Sup all,

I'm one of the lucky folks with an early '03 G. Just took my car in today to Montclair Infiniti for the nasty 3rd gear grind, 50,000 miles on it. Dealer is able to replicate the problem and tells me it is a bad clutch that they want 2100 to fix. I politely tell the service manager, there's been numerous issues with the synchros on the tranny on the early Gs and Zs and his response is he's never once heard of any problems. I ask him, so why have they revised the tranny 8 times? He states that he's never heard of any revisions. Says he's had his "master tech" diagnose the problem and is adamant it is the clutch. I ask him, so it's normal for the clutch to go bad with only 50 K miles? He tells me he's had clutches go bad with lower miles on it than that. So I tell him then Infiniti obviously makes a faulty clutch if it goes bad this quickly. He says the clutch is not under warranty, and that clutches are only suppose to last 50 to 80 K miles. I tell him not to fix the clutch.

Newayz, I'm suppose to go pick up my car tomorrow morning, or else I get fined 85 bucks for their loaner. I'm no tech guru, but i didn't think a bad clutch could cause a grind? Can the problem be just the clutch?

Help please,...techs?

PRO

 

I don't think a clutch would cause a grind.

Why don't you ask the service tech to explain it to you how the clutch causes a grind.

 

After reading a bunch of posts on this topic, it seems that my third gear grind is definately a tranny problem. What type of evidence/proof can I show this dealer if they insist its a clutch problem?

 

That is *almost* always a problem with a syncro! However, there was a forum member on this board with an Integra GSR and they had a grind into 3rd and the clutch gave out soon after. Do a search to find his post, and you will see that the dealer could (slight chance) be correct..

Sorry to hear about the problem

 

If the clutch gives, won't you not be able to shift into any gear? I have no with any gear except for 3rd.

 

Have the clutch inspected by an ASE certified tech. and have him document that, even if it costs you then return with that info. and tell them you want to dispute thier findings and are ready to litigate. Also try to get another dealers opinion if possible and you should contact Infiniti also about this, especially if the ASE certified tech. finds your clutch is good...

Just be ready because it is not impossible to have a bad clutch with 50K miles (depends on the driver) but from my experiences, the grinding would be in all gears if the clutch plate is bad especially going from neutral to first or reverse and it will slip like crazy if the friction disc is worn.

 

So what will they do if you replace the clutch and the tranny still grinds? Reimburse your clutch?

Ask them that.

 

Good advice htown,

Would the dealer be able to come to the clutch conclusion without actually taking apart and looking at the clutch? Honestly, I think they just drove it around and then concluded it was a bad clutch, because they only inspected it for a few hours.

Another question, has anyone had their G35 or 350z tranny repaired/replaced at Montclair? I ask because the service dept said they have never heard of any tranny problems, which I find hard to believe.

 

Go to a different dealership

 

That's just BS dude, I have an 03 that have the same 3rd gear grind and the dealer replaced the tranny no questions ask. Fight them on or go to another dealer. Good Luck!!

 

Can the problem be a clutch? Yes, it can but it wouldn't be likely since you have a problem with grinding in only one gear. When the clutch goes, you should have a problem shifting gears period. I'm far from a master tech since I've only changed a clutch twice, but the easiest thing in the world to do is to look at the clutch plates and see if they are worn. Unless your Dealer is unethical, possible but unlikely, the mechanic examined your clutch and saw the worn clutch plates. It certainly wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion from someone you trust, but if you go to a private mechanic don't expect him to do the trouble shooting for free.

Here's an option to consider. If you know of a private mechanic whom you trust, tell him about your skepticism about your Dealer's diagnosis. Ask him to examine your clutch and to replace it only if it needs replacement. The average private mechanic will charge you at least $300 less than a Dealership.

Now just because you have a worn clutch, doesn't necessarily mean that it's causing your grinding problem. So you could be out $800 and still have the problem, but at least then your Dealer would have to replace the tranny.

 

go to another dealer! a clutch will not cause u grinding problems period. a worn clutch will slip and a really bad clutch will not move your car. it may be possible that a master or slave cylinder on the clutch is warped and is slowly screwing up your tranny... but in that case your tranny would still be messed up in the end anyways. considering i haven't heard any such problems on this car yet, it's a safe bet that you can throw that senario out. it's definitely a transmission problem especially if your grinding. another route u can take is call up infinti customer service and ask them to intervene. tell them your problem and explain to them that you believe it is the transmission and not the clutch. try to work the situation (if u can't go to another dealer) and ask them to come to some consensus on diagnosing the problem. ie. like have them take apart the clutch an examine for any problems and when they don't find any.... they better take that tranny apart and fix it. also... where are u located? u might find someone else on the forum that has had the same problem in your area and can recommend a good dealer to have it fixed up the right way. i hope things work-out as painlessly as possible.

 

You get an attorney!

 

Yes, my 1st tranny got stuck in 5th, gear on the freeway and they replaced it very quickly, the second transmission was bad... I drove it off the lot and got a couple of miles down the road then turned around and took it back... They called Infiniti and told me to drive it and let it break in, I drove it a couple of weeks and returned to complain... they said it was an 05 model trans and it was just "different"... I knew that was bull**** but kept driving until that trans made a crunching niose & got stuck it 6th. gear...

They replaced it the next day and that was 16K miles ago and this transmission ROCKS!!! I love it, it's perfect!

 

FYI - your trans will grind when you shift if there is a spring problem in the pressure plate, it could still be operational, but working badly. So yes, it could cause grinding, but it I agree, it would be in all gears.

htb (ASE Certified Master Tech. 1986 - 1995, Toyota PRO Tech. 1986 - 1991)