Push your dealer to cover it under the 5yr/60K powertrain warranty. Some dealers will even though NNA has told one member on here that the clutch is not part of the powertrain warranty. My argument would be wearable clutch parts are not covered, but the CSC is not a wearable part. Also, if the CSC fails, the CMC need replacing, too.

Unfortunately, if you do get it replaced under warranty, it is the same crappy, plastic OEM pos that they put in there. So you might be looking at a recurring problem.

There are two solid aftermarket options that are available to you. I definitely recommend one of these two if you have to pay out of pocket. They will solve the problem for you. Both companies are forum sponsors that you can PM on the forum with any questions, too.

ZSpeed Heavy Duty CSC

Z1 Motorsports CSC Elimination Kit

Does anyone know what model year Z's are known to have this potential problem???

2009-2014 for sure. Any model that used a slave with plastic internals.

As far as I know the OEM design of the CSC has not changed. So 2009-current.

Thank you, JARblue! :tiphat:

FYI, I got 8,000 miles out of the replacement CSC/CMC using GTR brake fluid. You may get more, or maybe less...there is no warning given and for sure, it will fail again!

The dealership called: they don't see anything wrong with the clutch, but they recommended replacing the fluid. They also recommended replacing the brake fluid. I said "sure" to both; can't hurt. It's not like the clutch doesn't work now, so I guess I'll just keep truckin' for the time being. If/when it happens again, though, I'll replace the CSC and CMC with aftermarket parts.

VIN: 563373
Purchase Date: 03/21/2014
Occurrence Date:5/2/2014
Occurrence Mileage: 7000
Clutch Type: OEM

Same story different car...It did this when I was at a tech meet 5 weeks ago but after I pulled over and gave it 10 mins and pump the crap out the clutch it came back to normal....Then today after getting gas,the clutch hit the floor and I couldn't shift gears if I put it in neutral. Limp it all the way home in 3rd. Tow truck just took it away..Only had my Nismo for about 2 months now.

Here's the US Gov't website to file a complaint. (Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)), maybe if enough people file their complaint, a recall will be issued. This has been and will be an on-going problem, like it was and is in years past with the 350z, and the same part. Conduct a search of the 350Z, and 370Z (under power train, and you will see that the saga continues)..

better yet search ANY new nissan that has a manual trans offered every nissan slave has these issues.

They are made with plastic internal components. It's just stupid.

just got the call from the Baker Nissan..same story..their gonna dump GTR fluid in it and give it a test drive. They check out the CSC and from what they seen it doesn't need replacing which they have to go by the Nissan warranty guide lines whihc is dump GTR fluid in it.

Noted probably1 of our best 370z mechanic's in Houston Jason is working on my nismo

Edit:Update 5/12
Well the GTR fluid didn't work...When My oil temp got close to 220, the peddle start sticking to the floor again so Baker Nissan is now replacing my master slave cylinder no questions asked

for future owners, thsi seems to be the key to the problem...this happenned to me as well..when the temp gets to around 220, if your having any kind of CSC or CMC problem, your pedal will STF

Oil temps don't matter, but clutch fluid does. Those who track end up boiling the fluid, and the pedal can sink to the floor when it hits those temps. My pedal sunk to the floor without any warning as I was pulling out of the parking lot at work, so everything was still "cold." The little rubber ring in the CSC dislodged itself.

Well i've now had both CMC and CSC done twice in 4 years, which for me is about 275000kms.

Hot or cold brake fluid doesn't matter, when the plastic O ring in the CSC fails, it fails. The reservoir will be empty and the fluid will drain out. The Service bulletin requires dealerships to fill the car with Dot 5 or Nissan GTR brake fluid to treat the symptoms of a sticking clutch pedal. This may prolong the problem, but it does not correct or solve the problem. The design of the part (using plastic parts) is the reason for the on-going CSC failure....it doesn't have anything to do with driving the car hard (as the dealership TRIED to allege, when my first one failed)...btw, I don't drive my car fast or hard.

Fact: If you have a Nissan CSC, it will routinely fail regardless of how you drive or service the car!

well either way if it fails again I'm going to see if I can get the Z-speed or anything aftermarket period since the OEM seems to be worthless no matter what you do

This is on my list if my zspeed slave ever fails:

Z1 Motorsports Clutch Concentric Slave Cylinder Elimination Kit

Fail 3 times any component, Lemon Law!

Has anyone successfully, besides MrAurora, had their CSC replaced under the powertrain warranty? Nissan is fighting me on this right now, but I'm throwing documentation right back in their face. The entire fix is $1100, which is absolutely absurd. I drive an 09 manual with 42,000 miles on it. She's babied and everything. Really pisses me off that SO many 350z/370z/G37 owners have had this EXACT same problem and there hasn't been a recall. If anyone has filed a case with Nissan America and won, I would greatly appreciate your insight and your case number, so I can prove to Nissan that this IS a widespread problem - and that they've acknowledged it in some cases.

.... And going on time number 4 it looks like at this point. Have had it only about 3 months now, and it's just turning 40K miles on our Z and we have had ours replaced 3 times now, and one of the tell tail signs "Blinking Cruise Light" is one of the symptoms we noticed the other 2 times, and it's happening again. Looks like we will be watching for the pedal drop .... SMH! I think if it happens again like this, i'm pushing for Replacement, this is just such BULLS****

Damn that sucks. I haven't read thru all the pages but are you getting master replaced at the same time?
Since the mod shops recommend replacing the master when you get hd csc, wouldn't the same apply to stock?

just got mine replaced under warranty @ 21xxx miles. Nissan has a sick sense of humor, because they gave me a juke clown car to drive around in the mean time.

LOL :icon18:

Hey don't joke about the Jukes, their nismo version get better diff and seats than 09-14 nismo Z lol

So I can't tell if it's my csc or possibly my master that's screwed but I would assume.my csc. My clutch has been perfectly fine for months until the other day it started to lose a little pressure. If I kept pumping the pedal it would gain some pressure back but the pedal would never stick to the floor.

So i decided to bleed the csc and see if I just had air in there and now my pedal has no pressure left at all. Tried bleeding iy again today and still nothing. So safe to assume it's the csc?

got the same problem today .. steering lock a month ago and now this !!

Bananaz, my personal experience is similar to yours. Pedal never went to the floor before I started bleeding the system. I'm pretty sure it was just the master. I replaced the CSC with the Z1 CSCEK as a preventative measure. The OEM CSC seemed to be in ok shape upon removal.

I would try just the CMC first (if the downtime is an option). I recommend you bench bleed the CMC when you install it. If you do replace the CSC, be sure you replace the CMC also.

I was thinking of doing that actually. I'll buy both but I'll bench bleed the new master and I install it and bleed the system again and see if jt works

Still don't understand how this isn't an actual recall

You and me both, brother :shakes head:

I've argued with three different dealerships about it and even spoken with NNA twice. They won't budge on powertrain warranty coverage or even acknowledge that a problem exists.

Ridiculous. I was fine after I replaced the master and switched to rbf600 fluid but now it started again except this time I'm losing a lot of fluid so the csc is def leaking

A recall has not been issued as there has not been enough complaints filed with the federal gov't (website Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)), regarding this problem. A lot of people who have this problem will complain on this forum but (for some reason) will not file a complaint with the gov't, which would prompt them to conduct research or initiate a recall. Recalls normally starts when many customers file complaints about a defective part. If only a few people complain, then the gov't doesn't see this as a mass problem. The steering wheel lock recall was prompted by numerous people filing complaints with the NHTSA.GOV. IJS

I just caved in and bought the z1 cscek. If you think about it, what good would a recall do? Everyone would just get another plastic csc that would fail again. It would just leave you stranded.

Going to take it to the experts this time... see if they can put another faulty CSC in so she drives again.. lol
Tow truck is on the way with my baby now! ;-)


For those of you having the same issue... if you have the diagnosis paperwork from anytime you might have had this fixed please contact:

Marash @ customer care ext 457354 and she will create a ticket to hopefully escalate to HQ. LETS GET THIS THING RECALLED!

FYI clutch is covered under drive train if you didn't know.

thanks.

Just replaced mine with the z speed csc. The oem one was beyond soaked

I just had my MSC and CSC replaced back in February of this year. I went out to go to work one morning and the clutch peddle was on the floor. I could drive the car, but barely. Had about an inch or so of engaugment. I called my dealership to arrange to get it down there during my lunch. When I went to take it there, I had no peddle at all. Had to get it towed. They eventually replaced my MSC and CSC, which they said was shot. It worked great.

Then last night going home from work, I notice the peddle is getting soft and mushy again and not engaging when it should. This morning driving to work, I almost didnt have enough peddle to change gears and had to pull the peddle up off the floor a few times. I pulled off the freeway and called the dealership, who said they would have to call me back ...:shakes head:

So i figured I would try to limp it to work as I was pretty close. At least I could wait for their callback in my office. At this point, it had been 10 minutes since I pulled off the freeway. When I tried to drive back to work, the clutch worked fine!? ... for about 5 minutes, then started to lose pressure again.

I tested it out at lunch today. It seems it act up when I drive for a bit (after 10 min or so) and more so at freeway speeds when I don't shift for a while. If im in city traffic, and pump it for a bit, it returns to normal for a little while. I have full fluid. Im not rough on the car at all. I thought I had this taken care of about 6 months ago!

You need to replace it with the z speed csc and you're set!

Update
 

So the dealership never got back to me... of course. So I tried to limp the car home after work. The clutch engagement got so bad that I had to pull off the road as I was having trouble shifting gears. The odd thing was that the clutch came back to normal after having the car off for only about 10 seconds! So I started driving home, but it only took about 60 seconds for the problem to return, but at least I could get her home.

HMMMMM.....

All I did was stop the engine, so I concluded that my issue had to be heat related. ie: boiling fluid. Now back when I got my MCS and CSC replaced, they noted that they put in the Nissan GT-R hydraulic fluid which is supposed to be rated to take the heat.

I really didnt want to deal with the hassle and the dealership (or the cost), so I decided to just bleed the clutch myself. I used MotorMedic DOT 5 fluid from GUNK:
Amazon.com: Motor Medic by Gunk M4011/12 DOT 5 Brake Fluid - 11 oz.: Automotive
UPDATE TO UPDATE:
DO NOT USE U.S. DOT 5!!! UUUGGGHHHH.... Apparently the site I was reading has a DIFFERENT spec for "DOT 5". DOT 5 is NOT COMPATIBLE with DOT 4 and below... Even though I didnt mix the DOT 5 and old fluid, DOT 5 is not good for the seals. So I am going to immediately flush out the DOT 5 with DOT 4 when I get home from work.

It was the only thing O'Reilly Auto Parts had that was rated for 356°F (wet boil) and 500°F (dry boil). When I bleed the old fluid out, it was full of bubbles and black. Definitely didn't look good. WTH?? After 6 months of typical commute driving (~15 miles each way)?

Being that the MotorMedic was DOT 5 and can't be mixed with DOT 4 and below, I used the entire 11 oz bottle to flush out the old fluid until the new (purple) fluid came out clear any without bubbles.

Result:
Clutch felt great, so I took her for a spin around the block. No issues. This morning during the commute to work, I had zero problems. We'll see if anything acts up in the next few weeks.

:driving:

yea i think it says in the manual not to use dot 5. :/