I have the same problem w/ 3rd gear grinding the 1st & 2nd times when the car is cold, called the dealership & explained the problem the service tech tried pinning the problem on driver error he tried suggesting different shoes were the problem, floor mat being bunched up & ect... So I went to this wonderful web site & printed about 20 pages of other people w/ the same problem went to my dealership dropped it on the counter in front of the service tech & asked him if he thinks these people have the same shoes as me.Any way I have to say the dealership is being very helpful now & is even going to switch out my AEM CIA for the Ingen Cia @ ther cost & giving me the Barlo exhaust @ no charge, new tranny should arrive Friday by the way the problem started around 4k miles.Good luck & if they are not willing to help you try the same approach I did it relly seamed to work.

 

Well it has been awhile since I have been out in the forum, been really busy lately, but I thought I would update you all with my tranny problems. At this point 11500 miles I am now on my 2rd new tranny. quick recap, 1st tranny 3rd gear grind, 4500 miles, replaced at 5600, second tranny same issue 3rd gear grind only worse then the first, it was like the syncros just could keep up wiht the tranny, either upshifting or downshifting. Started aprox 10,000 replaced at 11, 400. Do not know if Nissan has actually fixed the problem, but if this one goes I am going for a new car. Georgia has a lemon law, 3 times major failure, replace car. SO in closing, for those of you that have had the tranny replaced, keep a close watch on it after 4 to 5 k miles. Has anyone out there had 2 replaced?

 

I am also one of the unlucky ones to experience 3rd gear grind which dissipates when the car is warmed up. I am at 4500 miles. I am afraid of continued transmission failure once the warranty is expired. I think we could see alot of used Z's on the market with trannys ready to grind.

 

bigdog,

Raceboy has had two replacement trannies. He posted the other day that the latest one is going bad as well.

I am at 1000 miles on my 2nd replacement tranny. I don't have a good feeling. Once I started accelerating past 4000rpm at around 900 miles, the tranny just doesn't seem to be the same. I will be keeping an eye on it. The last tranny I could tell that something was wrong around 3000 miles on it, but the dealership wasn't able to detect it until it got much worse at around 6500 miles.

JD

 

I am another one with 2 new tranny's... 1st one at 4000 miles, 2nd one at 16000 miles and now I have almost 21000 on the car... This one seems good but time will tell.... Have you opened a claim with NNA consumer affairs??? They gave me a free 7 year 100,000 mile warranty due to the problems... And like you, if it goes 1 more time, they have to replace the car.... PM me if you have ?'s about the warranty...

 

I brought mine in this morning to Performance Nissan in Monrovia, Ca. I spoke with a guy in the service department by the name of Henry. He has helped me with the tire feathering and the drifting problems. I had them check the tranny once already and said could not duplicate. I was still having problems with shifting to third with the grinding soud. I brought it in today. They took a look at it and found that the transmission for the first batch of Z's is different part number then the ones in the current batch. Therefor they have ordered a new tranny. All is well these guys are great if you need help they have't turned me away yet.

Check them out if your having this problem.

 

I can not believe that Nissan is not recalling the transmission with so many complaints. I can live with chipped paint, a bad radio, feathering tires, but a grinding transmission is inexcusable.

I was so in love with this car. I was going to buy this car untill I read about the multitude of problems. Nissan quality is slipping. This is sad.

You should file a complaint:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

By Phone
Call the DOT Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236) and a NHTSA representative will record your complaint information.

By Mail

You may also print the web form out and fax it to (202) 366-7882 or mail it to:

U.S. Department of Transportation,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
Office of Defects Investigation,
NSA-10.01, 400 7th Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20590.

General Information

Your complaint information will be entered into NHTSA's vehicle owner's complaint database and used with other complaints to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must fix it at no cost to the owner. Your complaint is the first step in the process.

Government engineers analyze the problem. If warranted, the manufacturer is asked to conduct a recall. If the manufacturer does not initiate a recall, the government can order the manufacturer to initiate a recall.

We do not have to receive a specific number of complaints before we look into a problem. We gather all available information on a problem. Your complaint is important to us.
For a prompt response from NHTSA, send your information request, suggestions, or comments to odidata@nhtsa.dot.gov.

 

Very interesting....

As an 2003 CS AT owner..

I'm only trying to remove the 2" Retina Detaching bounce.

Cheers Amy -

 

Looks mine is starting to develop the same problems. The 1-2 shift is absolutely horrible, it grinds and clanks and is really hard. Third sometimes grinds but not every time. When i downshift into first it does the same thing. Guess I need to call the dealer and see what they say.

 

I don't think it makes sense for Nissan to recall all the transmissions. Not everyone is having tranny issues with their cars. It would cost them much more to recall rather than switch trannies in individual cases. You shouldn't let this stop you from buying this car. Perhaps, you can purchase the next year's model.
Thanks for all the info.

 

How exactly are you downshifting into first? First should only be used from a dead stop, not as a downshift. That could definately mess up a tranny. Just a thought, not meant as critisism.

 

i was thinkin the same thing as well. as much torque u have in the z u wont ever need to downshift into 1st like the s2k guys do.... i never downshift into first...

 

I love the "hey there rookie" look I get whenever I try to downshift or upshift to 3rd at anything above 4000 RPM.

 

Took my car in for 3rd gear grind. They say due to the Nitrous/ Aftermarket Parts installed they wouldnt warranty the work!! Victory Nissan Chesapeake..Oh well...Mangosn Act will come in play here..

MIke

 

My #2 tranny locks me out of 5th gear when I am shifting slow... so in order to get into 5th gear I must make sure NOT to go all the way over to the right. Does anybody have this problem???

And occasionaly 1-2 gear is bad... like first kinda pops out on its own when I shift it into 2nd...

 

mine just started doing it the other day. i've had the car since january and only have 4500 miles on it. grinds from 2-3rd and also it will do it if i come to a complete stop in any gear and then put it into first. this is no my only car and i've called the dealership. they won't give me a loaner and say they need the car for 5 days. i guess i'll just have to go to the service manager in person and get him to do something.

 

Well I posted awhile ago regarding being on my second new tranny from Nissan. I have approx 900 mile on this one and so far so good, but am not even the slightest bit convinced that nissan has resolved the problem, time will tell.

I would like to ask all a question. I did not notice this in the first 2 tranny's, but this one when I am in a quiet place, with the car running, in neutral, I can hear what I beleive it the throwout bearing gargleing(for lack of a better term). As soon as I depress the clutch noise stops let clutch out and noise comes back. Asked the dealer about this and he said it is the tranny and it is commom, according to nissan, it is supose to make that noise. Has anyone experianced this, if not could people try and see if you hear it, trust me if it is there you will hear it.

Thanks

 

I have that clutch chatter before and after replacing my tranny. Dealer also told me it was normal