trans is ordered, should have the car back next week.

Nissan sent me a letter "upgrading" the warranty on my '09 Maxima's CVT to 100,000 miles. Nice. I haven't had a bit of trouble with it though. Maybe they're actually improving...

One of the advisors I work with is a former Nissan service manager.... you have done well on your cvt, I hope we do not jinx it! Still waiting for mine, what suck worse is I live 1/4 from the dealer and drive past everday, still sitting there haha. Honda is switching to CVTs, I cant wait to start dealing with these breaking.

My sister has an '07 Versa with a CVT. 114k miles and no issues yet. Also had the rear brakes finally replaced at 98k miles. Fronts are still original. Not trying to give Nissan too many brownie points but the one my sister got sure is a keeper.

On the topic of a manual tranny, maybe someone should point them to Honda for advice. Good idea, Tigger! Write Nissan corporate a letter. I will! ;)

You know how many 3rd gear sets we put in civic si tranny's...ill help you, A LOT hahaha.

I have an 08 G37. Soon after I bought the car I noticed a whine that would change in pitch in between gears, and my engagement point was way too high. That transmission was replaced under warranty. The new transmission developed the same whine, but even nastier. It's almost a howl at this point. On top of that, there is tapping/clicking noise upon engagement. The whine/howl goes away if the clutch is pressed in. But the tapping can be heard intermittently when the clutch is pressed in. None of my local Infiniti dealerships want to deal with it. The transmission is also very notchy, and slightly lurches forward when going into first. I'm pretty sure it's the throw out bearing that's making all the noise. I'm probably just going to get the heavy duty zspeed throwout bearing, along with the South Bend clutch kit/flywheel.

Mine had a nasty whine from about 1K miles (bought new). It was very annoying, especially at lower speeds in the lower gears with the radio off. Sounded similar to a super charger whine. Test drove a few others at the dealer and was concluded it is standard noise for these cars. While in motion, with the clutch pedal to the floor, varying engine rpm would vary the pitch. Still trans related as doing the same thing while standing still resulted in no whine. The sound was most prominent between 2-3K rpm (regardless of gear), and was still present at higher revs but was drowned out by engine noise.

This drove me nuts. A $40K infiniti should not be making such sounds, even if it is a 6mt. On advice of those here and on the G site, at ~7500 miles, I changed out the trans fluid to redline MT85 (3.xx qts). First test drive yielded no improvement. Subsequently though, the sound was greatly diminished. It's still there, but nowhere as annoying as it was. While I wish it was gone completely, I can tolerate it now.

For $60 in fluid (you need to get 4qts as it takes slightly more than 3), it was a cheap experiment. It's now about 3500 miles later and the noise hasn't gotten louder. It's about the same as it was after a few hundred miles following the fluid change. The initial test drive after fluid change was only ~5-10 miles, so my guess is it needed a few heat cycles and more miles to fully coat all of the trans internals.

The tapping/clicking noise sounds like your shifter isn't going through the gates smoothly. There is an adjustment/alignment procedure when reinstalling the trans/shifter. You say the whine/howl goes away with the clutch pressed in. While this is happening, what's going on with the engine revs? Is it falling back to idle, or is at the same engine rpm for the speed/gear you were in?

The slight lurch forward when engaging firsts suggests the clutch isn't fully disengaged. I remember test driving a G or Z that had after market clutch and other performance mods. Getting it into first was quite the challenge.

The tapping isn't affected by the shifter or its position. It only happens when the clutch is fully pressed in or upon engagement, can be heard gears in gears 1-3, happens in other gears but harder to spot because of the road noise at higher speeds. The whine goes away if you press the clutch and rev it up or let it idle, I've played with whine and when it comes/goes in every way imaginable. My local indy Nissan shop thinks it's the throw out bearing.

My latest transmission has 3rd gear whine, but it's not too bad. I've had redline fluid put in on the same day of the installation, and I've not felt the notchiness. Overall, the gearbox is very tight and feels very good. Too bad they can't build them as consistent.

Has anyone here every pulled their own transmission apart and rebuilt it? If/When mine ever goes I will pull it apart and repair it myself.

As long as your gears aren't destroyed, ditch those brass synchros for something better. You can probably do some other gearbox upgrades for tighter shifting (remove worn parts).

Been trying to track down anything as far as transmission mods go, seems like no one has spent any time beefing these up.

LafitteZ is the only member I've seen so far with a custom upgrade:
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...nsmission.html

Yup, I been waiting to hear if he got ahold of whoever built his trans. Thanks for the reminder.

i cringe as i read peoples posts in here. after going thru three manual trannys in my old IS300 im very worried about any odd sounds or funky feelings in the transmission.

Mine has taken all kinds of abuse so far. Im amazed that you guys have issues especially if you baby them. Mine gets all 430 ftlbs everyday I drive it, and has not broke a sweat yet.

My new trans feels pretty darn good, granted I only put 10 miles on it haha.

Did you fill it up with Redline fluid yet? I had mine done the same day of install.

I did not, I need to get some. The one that failed had redline in tho haha... With the short shifter it feels darn good, im sure the redline will smooth it out a bit more.

i cant believe you are got a 3rd transmission with TT's. If it was my old mustang with my SC and my tranny went, no WAY ford would give me a new tranny!

The dealer knows my driving habits, and that it's a daily. They were able to convince NNA synchro issues was not because of the turbos. The 2nd one was notchy in 5th after a few weeks. Then the 3rd one has been great since. It shifts so nicely.

My 5th synchro failed during some open-lap day tracking at 38k miles. I try to shift easy without hammering the synchros too much, but am the 2nd owner.( maybe the first owner wasn't so kind). No rev matching or easing the shift would prevent a 5th gear grind (up or down). The new box feels great, but I suppose I have to consider the synchros a wear item, even though I really baby them, even on the track...

I have a factory preowned drive-train warranty to 100 k though, so Nissan dropped a new one in for me. I'll see how this one holds up.

After 2 TT 300Z's, 93 RX-7, 2 NSX's, a C-5 Vette, and a 2006 G35 Sport, my current 370Z (2012) has finally turned me off to Manual shifting transmissions. I'm thinking that because they have become somewhat of a "niche" item (autos are so much more popular) the auto manufacturers are not throwing the same amount of engineering to the manual transmission as they do to other of the performance items in the vehicle. Here I thought that because of the rev matching feature, Nissan was still putting a lot of interest to the transmission of this one model. However, it is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise stellar package (for the price.) I don't know about the transmission itself, but the actuation, feel, etc, lets this car down. Really should have gone with the 7 speeder for this one!

The shifter feels great, I think your talking about the clutch feel? Just research clutch helper spring.............

New 6MT Warranty Replacement
 

I know this is an older thread, but that doesn't stop the transmission failures. My 2009 6MT (with 73.5K miles) started failing a couple months ago and I finally found the time to get it replaced. Bill Ray Nissan in Longwood, FL is waiting for a new transmission from Arizona, so it will be a few days. The 1st thru 2nd gear synchro failed (inop) forcing me to go from 1st straight to 3rd. I cannot downshift into 2nd or 1st. Additionally, a whine in the transmission developed and is only noticeable when the accelerator is pressed. The faster the vehicle is traveling, the louder and more annoying the sound is. So it was confirmed that the 6MT needs to be replaced, which would normally cost over $3K. My "The Mechanic" extended warranty (silver level) covers the transmission replacement and a couple days worth of a loaner car from Nissan.

I'm definitely looking forward to this transmission replacement. I have 10 more months or about 15K more miles on my extended warranty, so I hope whatever is going to break does it within that time frame.

I wonder if the rev match feature has anything to do with the manual trans/CSC failures that have been plaguing the 370Z?

I had the 3rd-gear grinding transmission for my (non-rev match) '09 replaced under warranty, but the new transmission quickly developed the same problem with the 5th-gear. I haven't found anyone willing and able (yet) to rebuild with better parts, so just have to live with it.

Hope your replacement fares better. --ZOM

I don't think that's what is causing it. I don't know if this was a good elimination test, but I turned off my rev-matching feature temporarily and found it did not help. From what I have read in the past, the synchro for 1st and 2nd gear is weaker than the other synchros. However, I did have to have my CSC replaced last year at a whopping $750 (it would of cost even more at the dealership). However, my synchros were working fine then. I just hope these replacements last.

That is absolutely crazy. Nissan knows that they/we are having widespread issues with this transmission and the components and nothing has been done by them to do a recall or a TSB so that we are not paying through the nose once warranty is up. F*ckers!

6MT AND differential!
 

Well, after the Nissan Dealer waited for the extended warranty company ("The Mechanic") to send an inspector to find out why my car was making a whining noise after the transmission was replaced, the replacement of my rear differential was approved. I was initially told that the driveshaft bearing could be causing it, but apparently it was the rear differential. So I will have a new transmission AND a new differential in the car at the end of the week. Fortunately the warranty company is paying for nearly two weeks of Nissan's rental vehicle, which is a Nissan Rouge. I cannot wait to get the vehicle back. It's a 2009 with less than 75K miles, so I am very happy that I will have a new powertrain to extend the life of the vehicle.

Gears
 

Mine wont engage from 1st to 2nd at high rpm sometimes. It's a hit or miss really. 6th gear always grinds unless I baby it into gear.

It definitely sounds like the synchros are going out. I don't know if a fluid change would help that. I would check to see if it's covered by warranty because I can only imagine it getting worse.

Fix for MT grinding yet?
 

Watching this and the other thread:
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...mission-4.html

Has anyone out there found a good source for rebuilt manual transmissions with sketchy syncros? Preferably Houston area...

--ZOM

I have driven manuals most of my life. I tend to baby my car, no track time. Now that I have about 45k on the car it's starting to grind now and then going to 2nd. I believe it's the synchro.

While I fully intend to upgrade the clutch, lines, etc. I had not planned on tearing the transmission apart to fix the sync issue. Looks like some Nissan transmissions have a defect or a poor design.

Did you change the tranny fluid at 30k?

Hey Unisyn
I'm in your area, Lake Mary, who (if you don't mind me asking) did your CSC work?
Mine is fine but I'd like to know my options.

Thanks!

I know this is an old thread, but I figured I would give it a shot.
I'm the original owner of my 2009 Z, which has a manual transmission. The car only has 24,000 miles on it. It doesn't have the sports package, so no synchro-rev trans and I’ve been using Red Line fluid for the past 14,000 miles. I believe the 6th gear synchro is shot. When powering through the gears under WOT it will grind going from 5th to 6th. If I power from 1st through 5th but then press the clutch, wait a second and then put it in to 6th, it won't grind. So like I said, sounds like the synchro to me. Correct me if I’m wrong. It’s been doing this for about 18 months, but the car is my weekend / summer car, so I haven’t been too concerned with it. In the mean time I have been squirreling away transmission parts for the inevitable repair. I’ve accumulated just about everything I want:

Z1 Parts:
Clutch, unsprung hub, lightweight flywheel, CSC elimination kit, steel braided clutch line and transmission mount.

I also have a set of Mtec shifter springs and an RJM clutch pedal. The only thing left to get is the RJM clutch master cylinder and the synchros. The car already has a B&M short throw shifter installed.

I spoke with someone at MA Motorsports earlier today about this repair and the installation of the mods. According to them: “Most of the time we suggest just replacing the entire transmission to be honest. The work to repair the gearbox is very time consuming and you still have a mostly used gearbox at the end of the day. For only a little bit more we can sell you a whole new transmission from Nissan (in most cases).”

Although MA Motorsports came highly recommended, has great ratings and appears to be trustworthy, I still have to question this, especially since the car has so few miles on it. I’m not one to cheap out on my car, so if this is necessary, I will go through with it, but I don’t want to waste money. Unfortunately for me, the car is WAY out of the warranty period, so the bill is on me.

Although I have done all of the work on my Z thus far, transmission work is WAY out of my comfort zone, so that’s not an option for me.

Thoughts, suggestions, ideas?

You would be better off with a new tranny. There was one guy rebuilding them with better parts. But haven't heard anything about him for about a year now. So I don't know if if he is still doing them or not. He was a bit pricey too.

A 370z MA just build with FI 3.5 kit just snapped his input shaft at the drag strip. Guess someone has found the limit to the stock manual tranny. It was brand new also.

There's one guy I know. He snapped his input shaft about a year ago. Boosted with the BP kit. He did a full pull from idle in 6th. Said it broke about 5,000 rpm's. Think now he has a stage 2 FI kit.