I just got my Z last friday and am currently enjoying it like crazy but something very weird and scary happened today. I usually shift at around 2k or 2.25k to keep decent mileage (and also am breaking in my engine). Well at this particular moment i was about to change lanes so i reved it up to 2.5k in 2nd gear. thats wen a very violent shaking occured in my car. felt like my driveshaft was going insane and it was felt pretty strong in my shift **** too. i shifted into 3rd and it went away. then again wen i hit 2.5k it started shaking. did i hit some kind of limiter? the car would not let me rev past 2.5k (plus i was too scared to step on it more). Well i pulled over, turned off my car completely and restarted and the problem went away. Happened around noon and has done it at all for the rest of the day. has anyone had this kind of experience before?

 

Did a red, rpm limit warning, light come on in your tachometer? Have you checked your multi-function gauge and the RPM setting to see what RPM your limiter is set at? I bet it's set at around 2700 RPM. Get out your owner's manual, look up the multi-function gauge settings, check the RPM setting and set it higher. If you want to keep under 4500 RPM, set it at 4400 RPM and you'll get a warning that you are getting close.

Once you have exceeded the break in mileage, set it again at around 6700 so you get an early warning that you are approaching 6600 RPM, the redline on the engine.

YMMV...

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

the rpm limit thing you set has nothing to do with the engine control, at least not in mine, it just starts flashing near whenever you get near the rpm you pick, it's just a shift light that you can set

you might have a problem if your car is shaking or whatever, take it to the dealer and have them check it out

 

The shift light does not serve as a rev limiter

Did this happen when you were still accelerating or when let off the gas? If it keeps happening just take it back to the dealer

 

yea the rev light this is just to warn you that the "limit" u set is coming up. at this particular moment, i was unable to rev it past 2.5k. also my rev limit light is set at 3500. i guess this is a very rare incident.

Edit: it only happened wen i was on the gas. wen i let go and dropped it from 2.5k, the shaking stopped. If it happens again, im goign to take it to the dealer.

 

Pop your hood and check to see that your intake arm and MAF sensor is properly attached

 

I had something similar to that when decreasing speed to 70mph but it was never as violent as you described. How bad was the vibration. Was it just the shift **** or the whole vehicle?

 

it was the whole car. i checked under the hood (while adjusting my HIDs) and i saw that the filter wasnt put in correctly. my dad removed it yesterday while he was just checking out the car. could this have affected it in anyway?

 

i think you are shifting WAY too soon, and your z is shuddering from being in a higher gear before its ready. read the book. i highly doubt it says to shift at 2 or 2.5k.
correction: i read your post again. sounds like you are in "fail-safe" mode. have dealer check it out.

 

No its not in fail safe mode... How do I know? B/c i had the 03 sensor glitch they tsb'd about a while back. When its in failsafe mode you can't accelrate at all! .. a goatcart would pass you by. Its not shakey.. its just very very very turtle slow until it's fixed. You really need to take the car in for a checkup. I mean.. the air filter not being attached is a possibility.. (like maybe the mass airflow sensor went nuts since the filter was basically not installed and no backpressure was present) But since it's a brand new car, under full warranty ... not even had time to mod it I bet... you should just have it checked out thoroughly to be sure.

 

thx for all the replies. i have a feeling it was the air filter. it wasnt put it correctly so it messed up the MAF sensor. however, it didnt happen again for the rest of the day. I'm hoping this is a one time thing and the refitting of the air filter is enough. If it happens again ill take it to the dealer.