I had the same problem, same hassle with the dealership. It was occasionally grinding so like chops said, I drove the sh*t out of it till there was no question that something was wrong. It only took the dealership a quick ride up the street to decide that something wasn't right. I'm not saying abuse your car, but it was an intermitten problem that was only getting worse.. I just sped up the process.

 

u guys think i should try shifting into 3rd without the clutch? will that F it up? if so how should i go abou it? Hey i need to ask all you guys to do me a favor if you could. If youve had your transmission replaced, could you plese post and enter your VIN, that way i can take this forum to infiniti and show those dicks all these people who have had them replaced, they dont belive there are any problems, thx a lot.

 

chuckp...

came across your thread by just browsing around (just ordered a new g35 and was wondering what others thought of their cars). your problem speaks many similarities to a '98 corvette that i once owned. the car started grinding gears on me in 3rd gear and then progressed to 4th and 5th after time. dealer would absolutely not touch the tranny. after going through hell and 4 dealerships i finally got one to take apart the tranny and diagnose it. turned out that my clutch cylinder was warped and was not fully openning up when depressed. Over time my syncros started to give 'way. After replacing all the damaged parts the car ran without problems.

I found that the car would grind when shifting at high speeds or high rpms. holding the clutch down for a while would sometimes alleviate the problem when shifting (sounds very similar to your diagnosis). hope this helps.

cheers.

 

Mine just grinded going into reverse today. That's a first. If only I could get 2nd to grind when the tech is in the car... How long is our tranny warranty?

 

4 year/60k i belive? BTW Dont go to infiniti of marin, they are POS's there, they only deal with older rich people who dont modify their G's, they dont condone any mods, which is wut this car is made for.

 

I just took my car in for a 30K service. I'm at 35K, and the car just started grinding into 5th, either up or down shifting. Unless I shift very slowly, it will grind just as it goes into gear. I never had this problem before while everyone else did. The service guys did some "adjustments" and told me that the transmission would be out of warranty anyway. I picked the car up after the servicing and it still grinds. So I am just taking it easy shifting into 5th and I don't have a problem. It's only when I start getting more agressive that I don't have time to be easy on it. ANy one have a new tranny for sale?

 

hes ripping u off, its under warrenty till 60k

 

Heres the letter I had to write after my crap experience in trying to get my trans replaced under warranty. Never did get a response

Please let me preface this by saying that I am quite disappointed with the overall quality of service I received from Infiniti. I purchased an Infiniti based on the level of prestige, class, and reliability the company prides itself on being know for. Instead I was called a liar, told I didn't know how to properly drive the car, threatened with excessive fees - indicative, in my opinion, of a level of professionalism associated with car companies no longer in business. I don't think that I, or anyone in my immediate family, will be purchasing your product anytime in the near future.

I researched the G-35 6-speed coupe for almost a year before deciding to
purchase the car. When I first saw the car at the Chicago Auto Show in
February of 2003, I loved it. It seemed to offer the best luxury sport bang for the buck. Finally, I bought my 6-speed coupe in January of 2004. The first 20K or so miles went without incident. However, starting around 21-22K miles, I noticed a problem with the manual transmission. There were a few other things going wrong with the car, as well. The driver's seat cushion came separated from the frame, the rear axles were snapping from 5-15mph, and heavy grease streaks developed on the windows. Being that I read and subscribe to many online G-35 and Nissan 350Z forums, I found that many these were common issues regularly serviced under warranty by the dealer. However, the transmission problem worried me.

My drive to work consists of 70 miles round trip on the North West Indiana Toll Road. Cruising speed averages 65-75 mph with little to no traffic.
From there, its a two mile drive through country back roads to work. Around the same time everything else on the car began falling apart, the transmission developed a really bad grinding when shifting from fourth to fifth, and fifth to sixth gears. It ended up being so bad that the car would rarely even engage sixth, and sometimes pop out of gear.

So, I called Consumer Affairs to make them aware of the problem. I spoke with Norma Jean, who was quite helpful in the beginning. I asked if, since the nearest dealer to me was nearly 90 miles away, Infiniti would come pick my car up or have it towed to Fort Wayne Infiniti. Unfortunately, I was told neither service would be possible unless my car was un-drivable due to a manufacture defect. I was also told the dealer did not offer the option of bringing me a loaner in exchange for my car, so I wouldn't have to take personal time driving over there.

I make my living in straight commission sales. I work for a large performance tire and wheel company here in South Bend Indiana, primarily in phone sales. Every minute I'm away from the phone is income lost. Luckily, my father was available to drive the car over to Fort Wayne. Once there, a description of the problems were noted, and my father asked to take them (the service manager and mechanic) for a test drive so they could experience what the transmission was doing. Dave declined. After sitting there almost all day, they gave my dad a loaner and he came home.

It wasn't until that next week that I had to call and get the status on my car. Dave told me all the repairs had been authorized except the transmission. Bewildered (because this was the most serious of the problems
- the main reason I took the car all the way to Fort Wayne), I asked why.
He proceeded to tell me that Brian at the tech center in California said the car was not designed to skip gears. I was told I didn't know how to drive the car properly, and I was the cause of the transmission failing. Dave also said they could not get the car to duplicate the problem when shifting from fifth to sixth, but had no problem getting it to grind from fourth to sixth. Even though they acknowledged a severe issue skipping gears, he said they would not replace the transmission under warranty because of what the tech in California told him. He said they would proceed with the other repairs and let me know when the car was finished.

The next day I called Consumer Affairs back and talked with Norma Jean.
Unfortunately, customer service reps take the brunt of customer's anger and can rarely do anything to help. I explained my situation to her, and she said she would check with the dealer and confirm what they had told me. I was told there was no way for me to talk directly to tech in California since I was not an Infiniti employee. She confirmed that the dealer refused the request to have the transmission replaced. She said there was nothing she could do beyond what was already said, and I was told to pick my car up and return the loaner when the car was done. I told her I would pick the car up when the items that needed to be replaced were replaced. She said if I didn't pick up my car they would either charge me per day for the loaner, or they would tow my car back to me and charge for the tow and days I used the loaner.

Appalled, I called the dealer back. I told Dave I would again inconvenience my father and send him on the 90 mile journey back over to the dealer with the loaner (again because I cannot just get up and leave work). Once there, my father took Dave and a mechanic with him for a test drive (as he originally requested to do before he left my car there the first time). When my father took my car out onto the highway, the Infiniti reps asked where he was going.

My father explained that he was going to take the car on the highway in order to get it up to speed and prove to them it was grinding, not only when skipping gears, but also when shifting properly. They then said they hadn't even taken it but a few blocks down the road when initially attempting to
diagnose it. That dealer is on a road where the top speed is 35-45 miles
per hour, so I cannot figure out how, given those speed limits, they could have even got the car going fast enough to properly shift it into fifth or sixth gear.

Seven out of the eight times the car was "properly" shifted from fifth to sixth when my father took them for the test drive, it ground. Every time from fourth to sixth it also ground. Dave finally confirmed the transmission needed to be replaced.

The car was fully repaired and I went to pick it up about three weeks after the initial visit. I went over on a Saturday and was told Dave wouldn't be there but a sales representative could assist me. So, I decided to skip a family function and drove over with my wife to the dealer. I told the sales representative I wasn't going to sign the release papers until I took it for a drive. He said that was fine, but that, in any event, I would not be leaving it there. I told him if the car wasn't shifting or driving right, or had a problem, I wasn't taking it back home. Again, he told me the car would have to be taken home today and there were no exceptions. I drove the car and it performed without incident.

Because of this whole ordeal I honestly don't think anyone I know who has heard this story will purchase an Infiniti in the future. I will be disappointed for a long time because of the way my family and I were treated. First, I was told I didn't know how to drive my car, then that I caused the problem, threatened with fees by Consumer Affairs, made to inconvenience myself and others, then forced to take the car even if it wasn't fixed correctly. This doesn't really sound like a premium car company to me. I received better service from the local Dodge dealer when I owned an Intrepid in my college days.

If I wanted to be shrugged off and called a liar, I would have purchased some low grade car from a local dealer. Personal attacks and total disregard for service and customer satisfaction aside, the simple quality problems with a car that costs upwards of $35,000 are disturbing enough.
All of the problems I had just before 25K miles makes me wonder what will come in the next 20K or 50K miles. Unless there is a change in the customer service side of Infiniti, I don't think there will be an Infiniti sitting in my driveway again.

 

Wow, that's quite an experience you had there XCELR8.

Altho you had a nasty go around with those guys, you may find complete happiness/support somewhere else.

G/L

 

Yeah, I think that dealer banned me from ever returning again lol

 

AS if you'd want to go back....hahaha.... to hell with them.

 

Argh, my '03 just started grinding 3rd on the first shift of the day. I hope to hell I don't run into the same issues with my dealer that some of you have.

 

It's a common issue bro, don't worry. Just keep Nissan abreast of your problems and let them test drive it sometime to evaluate.
The majority of owners here have had good service with no aguments.
C.

 

Well gsedanman, you can add me to the list of the majority . Dropped her off yesterday for them to take a "cold" drive this am. Just got a call and they are replacing the transmission under warranty. Atlantic Infiniti in Jacksonville has been great so far......