Hi,

I recently bought my 03 350z and I noticed when my car is cold
I get a grinding noise when shifting to 5th gear. I'm fully pressed on the clutch and only happens when I shift to 5th gear. This stays for about 15 minutes and it gradually gets better as the car warms up more but I'm wondering if this will only get worse. I'm thinking it might be the synchro but would like to make sure. I can take it back to my dealership as I'm still under warranty but only until Jan 30th so would like to get any info ASAP.

Thanks

 

Hmm, I get that when I shift to 5th also... Mostly when downshifting from 6th.

 

is yours an 03? I get it anytime i shift to 5th

 

i get that grinding sound when i go into fifth either a little fast or hard. i have to kinda ease it into gear, but it only does it in fifth. im assuming it possibly sychros going out. mines an 04

 

Three more reasons to have the automatic.

 

Then let the car warm up before driving off.

 

It sounds like your synchro's are bad like you said, and it takes a while for your tranny fluid (oil) to warm up and cycle through your gearbox. Next time you shift into 5th (this is if you don't feel like waiting 15min for your car) shift a lot slower and it should go in w/o a grind.

 

Synchros going bad is not a reason to have an automatic if you don't like driving cars with automatic transmissions. Automatics can and do have their own problems and are typically much more expensive to repair.
Back to the topic... the 03 and early 04 transmissions are notorious for bad synchros in 3rd and 5th gear, causing the grinding mentioned. Typically the issue is not as pronounced once the tranny warms up, and you really shouldn't be shifting close to redline until the engine and tranny are fully warm anyway. You may try changing your tranny fluid out for a high quality synthetic and see if it improves. Bad synchros won't typically cripple a transmission as long as you don't try to force the gear when it grinds... so you should have plenty of time to save your pennies for a new or used low mileage CD009 (this is the code for the improved trannys of the later 350z) transmission while you continue driving.

 

Nicely put. Good thing I actually read before I posted, lol.

 

What do you mean don't force the gear? Do you mean slowly shifting to 5th? What tranny fluid do you recommend?
Anyways, I'm just going to bring it to the dealership and let them know its most likely the synchros. $100 deductible to replace synchros not bad

Thanks for you guys help

 

By "don't force the gear" I mean if the gear grinds don't just shove the shifter to make it engage. If it grinds, keep the transmission in neutral, let the RPMs drop, then engage the gear and it should not grind, bad synchros generally only grind at high rpms. As mentioned before, rather your tranny is new or old, you really shouldn't be shifting near redline until both the engine and tranny are fully warmed up anyway.
I looked right past the part where you said it was still under warranty. Forget messing with the tranny fluid or anything right now, take your car to the dealership ASAP and pay the $100 deductible to have them fix it. Most likely they will just replace the transmission.

 

Have you searched on google "350z transmission grind" and seen what it came up with? It's your synchro going out. It will get worse slowly by slowly. Claim it under warranty or else you will slap yourself in the face when you need to pay for a whole new transmission out of your pocket. Good luck my friend.

 

^^Agreed 100%.^^

 

Is this thread for real? I would respond with info, but thinking it’s a fake thread.

--Spike

 

 

^^ So it's real? If it's real, just say so (not sure what the "devil" face means).

--Spike

 

It aint no devil face mang its Spiderman

 

Will bring it to the dealership ASAP. The only thing im thinking about is that it only happens the first 10-15 minutes or so and by the time I'm there the grinding will be very minimal or not at all. And you know dealers are the shadiest with warranty

 

^^ I had that much figured out, but still wondering if your post is "legit." I only ask because this question has been asked and answered so many times here.

If you are really wondering about this, a Search will provide a great deal of information.

--Spike

 

I drive an '05. Also, I do let it warm up for about 10-15 minutes before I drive off.