On a hot June day in California, while climbing the steep section of the hill to Yosemite, my car had 4 passengers, and at one point, started losing power and I could smell the engine being hot, although the temp sensor was sitting at the mid point. I had turned off the AC during this climb (based on the road sign recommendation). The car speed was limited to around 20mph and I eventually made it up to a restaurant mid-hill where I let the car cool down.
People of San Francisco,.. you know what I mean by the long wait up Lombard St (between Van Ness and Hyde). For people who dont know what this is.. this is a perpetual line of tourist cars that climb a steep hill only to go down a fantastically crooked section of Lombard St. https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8020521,-122.4201777,17z
On 4th of July, a very hot day in SF, we joined the line of cars at noon. Every 1 minute or so cars would move a few feet up the hill and stop. Our car had 4 passengers. After a few such stop-go events, we were getting close to the top of the hill, so I decided to keep the car in position using the gas pedal instead of braking.. this worked fine for a minute. After this, to my horror I realized that the car was losing power and I had to press the gas pedal further in. Shortly after I realized that no amount of gas would make the car go up or even stay put. I had to slam the brakes, turn on the hazard lights and turned the car around. Thankfully the driver behind me helped me with this, and I rolled down the hill shamefully.
On the way downhill, I passed all kinds of cars.. old, new, small, big.. all of them made their way up the hill. why not my 2012 Altima?
Update from Jul 12, 2015: I turned off my AC before starting the hill.
The transmission stayed in overdrive going up a steep grade. I was cruising on the freeway at 20 niles per hour being passed by smart cars and ice cream trucks. The dealership said it was a defect in the transmission and is in the process of replacing it and adding a transmission cooler. The warranty has been extended. They mentioned this problem has only been seen in high temperature climates. I guess the 120 degrees of the california deserts was a bit too much. Hopefully the problem is fixed. Stay tuned.....
- ggarc51,
Brawley, CA, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
On a hot June day in California, while climbing the steep section of the hill to Yosemite, my car had 4 passengers, and at one point, started losing power and I could smell the engine being hot, although the temp sensor was sitting at the mid point. I had turned off the AC during this climb (based on the road sign recommendation). The car speed was limited to around 20mph and I eventually made it up to a restaurant mid-hill where I let the car cool down.
- S B., Foster City, CA, US