350Z Transmission Update! Moore Nissan

Well I heard back from the dealer yesterday, Moore Nissan. Apparently they've called Nissan North America and they are going to just replace the transmission, I'm picking the car up in an hour or so for this weekend, and then taking it back out there sometime next week when the transmission comes in.

I gave them a list of items to fix, I have a feeling they haven't touched all the other items, but honestly right now I'm just pretty stoked about them replacing the transmission.

Here's the list of other problems.

Passenger interior door handle mount came free
Driver's seat not staying in the bracket on the right side. Left side track won't stay in place when trying to move the seat forward
E-brake light intermittently on.
Rear end clicks when changing acceleration at low speeds.

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Published 20 August 04 08:01 by Christoc
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Comments

# Christoc said on August 23, 2004 11:15 AM:
Rear end clicking is lose axles ... mine is doing it again too. It too suntrup 4-5 days to figure it out the first time (I guess I was one of the first ones that complained about this noise.)

Its the big nut in the center of the rear hub - seems like this will be a continous maintance issues for those that spin their wheels alot.

-dpdz
# Christoc said on September 29, 2004 4:49 PM:
I had 3 bad tranny's in my Z, then Nissan threatened to cancel my warranty at only 10,600 miles of easy backroad driving. :-) Either way, I've still got the urge to go back to the 350Z again, especially if the S2000 is bumped up.
# Christoc said on December 14, 2004 9:02 AM:
CLUTCH BURNT OUT 3 MONTHS BRAND NEW OFF THE LOT NOW CLUTCH GONE AGAIN AT 22,000 WHAT A MAJOR TRANNY PROBLEM NISSAN IS RUNNING FROM
# Christoc said on January 18, 2005 8:46 AM:
Where do you stand now with your transmission situation? We just bought a new 350 Z off the lot, 25 miles on it, and at 500 miles, the transmission is rattling in reverse and the dealer tells us there's a major problem with the transmission and it shouldn't be driven. My husband and I are sick about it - wondering what kind of recourse we have (none) other than to have the dealer fix it...
# Christoc said on January 19, 2005 8:36 AM:
I drive a 2003 350. i took my 350 into the dealer 2 wks ago for the 48000km change. tranny and the works. the next day when i went to drive the tranny was howling. it almost sounded as though the front windshield was loose. the tranny persist to make the sound for about the first 5 minutes. the down shifts are impossible till the car warms up. took it back to Nissan and they dumped the tranny and refilled it again. apparantly they use 75W tranny oil ( any body heard different ). this time they also added some fiction reducer. you know what no change still nasty in the morning when cold.have any of you come across this? Dealer tells me to keep driving. i'm about 10 more km's from demanding the new tranny.
# Christoc said on January 19, 2005 8:38 AM:
I get a weird howling when it's extremely cold that goes away when it warms up, wasn't sure what it was, but possibly the tranny makes sense... weird.
# Christoc said on May 21, 2005 7:45 AM:
BEWARE !!!!!!!!! of clutch problems on 350Z. i lost the clutch on my 2004 350Z Roadster at 8k miles. I am 38 non-speed demon. I had to drop 1400 to fix it. Dumped the car a week later. The dealership said that they had replaced 6 clutches that week alone, one lady that week was a repeat customer once at 6k and again at 18k miles. Was told that I did not know how to drive a standard car. Now keep in mind I am from Europe where all we have is standard cars...so I have about oh 13 years driving this type of car and i have NEVER burned out a clutch not even driving on the AutoBaun.

It was a SAD day getting rid of the Car I loved it....but at the rate of burn out to use and cost for repair ...I would have had to add an additonal 200 to my payment to keep myself in a clutch for the life of the car....

Hide sight...get an automatic...all of that stuff is covered under warrenty...it is better if you live in a city with heavy traffic or hills.
# Christoc said on June 14, 2005 2:53 AM:
Hi

My Clutch burnt out on 5000km on the clock. Nissan said that it is wear and tear and now I have to pay +- $3000 to have it fixed. I think that this is pathetic. We should write a letter to Nissan. This is not acceptable!!
# Christoc said on August 9, 2005 2:01 PM:

I live in Northern Ireland and the Clutch went in my 2003 350z at 9000mile and again at 17000 mile and its back in the garage again at 23000 for another clutch.

The garage is doing its best by Nissan UK insist its my driving style,, well it will be fixed again and sold.

Junk
# Christoc said on August 9, 2005 2:02 PM:

I live in Northern Ireland and the Clutch went in my 2003 350z at 9000mile and again at 17000 mile and its back in the garage again at 23000 for another clutch.

The garage is doing its best by Nissan UK insist its my driving style,, well it will be fixed again and sold.

Junk
# Christoc said on September 12, 2005 12:13 PM:
My clutch just went out at 18,385 for the first time i just had nissan tow the car to their dealer it better be covered or i well simply sell the car and send some complaint letters!!
# Christoc said on September 19, 2005 9:01 PM:
I purchased a 2004 350Z Touring Roadster, that when my problems started. The car seemed fine for the first 500 miles, then I noticed a burning smell like plastic or tranny fluid. I took the car to my dealer and they said they could not smell a thing. I did this over a 3 month period of time repeatedly taking the car back to get advise but none was given. Then at 1500 miles the clutch stopped working. I had the car towed to the dealer they looked it over and then replaced the clutch. That was good news until the burning smell came back and again at another 1500 (or 3000 miles total) miles the clutch stopped working. They accused me of bad clutch habits until they drove with me in an identical car and saw that I was a great clutch driver. So they called in an Nissan expert who without even looking under the hood told the service dept to replace both the clutch assembly and the tranny... I was happy and moved on. The burning smells again came back at about 8000 miles I took the car in for advise and again I was told they could not smell it. The Car stopped working again at 9000 miles (Yes the clutch) and now they won't fix it. As a matter of a fact they would not even look at the car and told me that it is a non warranty item and it will cost me $2200.00 to fix. I made a complaint with the Nissan customer sat people and thought I was getting somewhere... I didn't they said no warranty. I towed the car from the local dealer to an Acura dealer where I know they have good mechanics (Ex Nissan Expert) who told me that it is very hard to believe that the clutch would do what it is doing unless the time is not adjusted, hot spots on the flywheel from the tranny change, or just bad service work in general.

My question is to all of you out there have you had the same problems seems like a few threads hear are having the same type of issues?

I dont trust Nissan but I had to have my car towed to a different dealership (as to not void my warranty). I am not going to even go into the poor service and customer service issues I had but there were plenty. At least Acura gave me a loaner and it wasn't even their problem.

Go Figure...
# Christoc said on September 19, 2005 9:02 PM:
Thanks for the advise, I have spoken to legal but the problem is that clutches are considered out of warranty. My best hopes are that they (Nissan) tear it down and find out what is causing the problem. If the motor is spinning too fast, hot spots on the fly wheel, improper tranny install, defective tranny, defective car... The thing that kills me the most is the overall experience with Nissan. You know had they been honest from the get go and at least opened it up and said it out of warranty I would have probably coughed up the $$$ and moved on. They didn't even look at the car and diagnosed it as driver error. According to legal though if enough people are complaining about the same thing there may be a case. It does bug me to no end though. After talking to Nissan Techs, and from all the research I have been doing I am finding that Nissan is having this problem all over the place. I am not sure if it is the clutch, flywheel, tranny, or being miss timed, etc.. The NissanTechs aren't sure either. I have found on other forums that there has been a major issue with shoddy parts plaguing Nissan especially in the clutch area.

Well right now as I am writing they are tearing down my Z and hopefully I will have an answer tomorrow. I will keep all posted here as to the outcome.

BTW I have already contacted the BBB, the OC Register and LA times newspaper s, FOX news, CBS, and KCAL news all of which have a big interest in the outcome as well.
# Christoc said on October 4, 2005 5:03 PM:
WELL NOW THIS IS MOST INTERESTING. I HAVE BEEN A MECHANIC NOW FOR ABOUT 18 YRS AND THE PROBLEMS THAT CAN CAUSE CONTINUAL FAILURE OF A CLUTCH ARE AS FOLLOWS : WAS FLYWHEEL REMACHINED?, WARPAGE OF THE FLYWHEEL CAN CAUSE HOT SPOTS, WAS A NEW PRESSURE PLATE INSTALLED? AND IS THE PRESSURE PLATE FULLY DISENGAGING WHEN THE CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED? OTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEMS ARE WHAT THE ACTUAL CLUTCH MATERIAL IS MADE OF. ALSO PRESSURE PLATE DESIGN CAN HAVE AN EFFECT. AS FAR AS INSTALLATION ERRORS ON THE TECHNICIANS SIDE, THERE ARE A FEW SUCH AS NOT USING THE PROPER HIGH TEMP LUBRICANTON ON THE INPUT SHAFT ( THE CLUTCH DISC RIDES ON THIS SHAFT ) OTHERWISE BINDING CAN OCCUR WHICH MEANS THE DISC MAY NOT DISENGAGE PROPERLY, IMPROPER BLEEDING OF THE HYDRAULIC SLAVE CYLINDER THAT OPERATES THE PRESSURE PLATE. HAS ANYBODY DONE ANY RESEARCH INTO AFTERMARKET CLUTCH KITS, (GENERALLY A KIT HAS IN IT A NEW CLUTCH DISC, THROWOUT BEARING, PRESSURE PLATE, AND A ALIGNMENT TOOL) ?
# Christoc said on October 30, 2005 9:03 PM:
I had the same problem with the axel's clicking under acceleration and deceleration. I brought the problem to Nissan and they looked it up in the computer. What came up is not a recall, but was suggested to replace six drive shaft bolts, washers, and lubericant. Nissan is apparenty aware of the problem if it posted in there system to replace these items. This stuff was all covered under warrenty. The big problem was when ordering the parts, the six bolts recommended for replacement was on back order with no release date. The dealership did a print out of the parts, and part number's and gave it to me. They suggested to me to call Nissan of North America and make a complaint. This is a 2005 Z and they said that they are more concerned when a customer makes a complaint then the dealership just asking for the parts that are on back order and being put on some list. I called Nissan of North America and explained what was going on and the concern for these item's being replaced as soon as possible. They told me that my dealership was seven on the list to get these parts as soon as released. This apparently worked, and bumped me up on the list because I had all those parts that were on back order with no release date, a week later. The car was in and out and I have had no problem's since. Note that this problem was not from beating on the car. The clicking was noticed from day one but was ignored thinking that it was noise possibly from the Limited-Slip Differential. I brought it to the dealership when it got progressively worse. Make sure you have all the part's information when calling. Be nice it'll get you further.
# Subninja said on October 12, 2006 3:08 PM:
they should use 75w85 for the tranny, I am going to put a mixture of two Redline oils and I will let you know how that affects it.
# Jaime said on April 1, 2007 10:02 PM:

I just bought a 2006 brand new off the lot 350z roadster a week ago and the clutch is starting to MAKE A FUNNY NOISE! I've only put 250miles on it! WTF! It only had 23 miles on it when i got it. I'm not a crazy driver either! I am very dissappointed to hear that countless others are havin the same problem.

# ZLOGIC said on April 15, 2007 6:00 PM:

CLICKING NOISE IS BALL BRACKETS CONNECTING TO SWAY BAR "RECALL ITEM"

# ZLOGIG said on April 15, 2007 6:17 PM:

TRANSMISSION/CLUTCH PROBLEM FINE HERE I HAVE  "JIM WOLF" CLUTCH/FLYWHEEL PACK INSTALLED ALLWAYS USE SAME GREASE MONKEY "ONLY BEST NISSAN TECHS" 2004 TRANSMISSION W/UPDATED PARTS INSTALLED AT FACTORY JAPAN. TRANS MAKES A "TURNING GEARS" NOISE WHEN IN CLUTCH IS OUT  WHEN PUSHED IN SOUND QUIETS DOWN . A LITTLE RATTLE AT TAKE OFF  OR AT LOW RPM.S  "NO PROBLEM PEOPLE" LOOK !!! THESE CARS ARE MADE TO GO!!! SO GO,,,, QUIT BITCHING ! ALL THAT MATTERS IS GETTING THERE FIRST!

# mmmpfm said on April 17, 2007 2:05 AM:

My 350Z has about 38000 miles on it and I raced a guy at a stop light, first gear and second gear went fine until I hit third, when I shifted into third the gear shifter went into place, but this "grinding" sound started happening, was this a cause of my bad driving? or just the clutch being poop?

let me know,

thanks;;

-PFM

# R350z said on April 29, 2007 7:13 AM:

i own a 2005 track model..I burned out my clutch linings plus my flywheel at 25000km. I'm just not satisfied that it's not covered under warranty because its a tear and wear parts...so it seems nissan can't really produce a quality car plus it's services are generally bad, but can't do nothing about it, i have to pay amount of 2k to fix it. How can this be a problem. nissan should have designed ther clutch and flywheel to hold the horsepower of the car, if were looking into a long run, at 20000km burned out a clutch that's gonna cost a lot. ive done some research and find an aftermarket clutch and flywheel set. its EXEDY single plate clutch stage one racing, its made from carbon compound, more reliable. so i cancelled buying nissan 350z clutch original parts. The car is meant to be Driven Fast its 3.5 litre engine, a close gear ratio, a good aerodynamics plus looks, sadly the clutch is not. Nissan Do SOMETHING. So it is true what they said. the car is cheap...the parts are cheap!!!

# Christoc said on April 29, 2007 12:34 PM:

Sounds like "you burned out the clutch" so fix your driving!

# Dutch said on July 12, 2007 4:35 AM:

I've got a 2005 350 and a really love the car but it has the clicking noise that i hear so much about plus i think the clutch is burning up as well.   when i drive in stop and go traffic for 20 minutes or more, the clutch begins to stick.  it sometimes gets stuck to the point where i have to lift it back up with my foot....very annoying

# Peter said on August 20, 2007 6:30 AM:

BELOVED Z FREAKS!!! ALL THE FIXES AND ADVICE IN DEALING WITH THE CLUTCH PROBLEMS ON THE Z ARE GOOD. BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU WON'T EVER HAVE ANY OF THESE WTF MOMENTS IS TO GET THE AUTOMATIC ..............IT IS ONE OF -IT NOT -THE TIGHEST AND MOST RESPONSIVE TO DRIVER INPUT AND ACCELERATION ON THE MARKET. I KNOW I HAVE HAD MANUAL ALL MY LIFE IN EVERYTHING FROM BMW Z'S TO 7'S AND SMG'S IN 2 PAST BEEMERS I HAD--- AND I AHVE OWNED AUDI A4 THRU 6  AND ALL THE RS'S IN BETWEEN. TRUST ME!

# Gabriel Harrison said on August 27, 2007 5:26 PM:

I have a 2005 base model and I noticed the throw out bearing noise at less than 10K. Nissan, as to everyone else here, denied the noise. I also had the clicking and it was fixed at around 15K but is now back at 45K. The dealership refused to ever warranty the clutch and the only reason it has lasted this long is due to excessive babying. It now has developed the sticky pedal issue mentioned above and noticeable clutch slippage when torque is applied at high rpms.

I see absolutely no point in purchasing an automatic sports car. It's like buying a Ferrari and asking for a Volkswagen engine to be installed. Please, to those typing in all capitals, don't do that. It makes the text very hard to read and comes across as though you're shouting.

# mark said on September 1, 2007 5:26 PM:

I have a 2004 roadster and my clutch went out at 12000K waiting for the Nissan Gods say it was me. I am  going to report this incident to New York State Attoney's General office. To see if nissian has a national problem and possible a class action and mandatory recall. If you have same problems please report them to your own state Attoney's office. If we just complain on blogs nothing happends!!! Now people who say I was riding the clutch peddle or power shifting!

Listen, I have a 1997 Geo Tracker 4 wheel drive convertible. Manual five speed which is a ball to use  for my winter rat. When baby Z in storage. I,am the 3rd  owner and I have 72,000 miles and it has the same old clutch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

# ruben said on September 10, 2007 1:31 PM:

Hi, just got a automatic 350z and am having problems from the start. After about 45 minutes of driving the D (drive) disappears from the dash. When I switch it to manual mode, still nothing. The car starts off sluggish and at times will not shift unless I let the accelerator pedal go.

# Azza6969 said on September 26, 2007 7:05 AM:

Hi Guys, am new to the forum but would really like some feedback please???

I have a 12/2003 Nissan Black 350z Convertable that I bought Early 2005. Generally I hardly drive it as I am overseas 6 mths of the year and when I do, I take it easy. In 2 1/2 yrs I have only just hit 24,000 klm (About 15,000 miles). So here is my problem.

Just after I bought it, at approx 1000 klm (600 miles) the clutch and assembly totally went so I couldnt move. When I took it back to Nissan for warranty, They gave me a hard time, and made it out that they were doing me a "favour" by fixing it under warranty. and that was at 1000klm.

now I have approx 24,000 klm (15,000) it has gone again, but this time they want $4000 AUD to repair. While still under warranty.

The worst thing that I can possibility do to this car is reverse out of my driveway with a slight incline

I have had a look in other forums and see that I am not alone.

My question is

Have I bought a bad model.

Do you think the genuine machinic's doing their job,

Or is it a different problem that is causing the wear and tear.

Am I better off putting in proformance clutch assembly, and if so what brand.

Is there a higher authority that I can talk to about getting this problem fixed under warranty.

I assume if I give to Nissan again, I will be replaceing it in another 10,000 to 15,000 klm or maybe less. I love driving my car, But what a raw deal...

Any feed back or advice appreciated, I am in Brisbane Australia and have Hiway Nissan looking at the car currently.

New buyers of 350z, Please ask this question before purchase

Regards Azza

# 04 touring automatic said on October 7, 2007 11:21 PM:

Hi all ,  I've been reading threw all these posts. I have not seen a single person with a automatic transmission issue, not one. As to Mr. G.Harrison. The problem your having is not a tranny issue at all.  I have driven many z's, sticks and automatics.  At this point if your getting a 350z don't cry when the manual tranny fails. They are known to be a POS tranny as far as the industry goes. Do your self a favor. And now you cant say hind site is 20/20 because you have been warned.

I droped in lightweight pulleys, a slightly lighter flywheel, dual exhaust and a secret weapon instake. ok ur gunna hate this....... I raced a enthusiast z tonight and i owned him. We raced 3 times. He was owned every time.

Now you tell me that a sports car is only a sports car with a manual tranny. Thats the most rediculus statement of the past 3 decades and proof of that is that there are automatic trany's in sports cars, get it ? think about it...   dragsters have automatic trany's.  Why do people think such dumb things. no idea.

Again . I have looked threw so many forums and the only people with automatic tranny issue are the TT guys slamming 480 + hp in to a stock automatic tranny,  dumb and dumber comes to mind.

 Now I have drivin 350z's with TT with upgraded auto trany's and I have to say turbos and automatic transmissions are born to be mated. why you ask ?

think about it... when u shift, you let off the gas, exhaust output drops, turbo presure drops and hp output takes a giant hit. Now with a automatic thats been modified to handle the added hp you never let off the gas, thus u never have a presure drop and never loose power. Thats why dragsters are automatics. could you imagine manualy shifting that kind of power @ 200 + mph @ 7000 + hp . uh no.

I love my automatic and would not ever do a manual tranny in a z . Manuals are for  super effecientcy rice burners or supercars with 10,000 dollar manual transmissions that were designed to last and handle massive power. Not 2000 dollar transmissions. Has anyone of you priced a 5 speed 350z automatic plus transmission. Well i have. Were talking a 5000 dollar tranny guys... its no wonder you dont hear about them failing. I would go as far as saying nissan new about the tranny issue before selling it. They wanted the purchase money upfront fron the lenders so that there stocks go up and will do the repairs later knowning the dealerships  try to charge people even when they have a warranty .

Think about it. How many post have you seen people talking about dealerships over charging or not carring about a warranty or not honoring them ?

let me tell you . over and over and over.

They did this because americans think a sports car has to have a manual tranny.

Just like that guy above stated, and he has paid the price for his ignorance and so will many others.

# Christoc said on October 8, 2007 12:44 AM:

Wow, the internet has all types of idiots

# Janus said on December 2, 2007 2:39 PM:

So does anyone have an opinion as to the choice of aftermarket clutch one should buy?

# Joe said on January 27, 2008 6:07 PM:

I feel the pain of those above.  I bought a 2006 350Z Enthusiasts convertible with 5000 miles on it from the dealer.  They said it was covered bumper to bumper 3/36,000 miles plus talked me into the extended Gold Warranty up to 100,000 bumper to bumper even stating it covered things like belts and hoses which normally aren't covered. The car has been babied and never abused.  It was my pride and joy.  I thought I was all set. WRONG.  This car has been a nightmare from the start.  Pieces of the interior have malfunctioned, gas cap, trunk, retractible top (replaced by them 2 times, put on completely wrong 2nd time and still having problems with it opening and shutting correctly.  I had 2 tires blow out after a month of owning the vehicle, and now to add insult to injury, with only 32,000 miles on the car my clutch is out.  They are giving me the same story that they are giving everyone else.  It is not covered by my warranty and are giving me a quote of $2700 to fix it. Oh and guess what, they are informing me that all 4 of my tires are shot again!  I have had several friends go into the dealership acting as if they are interested in purchasing a 350Z manual.  They have all been told by different sales people including the fleet manager that the warranty covers everything bumper to bumper and when ask if the warranty is different for a manual versus an automatic they have all been told it is the same coverage.  How in the world are these dealerships getting away with this false advertising?  If anyone else out there is having this problem please email your details. I have submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and also have requested a complaint form from the Arizona Attorney Generals office.  I tried to get resolution with the Manager of the dealership before taking these measures, but got nowwhere.  I feel as though they are ripping me off.  

# Rolf Johnsen said on February 6, 2008 5:07 AM:

2006 Touring w/5spd at.  Cold mornings, back out of car port , shift into D and nothing for 2-4 seconds, then car lunges forwards into gear.  Also, after driving in mountain highway in Manmual Mode, entering freeway, locks up in 4th and will not go into 5th.  Have to reset in Manual node for 5th and then change over to automatic mode of D.  

Very interesting symptoms.  Overall Outstanding "Rocket Car"

# H.Ellison said on February 28, 2008 8:53 PM:

I have a 2004 roadster, I bought the car with 9,000 miles on it.  after 2 weeks the oil light came on... I changed the oil in the car but the light still won't go out.. I took it to the dealer they told me nothing was wrong with my car but they could figure out why the oil light wouldn't got off.  Recently I've had problems starting the car.  I also hear clicking noises as well.. I'm take the car back to dealer tomorrow. I only have 18,000 miles on the car.. I've only had it for 5 months.

# Patang said on June 12, 2008 5:59 PM:

My 350z is stuck in manual mode? Any idea why? My car is Automatic.  I was trying to back up and accidentally hit the shift lever into a manual mode, and now it’s stuck there?   Any idea what in the hick happened to this pace of crap.

thank you

Patang.

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