Need your help. Please keep this in the main forum so that I can catch everyone who may have this problem.

I have an 05 sedan 6MT and have the humming/whistling noise coming from the transmission when the car is cold (first 10-15 mins of driving). Long story short - I have been into the dealer 4 times. After intially denying there was a problem, they have since changed the transmission oil, completed noise testing activities with microphones, and replaced the rear differential. None of this has done anything. At this point, a tech, the service manager, and the dealer manager have all ridden in the car and acknowledged that yes, there is a noise/problem there. However, on paper, they stated the work that they did, that the noise was "normal for a manual transmission" and that they will call in a consumer affairs number but that I am on my own from here. In person they tell me that they dont know how to fix it and that their hands are tied to continue to trouble shoot the problem.

Heres where I need your help. For anyone who has had this specific problem, and either has had it fixed or is in the same position I am in where it is not fixed, please contact me at lucas.jefts@arcadis-us.com. We need to figure out a solution for this. I like my car and I want it fixed, and Infiniti WILL and MUST fix it. They talk a big game of having great customer service and reliability, but I have yet to see this.

Thanks guys.

 

Hey guys - I got one response by someone with the exact same problem which was fixed by the dealer (they replaced the trans). Could use a few more examples of people who have had this fixed. My dealer still wont replace the transmission.

Thanks!

 

I have the noise issue as well, I have only got as far as letting the service tech listen to a recording of it on my phone. It is going to be difficult for me to get mine fixed because I think we are finished with our cooler weather. It's really my fault for not taking it in this winter, the dealer is 2 hours away and it will be a pain to drop it off over night. My only thing now is that I hope I don't run out my warranty before it gets cold again, I'm at 61k now.

 

I have the '04 coupe 6MT with no problems for the last 28K miles. The car is garaged for the winter, so last week I replaced the transmission and rear differential oil with Royal Purple 75W90 synthetic. I also replaced the tires with BF Goodrich Ultra High Performance of the original size. For about the first 3 miles on the cold morning I am getting a high pitch whining noise, plus it is hard shifting from first to second with a slight gear grind noise. After warming up, all appears to be fine. I was thinking the tires were causing the noise since they have under 100 miles on them. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow for a wheel alignment, so I will mention the tranny issue to them and see what they say.

 

Yea mine is too loud of a noise to ignore. It is starting to warm up here as well which is why I am fighting doubletime with the dealer. It is still making the noise though during the past couple 50-60 degree days. I am only at 42k so I can wait till next winter but I would rather my car is fixed now so that I dont have to go through this whole ordeal again!!

nismike - If I were you I would make a videotape of the noise and call it in to the dealer so that it is documented.

Hopefully a few others on this forum have actually gotten it fixed and can help us out.

 

yea that is the one thing that I have done. It is on the service ticket from when I went in to let them hear the video. I'll see if I can post the video on this site.
I have done some research on this and I'll also see if I can find it and put that up as well. They are going to love me cus I think I have the oil consumption problem as well.

 

i'm assuming everyone is talking about the whistling noise that is present while the car is in motion during a cold start. usually happens in the colder climate regions. i also had this problem on my car... and it's been covered in depth on the forums in the past. assuming everyone is talking about the same problem (mine sounded like wind whistling). it has nothing to do with the transmission. there was one member that in my honest opinion diagnosed/summarized the problem the best:

here is just 1 of many threads talking about the dreaded cold climate whistle, humming, owl hoot, whatever the hell u want to call it:
https://g35driver.com/forums/drivetrain/77811-noise-only-when-cold.html

cheers.

 

Wow, thats a new twist on things. I hope thats all it is. What about the guys that got new transmissions and why would it only be with the 6mt's. I'm not trying to say your wrong, I have just never herd this explanation. Definitely have to look into this more.

 

Thanks Giddy - thats a good thread that I havent seen before. However, there was definitely two separate wind/whistling noises being discussed. The first being the cold air damper and the second a transmission/drivetrain noise.

When I take my shifter out of gear and coast, the noise goes away. When I put it back in a gear (any gear) the noise comes back. Also, when I shift through gears, the noise changes pitch. So I think, unfortunately, that my problem is something to do with the drivetrain. I wish it was just the cold air damper - that would make me feel better.

It sounded like a few people in the thread had their transmissions replaced so hopefully I can reach them and find out how they got the dealer to do this and if it worked.

-Luke

 

Thanks Giddy - thats a good thread that I havent seen before. However, there was definitely two separate wind/whistling noises being discussed. The first being the cold air damper and the second a transmission/drivetrain noise.

When I take my shifter out of gear and coast, the noise goes away. When I put it back in a gear (any gear) the noise comes back. Also, when I shift through gears, the noise changes pitch. So I think, unfortunately, that my problem is something to do with the drivetrain. I wish it was just the cold air damper - that would make me feel better.

It sounded like a few people in the thread had their transmissions replaced so hopefully I can reach them and find out how they got the dealer to do this and if it worked.

-Luke

 

I have the same probem as you gti. Problem is dealers play stupid with you. The service advisors I deal with(did) are pretty good at deflecting any not so common problems. Even though they might have gotten the same complaint more than once if it's not common they don't care. So in our case being that most cars are automatics leaves us at an distinct disadvantage.

 

Question- Does Infiniti pay the dealers for repair costs under warranty or do the dealers just have to eat the labor?

 

yeah.. sounds like something with your transmission then. mine only did it when the car was in motion. sounded like wind rushing through the windows and whistling. didn't matter if i was in gear or not. usually the noise went away after maybe 5 minutes of driving.

 

According to my dealer they do get reimbersed for the parts and labor to fix a warranty problem. However they say that they cannot replace the transmission until they have word from a regional service advisor. Which I dont really understand because other people have walked into a dealership, had a transmission replaced two days later, and drive away with the problem fixed.

I guess some dealers screw with people more than others. They probably think that people will give up or trade the car out. My dealer even admitted that they have seen this problem twice before (the first time they never got it fixed and the guy traded out and the second time the guy just stopped coming back).

Unfotunately for them, and for Infiniti, I am not going away. Like I said before - I like my car and it will be fixed!!!!

 

I got the noise to, and ive got under 3k ....

took it to the dealer twice... one said he had no idea what i was talking about but when i went for the ride with the tech it wasnt realy making the noise, go figure....

second time i went they said the noise is normal on all the 6mt, kinda sucks but i just gave up after that .