Greetings. I just bought my used 2003 Z yesterday. I've never had this much fun driving a car. I've been waiting for this one to become affordable to me for a long time. Anyway... Today I noticed a type of "tinking" sound. It almost sounds like a seatbelt buckle is hanging out the door, and clanking off the road (but it's not). I think it must be related to the transmission or clutch because I only hear it when I put the car in gear and take off, or when I suddenly slow down while the car is in gear.

This sound also sort of sounds like ... You know when you've been driving for a long time, you park, you walk away from the car... You can hear the car cooling down, making that "tink tink tink" sound? It sort of sounds like that as well. Sorry if I'm getting too verbose trying to convey the sound. I wish I could easily make a recording of it.

Anyway, if any of you guys could offer your input, that would be great. I took every precaution when I bought this car, including taking it to a Nissan dealer for inspection. If this is really a problem, and not a normal sound, it seems like they would've caught it.

 

check the passenger seat belt. it has a clip it should rest in when not in use. it's on the b pillar

 

Thanks for the feedback. I checked the seat belt. It's fine. I still hear the noise. Any other ideas?

I guess a trip to the dealer will be coming sooner than I thought.

 

Is it a creaking type of noise? Does it mostly happen when you start from a stop?

If so, it could be the classic "clicking rear axle" problem which has a TSB (technical service bulletin). Do a search for it on this site and bring the TSB to the dealer if you think that is the problem. I just had mine fixed.