[adamjt]

I am having issues with my cruise control and am wondering if this is normal on the V6 6 speed Manual Tranny Frontier. I began using cruise control more and more after spraining my ankle. I'm noticing as I get to the bottom of a hill and sometimes the top of hills, the cruise control doesn't seem to compensate appropriately and get to around 5 MPH or so off then starts accelerating or decelerating again. I used to just use cruise control on the highway going 65-70 MPH and notived this issue a few times on some of the steeper hills. After spraining my ankle I noticed this seems to really be an issue going 40-50 on main backroads that are hilly. I had an Altima SE-R with the 6 speed manual and the cruise control stayed dead on, same with my previous Tundra (auto) and Camry (manual).

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[ToddG]

I am having issues with my cruise control and am wondering if this is normal on the V6 6 speed Manual Tranny Frontier. I began using cruise control more and more after spraining my ankle. I'm noticing as I get to the bottom of a hill and sometimes the top of hills, the cruise control doesn't seem to compensate appropriately and get to around 5 MPH or so off then starts accelerating or decelerating again. I used to just use cruise control on the highway going 65-70 MPH and notived this issue a few times on some of the steeper hills. After spraining my ankle I noticed this seems to really be an issue going 40-50 on main backroads that are hilly. I had an Altima SE-R with the 6 speed manual and the cruise control stayed dead on, same with my previous Tundra (auto) and Camry (manual).

Has anyone else noticed this?

V6 six speed here.
My cruise control seems pretty tight.
It might wander 1-2 mph is all I'm guessing before compensating.
Not sure what's going on with yours.

 

[scurvydog]

No problems with mine either. It actually gets kind of annoying going down hills sometimes. If the truck is coasting down the hill just slightly slower than the set speed then it starts bumping it continuously to keep it right at it until I get annoyed enough to turn it off.

 

[westracing01]

Mine does the exact same thing as the OP's.

 

[ToddG]

No problems with mine either. It actually gets kind of annoying going down hills sometimes. If the truck is coasting down the hill just slightly slower than the set speed then it starts bumping it continuously to keep it right at it until I get annoyed enough to turn it off.

Yep, mine does that too, it's a herky jerky nuisance.

 

[adamjt]

Mine does the exact same thing as the OP's.

Mine is also an 09 Pro-4X KC V6 6MT. I wonder if the issue is specific to our year/model. At first I thought it may have been caused by tapping my PIONEER AVIC unit into the VSS wire.

 

[morgan]

i took a 500 mile trip this past weekend and noticed the cruise at the bottom of long hills while coasting was actually slowing down several mph under the setpoint. then once it started to climb again it would speed back up to the setpoint

 

[pidge]

same as OP. OP on those hilly stretches what gear are you in. I've noticed if I keep it in fifth the problem goes away and I think its the pefect gear for those type of roads. As soon as it gets level I'll throw it in 6th and all is good.

 

[nizmut]

same as OP. OP on those hilly stretches what gear are you in. I've noticed if I keep it in fifth the problem goes away and I think its the pefect gear for those type of roads. As soon as it gets level I'll throw it in 6th and all is good.

that would be it, lugging the motor down. It will kick out the cruise control if you pull it down any lower.

 

[Clint]

I rarely use cruise control.

Clint

 

[adamjt]

same as OP. OP on those hilly stretches what gear are you in. I've noticed if I keep it in fifth the problem goes away and I think its the pefect gear for those type of roads. As soon as it gets level I'll throw it in 6th and all is good.

I have had this happen going up hill. I was in 4th on a backroad last friday and as I went both up and down the hills it dropped up to 5 mph then caught back on at various points. But, I have had it happen at 65-70 at the bottom of a downhill on the highway in 6th gear at over 2000 rpm. The motor shouldn't be lugging at the bottom of a downhill to flat highway, so something just doesn't seem right. My Altima with the the 3.5L and 6MT had no problems doing the same thing. The cruise control kept the car exactly at the right speed all the time and I drive my Frontier on the same exact roads everyday.

 

[pidge]

I've got larger than stock tires. Wonder if that has something to do with it? Are the rest of you guys running stock or larger????

 

[nizmut]

larger than stock tires, 2500 lb altima, 4500lb truck, 2000rpm is 1500 rpm below the power band. If the cruise dumps fuel in at to low an rpm the knock sensors retard the timing, so the retard behind the wheel does not melt little holes in the pistons.

Mash on the throttle and see what it does, probably rattle and clang then maybe slowly speed up or fall on its face.

 

[morgan]

larger than stock tires, 2500 lb altima, 4500lb truck, 2000rpm is 1500 rpm below the power band. If the cruise dumps fuel in at to low an rpm the knock sensors retard the timing, so the retard behind the wheel does not melt little holes in the pistons.

Mash on the throttle and see what it does, probably rattle and clang then maybe slowly speed up or fall on its face.

why would the cruise be "dumping" fuel in at a low rpm going downhill about to level out?

 

[adamjt]

I've got larger than stock tires. Wonder if that has something to do with it? Are the rest of you guys running stock or larger????

I have the stock Pro-4X tires. I have a set of Blizzak's I was using during the winter and had the same issue.

I tried pressing the gas a little bit, while having this issue both uphill and downhill to flat road, and the truck does accelerate when I press it, so its not an issue of not having enough power.

I'll set my Scanguage to show the throttle % and see if the truck is even giving any throttle at all when it lags like this next time.

 

[MESOGLEA]

Just drove across the USA. My 2010 Pro4-X cruise control does the same thing. Drives me nuts.
Anyone check with a dealer?

 

[adamjt]

Just drove across the USA. My 2010 Pro4-X cruise control does the same thing. Drives me nuts.
Anyone check with a dealer?

The dealer wasn't really helpful on this for me. I did finally get them to raise my idle up to get rid of the shake after talking to the Northeast Service Rep by sending an email to Nissan and opening a case. I should probably send him an email on this issue as well.

Anyone that has this issue, send a email to Nissan here. They have responded to me on past issues. Just click subject and "my vehicle needs repair."

On a side note, I ran some tests last weekend using my Scanguage to look at the Throttle Position Sensor while the cruise control issue was occurring. I could clearly see the throttle go to around 4 (idle on my truck) whenever this occurred at the bottom of hills. So, basically the truck isn't even trying to keep up, its just cutting the throttle out.

 

[Bill51sdr]

Bumping this one up... I have the same irritation as some above with the CC behavior when descending hills on freeways. I call it 'trailer-hitching' and it is very annoying. Other cars I own actually use the brakes to help maintain the set speed. I take it Nissan does not do this. Has there been any known fix to this admittedly minor issue or do we just live with it?