Failure to accelerate on occasion

[Rick Shin]

Sometimes, my Genesis 2015 fails to accelerate from a complete halt when I slam on the accelerator.

It's beginning to freak me out because when I slam on the accelerator, that usually means I need the car to pick up really fast -- like oncoming truck that I need to steer clear of.

Any idea why? where do I start?

 

[bo3adsa]

maybe traction control is working

 

[Rick Shin]

in the dead heat of summer? isn't that supposed to kick in in the winter?

 

[CanukV6]

This was a problem on previous model-year Genesis. I haven't noticed it as being so bad on my 2015, but on the 2009 it was terrible. I complained to my dealer about it and they did an ECU software upgrade which helped, although did not eliminate the problem. Check with your dealer to see if there is an update for this problem.

 

[craigt]

Traction control doesn't have a temperature sensor. Any time it senses wheel slip, it will kick in. Rain, sand, taking a sharp turn while accelerating, etc.

That said, what you are experiencing is *probably* the transmission programming. There are many threads on here discussing it.

 

[Koolhaas]

Sometimes, my Genesis 2015 fails to accelerate from a complete halt when I slam on the accelerator.

It's beginning to freak me out because when I slam on the accelerator, that usually means I need the car to pick up really fast -- like oncoming truck that I need to steer clear of.

Any idea why? where do I start?

I had it happen once in my 300 miles i've had the car. It freaked me out. I've actually tried to recreate the problem to see if this is something i need to worry about, but I haven't had any success. I'm hoping it's a one time thing.

My kids were in the car when it happened and the car basically stalled out in the middle of an intersection with on-coming traffic. I took my foot off the gas and pushed it lightly and the car took off.

Since then, when I'm alone and when it's safe, I'll punch it on a 90 degree turn. I do this with traction control on, and so far, no issues.

I turned of traction control and Stability control and did this and did a mega-sweet sideways burnout.

 

[Alwaysforward]

Sometimes, my Genesis 2015 fails to accelerate from a complete halt when I slam on the accelerator.

It's beginning to freak me out because when I slam on the accelerator, that usually means I need the car to pick up really fast -- like oncoming truck that I need to steer clear of.

Any idea why? where do I start?

Is it consistent? Does it happen in all Drive Modes? Was it raining at the time?

 

[DrNo]

I too have had this happen. 3 times in the past year. Dealer could not find any problem. 3.8 Htrac.

ajn

 

[GenesisX]

When I had a Touraeg it was called "death delay". It only happened when accelerating from a stop into a turn, like when making a left turn out of a side street onto a main road where cross-traffic is moving quickly. The all wheel drive seems to bind up and cause the delay. It was always scary. I have only noticed it a little in the Genesis.

 

[Rick Shin]

Is it consistent? Does it happen in all Drive Modes? Was it raining at the time?

No, it's not consistent. I can't reliably reproduce it -- that's why I can't take it to the dealer. They'll probably say they didn't notice anything weird.

I don't drive in other drive modes often enough, but i'll try.

Interestingly, I haven't had it happen on a rainy day. I think it's because I drive more carefully on rainy days and don't allow myself fall into a situation where I suddenly need to slam on the gas.

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[Rick Shin]

It only happened when accelerating from a stop into a turn, like when making a left turn out of a side street onto a main road where cross-traffic is moving quickly.

You know what? I can't say for sure it was always always, but YES I think I was usually making a turn when it happened.

Is that a big clue?

 

[SKM348]

Happened to me on Sat while pulling out to pass at ~40mph on rural road. Delay was noticable and certainly delayed my pass but I made it back into my lane safely. Weather was low 90's and bright sun. Haven't noticed it much but I only have 600 miles on the car! I do recall pressing hard on the pedal when it occured - something others have mentioned here.

I'm sure in the end a s/w flash will reduce this. We have the 3.8 AWD.

Still love the car..

 

[mfrish]

I can recreate this pretty consistently with my '15 3.8. There is a turn right outside my neighborhood which is concrete but has small rocks underneath. Every time I stop at the stoplight, then attempt to accelerate into traffic with my foot maybe 3/4 down on the gas while turning right, the car doesn't respond for a second or two before it kicks in. I noticed the ESC light on the dash does go on while this is happening.

I haven't asked the dealer to fix because I'm sure they wouldn't know what to do. I've just learned to put my foot down slower. Maybe one day they come out with a fix, but I'm not holding my breath.

Used to have a '13 Infiniti G37X with ESC but never had this problem.

 

[craigt]

mfrish, if you turn off ESC, does it still happen?

 

[jarred52]

My 3.8 does this' too. I tried the sport mode and the problem went away but the tranny stays in a higher gear range. Appears likely to be a problem/function with the transmission shift programing for mileage ratings. I have begun to keep the setting in the sport mode for in-town driving. Improves performance but definitely cuts into the gas mileage.

 

[Drjerryk]

This has happened to me as well. It seems that it is caused be the traction assist. It is most likely to occur when making a 90 degree turn especially after hitting a bump in the road. It actually seems that if you ease on the gas a bit instead of flooring it, the acceleration is better.

2015 Genesis 3.8 HTRAC Ultimate

 

[MagicRobert]

This has happened to me as well. It seems that it is caused be the traction assist. It is most likely to occur when making a 90 degree turn especially after hitting a bump in the road. It actually seems that if you ease on the gas a bit instead of flooring it, the acceleration is better.

2015 Genesis 3.8 HTRAC Ultimate

My wife's Genesis is incredibly responsive if driven like you are auto-crossing - with an easy foot. I have to work to keep the acceleration down, but I still leave everybody at the stoplight.

With a heavy foot, the response is much slower unless I am going for WOT when passing other crazy Texans on the freeway.

My wife chirps the tires from stops without meaning to.

Not saying I agree with the engineering logic, but that has been my personal experience with the car.

 

[Drjerryk]

This acceleration problem seems to be limited to the 3.8 HTRAC. Has anyone experienced this with the 5.0 RWD?

 

[dank]

I have a 3.8 HTRAC and always feel a delay when gently accelerating from 0.

If I try to aggressively accelerate from a stop, that's fine, I take off. If I try for a more gentle launch, there is always a very noticeable delay, typically followed by a light jerk.

I don't recall specifically this being different for accelerating into a turn, just taking off from stop lights/signs.

 

[Nikgen]

This has happened to me as well. It seems that it is caused be the traction assist. It is most likely to occur when making a 90 degree turn especially after hitting a bump in the road. It actually seems that if you ease on the gas a bit instead of flooring it, the acceleration is better.

2015 Genesis 3.8 HTRAC Ultimate

I've seen the exact issue - if you pull out hard and hit bumps, the traction control seems to kick in and retard the throttle. I've just learned to turn it off in those situations and the car won't bog down.