Transmission / Clutch - Rattle
 

Hey - I've been getting a weird rattle sound on my transmission when pressing in the clutch at low speeds. When I am going up a small hill in 1st (like up my driveway) and I press the clutch in as I am slowing down - it makes this weird rattle sound. It does the same on flat ground too.

It does not do it all the time.

I thought I would wait a second between letting off the gas and pressing in the clutch to let the revs drop, but that didn't help.

The sound is embarrassing more than anything to have a nice car and hear it clank and make all of those weird sounds in the parking garage at work.

Any ideas - am I doing something wrong? Or should I take the car in under warranty?

I bought it used at 6k miles

Thanks,

It's normal. Performance cars usually come with lots of noises. :)

/threadjack This morning I started to get a rattle at at idle and then when I turned off the car it was more pronounced... help? threadjack\

Normal.

It's normal. I can attest to the same issues here as well.

Was it a rattle or when you turned the car off did it sound more like cracking/popping/creaking? When the exhaust cools off it sounds like that. Metal expands when hot and contracts when it cools back down.

It was a rattle. Just had me a little concerned, It hasn't done that before and its a pretty new vehicle.

Rattles more after owning it for awhile. It's normal. Did the same with the 350Z as well. Now it rattles more with aftermarket clutch and single piece flywheel, but it's not that bothersome.

Sounds like loose screws in a can right?

My Dad's E46 M3 did it, my 2004 RX-8 did it, and ever since I picked up my 2011 370Z brand new it has done it. However, I will say that the transmission/clutch noises are much more pronounced with the 370 especially @ low RPM.

370/350z transmissions always sound broken, it's normal. And they are among the loudest broken sounding trans.

This is due to the twin plate clutch.. Try shutting your car off when the clutch is engaged and see if it makes the noise and then try shutting it off without engaging the clutch... It should show you what i mean.

Its just the 2 plates rattling together when its not fully engaged... Its nothing bad, you should be all good my friend ;)

I know what you mean. The first week of ownership I started to notice. Sitting in the driveway with the clutch out, car in neutral, engine running, and windows down, I was like WTF? Loud!

Yeah it sounds like marbles in a tin can and someone is in your engine shaking the can like they are at the Super bowl and their team just scored the winning touchdown! haha

Hi all. Now i know exactly what you are talking about, that nasty noise you hear in 1st @ 1.8-2.1k rpm and 2nd @~2k rpm.

I drive in NYC and here its allways a red light, stop sing or everyday traffic that will make you start all over again and again and again.......So after 12k miles like that ive learned that when that noise come up its when you depress your clutch the WRONG WAY.

Its weird when you depress it you need to hold it just a sec when it engages(in order to have a smooth/aligned engagement) then continue letting it go, this way i found no rattle noise.

All i can say now is good luck w/ the practice cuz youll have to get it right all the time.

If after practice you still cant get it right then tune up ur radio.:ugh2:

Exactly! Its funny to hear a lot of concerns on the 370z which in essence is just a new 350Z with some tweaks...

I had one of the first 350Z's in Maine in March 2003 (build date Oct 2002) then my 2nd 350Z after trading that in was an 04 350Z and got used to all these weird things.

Glad my insight helped cure some peoples OCD on this matter, as i know some noises from the car can sound scary but really are normal....

:icon18: too funny!

You should hear the dry clutch on my Ducati

Thanks guys

I feel much better now, so it's not me. lol

I have noticed this on my 370z as well.

However,

Today I heard the same noise on engine startup. Has anyone else experienced this noise on startup? Is that normal?

Nope

Hmm.

Be reaelly lame if my brand new cars tranny is messed up already

Well I went outside to try starting her up again to see if it happened again and it did not. It was rather icy this morning on my drive to work makes me wonder if ice played a role in that some how.

I was worried about those sounds lol Glad its normal. But I have noticed that my shifter feels rough now. When I bought the car the shifter felt smooth and changing gears felt clean. And now it feels really rough like I'm jamming it between two rocks or something. Anyone else have that problem?

since i live in flats ville i never noticed it. then i tried to push in the clutch while on an incline in the McDonald's drive thru. sure enough it clutter and sounded nasty. hahha

I had that rattle. Specialty Z put in "Porsche Spec" transmission oil and it went away. Shifts are smoother too.

had that rattle since i got it fromt he dealer. I have 250 miles now

I have the same issue, I'm gonna ask Seb for that gear oil and hope the noise goes away heh.

It is funny how when you do shift perfectly there's no noise.

Also when the car is cold the noise is 'WAY MORE' apparent.

Good gear oil should definitely help that.

Good info guys.

i got that like once, and i dont live where it snows, or gets icy
i usually park my car in gear(i dont trust the hand brake) though so i figured it was cold start plus tranny noise

This was the first thing I noticed about the Z when I got it. And I got it used so I was a little more nervous. I did some research and seemed to be common. I am relieved I'm not the only one thats for sure and that it dates back to 350's. I'm about to service the trans with Redline MT85, I heard good results with cold shifts and overall better shifting smoothness. Im gonna service the diff while I'm at it too. I don't expect it to do anything for the clutch noise though just seems to be normal for design. I work at BMW and one of the techs said the older M cars were the same way too just noisy. So until the clutch fails it doesn't bother me any.

I'm gonna wait for the clutch&flywheel upgrade till about 15/20K miles. But it is a good idea to upgrade the fluid regardless. Why listen to something like that if you don't have to...

Same noise here. Very loud next to buildings or drive through take out.
I have noticed if you apply brake before pressing cluch is doesnt do it,
Hope this helps.

I was just filling out a "quality survey" for nissan when i thought about this noise. Glad i searched the threads first. Glad to know it is normal. I was getting ready to bring the car in and complain lol. I have not but 2000 miles on my '14 and i'd hate to have to send her off to the shop. she is so young.

What is this "Porch" oil you speak of?