Clue me in on the "03 shifting problem"
 

I'm about to purchase an 03 z or possibly an 04. What is this common 03 shifting problem I keep hearing about? Is it something that needs to be fixed?

Thanks,

Andy

I have no idea and I have an 03.

The only tranny related issue I ever heard was the grinding some people got and Nissan was replacing the trannys. Mine never had to be replaced. It grinds if I try to go to 5th when going too slow, but I learned not to do that.

Ask the seller if the tranny has been replaced, or if there is any grinding. Other than that, I have no idea...

i had to replace mine...3rd gear syncro took a s**t, my friend with a 03 also has 5th gear problems too...its not a big deal and shouldnt sway you away from a 03 or 04, they're great cars. depending on who you deal with nissan will work with you if you have any kind of warranty

I have an 03 with 65000 miles and no problems.

My 03 about to turn 60K. Has grinded (thats a word, right?) a few times, but mostly my own fault. :)

The best I can describe the 350Z transmission is "finicky" or "notchy." Sometimes it shifts smoothly. Sometimes there is light resistance in some gears. I don't consider the clutch-transmission as a problem, just a 350Z characteristic.

During the test drive you will get a feel for shifting. If you dont like it, pass, and look for another.

My 03 has 61k on it, and under normal acceleration (light) I do have to double clutch 3rd gear, or I get a little grind. However, when shifting hard at redline, it's very smooth.

Took me all of 1 day to get used to after I bought the car. Definitely not something I'd let sway me away from a good deal on a Z.

-Tim

you are always going to find cars with problems but overall the z is normally reliable and the problems can be fixed easily... just test drive it and make sure it's all good. Good luck with buying your Z

40k on my 04, no issues, but yes davidv is on point describing the Z tranny.

I, along with many others, have this tranny problem. My gears keep grinding on certain gear shift. So the dealer has had to replace my tranny twice. I am on my third tranny and shifting is not as smooth as when I first got it, but at least it's not grinding.

My warranty is over therefore I have to pay to get it replace.

03 have many other problems besides the tranny. Just play it safe and don't get an 03 or 04.

clue yourself in, there is a bunch more besides shifting with a 2003

https://my350z.com/forum/search.php

^^Damn, I fell for it. I click on it!

i have an 03 with 28kmiles on it and i have the tranny problem the syncros of 3rd and 5th gear are bad it grinds if i slam the gear if i ease it in nothing happens and also at high rpms it does it too

too bad more people don't. if they did we would not have numerous threads like this one

Mine's an 03 with 47K and I occasionally get grinds going into 5th gear at varying speeds. It has never been a problem though and the car is perfect 99% of the time.

You know, a lot of these "supposed" transmission problems could be the driver.

Posts like that just drive me crazy! "When I drive it like a stolen race car it shifts notchy". Well no sh*t. The Z is a mass produced street car. What do you expect?

Speed shifting, or slamming, or shifting at high rpm increases the likelihood that the driver is going to screw up. It increases the chance of the driver not having the clutch fully engaged or disengatged. It increases the chance of the rpms being way too high or too low for the intended gear. It decreases the time the synchronizers have to do their job.

I have an 03 manual and I don't have any transmission problems.

When you mass produce tens of thousands of cars you will get a bad transmission here and there. That's what warranties are for. .... But I still feel like many of the transmission problems reported here are caused by "over-demands" of the driver or caused by years of abuse that destroyed the synchronizers so that nobody can shift it anymore!

I remember reading one of those tired auto vs manual threads where manual people were arguing that they could shift faster than an automatic. My opinion is that it can't be done. But if you are going to try you will most certainly miss a few shifts and put some heavy wear on your syncros in the process. Is that the transmissions fault?

I have an '03 manual and have not had any problems. I doubt the '03 is more problematic than any other car.

Les

i know that i can drive stick i had an evo before this car and an sti and both were stick so im well aware of how a car is suppose to preform especially a sports car

03 trans sucks!! mine is very clunky i guess you could say. third gear is so bad that at ennis it took 5 or so hard throws to get my car into 3 during an aggressive pass. piece of crap cost me a 13 second pass

i know what you mean mine isnt that bad tho