CSC/CMC problems at only 1000 miles
 

Hey guys, so I recently picked up a 2012 Nismo from a fellow forum member. Unfortunatley, he didnt get to drive it very much at all. I took ownership at just around 900 miles on the car. The other day the wife and I had a small trip, and towards the end I noticed that typical loss of clutch pressure when I tried downshifting from 6th to 5th. After a few pumps the issue would resolve, but only to occur again after a long stretch in 6th gear. My question is whether anyone has had CSC issues at such low mileage or if this could be an issue of the car sitting for so long. (It was run every so often, just not for very long). The fluid level is still showing at max, but im considering flushing the fluid anyways. Thoughts?

Somebody started a thread for people to report CSC/CMC failures. If you can't find it using the site's search, go to any of the major web search engines and add "site:the370z.com" to your search string. Eg, "CSC failure site:the370z.com"

CSC and CMC failure is a all to common failure on our Z’s it does not really matter how high or low the mileage it is inevitable really depends on how you’re Z was used? The last owner may have abused the vehicle? Track duty? Consistent fluid changes may help life but not by a lot though. Taking long trips with you’re Z in that condition is really chancing it. You would be better off renting a vehicle to take on long trips. Since you’re Z is a manual look into getting a Z Speed Performance CMAK Kit CSC Delete,RJM Performance heavy duty CMC, RJM Performance petal as soon as possible ,and also I would check the condition of your clutch/flywheel and see if it needs replacement.

Thanks, I'll look into those. I doubt the car was abused, perhaps a long trip was just too much for a vehicle that sat for a while

A 2012 model with just 900 miles? Holy hibernation!

Lol no kidding. I was very lucky to have come across one of our members who had to part with it

I would change to fluid to Motul RBF 600 and see what happens. I have driven 2 Nismo's on the stock CSC/CMC for over 60k miles each. I feel the Motul RBF 600 fluid has helped on the survival level.

definitely get fresh fluid in there, over the years it may have absorbed enough moisture to cause that intermittent issue.
2nd Motul RBF600

The Motul RBF 600 fluid has many benefits using it in you’re Z. This fluid will hold up on the street or track whatever you use you’re Z for. Over the years you probably build up moisture in your system definitely flush that old flush out of there you will be glad you did.

just curious how this is different than other synthetic brake fluid in keeping the rubber seals in good health under normal driving condition (non track)?

I have used the Castrol stuff. It just didn't last long at all. The Motul RBF 600 I can go several oil changes before I need to exchange the fluid due to it getting nasty brown color. I can say the Motul is awesome. I can't say that about other brake fluid. Do what you want. That's all I will use.

Boiling point and flash point of Motul RBF 600 will be much higher.

The hard line+hose that runs from the master to the slave is close to the cat. Your older fluid probably absorbed moisture, making the boil point even lower. If you crawl under and look, you will see that even under normal driving you could potentially have an issue.

Probably no better than any of the other top-quality brands - at this point - but it does seem to be the favorite for many on this site.

Since it appears that your CMC is going out (if it were the CSC, you'd be losing fluid), I'd flush the entire system (including CSC) to remove any trash and refill with a good-quality fluid (it will be replaced soon, so no sense using the high-dollar stuff; just don't cheap out) until you can get at least the CMC replaced. YMMV