Apparently, the highly intricate sequential gearbox can get “pinless grenade on your a**” on you if you decide to use the touted launch control system, which requires you to turn the car's Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system off. The non-warranty covered price for a new transmission including labour is $23,795.38 in the United States, which isn't exactly small change.
Most likely to avoid a lot of lawyer induced headaches, Nissan has sent a service bulletin to all its dealers. The MY 2010 Nissan GT-R will benefit from a programming upgrade that will enhance the performance of the car's acceleration with the VDC on (in VDC-R mode). The bulletin also says that the acceleration figures with the VDC turned off (or what all the media is calling “Launch Control”) will most likely increase after the upgrade.
Nissan then goes on to remind everybody that the GT-R Owner's Manual expressly warns against driving with the VDC turned off except when in a situation where the vehicle gets stuck in mud or snow. At the end they admit that repeated acceleration launches with the VDC system off have resulted in some reported instances of damage to the transaxle six-speed transmission.
All the MY 2010 and 2009 GT-Rs still in inventory have already benefitted from the software change, while the clients who already took delivery of their car will get the upgrade at no additional cost. Nissan also said that the dealers should expect an official Technical Service Bulletin (TBS) which will explain how to implement the change in software specifications for all the remaining 2009 GT-Rs in just a few weeks.
By the way, this isn't exactly a recall but if you happen to own an Nissan GT-R with the “old” VDC program specifications it might be a good idea to check with your dealer, unless you're only driving the 480 hp supercar on the Las Vegas Strip or on the way to the Golf club.
Google News