CSC Symptoms but Stealership said clutch went.. scammed?
 

So i brought my 09 370Z in with the symptoms of a failed CSC. Shifted perfectly, just lost pressure one day. Could still shift just a low engagement point, 20% maybe? They bled the system, said there was just alot of air in it, they test drove it and said it was good to go. I went to pick it up the next day, paid $230 and while waiting they came around and said they couldnt get it into gear. Well they "didnt get around to it" the next day, so the following day they call me and tell me my "clutch spring" is bad and id need to pay $1600 to have them change the clutch and flywheel. WHAT? Am i being scammed or what? Thanks!

Posted in CSC thread also but i figured I'd start a new thread
too as its also a specific clutch/stealership issue. Needed a quick reply since im trying to get my car fixed and want opinions. It's been a week now ��

How many miles?

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Around 55k. Shifted perfectly with NO SYMPTOMS WHATSOEVER of anything being wrong with the clutch before.

Seems like the clutch slave to me! Is it the original one slave?

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I'm assuming. Got it around 2 years ago with around 40k on it. I just can't see needing a new clutch all of a sudden when it was perfect before.

Yea dude if its the stock one, almost positive its your slave. How can air get in the system if its never been opened.

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Thats what i told them. I also made it clear i work on my own cars usually but with the heat and not wanting to drop a trans under my car on jackstands, i figured i'd let them take care of it lol figured it help with not getting scammed. Thanks for the quick replies!

I hate dealers. Dude put a upgraded one in that z. That what i did. My slave went exactly at 30,000 miles.

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I always tell everyone how easy it is for mechanics to screw you and thats why i do my own work. And the FIRST TIME I ever brought a car to a mechanic, i get screwed lol my luck.

Usually how it goes bro. Are they installing a new clutch?

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You know if they install another oem one, youre gonna have the same issue down the road

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I told them not to do anything until i figure this **** out. Called corporate and filed a complaint hoping it gets me somewhere. Supposed to hear back from them before the end of today. But yeah, i plan on putting a z1 or zspeed external CSC on after i get it back from them. I feel like with all the **** i look up on Z's, i'd have come by this before lol first time hearing about it unfortunately. Wish i knew before i let them have it.

Iirc, the Z1 version has to be adjusted. The ZSpeed 1 does not. I've got about 5k miles on my ZSpeed and it's been perfect. My OEM 1 went right at 11k.

I have the zspeed internal slave on my z and its been awesome! I have 50,000 miles on mine. New slave went in at 30k

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I'm a little iffy about putting another internal in considering youd have to drop the tranny anytime something went wrong with it. The less internal parts the better imo. But well see.. i do like the idea of not having to adjust every 10k miles but from what i hear, its relatively painless.

Hey OP, when you replace your CSC, make sure you replace you CMC at the same time.. they both must be replaced. AND if you're going to replace your CSC, you may want to think about maybe upgrading your clutch and flywheel since your transmission is already dropped and open.. perfect chance to get something better than OEM. Just my .02 cents...

Just an FYI, I bought my Z new, and didnt want to take any chances, I replaced my CSC at 7k miles. Upgraded the clutch and flywheel too.

Zspeed CMAK here, loving it so far!

Yeah, i have both the Zspeed CMAK and the CMC in the cart right now. Was also considering getting a clutch/flywheel combo from Z1 but im not familiar with any of them so not sure yet. But if i can get Nissan to fix my car for free(which im not counting on), im not sure I'd really want to have to drop money on a new clutch/flywheel if the clutch was fine on it. Especially if they put a new one in since "the spring broke and i need a new clutch and flywheel". But we'll see whenever corporate calls me back today. But smart move! If I'd known about this sooner, id have gotten it done when i bought it too!

Did it come with new lines? Are they steel braided? Cant find info on that.. thanks for the input. Thats the one im leaning towards!

If I were going to have this work done, I wouldn't have your dealer do it.. I'd take it to a reputable shop.

The ONLY way the dealer would touch anything else on my car is if they're doing it for free since they misdiagnosed and are trying to force me to have a new clutch/flywheel installed after it was "perfect" when they test drove it and i paid. But like i said, i doubt my claim with work out in my favor. IF they do fix it, ill take it to a different shop to get the CMAK and CMC (a friend directed me to another one im already discussing the situation to). But if they screw me, im taking it to the other shop to have the CMAK AND CMC installed. So either way, its going there. Dealership will just (hopefully) get it back up and running before then.

Came with new lines, but not steel braided (unless you ask for steel braided - couple extra bucks).

Gotcha. Thanks man!

Re-reading your original post, my opinion is you're definitely being scammed. If you're experiencing CSC failure, bleeding and replacing the fluid is not a long term solution. At best, it's a band-aid fix of a more serious problem that will get you a few extra miles out of it. Losing pressure again after bleeding is to be expected.

The dealership replacing your clutch probably WILL fix the problem - but only if they get a new slave cylinder in there as part of the fix. As for actually needing a new clutch, I've heard that if the slave leaks fluid on the friction disk, that can necessitate replacement. I can't say I've experienced that personally though.

Tl;dr - you're being scammed.

Thanks. I figured. But he ONLY said the clutch spring broke and that was the final problem. Which leads me to believe hes full of **** considering that doesnt even make sense or tie into the symptoms im dealing with. I agree, total scam.

If you caught the slave early in the game youll be fine without replacing the clutch. Thats what i did. Ive been fine since. The hd slave works wonders, thats what i did again lol. I went a step further and added the rjm clutch pedal and master cylinder and the car is a blast and worry free now! And i do tons of city driving and works like a champ!.

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I'd ask him which "Clutch spring" broke, just to make him uncomfortable. There is the clutch helper spring, in the cabin of your car, which literally just assists in pushing the clutch pedal back up and is maybe a $10, 15 minute replacement.

Other than that, there is no "clutch spring".

I was practically yelling at the dude and had to hang up or i would've pressed the spring bs further. He ended the convo with "customer service isnt going to help you". The only spring i can think of are the springs on the actual friction plate. Or the diaphragm "spring". I told whoever i talked to in Nissan customer service that he's saying a spring broke on the clutch but i know enough to know thats bs. Still waiting for this call... should be an interesting conversation.

Yeah the day it happen i stopped driving it and it sat until i brought it to them. But cant wait to drive my damn car again..

It happens bro. Mine went on my birthday! I didnt wanna do it at the time, so i paid one of my boys $400 bucks to have new hd clutch slave, new clutch master and a b&m short throw installed. Car was great, then after a year the oem clutch master cylinder went on me, put a napa luke one in and sure enough that went after a year. Until i put a rjm one in. So far so good! FYI the short throw was my birthday present

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Wish i had a boy that'd do it for $400 lol i dont trust anyone anymore. I had a "friend of a friend" detail my paint for me to get swirls out and he destroyed my paint. Looks like its covered in tooth paste because he buffed it without cleaning it(my guess anyway). Denied everything and i was beat. Now this lol my life.

The springs on the friction plate did come to my mind. I don't know what it would take to break one of those.

Look up the group VQ Philly on Facebook and tell them Josh Larson sent you. Once in, message Joey Mac and ask him if he can do your clutch. He should quote you around $400 for it. You'd need to get to his location (West Chester, PA), but he did an awesome job for me.

Does he have a shop? No offense to either of you but after getting screwed with my paint job, it'd be hard to trust someone to do my clutch or anything without them having insurance. Not that it matters apparently since im getting screwed by a dealership but still haha ill join in either way though

He both has his own shop and works for Infiniti of West Chester.

Thanks man, i appreciate it.

Update for anyone who'd read this.. brought my 370 to another mechanic and he said they never even checked the clutch and that it was working perfectly. Just the csc like i said. He told me he wouldnt charge extra labor if i wanted to upgrade clutch and flywheel since its already open so i did. Dealership dodged me for a few weeks when i called them about the tech that lied about my clutch having a "broken spring". I got fed up and made a REALLY bad review explaining what happened to me and how bad they were about it. They called me an hour later and had a refund ready for me the next day... guess now they have time for me. BUT told me i had to take the review down to get my refund. So thats where im at now lol thanks again for your replies back when i posted this.

Take the review down, cash the check, repost the review. They want to be shady, then **** them.

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