I have a 2004 350Z Base model. It was built in 04/04. I current have about 4500 miles on it. I have the famous rattles coming when the car is idle and at the take off. My main gripe is the grinding of the gears. I am embarrased when I shift on my Z. My Z grinds from 1st - 2nd, 2nd - 3rd and also 3rd - 4th(occasionally). Do you know what could be the problem. This is not what a true sports car should feel like. I even feel like trading in my Z . Any ideas?

 

emm... maybe warranty

go get it checked

they will replace your tranny

 

i second that... go to the dealer, if there's any problem w/ the tranny they'll replace it under warranty

 

welcome to the club, 1-2-3 grind in my 04.5 performance model with 8200 miles. Transmission makes all kinds of noises in first and second gears. And you know what my dealer tells me? Its normal and it supposed to do that because its a sports car.

 

Nope they are lying to you, you better go to another nissan to get it fix... alot of people who had this same problem and got it fixed, is the same as the feathering, some dealers are very cooperative, while others give you all kinds of excuses. I ve seen people who got it replaces once or even twice.

 

That is the problem. Its fine if they fix the issue the first time but when you need to replace the tranny or clutch more than time is a pain in the a**. I bought my Z about 8 months ago. I only had my Z for about 3 1/2 months due to two accidents in its early life. This issue happened before the accidents. I did take my Z to have it check but they say its normal. Guys my faith in the Z is diminish every day. Its a beatiful car but it drives like sh*t.

 

Sounds like something up. Definitely make an appt and take it in. Besides having trouble getting into 2nd gear on occassion, I haven't had any issues (03 w/ 9k miles).

Grinding is bad though. Try to take it in soon. It should be covered under the warranty.

 

Just to cover all possiblities - make sure you are fully engaging the clutch.

 

I do press the clutch all the way. Just to mention this issue doesnt happen all the time. Sometimes the shifting is smooth like expected to be.

 

Guys,

Mine does the grind (teeth contact) when I shift to 3rd. I noticed it happens only when I shift normal speed or fast. But when I take my time slowly (more like a second in neutral), it wouldn't happen.

I have driven stick like 15years. My build date is feb/04. I don't want to hassle with the dealer ( i have mentioned it to them before). They told me it was still new and that I should drive a few more miles (that was when it was 3000 miles). Now it is 10k.

Tony

 

if the dealer gives you any problems, you would go to your local region forum and ask local members for dealers w/ a good service dept... i drove about 45 min. to a dealer that knew what was going on, and knew how to fix it

...besides, if a dealer is hassling you about fixing the problem, but finally agrees, do you really want them to work on your car?

 

i hate those dealers when they give excuses to people

 

its def a bad tranny. happened to me around 4500 miles, while shifting quickly into 3rd. sometimes i could not even get to third and had to skip to 4th. mine is a 2003 with a 11/02 build date. go get your tranny replaced and it'll be so much better to drive. and the dealership should fix the rear clicking also, it's a problem with the splines.

 

By a grind do you mean a loud, grating grind like if you are not engaging the clutch? I noticed my 03 6mt makes a purring sound if I am coming to a sharp corner or a stop and I am trying to push it into first.

 

yea it's the loud grating grind. about the most unpleasent sound ever. mine doesn't do it anymore

 

This is the deal, if you have a transmission with part#CD0001 up to CD0007, its the bad tranny with the bad synchros. Anybody have a transmission with part#CD0008 stamped on it, you have a good one. This is straight from a source a Nissan. Check the Transmission case for the part number, from what I understand it is only visible if you get it up on a lift, the number is stamped too high up on the tranny to see it if you jack it up on the floor and try to get under it.

 

Thanks for the update. I will ask the shop to check mine in two weeks when I have work done.

 

Anyone know which VINs have the the new tranny?

 

Could not get an exact answer on when the CD0008 trannies started being installed, I was told to just check the part#....

 

Thanks for checking. I ask because I have a build date of 06/2004 and get a rough 1>2 until the tranny fully warms up (15mins.), then smooth as silk. But annoying as hell until then.

hmmm. I wonder if syn. fluid would help with my issue...