Scary - should I be concerned?
 

Again, I totally dig this site. Have learned a ton of info since getting my 370 back in December. A little background, first:

370z touring 6MT, 2800 miles. Leased it two months ago with 490 miles on the odometer- wanted a new one, but it was the last '09 and I got a sweet deal.

Came from an '09 Maxima so I realize this car is a different animal...literally :)

When I first got the Z, I noticed that the shifts were really rough between 1st and 2nd, but no other gears...something I've read about in a few other posts here on the site. Having said that, I think a combination of time/break-in and just learning better synchronization of the clutch/gas has helped it get better. I also experience clutch clatter...again, was told it was normal. For both of these issues, I took it to the dealership (twice) and finally had a "master mechanic" ride with me and also drive the car. He said that noises and shifting harshness were both related to the design of the car and that I had no reason to worry. In other words, "they all do it", according to him.

So, for about the last month I've been problem and concern free. Until last night... I got into the car after it sat at work all day (about 10 hours). As I was backing up, I smelled a distinct odor of electricity coming from the vents. This wasn't coolant, oil, etc....it was electrical. After about 45 secs, the smell went away. I had turned the car off and began walking around, checking under the hood, the fuse box, etc. NOTHING. No sign of anything weird at all. I sat in the car for a few mins and then started it up and there was no smell so I began to drive home.

After doing some googling, I came across a post in an Infiniti forum where a guy had the exact same problem with an EX35. Electrical smell coming from the vents.

I got up this morning and ran some errands all over town with no smells, etc. Also, went ahead and took it to the dealer and got the first oil change ('cuz it was free) and they said not to worry about it.

At first, I thought I was being a little bit paranoid but with the smell of electricity, I feel like I should be concerned. As we all know, I'm at the mercy of it doing it again and it doing it for the Nissan mechanics. ARGH.

I knew the car had been used for test drives, etc. If the price hadn't have been so attractive, I would have passed for a model with no miles. I also just learned that it was on the lot for like 9 months. Again, wouldn't have bought it if I had known that up front.

I'm in Dallas, so I've ruled out the possibility of it being road salt burning against my catalytic converter, etc., as I have read about being the cause in some of the other forums. But, was ice/sleet here several weeks ago and many of the roads still have some traces of the sand, etc. But, I know this was electrical. Period.

Has anyone else experienced this smell? Is it possible that this could've been a "normal" (which I have a hard time believing), one-time occurrance?

I only ask because you guys know a lot more about these cars since I'm a fairly new, first time Z owner.

Thanks for reading the long post. Look forward to hearing your thoughts... :ugh2:

For the 1-2nd gear thing...it is common among Z's

every nissan i ever owned produces weird smells from the vent. I woudlnt call it a electrical smell but more like a "crap" smell.

I also wonder what electrical smells like. I dont want to be rude but i think you might be a little hypocondriacish.

Just give it time and see what happens in the future. You have plenty of warranty time to get things fixed if you truly have an issue. I know that since I like my car more than just about any car I've previously owned, I'm a bit overly concerned with everything it does. Just let it be a car and make its smells. When a tiny thing becomes more overt, the dealer is your next step. I figure that if I can't reproduce it fairly readily, it's not a big enough deal yet. As my wife says, "it's just a car."

Thanks, but I think there are probably some folks out there who know an "electrical" smell. Not a hypochondriac since that would deal witha health issue. Perhaps a bit OCD, yes. LOL

every ones told you its ok, these problems listed happens to all z's, do less worrying and more driving ;)

Leased?

I read somewhere that somebody said they could not leased a 370Z.

Anyway I leased my old lady's RAV4 and WILL NEVER do a lease again.

Enjoy the car!

Every now and then I still get the electrical smell (currently at 14,170 miles). It's VERY light though and goes away quickly as you mentioned.

As for the gears, it's been the same since 350Z. You'll get vibration on shifter and hear thump from 1-2. I DO notice a bit more clutch chatter when SRM is on. I will say that the clutch on 370Z is slightly more noisier than 350Z.

any kind of problem that you are suspicious, make sure when you take it to the dealership and make sure they make note of that into Nissan's computer system, so in case if it becomes a real problem later on when you're out of warranty or whatever, you can always say that you made a claim prior, and now the real problem is found....then, they will have to service that problem under warranty...

then again, this applies to pretty much all warranties of all car manufacturers

NO, shifts 1-2nd should be smooth and no different than any other gear.

Has anyone ever heard of the "electrical" whiff on the 350Z? Mine's 6 years old and, so far, so good. Hope you solve that, dbrs!

its normal, nothing to worry about, ive gotten some weird brief smells from my g35coupe and my 370z, its just nissan. don't worry so much, just drive it. and for the guy saying that he doesn't know what an electrical smell is like.. you've never smelt some sort of circuitboard or something heating up and giving off smoke?

I really like the car but my first nissan and my last!To many little issues in this day and age and apparently nissan R&D department is lost.After hearing about the stupid little issues of the 350's and never resolved and then passed along to this new 370 it just tells me nissan is not a best buy!
I always believed that Toyota,Honda and Nissan were the top three foreign made cars?Thats basically why when seeing the new 370 I went for it right away.Should have found this site earlier and would have been aware!
Having owned Toyota's and Honda's there is no comparrison at all with the Nissan product?Nissan is of poor refined quality and there dealers and warranty reputation sucks!
Its a shame to because the car could be so much better and up to date.Trans shifting from 1 to 2nd?Was a problem in the 350"s also?DAH!
Clutch noise?Was a problem in the 350?DAH?Paint sucks terribly?
So nissan doesn't care about its customers only sales?Nissan is of poor quality and not a sound financial purchase in my opinion!

Check out the latest news on a h-u-g-e Toyota recall due to a faulty gas pedal (Corollas, RAV4s, Tundras, etc.) Thousands of Toyos, dude! BTW, Toyota, Honda and Nissan ARE the best three from Japan, per CR stats. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole batch, when you have such a good history of reliability. Take my 2004 Touring Coupe, for example: NO problemo.

I understand one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch.Its the problems that have been aound with these z cars for a long time and are still there?
As I said I like my Z but very disappointed with the quality and problems Ilisted that are still around after all these years.
As for the recalls by other manufactures that is understandable!At least they recognize faulty issues.Nissan has looked the other way for years with this z car?

Start piling up the evidence (i.e. paperwork generated by the visits to the stealership). You might be able to apply the "lemmon law" to your case and have them take it back. Check for your state's applicable law(s). Good luck!

You might want to check some other companies first before throwing Nissan under the bus.
Also, some of the issues you have are just characteristics of the parts they use. It is what makes a Z a Z, they use a certain transmission or certain clutch or even the screws to which cause the issue to be created.

My Nissan Altimas have all gone and gone and gone without any problems for 6 digit mileages and my current Altima Coupe has been perfect. Conversely, in 2004 I bought an expensive brand new top-of-the-line V-6 Honda Accord Coupe six speed that was troubled from the very first day I had it and turned out to be a lemon! So car quality can be anecdotal to a large extent. My take of the conventional wisdom seems to be that as to quality, Nissan comes in a sort of distant third to Toyota and Honda but way better than most European companies and far better than the American manufacturers. I reconciled myself to having to live with that, as I wanted a Z because of its styling, performance, etc. Reliability was only one criterion, albeit an important one. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on the soft paint problem. The price we have to pay for that shortcoming is a few more bucks for Clear Bra---c'est le vie.

Aha, reliability stats are a "global", general record generated by a specific make. In general terms, Toyota, Honda, Nissan & Subaru are up there, in the "elite" group; but, like all things manufactured by humans, there will be "bad apples".

Nothings perfect

Sounds to me like you either got something on your electrical fan, or the fan itself is starting to burn out!! IDK, just a guess!

Hopefully my 2009 NISMO purchase will be free of major issues. Jsut make sure you get your "issues" documented and things will fall into place if they are issues that can be addressed.


My personal opinion of NISSAN is pretty good. They have built their reputation on giving buyer a lot of car for the money spent. If you are looking for a luxurious car filled with refinement and creature comforts, NISSAN/INFINITI may not be for you. All companies have their strengths and weeknesses. You just have to accept them for what they are and choose accordingly. Otherwise, there would be no reason to compair automakers. Even worse, we could all be driving Hyundais...........

Wow! don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Might you be one in denial about the issues of nissan quality control?This forum is full of issues about this new 370 and past 350's?
Truth hurts sometimes doesn't it?

"Characteristics of some parts they use"???WOW!Smoking some good stuff!
Thats a line from the book of excuses if I ever heard one!
Are you car salesman or factory rep by any chance?

:icon18:
No, but certain parts have characteristics to them that cause issues and cannot be avoided unless you go with a new part. No offense but read a little about your car and you will learn something.

Electricity is completely odorless, so I'm not sure what you mean exactly by an electrical smell.

You can certainly occasionally smell some parts that consume or produce electricity such as the alternator, electric fans, or high power transistors. There is also the burnt electronics smell which you get when certain semiconductors blow up, but that one is much stinkier. Electrical arching produces ozone, which has a distinctive smell. Some electric motors have a fine coating of oil on their windings to prevent corrosion, and when they get hot you can sometimes smell this ... although it will diminish with age.

a cap or coil burning is a pretty distinctive smell. a mosfet burning out is similar, yet slightly less organic smelling. our car shouldn't really have any mosfets anywhere.

the clutch chatter and 1-2 shifts are documented and while noisy/rough, are not actual issues. the transmission does operate differently in 1st and 2nd (something with the synchros) and the clutch/throwout bearing chatter is just a common trait of stronger clutches.

Thanks for the clarification, Chris. Technically speaking, you're absolutely correct...electricity is odorless. Perhaps what I smelled (and hopefully won't ever again from this car) was something arching which doesn't seem normal.

I remember once when my cousin installed a ceiling fan and wired the light kit incorrectly. When we turned the power back on it started to smoke, and that smell was exactly the same one that I smelled coming through the Z's air vents.

I've put my concern to bed and will deal with it if it happens again!

Yep, the 1-2 shifts and clutch clatter concerns were put to bed a few weeks ago. Because of less sound insulation (than compared to my '09 Maxima) I'm just going to hear more "going on" than I would from some of my previous rides.

Not trying to start a flame war or anything, but I guess I would ask why you would purchase another Nissan product (I see that you have a 370z) if you experienced so many issues with the 350z. Were you thinking that your 350z issues would be resolved with the new model? If so, I can understand why you're disappointed. But, I guess I would compare your perspective to that of my dad...he loves GM products and has had very good luck with them. I'm not a fan of how, cosmetically, they hold up over several years...but whatever works for him. Sounds like for you another Nissan product may not be the best fit. I was a DIE HARD Honda/Acura fan until I purchased my Altima a few years ago. That car really turned me on to Nissan. The '09 Maxima soon followed and that's when I knew that I now had a new brand that I would be loyal to. Even with the Max, there were people from the Max forum that I belong to that were experiencing significant quality issues (seat "rocking", struts creaking, sunroof creaking, power tilt/telescope motor going out, etc.) but I never experienced any of it.

The compliments I receive, the driving experience, and the sheer way the car makes me feel each time I drive it, are all reasons why this ride is for me.

Last thing I'll say is that every minor issue I've ever experienced with any of my Nissans have always been addressed to my satisfaction by Nissan. Also, they offered me some very attractive incentives and made some pretty sweet deals to get me into these past few cars. I posted a while back about them letting me out of my Maxima's lease with NO EARLY TERMINATION fees...something that the dealership and Nissan Finance thought was some kind of error. Turns out, I was "one of 1000" customers that qualified for an "incentive" like this...or, at least that's what they said. After getting everything in writing, I jumped at the offer and got into the Z. That said, I have nothing but even more love for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.

At the end of the day, it all just boils down to preference and what you've experienced. Hope things get better for your current Z...maybe you'll have your Nissan faith restored! :)

Never thought this posting would turn into a debate over quality! LOL

"Certain parts have characteristics to them that cause issues and can't be voided unless you go with a new part"????????????So why continue to use thew faulty parts?????????Do you know what you are talking about at all?I'am reading!I'am reading your statement and it makes no sense at all?

Yes I am, look at any car, computer, house or anything in the world. You use X part and it might cause an issue or might cause a certain experience. Lets take a V8 engine, it sounds a certain way because of the V8, that is a characteristic. Lets look at the Camaro drive shaft, it broke under hard launches in the early versions of the car, supposedly fixed now by changing a few things.

The Z transmission is built a certain way and has certain characteristics to it, either trade in the car or deal with it.

:drama: :stirthepot:


- Ty

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :tup:

she's so cute in her FACE!

As I said I like the car alot but disappointed in the quality of the present 370 and past 350's issues that continue by nissan?
For example you believe nissan was unaware of the shifting glitch between 1st and 2nd gear on the 6 spd?They just passed it along to the customer!
Characteristics has nothing to do with faulty parts and nissan ignoring issues with this car.

as we all know, gear ratio is farthest between 1-2 vs 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6.

so it makes it a tad more challenging to get a smooth shift. i dont think it's that difficult to get a smooth shift on the 370z.