Hey Guys,

2 days ago my 06 Z started making a strange noise under the front end of the car...

It only happens when I just start the car... after driving faster speeds the sound seems to disappear... but it happens when i press the clutch to change gears... mostly first thru 3rd gears...

It sounds kinda like a piece of tin flapping or scrapping against something.

I have checked under the car for loose covers, and all seem to be tight underneath.

Anyone have any ideas? The dealer cant see me until sometime next week... :-( when Ill also get my first oil change.

Thanks in advance...

 

Is it by chance more of a rattling sound?
https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance-and-repair/215395-exhaust-leak-cause-oil-pressure-to-drop.html

 

I guess it could seem like a rattling sound... it really sounds like somethings hitting something in the front of the car... but more like light metal on metal...

almost flapping like sound... but in the engine...

This is only the secnd time Ive looked under the hood, boy is it clean in there...

 

Check the oil level. Have you looked under the car and instepcted all of the plastics? Have you doe anything to the car (install intake, etc)?

 

sounds interesting, my car makes a weird noise to when the clutch isant pressed at idling, then when i press the clutch it goes away.

the noise is loud, cant really explain it , almost like somethings shaking in a can

 

Thats actually a prety good description... something hitting inside a tin can... exactly...

I will check the oil tomorrow morning. The car is bone stock... other than my air freshener :-)

There is no loose plastic underneath... It just kills me that the dealer cant take 2 minutes to listen to it to let me know quickly... yet I need to wait a week for someone to look at it...

 

Well, as you can tell from my other post, after just 2000 miles mine was rattling like an empty spray can except much louder! It started off low and intermittent but shortly thereafter it was obnoxious. Then my oil pressure light was on. Hopefully this isn't the problem but sounds very similar.

 

So it may be an oil issue? If thats the case... Id better go by a jiffy lube place tomorrow and get the oil changed asap... I dont want to drive it in this condition for a week!

Thanks for your input and ideas guys...

 

im annoyed that such a new car could have issues already.

 

I doubt it's an oil related problem. There is no pressing need to get an oil change ASAP unless you have checked the oil using the dipstick and confirmed that the oil is low, or if the oil pressure is so low that the oil light is coming on.

I'll bet it's typical flywheel chatter, probably normal.

 

FOUND THE PROBLEM!

I checked the oil this morning... the dipstick was BONE DRY! I ran my finger over it, not a drop of oil!

Im wondering where it all went! or even if the dealer placed enough oil in there when selling me the car?

Like I said, its only got 3300 miles on it... Luckily I had some Mobile 1 quarts in the garage... Added a few quarts, and now the sound is gone...

I drive to and from work, and both parking spaces I use dont have a single drop of oil on the ground...

 

Some will say replacing oil is okay but I would suggest notifying the dealer and documenting that you had to replace a few quarts of oil.
The exact same thing happened to me a few weeks ago on my brand new '06 and several other members on this forum have reported the same problem. I heard a very loud clacking noise, noticed my oil pressure light coming on around corners, the pressure gauge was almost to zero, checked the oil and there was nothing registering on the dipstick.
Nissan needs to know that a large number of '06 Z's are having an oil consumption problem. One of the reps at Nissan even admitted they traced down a batch of cars made between Feb and May of this year that came from a plant with known problems. The same sort of problems they did recalls for the Altima and Sentra, the piston rings not being up to par.

I would really suggest getting the problem nipped in the bud. Adding oil will be a short term fix for the symptom but it's not going to cure the problem.

Some of our cars are consuming way too much oil and Nissan needs to address that problem.

 

Agreed!

I will bring this up with them... I got my service moved up to tomorrow morning because of this.

I dont want to have to monitor my oil manually every 2000-3000 miles... I mean, they tell us when the intervals are, and their product SHOULD last to that interval for the oil changes etc...

Thanks all for your input and suggestions...

 

+1 there was definitely some negligence that there was oil THAT low!!!!!

Bone dry dipstick Geez... lucky these VQ's stand up to abuse fairly well.

 

Well, I took the car into the dealer this morning...

Service advisor says she has no idea about this being a common issue on the 06's. Though she did hint that I may be an agressive driver, thus causing the car to burn up a lot more oil. Yet they will check for leaks!

 

have them do a oil consumption test

 

Tell them not to bother checking for leaks. They need to do a compression test and a leakdown test. It's most likely oil blowing by the rings and it's exactly the problem I'm having along with several other '06 owners.
Don't let them tell you it's not a problem or it's your fault. There is definitely an issue with a number of '06 Z's.

 

There is nothing in the owner's manual that says not to be an aggressive driver. As long as you follow break-in schedule, that is the only part of the manual that tells you HOW to drive.

That said, don't tell them you are an aggressive driver. Just say it's your daily driver and you're a commuter etc.

 

I'v noticed a sound comming from under my car as well recently, thought it might have been the oil being low, but it was fine... so now I'm wondering if it's anything else, like maybe a blown test pipe or something. My car is completly stock....