Driver sport mode stuck - won't shift up or down
 

I have an 08 A/T G35 Sedan.

When I shift into DS mode the dash displays DS but when I try to switch it back into D mode it still says DS. I cannot shift with the shift nob up or down.
I can however use the paddles to shift up and down but the shift knob will not shift up or down and will not go back into Drive.

(It fixes itself when I shut the car off) The only way I can get back into drive is if I shift into neutral then back to drive then after I do that I switch to DS mode and it does not recognize DS it just says D.

This does not happen all the time but I noticed it happened the other day 2 or 3 times. It hasn't come back since and i was at the dealer yesterday and they basically told me they had to see it to do anything about it, and they have never heard of it before as well.

I took a video of it happening just so people wouldnt think I was crazy. I'll post it up later when I get it off the phone.

Anyone else have these issues? I tried searching for DS mode on the forums but got a lot of irrelevant posts.

Instead of taking a video, I'd take it to the dealer for a warranty fix;)

Dealer; thats a warranty fix.

It doesn't do it everytime, and it hasn't done it since last saturday. When I told the dealer about it the service guy looked at me like I was stupid then proceeded to tell me how shifting worked, I wanted to knock the guy in the nose, hes a douche' anyway I hate my service advisor.

So I told another service advisor, what are they going to do to fix it? They didnt see any codes or diagnostics pull up on the tester, they noted everything in the notes on my car.

anyone have any insight as to what would cause this or what part is affected?

take it in its warranty fix the shifter is broken there gonna install a new one for u for free it was like that on my car

Have you shown the dealer the video you took?

I don't have any knowledge of the internal workings of the G35, but based on your symptoms it seems safe to assume that the unit that controls the transmission is okay since it responds to signals from the paddles to shift up and down, as well as a signal from the shifter on the console to shift from N to D. It would seem then that the most likely problem would be that the unit that controls the transmission is not receiving signals from the shifter on the console to move from D to DS , DS to D, nor signals from the shifter to move up or down a gear.

Given the intermittent nature of the problem, it also would seem likely that the problem is mechanical and not electronic. Having only been a G35 owner for a week and a half, I've never taken the shifter on the console apart to see how it actually detects movement of the shift nob, but it seems likely that there must be some physical contacts in there somewhere.

It seems odd that three of the contacts sometimes don't work (D<>DS, +, and -). If it were a contact failure, I'd expect them to go one at a time, not three at once. So perhaps those three use a common ground that is loose, while P, R, N, and D use a different ground that is not loose. Or maybe those three are plugged in using a different connector plug which is loose.

If it is a loose ground, or connector, it could be exacerbated by heat. When you've noticed the problem, has it been after driving for a while, or was it right after starting up the car?

Also, if it is mechanical in nature, it will progressively get worse, and eventually it will happen often enough that the dealer will see it too. I know you're frustrated with the service department, but it really is hard to debug intermittent failures. I suspect that before they can expense warranty work they're supposed to be able to confirm a failure. With that in mind, you might ask your service adviser to arrange for you to speak to a technician that understands how the console shifter detects movements of the shift knob. The tech might also be able to suggest things for you to try the next time it happens so that you can help them narrow down the problem.

Just an update, since my last post I have been to the dealer twice, the first time they replaced the whole shifter unit.

Within a day, the shifter started F-in up again. This time it was when I put it in DS mode, it didnt display DS mode anymore and did not respond to + or -, so basically All I have is D mode which sucks....

I have a journey sedan, which I installed the Sport Shifter paddles myself, this was in June of last year. Keep in mind I did not have any problems until 6 months after the install of the paddles.

Took it into the dealer for the 2nd time, they "adjusted it"

This time it worked for the day that I got it back, basically a drive home... but I noticed the shift points were extended so it was harder to shift up and down in + - mode. The next day it went bad again.

It seemed like it got progressively worse the more I tried putting it into DS mode.

Now, within 5 minutes of shifting from D to DS the DS mode stops working and I cannot **** up or down manually.

Took it into another infiniti dealer, "what a waste of time", they said something could be pinched in the harness, but the girl service advisor who said this had a horse mouth and didnt know what she was talking about. Its current, electricity, if a wire is pinched it would never work or it would cut in and out. Service tech there also didnt know what to make of it and they also pulled vehicles history and told me that since i installed the paddles to go f off... :-)

So, I will be returning to original dealership that has replaced the shifter unit, they already have it on order so it should be in tomorrow or the next day.

So my question..... anyone thing it could be the paddles causing this non-sense? Could the paddles be back feeding into the shifter or something? (thats what second delaership wanted to tell me)

So, since I have taken it to the 2nd dealership I have taken off the paddles and put car back to stock.

IT STILL HAPPENS...

2nd question.

When I get car back with new shifter unit, should I put the paddles back on? I probably will drive it for a month or so without the paddles just to rule them out but any thoughts or similar experiences would be great!!

thanks!

How was the car after you disconected the paddles? Did the same?

yes the same dm thing happens.

Than it should not be a problem of the installation of the paddle.

Sucks. Hope they will fix it for you for good. I never had any problem with it.

Periods (.) and commas (,) are your friend. :19:

I'm having the same issue now for the last few weeks where sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I have the S model w/ the paddle shifters so I don't think that was the cause of it for you. I need to take it in to the dealer as well when I have the time.

I'll keep checking back to see how it's going for you and I'll post back if I get it fixed first.

Took it to the dealer for the 3rd time. This time I took the paddles off, they found out that it was not the Type S which came with the paddles and they didnt originally install the paddles so they blamed me for f ing somehting up.

All in all.. i paid for a new shifter unit which was expensive however the service guy deep discounted the labor to 1 hour and it wasnt as bad as the original quote.

The problem was that the shifter unit shorted out somehow, there is a little white box on the side of the shifter unit that they said kept burning out.

I have been driving for a couple weeks with this new shifter unit and without the paddles. no problems so far.

Why did it take 6 - 7 months for stuff to start going wrong with the paddles/ shifter unit?

***
My problem now is I want the shifter paddles back on and working without causing problems. what could cause this?

I have the SAME EXACT PROBLEM. Only started up maybe 2 months ago. Seemed to happen after a dealer said he updated the software. I took it in and got the same thing---until we have it happen, we cant fix it.

It happened to me yesterday again, after not happening for like a week and a half. It will even happen after restarting---within a short time. Does that happen to you also. It cant be the paddles, as i dont have them and never had.

What was the solution, b/c if i cant get them to reproduce it, maybe i can say----hey dumbass, why dont you .....pull out this module, and test it or whatever. Does that make sense?


Also, should clarify-----never got stuck in DS---will go from D to DS, and display will stay at D. Then i'll up or downshift via shifter, and it will go up or down into a gear===display will say 2, 3, 4, whatever. But then as soon as I get on the gas, it will pop back into D,and I cant shift up/ down, back into DS, anything. I have to restart, and then its highly likely to happen again and again, until the car is shut off for an extended period=--ex like overnight.