Hey guys,

I took delivery of a SB 2005 Enthusiastic 6M on this last Sunday. I love the car and this site rocks! Unfortunately, I've noticed a couple of disturbing/concerning things today about the drivetrain. Has have 250 miles on the clock.

1) This has been discussed to some extent before, but the transmission makes a very faint chattering sound when the clutch is not depressed and the stick is in Neutral. When I DO depress the clutch, the sound disappears (precisely at the engagement point of the clutch.) In reading some archived threads here, I've noted that some owners think that it is due to the "dual-mass flywheel," and that it is perfectly a normal part of the Z transmission. Has anyone experienced this very early on in their ownership and eventually saw a problem as a result? Note that this "chattering" sound is very faint and sometimes disappears without explanation.

2) Knocking?! It's brand new! WTF. Again I have 250 on the clock and I'm noticing knocking at low RPMs when I transition from a steady cruise to a gradual acceleration. It's most pronounced in 2 and 3rd gear. It occurs briefly (for 1 sec or so) at between 2000 and 3000 RPM. What could be the cause? Could the morons at the dealership have put 89 octane in? [I am on the first tank still, the tank that my dealer filled for me at purchase.]

I'm very thankful for any insight you might have on these issues. Yesterday, I felt like a bad-**** before I noticed this; and today, I'm bummed.

 

those things that you are experinencing are the wonders of the z. all those are normal. i too had the same problem, but ive seach this forums and every one else has those "problems" enjoy your new z.

ps.. about the knocking. its sometimes true. first time i bought the z, the stupid sales man put 89 on mine and was knocking. after wasting that tank i put back 91. your z can also idle rough. thats normal too.

 

I just got the 2005 Ultra Yellow Enthusiast 6M. I noticed the knocking that you are describing above only in 3rd and 4 gear when I am gradually accelerating. I have about 450 miles now and it is still happening after putting in 93 octance gas. Taking my car to the dealer on Friday to see if they can figure out the problem.

The tech that I talked to said he has seen this issue on 03 and 04 models and had to replace some of their transmission to fix this problem. He said that it should have been fixed for the 2005 model so he does not know what could be the problem until he sees the car. Will take him in the car to let him hear the problem and then see what he says.

 

The noise from the transmission when in neutral is just the sound of the heavy flywheel spinning. All Z's have that. As far as the knocking I would definitely think they probably just have a tank behind the dealership to fill cars from and it's all 89 I bet. Fill it with premium and see if it goes away.

 

It’s a new car. Give the ECU a chance to learn your driving style. After a couple of tanks of 93 octane gas, if knocking continues, take it back to the dealer.

 

knocking? It really shouldnt unless you live in a very hot climate and they used a low grade gas. The 350Z is desinged to run at a "lower performance" with less octane.

 

Oy.

What a pain in the ****. The joys of car ownership shouldn't be delayed by trips to the dealer on the first week of purchase. You feel me?

Faizei:

would you let me know how your dealer visit pans out. I went last night and I had the same response.

 

The flywheel noise is normal, but the knocking.. thats weird... Even if they did fill it with 89 the Z should read the lower grade gas and just lower performance... I really wouldnt get so discouraged about it, if it still knocks after you fill it with 91 or 93 then id take it back to the dealership. Then you can feel a lil discouraged maybe...

 

The Z's tranny is very notchy and sometimes noisy, especially when it's cold. As a new driver you tend to hear every noise and feel every vibration. I say don't be alarmed it happens to everyone. It takes sometime to get used to. The 05 especially with the high engage point on the clutch, and the dead gap up top. After a month or so you'll learn how to avoid making the knocking sounds in the morning . Good luck.

 

Halitosis - Will let you know what the dealer says.

It is not only on a cold start that I get this noise. If it is the gas or temperature, it should happen on all gears and not just 3rd or 4th in my case. The sound sometimes lasts for 2-3 seconds.

I would say that there is something wrong with the transmission.

 

Im a new owner of an 05 DBZ and Ive noticed the notchy tranny too. About 600 miles on the car so far...A few times I was going through the gears and had to fight it to get it in gear....I expected better...It feels almost exactly like my old Probe GT's 5 speed tranny which wasnt pretty good but very notchy. Also acceleration seems to die off quickly in the first 4 gears too..Sounds like the engine is straining after4k rpms..Even my girl said it sound like its trying hard...Im not panicking tho since the car is new..Hopefully it will sort itself out after break in period...Oh I did get beat by a stock e36 M3 but not by much...Want a rematch after breakin and I feel comfortable going nearer the redline....So far I really like the car but I think Ill need the gear change to be in love...

 

Some developments from the originating post-

I called my dealer today and the word is that they
put, get this, eighty-SIX octane gas in my car. This
is their idea of thanking their customers for spending
30 grand. "Thanks for buying from us, as a gesture of
our profound thanks, we give you gasoline that is
hardly available commercially (except to sleazy
dealers?) so we can look like good sports while saving
money."

It appears that they did not even have provisions for
91 let alone 93 octane.

Is this an empty rant? Hell no and here is why:

This scenario reveals some troubling issues about the
business practices of some local dealers. They use
and slowly destroy the brand that Nissan USA has
invested hundreds of millions dollars and many
board-room hours reinventing recently. Such
logically-disjointed things like putting sub-consumer
grade gasoline into a tuned sports car made (and not
optimized) for premium is an example of how dealership
bottom-line does not mesh well with the corporate
intentions of Nissan. Boo on the slimeball who would
hide their ineptitude behind a pretty corporate face.


Beyond this - the service that is touted at the point
of sale, sadly shows its true face: apathetic service
personnel more interesting in cutting their work day
short than to spend 10 minutes with the 4-day old
customer of a 30k car, when really, that's all that
was needed to assuage my panic.

I guessed that when my Z knocked/pinged at only 250
miles on the clock, it could have been one of three
things: 1) bad timing, 2) bad ecu 3) bad gas. The bad
gas is the best of the three problems to have if
forced to have on, but then again, it is the only
problem that proper employee training and management
could have avoided.

 

Sad but true...the guys at the stealerships couldn't care less about you or your car. I don't have anything, and I mean anything, good to say about nissan service.

I tried all different grades of gas to see if I could notice a difference. It ran the exact same with regular, medium, or premium. If you are having trouble already, take it back! I have had several guys at the dealership say, "you dont need premium in the Z, its more or less the same engine as the maxima, regular gas is fine."

I think the "premium" gas is more of a nissan hype! You shouldnt have knocking even with lower octane gas. Its a 287-300 hp V6 nissan, not a ferrari! Dont get me wrong, its a good looking car, but I think the premium hype makes it sound and appear more of an exotic car.

 

Kevin3,

I'm not sure if that I would call the Zs need for primo gas a hype. I agree with you about the service but ultimately, the vq-35 in the Z is not the same as in the Maxima. They are at different states of tune and probrobably utilize varying fuel maps.

BTW, the do you mean "take it back?" Take it in for service, go rant or actually try to return the car?

 

I've got about 2700 miles on mine and haven't had any problems. I have the noise when the clutch is out in neutral. The shifter has been silky smooth since day 1, and I haven't noticed any knocking.

 

Take it back and complain for sure! Take it back all together if anyway possible

 

Yes they absolutely put 89 or lower octane in your car. All dealers do this, its as common as hiding scratches just long enough to deny it was there and give you the shaft. All part and parcel but the Z's ecu should handle the lower octane by pulling timing. Just go throw some premium in the car and everything should be ok. I have a 05 and never noticed knocking but the idle does sputter; lets not forget the Z is a sports car not a lexus.

 

I'm happy to report that the ECU liked the new premium tank of gas and adapted within 20 miles or so. No more knocking.

Yay. Thanks for the helpful posts.

 

did you guys not notice any of these things on the test drive??

 

I would think if this stuff happened during test drives, most of us would not have made the purchase, right? Mine drove fine during test drive.