode displayed at "4" and slowed down to a stop, the gear is actually in "1" although not displayed.

So, if I were to gun it from the stop, would each gear shift at the higher rpms (near readline) till it got to fourth gear? If so, then this would be the way to make the car perform at its fastest right? Cause actually shifting in manual mode between gears causes pretty significant lags. Just wondering how the car is supposed to get about 6.2 seconds from 0 to 60.

 

You got it. It will shift at redline until you reach 4th gear and from 4 to 5 you would have to shift.

Merlin.

 

Thanks a lot Merlin.

 

Fortunately I don't use manual much or I'd be baffled not knowing what gear I'm in. This is the second car I've owned with this feature but all the cars prior were stick. I like having the option though; every now and then it's fun to hit it on the highway. I suspect Infiniti will change the Sedan to match the Coupe at some point.

HTBomb's Magical Hot Wheels

 

I like the feature on my Coupe, now. I made the mistake of not reading the manual first like I always do because I thought it would be the same as the Sedan. NOT!!!!! Next thing I know I'm stopped at the light thinking I'm in 3M not realizing it's in first (and staying there). I believe I'm the first to red-line his Sedan/Coupe with 10 miles on the odo. Luckily I wasn't racing or it could have been BAD. not to mention embarrasing.
I've driven automatics mainly because I'm lazyer now, and like to have some of the work done for me. but also the traffic in Southern Ontario can be a PITA. My brother has to contend with it in his Solara and he says he's had enough. Next one for sure will be A/T.
We've had our share of M/T in our younger, wilder days, and they are more versatile (and quicker), but for me, auto is the way to go.
I'm hoping for a sport/cruise mode (that learning algorith isn't for me) and also eventually a 6 or 7 speed A/T (in the G) . I don't like the C/V trannies like in the Morano. I like shifting sometimes and getting involved.
Yes Infiniti will eventually put the sportier A/T in the Sedan. But they're gonna have to explain the diffs a little better. Right now there's a lot of confusion about the 2.......................
.........Later........

Gsedanman--in Silverstone Coupe clothing.

 

CVTs aren't that bad. Audi did a decent job of it. I test drove an A4 3.0 CVT before getting the G35. When you leave it in auto, the CVT makes the most of the torque by holding the engine around 4100rpm, and varying the gearing, so you get smooth power all the way from 0 to 85mph, with no lurches for shifting. If you want to play, they have a simulated manual mode, similar to most "regular" auto-manual transmissions, where the CVT locks itself to 6 specific points and simulates a 6-speed transmission. However, 0-60 is done fastest by letting the CVT do it's thing.

In the future, these transmissions will become more common. Right now, I was leary towards it.. I still consider it unproven as far as durability is concerned. Maybe in 4-5 years if there aren't any serious problems, I'll consider getting one.

As for the G35, I wish it were more like BMW's Steptronic. It's my only serious gripe about the car. It would be nice to have a normal, sport, and fully-manual mode for the transmission.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter