2017 Nissan Armada

2017 VEHICLE HESITATED WHILE LEAVING A DRIVE THROUGH, WOULD NOT SHIFT FROM PARK. AT NEXT VENUE, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. OWNER ATTEMPTED TO START VEHICLE WITH REMOTE START. THE ENGINE TURNED ON, HOWEVER, UPON ENTRY WHEN THE OWNER PRESSED THE START AND PLACED FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE REPAIRS WERE MADE TO A STOP SENSOR, HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE IS STILL HESITATING.

THE NEW ARMADA FOR 2017 HAS A COLD WEATHER PROBLEM IN ITS TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM IS IT DOESN'T SHIFT PROPERLY. MY DEALER SAYS THAT'S THE WAY IT SUPPOSED TO WORK TO WARM THE FLUID. BUT IN THE 40 YEARS THAT I HAVE BEEN DRIVING COLD WEATHER HAS NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM FOR TRANSMISSIONS. IT STAYS IN 2ND AND 3RD GEARS WAY TO LONG . ANYWAY THAT'S MY PROBLEM AND THERE SHOULD BE A SOLUTION, MAYBE A DIFFERENT TRANSMISSION FLUID OR A DIFFERENT CODE TO SHIFT MORE QUICKLY. AN UPDATES NEEDED. THIS HAPPENS EVERYTIME YOU START FROM A STOP UNTIL THE CAR WARMS, ABOUT 20 MINUTES OF DRIVING. NISSAN MILEAGE COULD GO UP AN ADDITIONAL 2 MILES PER GALLON MORE IF IT DIDN'T HAVE SUCH HIGH REVS DURING THIS WARM UP PERIOD.

WHILE DRIVING, THE TRANSMISSION HUNTS AND SHIFTS VERY EARLY, CRIPPLING ACCELERATION. AT NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEEDS, SIGNIFICANT DEPRESSION OF THE ACCELERATOR IS REQUIRED TO EFFECT A DOWNSHIFT. THIS PRESENTS A SAFETY HAZARD WHEN ACCELERATION IS REQUIRED FOR MANEUVERING. WHEN THE VEHICLE DOES SHIFT INTO THE NEXT GEAR, SIGNIFICANT OSCILLATIONS OCCUR UNTIL THE TRANSMISSION SETTLES ON A POINT. ALSO, AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THE ENGINE RPM CONTINUOUSLY 'FLUTTERS' UNDER CONSTANT ACCELERATOR POSITION AND NO CHANGE IN ENGINE LOAD (FLAT STRAIGHT ROAD). I HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN I SLIGHTLY DEPRESS THE ACCCELERATOR TO MAINTAIN SPEED, THE TRANSMISSION RESPONDS BY FURTHER REDUCING ENGINE RPM AGAIN HAMPERING ACCELERATION (EXACTLY OPPOSITE OF ANY OTHER AUTOMATIC VEHICLE I HAVE DRIVEN). THIS TRANSMISSION OPERATES AS IF IT HAS AIR IN THE HYDRAULICS. I HAVE HAD THE LATEST TSB INSTALLED FOR THE ECM AND TCM (REVISION E). NISSAN DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE CAPABLE OF FIXING THIS SAFETY ISSUE.

THE TRANSMISSION DOES NOT SEEM TO SHIFT IN A NORMAL MANNER IT DOES NOT SHIFT UP WHEN STARTING FROM A STOPPED POSITION AND SEEMS TO DOWNSHIFT UN-NECESSARILY. YOU CAN HEAR THE ENGINE WORKING HARDER THAN IT SHOULD SINCE IT'S IN A LOWER GEAR THAN IT SHOULD BE, AND YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE TACHOMETER BECAUSE IT'S RUNNING AT A MUCH HIGHER RATE. ON ONE OCCASION I NOTICED THE TACHOMETER FLUTTERING FOR 10-15 SECONDS WHILE DRIVING AT A STEADY SPEED. ALL OF THE OCCURRENCES WERE ON CITY STREETS. THE PROBLEM DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL OF THE TIME AS IT COULD BE A FEW DAYS IN BETWEEN OCCURRENCES. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALER TWICE ALREADY. THEY DID NOTICE THE PROBLEM AND UPDATED THE SOFTWARE, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. THEY CLAIM THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX!

SOMETIMES WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, THE VEHICLE WILL ACT LIKE IT IS TRYING TO CHOKE OUT AND WILL SHUDDER AND/OR HESITATE. THIS CAN OCCUR WHEN TRYING TO CLIMB AN INCLINE OR WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC FROM A SLOWED DOWN OR STOPPED STANDING. THIS CAN BE SEEN IN A SHUDDER IN THE TACHOMETER NEEDLE AND FEELS TERRIBLE. THERE IS GREAT CONCERN ON MY PART THAT IT WILL HAPPEN TO DO THIS AT A MOMENT THAT MY CHILDREN ARE WITH ME AND WILL CAUSE ME TO BE HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE OCCURRENCE IS UNPREDICTABLE BUT IS INCREDIBLY NOTICEABLE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES THAT THIS IS NORMAL AND THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS REPORTED A PROBLEM. I CANNOT IMAGINE THAT ANYONE WOULD BUY THIS VEHICLE GIVEN HOW EASILY THE PROBLEM IS NOTICED. IT IS UNNERVING.

FROM SLOW STARTS, THE TACHOMETER WILL FLUTTER AND THAT HESITATION IS TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE DRIVETRAIN TO THE WHEELS. THIS HESITATION HAS BEEN SEEN AROUND ALL SHIFT POINTS AND HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SERVICE TECHNICIANS. NISSAN DOES NOT HAVE A FIXED AT THIS TIME. THE CONDITION REPRESENTS A HAZARD ON ICY ROADS' IT CAUSED ME TO LEAVE A LANE DUE TO SLIP. A VIDEO OF THE TACHOMETER IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.