Hi folks...first time poster, here.

I just bought a new '04 G35 coupe. I have about 800 miles on the car and have two questions. The first is, I get a rattling sound when I let the clutch out to the friction point and give it some gas. The dealer is telling me that it's normal; all the 6-spd. cars do it. But I have never heard a car make this noise before...do any of you have something like this?

Second, I'm getting a burning smell from the engine compartment. Again, the dealer tells me it's normal, that it's just corrosion protection burning off. But after 800 miles? Did any of you get this?

 

I don't think I get that rattling?? The only thing I can think of is you're not giving the throttle enough juice before letting clutch out, and the engine is at too low of an rpm.. is that the case?

As for the smell, I think my funky smell went away at ~200 miles... maybe 300?

Def way before 800.

Good luck

 

No...the noise gets worse the more gas I give it. If I am super smooth on the clutch and don't give it much gas, it's fairly quiet.

It also makes the noise if I suddenly throw in the clutch.

 

Is it through every gear? Or just 1st-2nd? Has it been when the car is cold? Many of us get a rattling from 1st to 2nd the first time we press in the clutch on a cold morning, atleast I do sometimes...And is the burning smell always there? Or is it sparatic, I hope your following proper break in procedures and that you haven't taken the G to redline yet... Fill us in on this info and maybe we can help out a little better...

 

OK...

Yes, I am following proper break-in procedures. Religiously. I am eagerly awaiting the 1200 mile mark so I can go tear it up.

For the smell, it's every time I drive the car.

For the rattle, it occurs to some degree in every gear, but it is most prominent in 1st or reverse. I can hear it when I shift into second and occasionally when I shift into third; after that I have to listen very carefully. It happens every time, no matter what temperature, but it does depend on how I manipulate the clutch and accelerator.

The rattle seems to be the worst if I do the following: if I begin with the car stopped, put the car in first or reverse, give a little gas and let the clutch out to the friction point. Once at the friction point, if I give it more gas, it really rattles. It will also really rattle if I suddenly throw in the clutch from the friction point.

If I am very smooth with the clutch and give it just enough gas to keep the engine from stalling, the rattle is pretty quiet. I haven't tried dumping the clutch yet; I'm waiting to finish breaking in the engine. If the clutch is all the way out (or all the way in) and I give it gas I don't get the noise.

The good news is I took it to the dealer for a second opinion...they agreed it's not normal and are going to replace the clutch.

 

Congrats...After reading your more thorough explanation of the problem I was going to suggest for you to go back to the dealership and demand something be done...The rattle is normal and can occasionally happen going into 1st or 2nd on cold days or if you just haven't given it enough gas...However your saying its more prominent when you give it more gas which makes no sense...Hopefully the new clutch will fix everything, and you can enjoy your new G...By the way, thinking back to that magic number of 1200 miles still brings a smile to my face... Let her loose, and enjoy...

 

just have the service writer go out for a drive with you so that you can confirm the noise. I have had to do that plenty of times. Its the only way to keep them from backin out and you can always say that so and so came out for a drive and heard it too. Hope this helps.

 

Take a deep breath and relax, I think your two issues are completely normal. That's a good thing! You can read about the rattling if you do a search on the Coupe or Tech/Mods board for 'chatter' or 'clutch chatter'.

The burning smell is also normal. They spray the engines with anti-corrosion gunk for their overseas journey, and it takes a long time to burn off. It took about 1000 to 1200 miles for that smell to go away. I don't think it is your clutch though. hope everything's OK...

 

Thanks for the tip...I did do search for clutch chatter and read the threads that came up. This doesn't sound like the same thing...the chatter mentioned in the other threads happens in neutral; mine happens only when the clutch is at the friction point.

 

lazerred, I just took delivery of my 05 6MT and am hearing a virtually identical noise, primarily in 1st and 2nd, then it disappears in the higher gears. I need to check if the noise gets worse as I feed in gas, but it appears to be the same problem you are experiencing. This tells us that either it is normal, or there is a design / manufacturing flaw; let's hope it is the former!

One other question for you, are you hearing a very high pitched metallic noise, almost like a ringing sound occassionally? I hear it sporadically, especially when I let off the gas and the RPMs wind down through 2500 RPM. The weird thing is that I can't hear it when the car is in neutral and I listen under the hood, which leads me to believe that the clutch may be rubbing (although I don't know why it would sound metallic) or there is something going on with the gears. I'd appreciate it if you could check yours and tell me if you hear the same thing.

 

I picked up my G35 6M last week and have the same issue. When I start off under higher rpms there is a clatter like valve noise, although in neutral the sound does not occur so it does not sound like an engine problem. The clatter also happens on the 1-2 shift, again at higher rpms.

I must admit I have not been as religious as some in regard to the break-in process. The dealer told me to have fun but no sustained high rpm driving (which I am adhering to). Reading the threads regarding break-in is worrying me now and I hope I haven't damaged anything.

Thanks

 

Mine also has a high pitched whine occasionally when depressing the clutch and allowing the rpms to decrease. It really seems like the transmission synchros are making the sound. It reminds me a lot of the synchros in my old M-21 equipped Chevelle although of course the sound is much subtler in the G !

 

Hello everyone. First time post'r here. I have an '03 coupe that I purchased in January. 6-spd and I've been to the dealer about this as well. They also tell me it's normal and if it continues to come back in. I drive about 20 miles one way to and from work and it seems like every time I get home (and check mail), leaving the car in neutral, I hear a rattling noise coming from the front. But as soon as I push clutch in, the noise stops.

The dealer tells me to stop by so they can hear noise, twice this week, I've stopped by on way home and of course the noise wasn't there.

Any help? Oh yeah, about 24,000 miles.

 

This is a common occurance. I've had it since day 1...and it's now day 30. It gets better as time goes by. At 800 miles, it's not half as bad as when I first got it. Many people have the same issue..a hard ticking that you feel in the clutch under acceleration, mostly in first gear and reverse, if you have your windows down, you can actually hear it. I have it...it has gotten better. It does not seen to affect the transmission though. I pointed it out to the dealer at 50 miles. I was told that they test drove the other 6MT they had and it did the same thing. Whatever. I figure that it's either going to get better or my tranny's gonna fry. It seems to be heading in a positive direction.

 

I have an 04 and those smells are normal. They started to show up at 600 miles and went away bi 1200. It all depends on how often you drive it. If you drive it for long periods of times, its going to start early. The reason for this smell is the plastic around the engine getting used to the heat. Dont worry about that.