So I bought this car about a month ago with 7800 miles on it. The car was in perfect conditon and showed no signs of wear at all. Turns out my clutch is f-ed up and it takes me about a minute to get to 60mph! Needless to say I am somewhat pissed. After reading through some of the posts here, it seems as though infiniti is tight with clutch warranty replacements. First, what the best way for me to handle trying to get this thing fixed? Those who've had their clutches replaced by the dealer, did you have to fight to get it done? Im prepared to make a lot of noise about this thing cause ive only had the car for 1-2 months. If all else fails whats the cheapest route for me to get the clutch replaced? Thanks!

 

I've moved this thread to the tech area, as it can apply equally to the coupes.

Now to the clutch issue. I won't say that these cars are known to have clutch problems, but clutch problems aren't extraordinary. How long have you had the car, and how many miles have you put on the car? And in which state to you live? Many dealerships offer a limited 1 month or 1,000 mile warranty on used cars. Some offer a 90 day or 3,000 mile warranty. It may depend on the dealer, but some states have minimum warranty periods. I know that the state of Minnesota, for example(at least back in the late nineties) required all dealers honor a minimum of a 1 month/1,000 mile warranty.

A clutch is a wear item, and that's why its rare to have them replaced at dealer cost. However, you might have some room with the dealer considering the comparative youth of your vehicle and the fact that you bought it used.

If you do have to pay for it yourself, I suggest that you do not go with an OE unit. My local dealer wanted to charge me over 1 grand for an OE flywheel alone. The OE clutch isn't too bad; I think it was right at $300, which is comparable to entry-level aftermarket clutches. If you decide to go aftermarket, I would recommend that you go with the JWT clutch, as it's very popular. Or you could go with the Clutchmasters Stage1, which is what I run myself.

I would try to stick with the OE flywheel though. Aftermarket flywheels are a noisy lot, and in my opinion not worth the tradeoff for performance versus noise and comfort. The dealer will try to tell you that the OE flywheel cannot be resurfaced. I believed that when I replaced mine. But I've read too many accounts of people getting their OE flywheels resurfaced. That should save you quite a bit of money.

 

can you go into more detail with whats wrong with your clutch? I just bought an 05 6mt with 17k miles on it and its my first mt car and I dont think id be able to tel if there was a problem if i had one with my clutch...

 

UPDATE!
I was at work when I made the original post, about 4-5 hours ago. Well on the way home, going like 70-80mph in 6th gear the car just gave out. The rpms were fluctuating between 3-5000rpm and the car had difficulty maintaining speed when all of a sudden I loose power and rpms drop to none. I also heard a mechanical "click" like sound, like something broke below the car when it gave out. I am pissed off now. Currently I live in Michigan and drive the car a lot on the highway(not too much on the side stress). We did have some snow when i originally got the car but thats been gone for a while. I dunno if this is clutch wear cause it came on quite sudden. Actually it was last night coming from a movie, had the car in cruise control and it kept fluctuating the rpms so the cruise wouldn't stay active. Then less than 30 miles and 24hours later the car wont move. is that clutch wear? Especially considering that the dealer changed the oil on Friday morning(not the one i bought the car from) and everything was okay.

 

bump