I'm driving a 2003 G35 5AT Sedan

Is your 5th gear working now?

It is possible that your transmission oil is burnt and doesn't dissipate heat very well anymore. Under extreme heat to the transmission it doesn't act very well.

When was the last time you changed your transmission fluid? CHECK FLUID level.

If 5th gear is now working then you need to change your fluid or add fluid. If 5th gear isn't working you probably have a bad synchro.

I had to next day air the dipstick to the dealership. But of course I didn't order it until like 4pm Thursday and the dealership is closed on Saturday's so they won't get it until Monday.

Ugh, I'm letting them keep my car for now just so I don't mess anything more up.

But yes, 5th gear was working fine when they tried it. I hope it's nothing serious.

Auto's don't have syncro's.

I'll find out tomorrow about the fluid level. I'll keep everyone posted.


And, Thanks for all the help too people.

Talked to the dealership today. They said that my transmission fluid was a little dark but nothing serious.

They also said that when they started the car up it had some smoke come out of the exhaust. This has NEVER happened to me before. Why would it be doing it now? They said that I might have sludge build up in my engine. I bought the car with 50k miles on it and it has 66k on it now. They said that maybe the person before me didn't change the oil at the right mileage.

They said that I might new a new engine eventually.

I think I am going to try and seafoam it and see if I can knock some sludge free.

I told them to go ahead and do the 60k mile servicing w/ a transmission flush.

Anyone have any advice/ideas? Thanks!

KEEP the tranny fluid clean...drain/fill every 15-20K or flush every 30-40K.

Use some detergent oils to clean out the engine if there is sludge.

What type of oil has been used, that is if you know?

As far as the smokey exhaust. Do you usually allow your car to sit several days without starting it? If not then it is possible you just never noticed a little bit of smoke. It may also mean very little in the long run. I would simply watch your oil consumption. It may be a little valve stem leak which often is not a big issue once the engine reaches operating temperature. If concerned I may consider looking at your intakes for an evidence of oil. Is your air cleaner oil based or dry?

Any particular product suggestions? I'm planning on seafoaming it, is that the same thing?


No clue, but I have used synthetic only.

Nope, I drive this car every single day. The most it ever sits without running is over night.

Air cleaner meaning intake filter? I just installed a Fujita Short Ram Intake. It has a dry filter on it. Is that what you were asking?



I should be getting the car back today. They flushed the transmission fluid and did all the 60k mile servicing. We'll see how she runs.

The odd thing is though, that they still haven't been able to reproduce the 5th gear transmission problem. I'm not sure how to proceed from here....

Another thing, I didn't mention was that while we were up in Charlotte, the very first night we were there, someone f*cking hit my car in the middle of the night and ran off. Leaving it for me to wake up to.

This added with the transmission problems weren't enough. The second morning I was there, I woke up to a flat tire. Are the gods after me? It seems so.

Anyways, for your viewing pleasure, here is my car after it was hit.

Your smoke may have always been there but was not noticed because of the fact you drove it everyday and it didn't accumulate like it did at the dealer. For now I would just monitor it and it is even possible it will go away. If concerned check various components like pvc, etc.

As far as air cleaner, for your intake basically the same thing. An air filter is part of the air cleaner assembly.

A typical oil based one would be a K&N. You have a dry filter. However some performance car owners still use a combination even oil baths such as some 914 Porsche which run on the track. They are still sold new and work well if properly set up.

Just got it back from the dealer, they said that the transmission fluid was dark and it is still a little dark and that after a few thousand miles I should do another transmission flush...

BUT the f*cking problem is still there!#$^787835hnkl/adfh

The mechanic told me before I left, "if you have anymore problems you're going to need a new tranny."

Well, the problem persist. It may even be worse I can't quite tell. How much is a new transmission going to cost me????????

Damn bro sorry to hear that, I guess you wont be making it to the meet this weekend in Atlanta.

no damnit. I'm going to be in Athens this weekend too for a concert and was planning on driving through Atlanta before my ride back down home but I wouldn't fit in much in the Volvo XC90.

I don't know much about the jatco tranny but the with the GM trannies you can, with a scanner, see how long it's taking to engange a gear ( from the time the computer says to do it to the time the solenoid actually activates ) and the ECU can tell you if something doesn't add up ( improper gear ratios if the car thinks it's in 4th but it's actually in 3rd for example ) and a hundred other things for you to decide what's wrong.

You could have a valve in the valvebody sticking, it could be a solenoid, it could be a clutch pack seal, it could be a million things. Some people just rebuild it completely just to get everything all at once. Unfortunately you might have to do the same.