I have an '03 350z and I'm having the problem that I see tons of other people having: grinding into third gear. Under normal conditions it's not bad, it usually won't grind in the slightest way, but if it's very cold outside, or if I'm trying to shift fast it's grinds harder than anything I've ever seen. I want to get the cb009 transmission, but I'm not sure the dealership will install one for me if I ask them to do that instead of rebuild my transmission. Anyway back to my point, I have three modifications to my car: aem cold air intake, magnaflow exhaust, and berk technology test pipes, when I pull up into the dealership parking lot it will be very apparent that the car is no longer stock because it's very loud, but as far as I'm concerned, those modifications make no difference to any sort of wear on my transmission. Would they still have to fix my transmission or would they say my warranty has been voided? Also, if I made a claim for a problem with my transmission, and they agreed to fix it, if they saw the test pipes and tried voiding my warranty as far as the engine goes could I fight that since I made no claims about the exhaust or engine?

 

What kind of bumper to bumper warranty do you have? Your Z is now 11 years old and I doubt that any kind of NIssan warranty would still be valid.

 

I got it a little over a year ago, paid for an extra 36,000/3yr warranty

 

Nissan doesnt see it that way but I think you'll be ok. I had my transmission replaced back in 2006 with a stillen cat-back and the AEM setup and they didnt care. I also had a factory trained service tech (at a private shop) do my leg work. I'm sure every dealership and/or service manager is different but this wont be the first modified Z they've seen. Keep us posted.

 

Well today I ended up throwing the stock cats and intake back in, but I did strip out the interior a couple months ago and I don't see why that would be an issue. I didn't want to risk voiding my warranty so that's why I took the 3 hours to put the stock cats and intake back. If they do say anything about my interior being stripped I will just argue that it has nothing to do with the transmission and that's what I'm trying to get fixed.

 

Regards, Drifter: "The FTC says the manufacturer or dealer must show that the aftermarket or recycled part caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage."

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles...ne-maintenance

 

So, I have an update on things so far. The dealership called back, and as with many other '03 350z's my synchros were going out. I have to wait 5 more days for the adjuster to see the part and see if it's covered under warranty. They said that if the transmission fluid is burnt, they aren't going to cover it. I don't think it is, the only things wrong with the transmission really are things that are commonly associated with the synchros going out. So if the fluid was bad I would think other things would be going wrong, and grinding in more than just 3rd gear. Hopefully this is fixed under warranty. I'll post more if I find out more.

 

So I got the car back a couple days ago, new clutch, whole new tranny, and new lower front control arms. Still need to get the rear differential bushing fixed but as far as the warranty goes, that wasn't covered so I'm getting it done somewhere else for cheaper. They didn't care about the stripped out interior or the magnaflow mufflers. I'm ditching that anyway and straight piping it tomorrow though. Anyway, that pretty much is all there is to it.

 

Regards, Drifter: READ your warranty--- if it covers "bushings", then the differential bushing is also covered. Problem is, a Nissan dealership will not replace the bushing only, it's considered an integral component of the rear sub-frame. To replace it, it becomes a $1400 (+-) job. Read your warranty carefully.