I've got about 1k miles on my Nissan Altima Hybrid (uses Toyota Synergy Drive), really like the car except for one aspect which kinda bugs me.

I understand the electro/mechanics/controls of the Synergy system and CVT but....

The whole car feels "twitchy" from the over-sensitive throttle to the constantly "hunting" CVT / ICE while cruising without a load change.

If I had a "GAIN" knob it would need a few turns down. I also get a slight pulling/pushing sensation through the drive while cruising.

It isn't terrible but I really don't care for it, is this normal ?

Anyone else experience this???

Before I wrestle w the dealer I wanted some feedback from the group!

TIA...

I think Nissan wants to be seen as performance oriented company, going way back to it's Datsun days, so it may be particular tunning of the car, but I would also suggest waiting few days and see if you can get used to it, since CVT feels different than regular transmission. Another way would be to go to the dealer and ask for test drive to see if this is something particular to your car. Some initial reports mentioned that "pulling/pushing" on TCH when cruising but I had experienced it on my car very rarely and on very limited, hard to detect level, really not something that would bother me. Maybe the car needs breaking in and computer has to memorize your style of driving adjust itself to it, but without some test drive it's pure speculation on our side. Did you try to find throttle position at which the car seems to be smoother? I believe it should be electronic drive by wire type and at least in theory it should be easy to adjust.

Thanks all,

NAH forum is pretty small but did get some confirmation of "twitchy-ness" by others.

I drive w the cruise control whenever possible, thats how I noticed the pulling/pushing without the load changing (flat, level, smooth road at 65mph)!

I know the throttle is hyper-sensitive at launch, I'm getting pretty good at a smooth EV launch and bringing in the ICE nice and smooth.

Perhaps my years of being a GearHead have made my senses a little over-sensitive.

Thanks for your input !

I remember when the TCH forum was created in spring 06 a number of the earliest TCH owners complained of the same thing, but since after the first couple of months I really haven't heard this topic mentioned again. I did notice maybe once or twice something similar early on too. I don't know if it went away or I just don't notice it anymore. The CVT function makes the experience of accelerating and driving on the hiway a different kind of auditory experience.

My favourite is that after rapid accleration to near hiway speed, easing off the gas pedal will actually result in the ICE rpm slowing down while the car is still accelerating gradually. It's different...

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

2007 Camry Hybrid (in service June 2006)
FE: 6.67L/100km or 35.3 mpg (6.11L/100km or 38.5 mpg in summer)

As a red head, I object to this thread...

sustained,

"Please help me, I feel like I don't belong here......"