Sticky: (Official) 370Z Clutch Pressure (CSC) Failures

Misnomer

This might be the issue with my clutch!

On Sunday, after an hour of highway driving, at ~60MPH I hit both the clutch and brake pedals hard to avoid a BMW that suddenly wanted to be where I was. The next time I needed the clutch (a few seconds later), the pedal went to the floor and stuck there. Luckily I was able to pull to the shoulder and get it unstuck, but ever since it just hasn't felt right. Today I decided to get it checked out: I have a service appointment for Thursday morning (I need the car tomorrow), but in the meantime I thought I'd come here in case anyone had an idea of what might have happened.

I don't think my car is under warranty anymore: it's a 40th, so it's four years old (though it only has 20,000 miles on it). I didn't read all 27 pages of this thread, so I don't know if cost has been discussed, but I'm worried about it being an expensive fix. Mostly I'm worried about this becoming a recurring problem. Meh.

JARblue

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

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ajc1884

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

Chuck33079

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

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

JARblue

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

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Misnomer

Thank you, JARblue!

kuyo

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.

z man

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)..

1slow370

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

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JARblue

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

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kuyo

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

DIGItonium

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.

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90 ST

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

z man

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!

kuyo

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