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

Zbrah · 06-20-2015, 08:13 PM

Stay calm and lift the pedal with your toes

DIGItonium · 06-20-2015, 08:19 PM

It wasn't subtle for me. Backed out of parking lot, and it was feeling fine. Pulled out and got into 2nd, and it failed immediately. I barely had 1" of pressure to get it moving back before stalling several times.

TheNismo · 06-21-2015, 02:09 AM

Well when mine went to the floor, I pulled over and ran down to the gas station and picked up some brake fluid and filled up the reservoir.. then pumped the clutch to get the air out while constantly checking the reservoir to fill it back up until it was decent to drive home...

Ordering my HD CSC and other parts from Zspeed on Monday!

BamBamZ · 06-21-2015, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KoolKarmaJoe

Master and Slave cylinders were replaced at 30k miles under warranty. ECM replaced as well in that time. Guess what? My clutch pedal only returns 40% of the way. I will never buy another Nissan again and will make sure my friends and family are aware of how unreliable their cars are. This includes "premium" models as well. I was considering upgrading to the GTR but not after this.

Does anyone know if Nissan has ever made any "official" statements about the CSC failures that so many of us have experienced? Or is trying to get a answer from them like Beating a Dead Horse?

[/QUOTE]

For what it's worth... It's also a common issue on 6 speed manual Tacoma's and FJ Cruisers.

My X-Runner was on the way with the throwout bearing squeeling, People have complained about similar issues with their trucks just being off the dealership floor for a few months. Every car has it's weak points... But it's still ridiculous no less.

BamBamZ · 06-21-2015, 11:05 AM

I posted this on Nissans facebook page

Quote:

"Anything on possibly fixing the common Clutch Slave Cylinder issue that is plaguing late 350z's, G37's and 370z's?... At 31K miles my clutch slave cylinder gave out on my Nissan 370z Touring/Sport and upon further research I found it's a common issue.
http://www.the370z.com/…/25007-stick...essure-…
I opened a complaint with NHTSA because it's a safety issue when you're just rolling and the clutch pedal just falls to the floor, In my case I was in the middle of a 4 way intersection and kept stalling past my turn to go until I was able to limp it to a parking lot. I am trying to get as many people on The370z.com forum to do the same. Other than that, it's a fantastic car..."

and got this response

Quote:

"Hi Alan - Thanks for reaching out to us with your concerns. Have you had a chance to have your vehicle diagnosed at a Nissan dealership? Please private message us your contact information, VIN, name of the servicing dealership and the diagnosis and our social media support team can look into this for you first thing Monday morning. Thanks - Sarah, Nissan Community Manager"

Anyone else care to weigh in on the subject in a PM to Nissan?

EDIT: Here's my novel I sent to Nissan... at the end I included my contact info but I didn't copy that to paste it on here.

"I am happy with my newish to me 2009 Nissan 370z that I purchased through Carmax with 25k miles for the most part... But a few weeks ago as I drove 50+ miles away from home to go on a date of all things my beloved Z failed me... After picking up the date we got about 2 miles from his home and as I was leaving a stop light to turn right on a red the clutch pedal fell to the floor. I was able to pump it to get it to move but not after stalling about 4 times in a panic since I was in the middle of the intersection with oncoming cars. Fortunately we were not hit and I was able to limp it to nearby parking lot where I had to wait 2 hours for "AAA", Ultimately ruining my date that I have yet to make up for and a weekend of trying to figure out why my beloved Z failed me.

The very next morning (saturday) I looked into scheduling an appointment with my local Nissan Dealership (Tracy, California) but online scheduling said they were booked until Tuesday. I didn't wan't to leave my Z outside (she's spoiled by being garaged) and conveniently I have a buddy I made by using his expertise before on my previous Toyota Tacoma X-Runner (That I had for 120K miles that required nothing but maintenance or regular wear items I might add [like brake pads, rotors, tires, filters and oil changes]).

The place my buddy works at is a independently owned mechanic shop called Tri-Valley automotive in Dublin California... They are ASE certified and all that stuff. But before that morning came... I was up all night doing my own diagnostics on google... Having been able to in seconds find a thread on my Nissan 370Z forums explaining the exact issue I am having. Which is the clutch slave cylinder began leaking

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...-failures.html

To my dismay I discover that this is a super common problem, My 370Z having only 31,239 miles at the time became one of the many on that thread, I counted over 50 before I got tired of counting not even half way through the thread... So I am sure it'll be over 100 with people that have far less miles than I have. After more research I find it's also on the late model 350z's and the 6 speed G37's.

I was able to get my 370Z repaired at the cost of $300 thanks in part for the aftermarket warranty I paid an extra $1800 for that I did not really think I needed (I really thought I would never use it seeing as how I'm a meticulous owner and the car has such low miles... and to be honest, never considered Nissan to build an unreliable car), A scan of the work order and receipt is attached in a PDF file here... I opened a case with the NHTSA and even after reading from there, I find that several people have had the same issue. I am urging people on my 370Z Forum to do the same thing and file a complaint there... I believe a recall, extended factory warranty and or something needs to be done to fix the problem. Aftermarket companies spotted this as a weak point in the design since it is made out of plastic and have made kits to completely remove the clutch slave cylinder or even as simply make the entire thing out of metal. It's only a matter of time if not already has happened that someone is seriously hurt or even worse, Killed because their 6 speed manual 350z, 370z or G37 decided the clutch pedal is more comfortable on the carpet in the middle of an intersection or highway rendering the car unoperable.

The info for my car is
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring/Sport/Nav
JN1AZ44E59M402001 with under 31,400 miles on it (no idea why they put down it has 31,503 on the work order when it left the shop [type i'm assuming]). "

Zbrah · 06-21-2015, 02:14 PM

**** Yes!! You are my hero for taking this step, BamBamZ! We have the power of social medias on our side guys! Everyone here need to do this, seriously.

I would even take it a step further and log your complaint with the NHTS then post a link on Nissan's social accounts with a brief description of your issue. If they refuse to act, we can make them react! Here is the linkHome | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

KoolKarmaJoe · 06-21-2015, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

**** Yes!! You are my hero for taking this step, BamBamZ! We have the power of social medias on our side guys! Everyone here need to do this, seriously.

I would even take it a step further and log your complaint with the NHTS then post a link on Nissan's social accounts with a brief description of your issue. If they refuse to act, we can make them react! Here is the linkHome | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

I'm in! Good post

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

**** Yes!! You are my hero for taking this step, BamBamZ! We have the power of social medias on our side guys! Everyone here need to do this, seriously.

I would even take it a step further and log your complaint with the NHTS then post a link on Nissan's social accounts with a brief description of your issue. If they refuse to act, we can make them react! Here is the linkHome | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

BamBamZ · 06-22-2015, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

**** Yes!! You are my hero for taking this step, BamBamZ! We have the power of social medias on our side guys! Everyone here need to do this, seriously.

I would even take it a step further and log your complaint with the NHTS then post a link on Nissan's social accounts with a brief description of your issue. If they refuse to act, we can make them react! Here is the linkHome | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

I have logged a complaint with the NHTSA before hand.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/...5&refurl=email

I got this response from Nissan this morning...

Quote:

Good morning Alan,

Thank you for sending these details along. At this time, we recommend speaking with our Consumer Affairs department. One of our Specialists will be able to look into this further. Be sure to provide the full name the vehicle is registered under and VIN when calling 1-800-NISSAN-1 anytime between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.

Have a good rest of your day.

Charlie, Nissan Social Support

I'll call in a little while and edit this to let you guys know how it goes, I just want to make Nissan aware they have this upcoming issue and the cars are failing by the dozen and hopefully they'll instate a recall and redesign the clutch slave cylinder to actually not fail within 4K-40K miles.

EDIT:

Spoke to a guy who had no idea what I was asking for, And that kinda confused me because I made it clear... It ended up being a request to find out how many cars were serviced to repair the clutch slave cylinder (which i was interested in but wasn't what i was asking for), He couldn't find that information then I explained that my concern is that the part is made out of plastic and many people have had this issue before so I don't know how long the new OEM part I had installed will last and that Nissan needs to make one out of metal and do a recall...

Suddenly they want to look at my car now, So I have to take it to the nearby dealership where they will inspect it... And consider replacing it with a metal part. I have no idea what the hell is going on at this point but just going to go with the flow.

MagmaRed370z · 06-22-2015, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamBamZ

I have logged a complaint with the NHTSA before hand.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/...5&refurl=email

I got this response from Nissan this morning...

I'll call in a little while and edit this to let you guys know how it goes, I just want to make Nissan aware they have this upcoming issue and the cars are failing by the dozen and hopefully they'll instate a recall and redesign the clutch slave cylinder to actually not fail within 4K-40K miles.

EDIT:

Spoke to a guy who had no idea what I was asking for, And that kinda confused me because I made it clear... It ended up being a request to find out how many cars were serviced to repair the clutch slave cylinder (which i was interested in but wasn't what i was asking for), He couldn't find that information then I explained that my concern is that the part is made out of plastic and many people have had this issue before so I don't know how long the new OEM part I had installed will last and that Nissan needs to make one out of metal and do a recall...

Suddenly they want to look at my car now, So I have to take it to the nearby dealership where they will inspect it... And consider replacing it with a metal part. I have no idea what the hell is going on at this point but just going to go with the flow.

I like your complaint and thank you sir for doing that. This is so frustrating to the point that I just want to go ahead and buy the aftermarket CSC, $$$$$ in labor and call it a day. I love my Z but its not enjoyable anymore because every time I shift I am thinking about the da*n CSC failing.....

Zbrah · 06-22-2015, 02:39 AM

So...it finally happened to me earlier this evening. I went out to start the car to get to the car wash, and found my clutch pedal already sitting half way in and I had to reach further down with left foot almost to a full extension to make contact with the pedal. I only had to press the pedal down about two inches to get it started. It felt weird so I pushed the pedal in again and I only get pressure toward the bottom. The first half of the travel had very little to no pressure at all! I tried lifting the the pedal up with my toes but it was very floppy...I then turned off the car and opened the hood to check my fluid and sure enough, clutch fluid is filthy, I can see a lot of black debris inside the resevoir, and my fluid level was right between the Max and Min line, so I had loss some fluid since the last time I checked it a couple weeks ago. I hopped back in the car and pumped the pedal several times and it eventually returned some some pressure but still not its full range. I then sarted it up and went for a drive...I was able to get into all the gears, but my clutch pedal still isn't returning completely to its normal position...maybe 3/4 only. Autozone was already closed so I'll have to wait until tomorow to pick up some brake fluid to fill it back up. I'm hoping by refilling the fluid will buy me enough time to get a new csc and mc in from Zspeed, and take it to my shop to swap it out, but my oem csc is definitely showing symptoms of failing. My Z is a 2011 and the current mileage on her is 25,465 as of today

KoolKarmaJoe · 06-22-2015, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

So...it finally happened to me earlier this evening. I went out to start the car to get to the car wash, and found my clutch pedal already sitting half way in and I had to reach further down with left foot almost to a full extension to make contact with the pedal. I only had to press the pedal down about two inches to get it started. It felt weird so I pushed the pedal in again and I only get pressure toward the bottom. The first half of the travel had very little to no pressure at all! I tried lifting the the pedal up with my toes but it was very floppy...I then turned off the car and opened the hood to check my fluid and sure enough, clutch fluid is filthy, I can see a lot of black debris inside the resevoir, and my fluid level was right between the Max and Min line, so I had loss some fluid since the last time I checked it a couple weeks ago. I hopped back in the car and pumped the pedal several times and it eventually returned some some pressure but still not its full range. I then sarted it up and went for a drive...I was able to get into all the gears, but my clutch pedal still isn't returning completely to its normal position...maybe 3/4 only. Autozone was already closed so I'll have to wait until tomorow to pick up some brake fluid to fill it back up. I'm hoping by refilling the fluid will buy me enough time to get a new csc and mc in from Zspeed, and take it to my shop to swap it out, but my oem csc is definitely showing symptoms of failing. My Z is a 2011 and the current mileage on her is 25,465 as of today

This is getting ridiculous with so many of us having CSC failures. Nissan sucks! I received my new CMC, HD CSC , short insulated CLUTCH line from ZSpeed about a week ago. Since the transmission must be dropped to put in new HD CSC, I've also decided to take advantage of that by also putting in a new Southbend SS Quiet CLUTCH & new light weight aluminum flywheel. AAM Competition is doing the installation.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

eastwest2300 · 06-22-2015, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

So...it finally happened to me earlier this evening. I went out to start the car to get to the car wash, and found my clutch pedal already sitting half way in and I had to reach further down with left foot almost to a full extension to make contact with the pedal. I only had to press the pedal down about two inches to get it started. It felt weird so I pushed the pedal in again and I only get pressure toward the bottom. The first half of the travel had very little to no pressure at all! I tried lifting the the pedal up with my toes but it was very floppy...I then turned off the car and opened the hood to check my fluid and sure enough, clutch fluid is filthy, I can see a lot of black debris inside the resevoir, and my fluid level was right between the Max and Min line, so I had loss some fluid since the last time I checked it a couple weeks ago. I hopped back in the car and pumped the pedal several times and it eventually returned some some pressure but still not its full range. I then sarted it up and went for a drive...I was able to get into all the gears, but my clutch pedal still isn't returning completely to its normal position...maybe 3/4 only. Autozone was already closed so I'll have to wait until tomorow to pick up some brake fluid to fill it back up. I'm hoping by refilling the fluid will buy me enough time to get a new csc and mc in from Zspeed, and take it to my shop to swap it out, but my oem csc is definitely showing symptoms of failing. My Z is a 2011 and the current mileage on her is 25,465 as of today

damn... dude, thats sh1tty man. Keep us posted.

DIGItonium · 06-22-2015, 09:16 AM

This is a common problem ever since Nissan switched over to these awesome Valeo-designed CSC in 2007 with the HR engine (e.g., 2007 350Z/G onwards). I sorta miss the old external slave and fork.

MagmaRed370z · 06-22-2015, 10:31 AM

We should ALL do the above ^ 1) Complaint and then 2) Call the number. See if 1,000 calls and complaints make NISSAN do something about this known issue.

BamBamZ · 06-22-2015, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schellingr

I like your complaint and thank you sir for doing that. This is so frustrating to the point that I just want to go ahead and buy the aftermarket CSC, $$$$$ in labor and call it a day. I love my Z but its not enjoyable anymore because every time I shift I am thinking about the da*n CSC failing.....

I was looking at putting in aftermarket too but I'm on leave of absence from work and workmans comp likes to delay their checks to me... So it hurt enough to pay the $300 deductible for my aftermarket warranty. When I asked my friend that works at the shop what kind of part he used (hoping it was metal) he showed me the OEM box. Before leaving I said "see ya in another 30k miles"

I'm expecting it to fail again, But not for another 20K miles or so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by schellingr

We should ALL do the above ^ 1) Complaint and then 2) Call the number. See if 1,000 calls and complaints make NISSAN do something about this known issue.

Agreed!

The number is 1-800-Nissan-1

Then press 7 for consumer affairs, you'll get forwarded to a representative and just explain your concerns. That the current OEM part is plastic and is prone to fail so you're paranoid that it will.

06-20-2015, 08:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zbrah A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2013 Location: The370Z.com Posts: 4,956 Drives: 370Z Rep Power: 5453	Stay calm and lift the pedal with your toes __________________

06-20-2015, 08:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
DIGItonium A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,800 Drives: 09 Z34-TT 6MT Rep Power: 44	It wasn't subtle for me. Backed out of parking lot, and it was feeling fine. Pulled out and got into 2nd, and it failed immediately. I barely had 1" of pressure to get it moving back before stalling several times. __________________

06-21-2015, 02:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
TheNismo Base Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: SoCal Posts: 57 Drives: 2011 Nismo 370Z Rep Power: 12	Well when mine went to the floor, I pulled over and ran down to the gas station and picked up some brake fluid and filled up the reservoir.. then pumped the clutch to get the air out while constantly checking the reservoir to fill it back up until it was decent to drive home... Ordering my HD CSC and other parts from Zspeed on Monday! __________________ \| ARK Performance DT-S Exhaust \| Volk Racing G25 Prism Dark Silver \| \| Feal Suspension Coilovers \| ACT HDSS Clutch + Flywheel \| \| ZSpeed HD CSC \| Takeda Intakes \| Pioneer AppRadio4 \|

06-21-2015, 02:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Zbrah A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2013 Location: The370Z.com Posts: 4,956 Drives: 370Z Rep Power: 5453	**** Yes!! You are my hero for taking this step, BamBamZ! We have the power of social medias on our side guys! Everyone here need to do this, seriously. I would even take it a step further and log your complaint with the NHTS then post a link on Nissan's social accounts with a brief description of your issue. If they refuse to act, we can make them react! Here is the linkHome \| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). __________________ Last edited by Zbrah; 06-21-2015 at 02:19 PM.

06-22-2015, 02:39 AM	#10 (permalink)
Zbrah A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2013 Location: The370Z.com Posts: 4,956 Drives: 370Z Rep Power: 5453	So...it finally happened to me earlier this evening. I went out to start the car to get to the car wash, and found my clutch pedal already sitting half way in and I had to reach further down with left foot almost to a full extension to make contact with the pedal. I only had to press the pedal down about two inches to get it started. It felt weird so I pushed the pedal in again and I only get pressure toward the bottom. The first half of the travel had very little to no pressure at all! I tried lifting the the pedal up with my toes but it was very floppy...I then turned off the car and opened the hood to check my fluid and sure enough, clutch fluid is filthy, I can see a lot of black debris inside the resevoir, and my fluid level was right between the Max and Min line, so I had loss some fluid since the last time I checked it a couple weeks ago. I hopped back in the car and pumped the pedal several times and it eventually returned some some pressure but still not its full range. I then sarted it up and went for a drive...I was able to get into all the gears, but my clutch pedal still isn't returning completely to its normal position...maybe 3/4 only. Autozone was already closed so I'll have to wait until tomorow to pick up some brake fluid to fill it back up. I'm hoping by refilling the fluid will buy me enough time to get a new csc and mc in from Zspeed, and take it to my shop to swap it out, but my oem csc is definitely showing symptoms of failing. My Z is a 2011 and the current mileage on her is 25,465 as of today __________________

06-22-2015, 09:16 AM	#13 (permalink)
DIGItonium A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,800 Drives: 09 Z34-TT 6MT Rep Power: 44	This is a common problem ever since Nissan switched over to these awesome Valeo-designed CSC in 2007 with the HR engine (e.g., 2007 350Z/G onwards). I sorta miss the old external slave and fork. __________________

06-22-2015, 10:31 AM	#14 (permalink)
MagmaRed370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: USA Posts: 1,468 Drives: 14' 370z Sport Magma Rep Power: 14	We should ALL do the above ^ 1) Complaint and then 2) Call the number. See if 1,000 calls and complaints make NISSAN do something about this known issue.

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