Whistle noise on cold startup 2018 Sport Tech
 

Hey guys/gals. On cold startups usually in the mornings I get a somewhat loud whistle type noise and then when I press the clutch once it goes away almost completely. Weird. Is this normal?

See the video below:

https://youtu.be/CkCH7tT6zPo

Do you drive you car daily? Mine stays in the garage and if I go a few days without driving, it makes a slight chirping noise for like 2 sexond, but if I cold start again after a day of driving, then it doesn’t do it. Car only has 29k miles.

Yes. I do daily drive it. But yes it does happen more than so often on cold (2 days have passed) starts.


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I just heard that today on my 2016 Z sport mt.
Its like a howl. I found this on youtube. He has the exact same problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks2KCo5LD6M

Any fix? any concern?

YES. 2017 NIsmo. I had this happen last year. EXACT same symptoms. 2 days resting and cold start, a whining noise. Would go away once clutch was pressed. Would not occur on DD and warm days. Comes back like clockwork after 48 hours and cold start or cold days.

I was under warranty, so they changed the CSC /release bearing and Pilot bushing.

Seemed to have fixed it.

Advance to 2019 and few weeks ago. Noise has come back!

While they did the CSC, I had them replace the tranny fluid. They told me it was a little dark, but ok. No metal.

No shifting issues or clutch issues however.

I'm guessing something that gets lubricated has it's oil running out after sitting for 24-48 hours. Just a guess.

I have a dozen phone videos, I have to see how I can post them up here.

zz

Any fix or ideas?

zz

I noticed mine today. Around 60-70° cold start morning. I stepped on gas and whined harder. It sounded like from the exhaust system just under the shifter. 30-40mins to work. Gone. Start up during lunch. Nothing.


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From what I have been told by techs and other Z owners, this is quite normal on the 6 speed manual. Apparently our transmissions are inherently noisy.

Nissan was being hip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUXow3d3-b0

The solution to your problem is to get a louder exhaust. Then you'll never hear that sound again.

Yes, but that is another issue/inherent noise. I know what you are talking about.

This is a momentary sound that goes away with clutch actuation. Never to be heard of again until resting for 48 hours.

I own a 2016 sport package 370z with 37k miles. I have the exact same whistling noise issue. It will only happen during a cold start, and if I rev the engine it gets even louder. As soon as I press the clutch once the noise is gone. I don’t daily my car either.

Our girls need lots of lube.

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It’s a lil over 22 hours since I last had the car on. When I started up nothing. Then that howl/whine started. Press the clutch in and slowly let it out. Gone.


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Yeah, that's it. I'll try to post videos. Have to figure out how.

zz

It's been roughly 37 hours since I last had my Z turned on. This morning I tried it another way. Hold my Clutch down and started the Z. Keep it on till the speedo needles effect finished. Slowly let off the clutch and no whistling.

You're just masking a potential problem. No? I'd rather hear and document it. Try to figure out what that is.

It's not happening to every Z out there, but apparently its inherent. My next guess is clutch then transmission.

mine makes this noise as well. i've driven/ridden other vehicles with a similar noise, i'm quite sure it's the clutch.

i don't have any special knowledge about the Z - i've only owned mine for a few months - but if you look at an automotive-style clutch assembly you'll see lots of opportunity for noise when not engaged. probably it goes away when it warms up simply because when everything tightens up a bit when it gets warm.

my moto guzzi makes quite a racket when cold. i'm far more familiar with motorbikes which is why i'm saying things like 'automotive-style'.

i strongly suspect that every car does this, or would, had the engineers not spent the time to mask it. likely in a sports car like the Z the engineers were less concerned with mechanical noise.

also, i'm in burnaby so hi neighbour. :hello:

Have an appointment with Nissan this coming Tuesday. They are giving me a loaner so they can hold the car overnight and hopefully create the noise after sitting for a while. Fingers cross.

Make sure you leave it for a COUPLE cold nights, OUTSIDE. Usually dealerships have tents or covered areas in their lots.

I also made sure I was present the day they wanted to do the start, and to start it in my presence.

A pain in the a$$ and hard to get schedule to fit, but it's worth your while.

These dealers will simply not believe you or your videos etc. Their hands are tied by Nissan, because they wont get paid if they can't prove it. Either by physical evidence or multiple witnesses. In my case, service manager and two mechanics.

Good luck and PLEASE let us know what they come up with.

Thanks

ZZ

HI neighbour! :driving:

Here you go. My first attempt at Youtube and videos.

https://youtu.be/zQWlxcsxOlo

The Nissan service center just called. It's the throw out bearing and CSC what is causing the whistle. I tried asking them if I get the Zspeed elimination kit can they install it. They said I would have to talk to manager, but if anything goes bad they can't warranty it. I'm praying they have a newer CSC. We will see. I guess when my warranty runs out I'm going to Zspeed route.

Yeah, they replaced my CSC and pilot bushing. The noise has come back. So it wont fix the problem. That might not be the problem/sound.

The CSC is prone to failure and/or leaking. Never was known to make a noise problem. It would cause the clutch pedal to be stuck or no actuation if you lost all the fluid.

I don't think they upgraded the CSC, but may have improved manufacturing process. Cant say for sure.

I'm going to drive on this second CSC and make more notes of it. See if noise is consistent again.

I wont do CMAK till warranty is over.

Did you see/hear my video? same sound?

They have not made a more robust CSC.

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I don't trust Nissan to install any aftermarket parts. My dos centavos, find a good transmission shop - not a chain, tho. I did some googling and drove around until I found a shop with a pristine '57 Chevy and an immaculate surplus HMMWV parked outside. Figured they must have a good reputation and I was right.

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Yeah. It’s the same sound. They did hear the noise on mine. Will see.


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I figure if they had the out. they could swap it in.

I read somewhere there's a new part # for CSC.

That's all it is. New number. Nothing has changed.

"The CSC has been failing for 10 years; this seems like a design flaw."
"Well, let's change the part # first and see if that fixes it."

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I wouldn't be surprised to hear the new part number was just some maneuver to avoid reaching a certain number of documented CSC-failures that might trigger a recall.

Got my Z back.. New CSC with new part # 306A1-JK40E, new throwout bearing, and flush the line with GT-R fluid. The bite point is lower now. 1/3 of from the floor. I thought they fk-up. Turned around and had the tech look at it and test drove. I kept think they messed up. But he said everything was normal. Told me to drive it and if I still worried they can adjust it, but said it won't be good for the clutch.

my 2016 base manual does it too
 

My Z is literally at the dealers right now for this exact issue.

Did the replacement parts fix the problem (the whistle)?

Thanks.

transmission replaced
 

After my dealer kept the car and heard the noise for themselves they, under warranty, replaced my transmission and CSC. The dealer called it and 'internal failure.'

In addition to this 'whistle' noise that is discussed in this thread, I noticed a couple other things which have now gone away since this work was done.

First, the original trans was way noisy. I know ppl say the Z is noisy, but with the new trans and CSC, when I let the clutch out, its near perfect silence...near silence. There is still some noise (not the 'whistle' being discussed here) but its much less and now in hind sight I'd suggest this is much more normal manual transmission noise than what I heard with the original trans.

Second, I have read others talk about this but its difficult to describe however if you've felt what I'm about to describe you'll know what I'm talking about. With the original trans / CSC there would be 'cavitation' 'vibration' 'buffering' sometimes when releasing the clutch, from a stop, while in first. Its like the clutch wasn't engaging as it should and the flywheel and clutch plate were glancing off each other rapidly. I initially chalked this up to a sensitive clutch and maybe my own fault at not releasing the clutch smoothly. However since the new trans and CSC I have not felt this and would say the clutch engages much more predictably and reliably. I guess I'm not such a shitty driver after all...

I have not heard the 'whistle' since the work has been done, but I have not let the car sit for longer than over night as I wanted to drive it and verify I'm happy with the work. The whistle generally showed up after letting the car sit for days or really cold weather. So still looking to verify this is truly resolved, but dam they replaced the trans...this better be resolved.

So far, with the little amount of driving I've done, I'm pretty happy. The clutch is more consistent and things feel tight. Getting it into 5th is a little stiff, but the new trans has 100 miles on it, so not even broken in.

Overall, I give props to the dealer. They were accommodating and surprised the hell out of me with the suggestion of replacing the trans. They gave me a loaner car, a Kicks, which was EXACTLY like driving a Z. LOL!!! Not!!!

Now onto a new differential, coil-overs and possibly forced induction.

I also suspect the Transmission. Dealer replaced CSC and pilot bushing. Noise went away initially but Came back a few days later. Not as pronounced, but same type of sound. Hasn't really done it since. Car is now in Hibernation, so we'll see in few more months.

I really couldn't grasp why a CSC would squeal on cold starts. It always has fluid, the actual "Slave" portion Is just an actuator. Leaves only the Bearing portion, which is not lubricated (sealed), but just spins. Correct me if I'm wrong.

While in Idle, in Neutral, clutch NOT depressed, transmission main shaft should be spinning. Noise is there.

Press clutch to floor (idle, neutral) noise goes away. Don't even need to warm up. How the CSC behaves in this manner, is what I don't understand.

Leads me to think Transmission is not getting lubrication where required after sitting for a few days. (oil has flowed away)