Well, I posted in November that my clutch slipped a few times. Now it's worse, to the point it needs to be replaced. I brought it to the dealer back in November. They test drove it for 3 miles and gave it back to me stating nothing was wrong. I just brought it back to them. They are now telling me it's my problem and I will have to pay for the replacment. The car has 3,800 miles on it. The service tech even started giving me sh** because they wanted the loaner car back the next morning. This has been probably the worst customer service on any car I have ever owned.

I know this falls under a "wear" item. Is there anything showing this particular item will be covered within a specified amount of time or mileage?

Will lemon law apply? Don't know because I have mods. None that directly affect the clutch.

The car had 120 miles on it when I purchased it 11/05. I think it was beat on from numerous test drives because it was the only 6 speed on the lot for 6 months before I purchased it.

Thanks.

 

Its a wearable item, but it did not last its normal lifespan so they should cover it. The only reason they wouldn't is if they think you damaged the clutch; at 120 miles it certainly took some test drives.

Unfortunately its your word against theirs. Take it to another dealer or two and see if they can put it under warranty, otherwise you will be stuck suing them in small claims court. The Lemon law would not be a good bet since your problem is fixable; you are just debating who will pay for it.

 

I had a similar problem with my coupe, but with the wheels instead of the clutch. Within a few hundred miles of purchase, the titanium paint started to flake off of my front driver's side wheel. I thought I might have caused it to happen, so I paid to have a rim doctor guy fix it. He took one look at it and refused to fix it. He showed me that the flaking was not caused by curb rash or impact, as there were no impact points. Instead, he showed me that something was causing the paint to come "unstuck" from the metal underneath. He diagnosed it as a defective paint job - most likely some contaminant got into the paint mix and fudged it up.

I fought with Infiniti (the company, not the dealer) over the issue for about 6 months. The dealership agreed with me that it was a defect, so they submitted it for warranty replacement approval (b/c they need approval to authorize free work on consumables). DENIED. The dealership felt bad, so they paid to have it fixed by a rim guy. Guess what? A month later, it started to happen again. Only on that wheel, always in circular patterns, and never as a result of road damage. This time the dealership recommended I call Infiniti Consumer Affairs. They asked for pictures, so the dealership submitted pictures I had taken and wrote a letter on my behalf. DENIED. The jackass on the phone told me that their engineers had determined it was not a defect (meaning that somehow I was repetitively damaging the same wheel - and no others - over and over again but in exactly the same places). I talked to the service manager about it and then let it go for a month or two. Then one day the dealer calls me up, says that an Infiniti regional VP came through on a tour, asked about any outstanding service issues, and when my issue came up, she authorized the replacement on the spot.

So all that's to say that they are going to fight you very, very hard, especially on a clutch, since it's something that irresponsible people break and try to get fixed all the time. Like Beowulf said, take it to a couple dealers, have them all check it out, then consider taking it to an independent shop and let them look at it. See if you can get pictures of the clutch plate and other internals while they have it pulled apart so you have evidence. Then see where you go from there.

Good luck!

 

Try taking it to Lake Norman Infiniti. Infiniti of Charlotte is just horrible, period. I took my car in for some warranty work after my driver side window motor died. After 4 return visits, and scratches on my car from the "complimentary" car wash, they finally fixed it. I've used Lake Norman since then and they have commented on the additional business they are receiving from Infiniti of Charlotte. Good Luck!

 

Yeah try Lake Norman Infiniti, they're service is pretty good.

 

Well, Lake Norman Infiniti has resolved my problem. They took my car on Tuesday and did the clutch for me under the warranty. Dennis, the service manager was extremely empathetic to my situation and worked with me to resolve the situation. I will have no problem driving the extra 30 miles to Lake Norman Infiniti to get all work done in the future.

This is proof all dealerships are not considered equal.