why not just pop the 7at into neutral? that's the thing that also puzzles me about all those out of control toyotas with stuck throttles. even if its automatic, it should still have a neutral position.

And you have just proven why Darwinism exists...

I have asked myself this EVERY time I heard about people dying due to a "stuck" throttle...

Well most people don't know a thing about cars... in a panic situation they just stand on the brakes.

True dat, unless you are used to being in bad situations, when you are in one you wont think like you do when you are watching it or hearing about it, you just do what seems natural and slam on the brakes. Its like making good decisions in any situation, you have to have been there and done that before.

Ever come across those people that can answer every question of a game show while sitting on the couch? Get them at the studio and they freeze up.

Yes, they stand on the brakes, which of course promptly overheat and stop working thanks to their low noise, low dust organic formulation. Actually it's because they don't hit them hard enough, you need to stomp them hard, probably with both feet if you are a girl or a <arnold>girly man.</arnold> Of course the other obvious alternative is to shift to neutral or even shut of the ignition (although that's probably the last thing you want to do in a panic situation).

Here's an except from C & D this month. Surprisingly they could stop the cars only a few feet longer than in the regular braking test.
Full article:
How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration - Tech Dept.

Hey ChrisSlicks, thanks for posting that C&D article. I see that Nissan/Infiniti has that throttle cut feature. For some reason, mine didn't do that. It was pulling faster with my foot on the brake. Here's the catch, I didn't slam on the brake, I just hit it light/moderate. (I was getting close to an exit on a 55MPH highway. I just hit the clutch and coasted down the ramp after I could feel the car pulling on me. It was speeding up over 60MPH with no cruise and no foot on the gas.) I wonder if there's a threshold of cutting the throttle. As I came to my first stop, I was revving over 4,500 RPM without any let-off on the RPM. Of course I knew to just hit the clutch and let the car do it's thing. It didn't feel very nice trying to have a decent start and burning the clutch though. I'm pretty sure if I would've popped it, the wheels would've slipped a bit... That's how much throttle was being applied to the car as I was taking off. She was on a mission, and that mission was to keep on revving. I still haven't heard a peep on what happened. Your C&D article makes this even more bizarre. I'm still positive it wasn't my floormats because when I got to my first "revved" stop, I pulled my floormats away from the pedal. I really just thought it was my mistake. 4,500 RPM is really up there. I started taking a video after I restarted the car twice. That was about 8 minutes after the 4,500 RPM events. Just trying to put it all in perspective for you.

With the throttle cut feature on the Infiniti and our Nissans, you do have to press the brake reasonably firmly. With the brake pressed the throttle input is cut back (but not cut completely) if the throttle input is moderate to high. If the throttle input is light then it will let you press both pedals at the same time and wont interfere.

As it doesn't take a lot of throttle input to rev to 4500 rpm unloaded (out of gear) I'm guessing that the throttle input signal wasn't high enough to warrant a throttle cut. Even with a throttle cut you would feel the car pull on you a little as you braked but it would be easy to overcome by braking firmly.

Would be interesting to see what voltage the APPS (accelerator pedal position sensor) is sending out in the misbehaving case. From that you could determine if it was a bad sensor or if the ECU needs to recalibrate a new up-pedal voltage. Bad sensors are rare because they do send out 2 redundant signals. It could be that the dealer screwed up the calibration by disconnecting the harness when you took it in for something else. I'll check if the car sends out throttle position or voltage as and available data point on the OBDII/CAN.

Okay, here's the latest update, and hopefully the final one. First, Nissan sent down their Quality Control Engineer to look at the vehicle. He was happy because he was able to duplicate the randomly revving engine. After taking it out, taking vids, pictures and logging all information into his computer, he said he was sure of the problem. Any guesses?

From his analysis, he's went with malfuntioning clutch and neutral position sensors for the.... Synchro Rev Match. There ya go! Those both were replaced, and so far, wallah! No more problems with the revving engine.

I would like to thank the Quality Control Engineer, Nissan Corporate, Nissan Japan, and Russ Darrow Nissan for the prompt and excellent service. Everyone explained everything to me to a tee. They also completely detailed my car since I only take it out when it's completely dry, and they had it out in the salt. That was an extra touch that really made me happy.

Wrap-up... No stuck throttle, a problem that was fully logged and closely reviewed in Japan's engineering headquarters. Should this ever happen to any of you, it seems to be one or both of those sensors. It's great to have both the 2009 Infiniti FX35 and 2009 370Z back in perfect running order.

To not tarnish Nissan's name and to take down my accusation of a stuck throttle, I'm going to take down that YouTube video if I can figure out how. It's great to see this forum work in such a constructive way. By everyone's input, it made the problem interesting.

Feel free to add anything if you'd wish.

Great news! Still don't see how it could be the sensors they mentioned given that it would do it from a standstill, maybe they're trying to avoid a Toyota like recall? :stirthepot:

Wow, thought for sure we had ruled it out but whaddyaknow! Glad it was all sorted out and your service experience was a pleasant one!

Bleh, I knew it was a position sensor of some sort...too many new ones in every car to diagnose anymore lol. Glad it was a simple fix though :)

But why did it only happen to me twice, on two cold days, and never again? If a sensor is bad, it's bad. It shouldn't be weather dependent.

Gee, I seem to recall someone suggesting that it might be a malfunctioning SRM. :rolleyes:

:shakes head:

What? Can't admit that someone else was right?

Well you had an e-attitude about it... manners! :stirthepot:

You're damn straight I have an attitude about it. Go back and review the thread starting with post #23, where bullitt5897 first suggests that it might be SRM. A bunch of guys including the OP immediately poo-poo the idea, I chime in and say hey, instead of debating this to death, why don't you just turn SRM off and see what happens? I mean, it's a simple push of a button, it's not like you have to break any tools out. I even go as far as to clarify that while I agree that SRM wouldn't account for this behavior if it's functioning as designed, that doesn't discount the possibility of a malfunctioning SRM being the culprit (post #35). So does he ever try it? Nope. So arrogant and self-assured he is of his logic that he can't bring himself to just push a button to give it a try and rule out the possibility that his SRM is malfunctioning. So, you want to talk about e-attitude? That kind of pig-headedness is the epitome of attitude, IMO. TW says it's great to see this forum work in such a constructive way. Well I'm glad he feels that way. But personally, I found his attitude downright frustrating and, in light of the confirmation that it was SRM all along, foolish and anything but constructive. And if it's rude of me to say so, then so be it. I don't give a sh*t. Flame away.

He's killed men for less, m4a1.

:icon18: Oh I have not! Sheesh! :rofl2:

Well, I thought you were directing it at me. I just want to make it clear that I don't roll that way. If you have an opposing opinion I will hear you out and if you are a constructive member of the forum (and you are) I will always respect your position.

I understand what you're saying about the OP... The battery disconnect was an issue with me.

But that aside, I am not afraid to admit I was wrong. You and Bullitt were right. I didn't think it could have been SRM based on my experiences with the system, but it was.

:icon18:

Btw, TW -- in spite of my admittedly snarky tone above (I haven't had my coffee yet), I am happy for you that you got this fixed. I'm sure it was annoying that your car did what it did, not to mention a little unnerving. In fact, I think this confirmed diagnosis is quite significant in that it's the first confirmed incident of SRM malfunctioning (isn't it?). To be honest, I'm quite surprised that we haven't seen more cases of SRM malfunctioning sooner. It's new technology, after all, and the 09 370Z is the first implementation of this new tech. When I got my Z with the sport pkg., part of me felt that I was taking a big gamble getting a car with a brand new feature that isn't on any other cars yet. I have to say that overall I'm very pleased with how well SRM has held up after owning my Z for over a year. But now that we have our first confirmed case of SRM going bad, we'll need to keep a more watchful eye on this, I think.

hahahaha:icon18::icon18:

glad it's fixed, regardless of who had the right guesses on here

Theres no shame in being "wrong" on this issue - there are multitudes of potential problems. Although I do question the people who thought it was something major immediately - always start cheap and work your way towards expensive :)

For some reason, I never even thought of turning off the SRM. I just wanted to quickly see if I could at least stop it, and get a good video for all of us to see. It was a really fun topic of discussion though! The age of cell phone video has worked in a very constructive way! Boy does my Z look great freshly waxed! Stupid Winter. Go away already! Thanks for your kind comments on the Z being all fixed. Should something happen on this subject again, I'd be the first to let you all know... Hopefully with a good video as well.

Hey TW, instead of completely deleting your video on YouTube, I'm wondering if it'd be a good idea to re-post it under the heading 'Synchro Rev Match malfunction' or something like that. My thinking is that it could serve as a future reference for anyone who suspects they have a problem with their SRM. Your vid could be an example of a symptom of SRM going awry. Just a thought.

Only 8 suggestions that the OP push the button. We're all glad that this is fixed, but a simple act on the OP's part early in this thread would have been far more constructive for us all.

Based on some of the responses in this thread, there appear to be a fair percentage that are not operating as designed. It should NOT rev in neutral as many report. The OP's final diagnosis indicates the potential sensor problem....

I beg to differ. The neutral rev is by design, it is designed this way so that the ECU can hit the target RPM's on a quick shift. If the ECU only revved when the shift hit the target gate it would be too late.

?? This is probably a matter of semantics here, but mine will not rev until the gate sensor is triggered. This is never too late for a matched engagement. Maybe you're shifting at the speed of light...I dunno. Wiggling your stick around in neutral should not trigger a REV as a few have reported and as was ultimately found to be a fault in the OP's car..

Maybe you need to do the Neutral Learning procedure?

3.PERFORM M/T NEUTRAL POSITION LEARNING
Without CONSULT-III
NOTE:
• It is better to count the time accurately with a clock.
• It is impossible to switch the learning mode when a clutch interlock switch circuit has a malfunction.
1. Check that there is no sticking when shifting shift lever to the neutral position.
2. Turn ignition switch ON and wait 5 seconds.
3. Within 5 seconds repeat the following operation 3 times. Fully depress and fully release clutch pedal while
pressing and holding S-MODE switch.
4. Wait 3 seconds while S-MODE switch is released.
5. Wait 5 seconds while pressing S-MODE switch.
6. Wait 3 seconds while S-MODE switch is released.
7. Within 5 seconds repeat the following operation 5 times. Fully depress and fully release clutch pedal while
pressing and holding S-MODE switch.
ECM starts M/T Neutral Position Learning.
NOTE:
Never touch shift lever. Otherwise learning may not complete normally

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one for now.

The service manual doesn't have any description of proper SRM operation. It does however describe a neutral position learning mode.

LOL, actually I think you need to perform the neutral position learning mode because mine works and yours doesn't! :tiphat:

Changing subjects a bit...What a NIGHTMARE Toyota is going thru' right now! Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Mitsu', Subaru and Suzuki are gonna capture a good chunk off of their buyers! BTW, Nissan just positioned itself in 3rd position in auto sales down here!

I'd recommend taking it to the dealer before anything. That way it's documented. If resetting the ECU fixes it, then so be it.

Things like that are no joke. Cars should not fail. :(

LOL...But I don't want mine working the way yours does!....:tup:

This is exactly what happened to me when a semi-truck forgot I was in front of him at a stop light and he just hammered it and ran right into the back of me..He didn't even know he hit me (how he didn't know, I will never understand!)..I was in my little Nissan 240sx and what did I do? Slammed on my brakes. As if I was going to stop the semi-truck who didn't even know I was down there in front of him. He was shifting gears, had no idea I was there and I was hitting the brakes?!? I should have hit the throttle. I was young and it scared the $#@$ out of me. Totaled my car. I'm lucky to be alive, he pushed me for a couple hundred feet before he realized he was hooked on to the back of my hatchback! (he only noticed because my car, being stuck (his big bumper sort of rolled up on my car I guess?) started to turn sideways and he slammed me into a guardrail. What I remember most about that accident is when he sheared off my radio antenae all I could hear was the static!

Just wondering if perhaps your sensor could have got knocked out of alignment when you installed your short shifter kit? Just a thought ...

Obviously if you like it the way it is then there is no reason to change.

No shift kit....It's a Virgin. She only Revs when I want her to....;)

Shift knob?

Yup. SRM action has not changed since new (with the stock knob)..

My SRM works just like Modshack's. It doesn't blip until I push it into a lower gear. And that is exactly how I want it. But you know, this does explain something to me. Sometimes I read car mag writeups and they talk about how cool it is to make the throttle blip while they're waiting at a light by moving the shifter around in neutral. I always wondered what they were smoking and just chalked it up to ignorant journalists talking out of their proverbial a$$e$. Well now I know differently. So here's what I don't get. Say you're in 4th gear, you move the shifter into neutral and it immediately blips. Well, how does it know your intent is to downshift to 3rd rather than upshift to 5th? This is why I say my SRM is working exactly the way I want it. I don't want it blipping until I've moved into the gate for a lower gear.