Looks as though you are "real." Sorry... I've been "victimized" by a few joke threads.

The problem worsens with time and the number of shifts. If you have the problem now and are concerned about demonstrating this to the dealer, not to worry since it will soon progress to "happens all the time."

--Spike

 

Just ask them to quickly shift into 3rd at high rpms, it is almost sure to grind doing this. Just annoy them about it until they agree to replace the transmission, even if they don't replace it in the end, at least you gave it a shot before the warranty ran out.

 

yes but i need it to have the problem when i demand it lol my warranty ends in 11 days

 

Brought it to the dealership. Used Car guy wasn't there so I left the Z there for the night. At least tomorrow when he test drives her cold he will get the full effect of the problem.

 

-_- so I was 90% sure they were going to say it's normal... and they did. So I am not sure how warranty works since I never had a car with warranty before haha. Do I have a legitimate reason to fight it and argue or is it a lost cause? We all know it's the synchro but how else can we prove it to them.

 

try driving it with the stealership salesman in the vehicle with you. nobodys gonna know the car and its issues better than you, the owner.

 

LOL I called the dealership they said they didn't even need to test drive it because its normal. After a 10 minute argument I can tell it was going in circles so I left it at that. I'm just wondering if I should fight this or just leave it alone. Lawyer up?

 

Exactly the same thing happened to me when I bought my 03 last year.
I ended up having to pay for a new transmission.
Sorry, but that is where you are headed

 

Is your warranty the extended plan from Nissan?
_______________________
EDIT (on 1/24/2010): The clock is ticking and time is running out (you said the deadline JAN 31, 2010).

You do have some options.

--Spike

 

You had to replace your transmission already? Was your car high miles and was the grinding severe? Uh oh your scaring me

 

Grinding into 5th gear is normal? WTF is your dealership smoking? If you're under warranty, F**K all that crap about waiting for the first 15 minutes, you shouldn't have to wait 1 damn second for your transmission to function properly. Get it replaced under warranty immediately so you get a brand new warranty with your brand new transmission because many of them do that. The key is to reproduce the problem while their watching. Leave it there over night, I don't care, make sure they hear/see the grind and make them replace their sorry *** transmission that all us '03 owners have been stuck with. Sick and tired of Nissan's bullsh*t.

 

The clock is ticking-down, and you have little time left to resolve this.

I ask again: Is the warranty you reference from Nissan?

--Spike

 

my 5th gear does the exact same thing. only happens on a cold start for 15min. i have extended warranty as well but i don't think they are going to replace my tranny because they need to be able to replicate the problem and if it doesn't happen with them in the car they won't replace the tranny. my car is also hella modded so i doubt that's gunna help. i mind as well return this extended warranty and buy a new tranny with the funds i get blah

 

OK… Here’s the deal…

The common transmission problem so many people report happens with early year Z models, and it’s a synchromesh fault. It happens when the car is cold or warm, and anytime you are driving the car. It doesn’t go away after driving for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or more time.

The problem you and chestuhr report does not match the situation I describe above.

Certainly the dealer is not going to try repairing a problem they are unable to reproduce. To obtain a warranty reimbursement from Nissan, the dealer must provide Nissan with an accurate problem report; and in the case of a transmission replacement, the defective parts.

If you are unable to demonstrate the problem to the dealer, you can hardly expect them to fix something that you or they cannot even determine is broken. What are they going to fix?

I am not sounding very sympathetic, but you really cannot expect a dealer to attempt a nebulous repair with a very uncertain recovery for their fee.

My advice to chestuhr:

Your fight is not with the dealer, but rather with Nissan. And, that’s where you need to take this battle. You are about out of time on your warranty, so do this:

1. Call Nissan and register your complaint. You should request some type of tracking number that you can refer to at a later date.
   
   
2. Send a registered letter to Nissan (or the entity that provides your warranty, or both). Describe the problem fully, carefully, and completely; and make your demand for repair. You should attach any supporting documentation you have. Supporting documentation is the written service requests for repair and the dealer’s responses.

All of this must happen before your warranty expires.

--Spike

 

I bought the car from Weathorford BMW. They got it from a trade in. Used cars typically come with 30 day warranty, which is what I have. I argued with the the used car manager for 15 minutes and of course got me nowhere. The thing is, I left the car there overnight. Surely, when he test drove it he would hear the problem. The mother****er had audacity to say that he didn't even need to test drive it, implying that cars do that when they're cold. Even with that, it's no point trying to fight them, because he was dead set on not repairing the car and getting a lawyer would just cost more money and complicate things.

Now you say file a complaint to Nissan. I can do that, with 3 days left on my warranty. In fact, I know one of the dealers at Weatherford well and she can write supporting evidence if needed(However, she can't help me directly with the ***** used car manager because this situation is not her department). Wouldn't they just imply the same thing and say it's normal wear and tear? The issue itself, is minor as of now because it only grinds when it's cold, but will surely be a problem in the long run.

I don't know what to do at this point and honestly, I've just about given up. I can try to complain to Nissan I guess, seems like a longshot though. Il give it a try

 

OK… I get it now. Thanks for providing more information. It would have been ^^ helpful to have this at the thread’s start. I was guessing you had Nissan’s extended warranty, but that assumption is obviously wrong. Once again I break my own rule not to assume anything. When will I learn?

Forget about going to Nissan. You’re out of warranty, and they won’t help you now. And, the transmission problem you describe differs from the notorious synchromesh problem in early model Z’s.

All you can do now is get your complaint registered with the dealer. If you don’t have a service request at this dealer with a written notation about the transmission, take the car in again and make sure the service manage lists the transmission problem on the service request form (the form he writes up and that you sign). You probably already have this, but check to make sure.

This way you have your complaint in writing before the January 31st deadline.

My experience with these 30 day warranties from dealers on used cars is that they are nearly worthless except for minor repairs. If you do uncover any significant issue, the dealer just does a temporary fix (bubblegum and paperclips) to get through the 30 days.

I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction. Please let us know how it turns out.

--Spike

 

Ive got the very same problem too, it has something to do with the CD001 transmission, it was one of the little bugs of nissan's transmission that the first few years of the 350 when it came out, gradually they improved this problem when the 06 came out with the CD009 tranny, because after i took it to the dealer AFTER three different tranny installed, still had the same grinding noise in 5th, talked to some guys at Sound Performance, got me a new CD009 tranny, that problem havent occur since, and next month would be 2 years going on and off at the track...Hope this info would help you out.

 

That's probably why the guy traded it in the first place... If you paid for a warranty, you should exercise it.

 

Ya it happens to me to, sometimes in reverse and in 6th, but its freezing outside so i wonder if its because of that. the only other possibility is the synchros wearing out but lucky you your under warranty i gotta pay out of my pocket, nd not to mention i bought the car 5 days ago

 

^SMH