Clutch Pedal After Cross Country Trip

Shutterjock · 01-10-2015, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lfrz93

How's it going guys! Car currently has a little under 35,000 miles

Luis here with a few questions after a few things I noticed while and after driving to and from Houston, Tx from Miami,Fl.

It was a long 18 hour trip, did both trips in basically one sitting, with 4-6 stops max letting the car rest for maybe 15-30 minutes. After a few hours of cruising, the clutch pedal would feel very very soft. I would throw the car in neutral to roll, and pump the clutch pedal until it got stiff again. I didn't freak out as I did realize I was putting the car in high stress, but I always tracked the temperatures of the oil and motor to make sure everything was fine.

Acceleration seemed fine, shifting was as always, but the clutch pedal would just get very soft until I pumped it a few times.

Am I being a hypochondriac? Is this low fluid? Bad CSC? Bad clutch disc/pressure plate? I've searched quite a bit on the forums, but I didn't come to anything clear enough.

Thanks guys!

PS: I'm looking at that Z1 clutch line but I have never done more than changing my oil/wheels on a car

taking DIYs one at a time and slowly.

My 2010 is in the shop for the third time in three years for the very same issue. Apparently, the CSC (and maybe fluid used) has issues. There are numerous examples from folks of this happening, but I suspect not enough for a recall.

In my case the pedal would drop to the floor and stay requiring a manual reset via my foot, initially only once every so often, but with increasing regularity as the days/weeks progressed. I really noticed it after extended drives in which I made use of 5th and 6th gears for a lengthy distance and at higher speeds. Once you move on into 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears it would generally build up pressure a bit more during the early stages of the process.

Anyway, the first two times I did not engage maintenance at Nissan dealerships until the clutch failed completely --- which it will, in my opinion, if left alone. Each time they replaced the master and slave cylinders --- and a hose the second time around.

This, my third time, they will replace the entire hydraulics system with regards to the clutch (my understanding is that includes all hoses/mater/slave etc.) plus will go with the better fluid used in GTRs which supposedly holds up better to heat.

Note: Each of the previous fixes held out for approx one year, so I'm hoping this will be a final fix. I have also thought about adding an aftermarket slave cylinder. Not sure how that would affect the warranty and, truth be told, I'm not quite certain anyone knows exactly why the system is failing but the "fix" has been consistent.

I suggest taking it into a dealership and have them reach back to regional tech folks for their insight. I'm sure it's on their radar.

As a side note, the dealership maintenance folks will HAVE TO replicate the issue in your vehicle, so be prepared to put them behind the wheel and have them drive it for a distance. I did so with my rep and it failed 10 times after an approx 30 miles drive in 5th gear and then pulling off the highway and down shifting. Additionally, in each case my fluids were checked during the initial "screening" and found to be fine -- or at least not the obvious cause.

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