In the past few weeks, I've noticed that it is increasingly difficult to get my 2003.5 6MT with 32k miles into 1st and 2nd gears. When I first turn the car on, I have no trouble. But once it has been running 2-3 minutes it is sometimes impossible to get the car into 1st and it can be very difficult to get it into 2nd. The other gears all seem fine.

When I called the dealer -- Park Avenue Infiniti -- and asked what the problem might be the technician suggested that I needed a new clutch/flywheel which costs almost $2000!! They claim it is normal for these cars to need a new clutch and flywheel about every 30k miles.

I'm not at all hard on this car and the mileage is all highway. Do these cars REALLY need new clutches every 30k miles? My previous car, a Maxima, had over 60k on the clutch before I upgraded to the G35.

Please advise.


MJC

 

Sounds fishy to me.. my guess would be a synchro issue or other related tranny component... try revving the engine up a bit before putting it in first and slowly release the clutch.. see if it helps..?

 

Thanks for the reply.. I thought it sounded weird too especially since I have no slipping or other problems.

I'll definitely give your suggestion a try and may even take a visit to a different dealer.

Mark

 

Be careful!! There are so many dishonest shops out there...please take advise from the forum.

Is this problem while the car is in motion or stopped?
Did you put all of the miles on the car?

I'll assume moving since you normally wouldn't try to start out in second. This would indicate a downshift or from a slow roll into a gear (ex. in traffic). In either case slightly increasing rpm will help get to the gear. First gear will always be very hard while moving because of the ratio.

Think about this for a minute...
You push in the pedal to disengage the clutch. This puts space between the components. These parts, when worn, do not cause the problem you describe. Unless this action was not disengaging the flywheel,clutch and pressure plate, gear selection should operate normally. This would have nothing to do with a worn clutch/flywheel. It's more likely to have something to do with a worn/broken syncronizer.

 

I just had 2003.5 6MT sedan in for the 60K. No Clutch work needed since I drove it off the lot close to 3 years ago. I am not sure where the "Replace at 30K" rumor came from.

Ken

 

i think there's a default in the clutch, or something is not engaging correctly..

 

No. 30k on a G35 clutch is a very short interval unless you are abusing the clutch with lots of slipping, drop clutch launches, etc. If your driving is truly all highway, you should easily see 100k+ without replacing the clutch.

 

I agree with the others here.
Sounds more like a synchro issue more than clutch.

The only way it makes sense for the clutch is if it's the throw out bearing.
(but not very likely)

 

If it operates normally into the other gears it really doesn't make sense for it to be the clutch or flywheel. The synchros sound like a possible cause.

What data does the dealer have to back up the "it's normal to replace the clutch and flywheel every 30k" statement? Unless you were abusing it frequently that would be a very early replacement for those parts. The synchros were upgraded in '05 to reduce this problem.

Good luck with resolving the problem.