are these problems occurring with early builds? It may be that the early VIN numbers produced had a bug or two. If that is the case, raise hell......there is no need for this sort of stuff happening on this car IMO

 

I contacted a body over at nessan about the exact same problem and he said that nissan was not aware of any such problem. he said to drive it a little longer and if it doesn't go away bring it in. Yet there needs to be enough people making nissan aware of this problem so that they can find a deffinate fix.

 

I am sure NNA is aware of the problem. They have been replacing trannies and studying the earlier ones for several months. At $2500 a pop, this is not something that slips by. When I spoke with my NNA rep, she knew about the issue.

We don't know if it is the early VINs or if it is just that the early cars are now getting enough mileage/abuse that they are showing the issue. There are a lot of variables that no one has figured out.

As long as Nissan is taking care of the customers that come in with the issue, like myself, then I don't think there is anything to get too upset about. Now if this new tranny has a problem, that could be a different story.

JD

 

Well, I got the new trans in and it seems to work fine now. I'm still a little hesitant to really drive it like it should be.

Funny thing, someone else brought their 350 in the day I picked mine up. The service agent showed me the work order.....same problem, 3rd gear grind.

I'll get my new AC comperssor in two weeks. The AC never did work. It turned out that the compressor leaked at the clutch.

 

How does your transmission feel now? I have serious difficulty with 5 gear now... try to put the shifter all the way right and then up... to get into 5th... it has something locking it... so I can't do it ne more...

Let me know... thanx

 

Funny you should mention 5th gear, I did notice slight resistance getting it to slip in. Almost like the third gear before it really degredated.

I have that uneasy feeling she'll be going back in two months for the trans again. If so I'm going to file for my lemon law rights.

 

To reply to Articfury:

My car has had the problem since 1200 miles or so. It has gotten more consistant since Ocotber when the weather here in Pa. has gotten colder.

I have to call the dealer and make an appt. for next week.

 

My car is a very early build #399 (august delivery, first at dealer), and I have the third gear issue...but it is extremely mild, and not problematic (yet). I've only had the tranny grind 3 times, and it's been over the last couple of weeks in NJ when it's been very cold, and it's only when the car is cold. I have 7000 miles on my car. The grind is very, very slight, and typically only happens when I downshift into third, not on the 2-3 upshift. The grind was so slight, that it's barely audible, but I can feel it through the stick. It was never even close to preventing me from actually getting it into gear. As I said, it's only happened a couple of times, and otherwise the tranny feels pretty good. You have to throw it into 2nd with a little force, but I sort of like the solid feel, as someone else mentioned. No problems with any other gears.

I have not taken the car to the dealer yet. I'm planning on waiting a bit to see what happens, or if the condition worsens. It's not a problem for me yet...but I'm keeping an eye on it. This may be an early production thing for sure. Maybe my best bet is to just let the dealer know, so it's on the record?

 

t

 

I live in Atl and this has been hapening to me since aprox 3000, now have 5000,. I took it to a dealer this am and was not to happy with there solution. The service mgr said that they knew about this before the car was release and that they had to change the tranny fluid. Now I have nbeen following the threads on this and know that this si not the solution, but I figured I would let them do their thing. They finished suposedly took the car out and the probelm was solved(bull).


I immediately took off in the car hit the entrance for the high way in first gr, nailed second, then whan here come third, and again a nasty grind.
Well went to work, called the dealer and told him the problem was still there, he said tfor me to bring the car back that it might be the syncros. I asked him if he kept the car, would he give me a loaner, and he said Nissan does not give loaners for warranty work. With that I said bull and ask for the main nissan #.

I caled and talk to a great lady who was very helpful. I am now taking my car to another dealer(actually the one I bought the car from). They will give me a loaner, and hopefully will contact Nidssan and get the right lowdown on this proble. and resolve my issue.

Sry I went on so long, but I it is starting to **** me off, and it is starting to happen more frequently.

 

Add me to the list. I started noticing it at around 3k miles. I pull out of driveway in 1st, ease u to 2nd, then move to third, grrrriinnnddd.

If I let it warm up for about ten minutes before driving, it won't grind. All other gears feel fine so I don't want to replace the tranny if Nissan comes up with an easier fix.

 

It's been almost 4 weeks since my original posting.

Therefore, does anyone with a replaced transmission have a recurring cold gear oil shift grinding yet?

 

Nope... not so far... the new tranny seems to be pretty good... except for that my 5th gear is not as easy to get into... in fact there is something wrong... I gotta get it fixed too... ugh...
The new transmission is definitely notchier!

 

To SnoopyZ:
It's been a couple of weeks since you replied; any negative changes with the new trans. since?


To All:
I'm still debating whether to switch over to RedLine in the trans. and diff. before I have the dealer possibly replace the trans. I'd hate to waste the money before the fact.
Any opinions?

 

Actually, when I got my car I thought the shifter was very rough (it finally broke in though), and was talking to the tech. He was complaining that he could never become a master technician because Nissan doesn't let their dealerships work on transmissions anymore. Its all pull and replace and send back to Nissan for refurbishment.

 

This what I referred to months ago. The "double hitch" was/is a common practice with mechanical linkages. I don't know about you, but I've been driving cars with cable linkages for the last few yrs. Its easy to slide them in and out of gear and shifting to each gear is no problem. It is a problem w/mechanical linkages, at least the ones I've had. Its not a flaw, its how they are constructed. Snoopy, you are doing the right thing w/a new trans, double hitch shifting till its warm, and don't force it. It should loosen up w/time and use.

The "throw it into the next gear technique", isn't going to work for this gearbox's linkage, apparently, and Nissan isn't going to replace your boxes forever. IMHO, you need to "baby" this trans until it loosens up. If it doesn't, then take it the dealer and complain, but don't force it! Keep the clutch pedal flat to the floor w/every shift or you will grind this transmission. Remember, the engine is not the only part of any NEW car that needs breakin, brakes, etc. AND the trans seems to need it too. With practice, the doublehitch shifting technique can be very fast.

I will probably get flamed for this, but I would NEVER speedshift any transmission until it had at least 10,000 miles on it. I never drag raced my sports cars either, so my advice may seem odd in this context. BTW, some trans w/mechanical linkages have DOUBLE synchros on 2nd and TRIPLE synchros on 3rd to combat grinding.

Boomer--my advice, use it or lose it, I don't care.

 

and I find the shifting fine........but then I don't really ram it into gear.....I don't find I need to......the shifting seems relatively smooth......and although it is a bit stiff at times.....I find it gets better with more driving.....and I'm not getting any shifter rattle yet either.....but I have not taken it up above 4k much.....

This car really rocks......even with smooth shifting......just put your foot in it a bit.....and hang on.....be safe out there everyone

 

Actually, mine is grinding on the 2-3 shift when cold, even when shifted gently. It didn't start (consistently, only once or twice b4) until 4800 miles.

That notchiness I mentioned earlier did go away with a couple thousand miles of break-in, so if your new one feels a little tight, don't worry.

 

i dont acutally have a 350 yet but from what i've been reading i think it could be the shifter. im into civics but civics have the same grind problem with short shifters going into second gear. just my .02

 

its not the shifter,. these cars didn't do it from the factory.