Nissan to Expand “Stepped” CVT System

Last year Nissan Motor Co. began tweaking the continuously variable transmissions in some models to simulate conventional stepped gear changes. Now the company plans by 2016 to do the same for the rest of its CVT lineup in the U.S., Automotive News reports.

CVTs normally vary their drive ratio continuously during acceleration to hold engine speed within a relatively narrow range, thus improving fuel efficiency. But the lack of noticeable gear changes continues to make some owners worry that the transmission is malfunctioning.

Nissan's so-called D-Step Shift system features a control software change that causes the transmission to skip ahead slightly at about 4,000 rpm. The effect produces a slight drop in acceleration that mimics the tiny pause when a conventional transmission shifts gears.

The company introduced D-Step Shift in the 2013 Altima sedan and added it to this year's Rogue crossover. AN says the system will spread to CVT-equipped Altima, Pathfinder, Quest, Sentra and Versa models this autumn.