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

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• Devil34 (Owner)

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Let's sticky a thread that lists owners who experience loss of clutch pressure with the pedal sticking to the floor. Please include the last 6 digits of the VIN, since Nissan support requested this number when calling for support. Hopefully we can gather some failure stats.

• VIN: 406164
• Purchase Date: 04/17/2009
• Occurrence Date: 09/14/2010
• Occurrence Mileage: 16,158
• Clutch Type: OEM

Summary:
Getting ready to leave work, warmed up the car, pulled around the corner of the parking lot, and the pedal sunk to the floor when attempting to engage 3rd. The morning commute was normal, and there has been no real complications other than random shudder when going into 1st. The more I press it, the further it sunk without returning. A twitch of the foot would kill the engine. Clutch is stock. I never dumped it, burned out, etc. Only a few spirited driving once in awhile.

Conclusion:
[09/15] CONFIRMED CSC FAILURE, and a new part will be overnighted. The failed part must be returned to Nissan, but I asked the service advisor if I could examine the CSC and take some photos to benefit the community in regards to what's causing the failure.

[09/16] Car is still at the shop. The tech spent the entire day removing the transmission. Hopefully it'll be ready tomorrow afternoon. On a side note, I requested them to check out the brake switch and re-align it to resolve part of my throttle delay issues.

[09/17] Got the car back. The tech said something about fluid leaking out of the CSC. From looking at it first hand, it looks like it is leaking from the inside indicating o-ring failure. He said the last car he worked on had the same symptoms, but it was the master cylinder that failed. He was surprised about the condition of my clutch (clean) because he wonder if I ever drive the car hard. The car seems to drive a bit better, softer engagement, less play, and so far no signs of judder.

Part Number: 306A1-JK40D

[EDIT] Found a term for the random "shudder." It's called clutch judder:
WikiAnswers - What makes a clutch judder

One of the vendors on another forum that I get on found an issue with the slave cylinder on the 350. It sounds like you may be having the same issue. They were fabricating a better one to overcome Nissan's poor design.
I'll try to dig up the info if you're interested. Might give you some arguing points if nothing else.

Thanks, my dealer says they've encountered only one similar issue. They're going to look at my car and call me back in regards to the problem. I read a few threads about CSC upgrades, but it was mainly to correct the compatibility problem with aftermarket clutches.

I'm kind of lost about owners, like myself, with the stock clutch and [possibly] failed CSC.

In for updates.

Yup... got the call and confirmed that the CSC had failed. When they replace the part I'm going to come in and take pictures and discuss with them about what possibly failed.

sorry to hear DIGI. also in for further updates

it would helpful to have more feed back on the failures like whether it is just the front plastic piece that is failing, or the rear where the seal is, or both. the bearing itself is attached to a plastic piston and then there is the plastic base. All i know is this is a french part not a nissan part (thanks Renault and Valeo).

Got the car back with the new CSC. I forgot to take home the paper work, so hopefully they'll send it to me so I can list the part number for revision tracking. Attached are photos of the failed CSC. It does not appear physically broken, but it appears a seal has gone bad inside. So how do we strengthen this seal? How do we get the plastic piston to support additional load?

My service advisor says if Nissan does not need the part, then he will give it to me. I plan to ship it out to SpecialtyZ for further examination.

[EDIT] After doing some research about CSC and leaks, it CSC and piston seal leaks are nothing new with CSC. So CSC is easy with the effort, but the seals are problematic. Ford and Jeep uses CSC, and owners complain about leaking seals. Goodness why the heck Nissan would use a CSC in a sports car!!?

Anyhow, perhaps we should research various CSC manufacturers to help produce a higher performance CSC that can support higher hydraulic PSI, use an aluminum piston, higher quality o-ring seal (one site lists EPDM rubber), etc.

dealers fied this problem twice for me already.. first time was clutch master cylinder, next they replaced slave cylinder. and ouch on that pic with the flat bed!! my front fender scraped hard when they towed it on one of those

well lets just hope you get a recall or something.

I have been having issues as well, first off a few months ago my clutch was stuck on the floor, and I had to pry it back up with my foot. That has happened to me atleast two times now. After a few times at WOT I get this really nasty smell coming from my engine bay, it smells like some kind of burnt fluid ( i'm thinking it is clutch fluid). Now very recently I am experiencing when I shift my engine revs about 2k higher than normal, then shifts in to gear. Unless I drive really slow I don't really experience anything. It is very strange, I have an obvious loss of power......I will be taking my car back to Nissan very soon...

Some owners suffered burnt clutch disc from the CSC failing, so you should definitely get it checked. Mine never had this issue other than the stuttering. I experience stutters a tiny bit with the new CSC, but nowhere near as bad as the original one.

hrmm...well I have an appointment tomorrow with the dealer,,,I hope this is a warranty issue, and not something with my clutch...I've heard they can be pricey,and would probably be better to upgrade the whole thing...

My Z...1 month old...is at the dealer for a CSC replacement right now. The day after I bought the car I was checking all the fluids and noticed that the clutch fluid was below the MIN line. It was a Sunday so the service dept. was closed but I took it over to the dealer anyway and spoke to the GM who was nice enough to scrounge up a bottle of DOT3 from the back so that I could top it off in the meantime to monitor it. I filled it back to the MAX line and now 1200 miles or so later he fluid in the resivoir has dropped about 1/2 inch below the MAX line...pretty much right between the MAX and MIN lines. Took it to the dealer and they confirmed my suspicion of a CSC failure. I should get the car back tomorrow, time will tell if this one is gonna hold. Also note that the car had 400 miles on it when I bought it new.

At 400mi., your car had that many test driven miles? Hopefully you got a good deal on it. Mine had about 8mi. because it barely got off the truck and was taken to the shop next door to get window tinting and clear shield.

IIRC, the CSC costs about $100 online. Expect at least 1 day of down time.

* VIN: 503064
* Purchase Date: 05/08/2010
* Occurrence Date: 10/13/2010
* Occurrence Mileage: 6650 (Wtf right?)
* Clutch Type: OEM

Summary:
On the commute home yesterday, car pulled out in front of me...immediate reaction is to pin the brake and clutch to the floor. Clutch never came back out though and I had to drive it home with a friction point near the floor. Pulled it out when I got home, and it's been soft ever since.

Went to the dealership this morning and they said everything looked fine....it's back to "normal" now, but still feels really soft. I'm going to bleed it and hopefully it'll be back to normal.

Should I be more cautious with this? Can it be driven safely with that drag-strip style friction point? I'm _REALLY_ trying to avoid getting towed since my towhook is now my license plate bracket as well.

Perhaps related, I've started hearing a really fast clicking when accelerating for the first ~20 min of driving in the morning (started 2 days ago). Sounds like it's coming from the shifter area.

^None of this was able to be reproduced at the dealership...sigh.

EDIT: Going to bleed it with my roommate...it's felt soft ever since I got an oil change at jiffy lube...maybe they got some air in there when checking the fluid? Never going there again regardless..

Yeah i got a really good deal, plus it was the only one within 100 miles that had all the options and a color I wanted. Hopefully this CSC leakage isn't a reoccurring problem.

If they're using the same part that's prone to failure on the '07+ Z and G, then we're bound to hear more. If you go to the 350Z site, you'll find numerous posts about people getting theirs replaced.

@dubhov did you check the fluid levels? The tech said the reservoir was empty. He filled it back up, pressed the clutched, and noticed the leak.

He said he checked the master cylinder and the reservoir and everything looked just fine....I've checked the fluid next to the brake fluid on a few occasions now and it looks good...is there a reservoir for the slave I don't know about that could be leaking?

An issue like this doesn't just happen and go away...does it?

One of the symptoms described in the TSB for the 350Z was the pedal going soft, and they voluntarily replaced the CSC with a revved part. IIRC, it's the same one we're using right now.

Mine had no symptoms, and it happened without warning out of the parking lot. I don't remember seeing any leaks either.

I had them bleed it at the dealership this morning and was going to have them check the CSC, but they were going to charge labor to disassemble the bell housing since I don't have any proof that the clutch failed on me. Guess I'm going to have to wait to see if it goes again to actually get them to do something. That or pray for a recall.

So I finally took my car in to Nissan, and they told me I have a bad clutch. And it is going to cost me over $2600!!!! They made this decision all on how the car is driving. I asked if this is under warranty, and they say no, b/c its a clutch. I seriously suspect is isn't the clutch. But they want me to spend $600 for them to take my tranny off, and do an inspection on the transmission. I think that is ridiculous. Did any of you have to pay for this? Also how in the h*** can a clutch and assembly with labor be over $2600?? That is crazy!! I am calling the dealership I bought the car from today, I didn't take it there originally b/c I live almost an hr away for that dealer....:mad:

@DIGItonium Just to clarify, when you brought it into the dealership, they replaced the CSC because of the symptoms you told them about? The dealership is still insisting that everything seems fine, and is going to have me drive a new nismo 370 on the lot to compare next time I come in.

After bitching and moaning, I finally got them to cave so I won't have to pay for labor to investigate inside the bell-housing...should I just get them to replace the CSC regardless? I'll even pay for the part if I have to.

Any help is appreciated...I'm kind of at a loss here. Just want the clutch to feel normal again.

Could be my imagination but my clutch feels a lot lighter after the replacement CSC. Also the shifter seems to catch on something if I push it to far to the right when shifting into 5th or 6th.

dubhov - glad to hear that the dealer is finally taking care of you...if there are other nissan service departments near you, I would try them. My local nissan dealer is one of the better dealer experiences I've had so far (despite the fact that the service writer tried to tell me that the missing fluid might be pushing out of the top of the reservoir). I've taken my ford truck to numerous ford dealers in the past and have had terrible experiences which drove me to do all my own maintenance when possible.

From http://www.the370z.com/720034-post1.html, my car was towed to the dealership as I barely left work and the pedal sunk without warning. They inspected it the next morning and notice the reservoir was empty. The tech filled it up, pressed the clutch and noticed fluid leaking from underneath, so it was concluded that the CSC failed. The part was overnighted and replaced under warranty.

With the new CSC, it is very light, indeed. The lightness will go away gradually. That's just how it is when the car was new as well.

So I finally got a hold of Nissan Corp. They are going to cover the cost of the "inspection" and have the dealership take pictures of my car. They will then send them to the warranty center to see if they will cover this issue. The lady from Nissan said that she and her office are "baffled" buy my accusations of my clutch going back only after 12XXX miles...lol. She went on to tell me that she thinks I have been racing my car and just beating the hell out of it. I have barely driven my car....and it sits more than anything. I have gotten on it a few times, but I mean c'mon who hasn't right?? Isn't that one of the reason's we bought one of these? Anyways....if for some reason I am wrong and they don't cover it under my warranty then I'm looking at going after market with the ones from Specialtyz....

I'm experiencing Loss of pressure on the clutch pedal once every couple of weeks, worried if this is a sign of an eventual slave cylinder failure. All of these times the clutch pedal looses pressure about 50% or until the clutch engagement point. I usually press it for a couple of minutes and pressure gets restored.

i've verified the fluid level and it seems ok...

any pointers of test I can get the dealer to perform so they could duplicate my problems instead of eventualy TOWING my car to the dealer?

I've dealt with a couple dealerships so far and getting them to do anything because of just pressure is damn near impossible. Chances are they'll drive it, and say "Everything is fine" unless it's REALLY noticeable. If that is the case, they'll most likely put it on a lift and visually inspect everything.

I even tried to get Nissan North America involved to try and get them to take the bell housing apart, but they wouldn't. It's a rough situation, but if you really think they're going to find something, you can have them take it apart. If they don't find anything wrong, they'll most likely make you pay for the labor to do it...

I'd recommend bleeding the clutch to rule out air in the lines, which very well could be your problem.

Well my car is at the dealer right now for this same problem after 10,000 miles. Well yesterday morning i got in the z and pushed the clutch only to my surprise, the clutch didnt come back up, the fluid was empty and i couldnt get the car in any gear. This was strange cuse i had no clue that there was a problem going on with the clutch. All i can say is Sh*t. This is also very embarrising concidering how much i bragg about this car, and to make matters worst, The dealer put me in a sentra until my car gets repaired. The car had to be towed to the dealer.

I'm having this same issue. Should I bleed it first to see if it improves or just take it straight to the dealer?

just checked the z and the fluids are perfect... 13k miles.

do you guys think this is just random for some z users are will this happen to all of them eventually?

:iagree: My fluids are fine also.

Check your clutch fluid level...if it's considerably lower than the max line, take it to the dealer. If the fluid level looks fine...bleed it and give it a few weeks.

Ok my Z is at the dealership and they said they would replace the pressure plate and clutch. Should I print out this thread to show them a trend and the part number?

This loss of clutch pressure is a recurring thing that occurs on 05+ V6 Altima's, MT Maxima's, the 350's and 370's. My previous 2007 Altima 3.5SE did this crap 2 times in 40,000 miles and that's it.

It's a pretty routine thing, from the research that I've done, that the clutch pedal will sink to the ground, loose pressure and will remain that way for varying amounts of time. It seems like regardless of which vehicle it is, the pedal will return to normal given enough time. Some just have to sit for a while longer than others. The Altima's and Maxima's were narrowed down to something in the master cylinder (most likely). Even on older vehicles that had a traditional slave cylinder/TO bearing setup, this failure still happened on them.

If the CSC fails, it would stand to reason that the clutch pedal would still return to normal position when released. There's a big spring on the clutch pedal that pulls it back up. Of course Nissan uses some funky fulcrum/pivot point in their clutch pedals which I think has a big part to do with this.

Late,
Trav

Is there a solution?

Ok guys these are the items with the part numbers that were replaced. They were all covered under warrenty. Clutch feels brand new. Hope it helps.

http://www.the370z.com/members/zeto-...er-invoice.jpg

ouch looks like they broke a bunch of your flywheel bolts and had to drill them out and re-tap the threads, shitty. It should feel brand new as everything was replaced =]

just dropped off my car at the dealer. car's at 11.5k miles
been having issues with my clutch being stuck, once i was even unable to accelerate. and recently, having trouble shifting. in order for me to get in gear i had to use A LOT force to even put my car in gear,
oh fluid was REALLY low also

dealer looked at it yday, took in my car for further observation.
was talking to a mechanic he told me that he knows what i'm talking about. happened to him while driving a nismo

i'll keep you guys posted

just got my car back from having these issues. i have 3,412 miles. been going on since about 2,500 miles. they replaced master cylinder, all lines, and slave cylinder