Well this thread's been dead for a while... but I have the sticky clutch as well. It happened overnight... and gets progressively worse as the system heats up.

Sooo I took it to my dealer, and they called today saying the clutch fluid was old. I said "no, actually I bled and replaced the clutch fluid two days ago."

They called me 20 minutes later saying my clutch was worn out. I said no it's not, because it's not slipping.. even when i punch it in high gear. I would never pay Infiniti prices to have a clutch&flywheel replaced anyway.

I told him I don't see the correlation between a slow-returning clutch pedal and a worn clutch disc. I asked to speak to the tech, but he wasn't available.... the rep said he would talk again with the tech and call me back.

He called back an hour later saying that the tech now thought it might be the slave cylinder. We'll see... I'll probably get to pick the car up tomorrow and I should know if it's fixed before I get back to the parkway.

In case it's not, I think I'll print out a copy of this thread and provide their service dept with some info....

 

+1 for replacing clutch fluid.

I replaced mine this weekend and it only took about 30 min. Ironically, while in the auto parts store a Z06 owner grabbed a bottle of brake fluid while I was deciding which brand to get. I asked him if he was changing his clutch fluid because of the sticking and he said "yes" and was surprised that I had the same problem with my G.

I used a turkey baster and valvoline syn Dot 3 and 4 fluid. After about 3 cycles of the reservoir the fluid was clear enough for my liking. After a test drive I noticed an immediate difference. No more spongy feeling. Although I don't think it was as hot as previous days, I drove the entire day with AC on without any clutch sticking.

I have an 05 with 55k and only experienced issue with clutch not fulling returning to fully engaged position. This didn't affect shifting, although I did mis-shift more due to the position of the clutch. I never experienced issue with clutch sticking fully to floor and not returning and think this may be a more serious issue that can't be resolved by recycling the clutch fluid. But since this is such an easy process it may be worth a shot.

Note: Use plenty of paper towel and place them under the reservoir before proceeding.

 

My clutch pedal had been sticking at random times for over a year. The problem was so sporadic and the dealership was 30 minutes away so the sticking pedal problem would stop sticking by the time I could take it in and show them the problem.

About a month or two ago, I took it to Grubbs Infiniti in Euless, Texas, for the airbag recall and mentioned the sticking clutch pedal to them. Of course, they were unable to replicate the problem so they were not able to fix it and sent me on my way.

On December 9, 2010, I took it in again because I could smell that awful burning clutch smell. The dealer wanted me to pay $1,450.00 for the repairs. I have an extended warranty on the vehicle but normal wear and tear is not covered. That is understandable but it still was not good enough for me. I knew that the sticking clutch pedal was causing wear and tear that was BEYOND normal on my car – especially since it had been doing it for over a year.

By accident, I stumbled across this forum and MULTIPLE other forums of people have the EXACT same issue with their G35’s. I also found MULTIPLE forums of Nissan 350 owners with the EXACT same problem – after all it is essentially the same car. I was shocked and appalled that this has not become a recall issue when it is a matter of consumer safety. I think that this issue is bigger than any of us or Infiniti/Nissan realizes.

Even more shocking and appalling is the lack of concern for my safety that I received from both Grubbs Infiniti and Infiniti Consumer Affairs. Their complete unwillingness to make the needed repairs and cover all or part of the costs and STOP putting my life in jeopardy every time I drive the vehicle is asinine.

Infiniti/Nissan’s defective sticking clutch pedal IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN and does cause premature wear on other clutch parts. Therefore, Infiniti/Nissan should:

1. Issue a recall on this sticking pedal IMMEDIATELY. People’s lives are at risk! This is no different than the sticking accelerator problem that Toyota had but they want to sweep it under the rug. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE THEY WILL WAKE UP?
2. If they aren’t going to recall the sticking clutch pedal, then they need to cover the repairs to fix the sticking clutch pedal and any repairs from the unnecessary wear that the sticking clutch pedal caused.

If you have tried to work with the dealership or Infiniti/Nissan to get them to do just those very things and your attempts failed, here is what I suggest you do, as suggested to me by a consumer attorney:

1. File a complaint, in writing, over the phone or online with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) by going to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
2. File a complaint with the Attorney General – Consumer Protection Division in your area. You can find a list by state by going here: http://www.naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php
3. Write your congressman or congress-woman. You can find yours by going to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml. The last thing Infiniti/Nissan wants is a criminal investigation (much like Toyota’s) into the company's safety problems and lack of concern for their customers.
4. Contact a public defender at your local news station. Almost all of us have them now. You may not get a call back or response from this but I am willing to bet that if we all do this, one of them will step up the plate and broadcast this problem. And if you know how the news works, when one reports it, they ALL report it. News broadcasts will bring more people forward with the same problem and will provide us Infiniti/Nissan owners with some strength in numbers.

Having lived this, I hope that my tips and pointers help.

In addition, if any of you are in Texas and would like to become part of a group lawsuit against Infiniti/Nissan to offset some of the attorney fees, please email me at dalanamorse@gmail.com

United we stand… Let’s come together and MAKE Infiniti/Nissan do the right thing since they obviously aren’t going to do it on their own.

 

I seem to be having the same problem with my 06 M6 G coupe. In stop and go traffic, the pedal gets spongie and leads to the clutch pedal not comming up no more. It doesn't stay engaged but it just stays half way and I gotta pop it back up by putting my foot under the pedal. I tried to do 3 clutch flushes with the dealer fluid and nadda. Helped a bit though... I have an appointment with the dealer on friday. We'll see what the say. I'm up to 107k on the car and all power train guarentee ends at 110k so hopefully the end up changing the clutch master cylinder for free... I'll keep u guys updated.

P.S: just for the record, I asked the service rep if its a comon problem on the G and they said no. Bope...

 

Good luck getting anywhere with the dealer or the consumer affairs division. After a conversation with a gentleman at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who received my letter from my local Congresswoman's office, he tried to tell me there was nothing they could do since it was a matter of "normal" wear of tear on my car.

That was understandable since I was at 90K miles, but when I mentioned how many others I found through my research that were having the same problem and how the problem was not just limited to the G's and Z's, it is ALL Nissan/Infiniti vehicles with a clutch (Altima, Maxima, etc), he told me that they needed more complaints on record about this (especially at lower milage) to launch an investigation.

If enough us squeak about this, then maybe, just maybe we can get oiled. So I hope you all get to squeakin'

 

Good luck getting anywhere with the dealer or the consumer affairs division. After a conversation with a gentleman at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who received my letter from my local Congresswoman's office, he tried to tell me there was nothing they could do since it was a matter of "normal" wear of tear on my car.

That was understandable since I was at 90K miles, but when I mentioned how many others I found through my research that were having the same problem and how the problem was not just limited to the G's and Z's, it is ALL Nissan/Infiniti vehicles with a clutch (Altima, Maxima, etc), he told me that they needed more complaints on record about this (especially at lower milage) to launch an investigation.

If enough us squeak about this, then maybe, just maybe we can get oiled. So I hope you all get to squeakin'

 

I think all G's are prone to this sticky clutch pedal in bumper to bumper traffic especially on hot days... experienced it the first time about 3 years ago in north LA traffic (due to some multi-vehicle accident on the I-5/Hwy 14 interchange). Mine did exactly as you described (had about 40K miles at the time... haven't happened for a while but did occur occasionally here and there up here in sacramento during bad traffic. I'm at 110K now and beginning to notice clutch wear so when I change out clutch I plan on putting braided ss clutch line and flush/refill with valvoline synthetic DOT 4 fluid. Hopefully that'll help.

 

Of course when you bring in your car to the dealer and show them the problem, that's the moment its gonna start working perfectly. Especially with my luck... In Montreal, Canada Infiniti/Nissan dealers are just as bad and don't stand behind their warrentee's anyways. I'm just gonna go ahead and see what kind of BS their gonna tell me for the hell of it.

I'm a mechanic myself, and I know what the problem is... But if they say power train is guarenteed why should we be paying out of our pockets to begin with. Regardless of ware and tear. Its a product that failed prematurely!! FIX IT!! For freekin sake its a 60k car not a 9k dollar Kia man.

 

Don't mean to go off topic but my bro-in-law had a 08 350z which had a few things go wrong under 36K miles (i think 08 and later g's have this same design) ...
the new concentric slave cylinder leaks due to bad seal and no dealership in central valley would cover it (i found out there was a tsb on it eventually, ut too late)... the work to fix this would require dropping the whole tranny and replace the whole concentric slave
cylinder.
The spring loaded idler pully assembly (08 and up have single serpentine belt) had a crack in its attachment housing... same deal, dealer would not fix under warranty...

My bro-in-law ended up paying a mechanic relative of his to fix both out of pocket.

So, yeah imagine going down the highway and need to accelerate in heavy traffic to pass a merging semi and bam, belt falls off the pullies and you can't go into gear cause all the cluch fluid was lost several miles before.

 

Mine was sticking when I was shifting on the highway... no traffic... and in the dead of winter. It's a problem with their faulty parts and I hope that I am never left on the highway, looking down at my floor board trying to pop my clutch pedal back up while my engine is revving... scary, scary stuff. Replaced the clutch with an aftermarket performance one. Still stuck. Then my friend - a nissan mechanic - realized it was my master cylinder. So far, so good... but I am not holding my breath. If it works properly now then I will contribute it to aftermarket parts.

 

And I wanted a stick...This is nuts, we pay for a nice high dollar car and get crap. I would think it was an issue with the throw out bearing being steel and the shaft alu. and not sliding smoothly back to rest, or a broken return spring on the pedal, but as a lot of you have said it's due to slave cylinder issues. I would check how close the fluid line is to the exhaust and if it's less than two inches I would look at Jeg's or Summit for heat resistant covering for that line. They have all kinds of this stuff so you will be able to fix this issue. Also when you flush out the system you are supposed to use denatured alcohol to get the dirt out and also when doing this on any type of master cyl, you are never to push the pedal past the normal operating range because you will be going into the crap that stays at the end of the cyl. bore! So when you start, measure the pedal travel and get a wood block and leave it there when bleeding.

 

i know this is a pretty old fourm but it doesnt hurt to try... i've got an 06 g35 coupe and i have the identical problem. My clutch pedal starts sticking half way in stop and go traffic. After reading a couple fourms many sayto swap out the master cylinder and the slave cylinder. Saying that could do the trick to fixing this pos pedal problem. So i took a trip down to infiniti up here in montreal canada and picked up a mc and slave for about245$ CAD and i bought a SS clutch line from and autoparts place in TO @ 25$. I did the swap with the master cyclinder and the slave with no problems... i hink the hardest part is pretty much getting under the car and unscrewing and screwing in the ss line to the hardline. i started bleeding the system and after hours off bleeding the pedal still wont come up all the way. many people on the fourms say its cuz theirs still air in the system, im pretty sure thats the case but my question is how the hell can u get all the air out of the system? the methode im using is the old school way.... one person holding the pedal down and one person under the car cracking the bleeder and pushing the ram of the slave in at the same time but the pedal still wont come up all the way.... im out of resources... everytime i crack the bleeder i see a lot of bubles come out but how much could possibly in there.... what ya think guys? thanks in advance

 

Have your master and slave cylinders looked at before you do anything else.

I just had mine replaced under warranty, and I haven't noticed any clutch problems yet after heavy stop and go driving. Before, I could start a stopwatch and wait about 30 min and just feel the clutch problems getting worse and worse (sticking, tough to push in, harder to **** into gear...etc)

 

all i did was flush the lines and put new fluid it.. done deal.. sometimes the old fluid does some wonky stuff.. if your clutch fluid is dark, i would change it out.

 

I had this problem and changed out my clutch fluid....about and hour DIY with the help of my son pumping the clutch...haven't had it stuck since changing the orange fluid 2 weeks ago!