Today my son got in his G35 after school and the clutch went to the floor. He already had it in reverse and bucked and stopped. Then it just stayed on the floor and he called me.

The reservoir was empty and a puddle under the car. We added some more fluid and it eventually started leaking again. I traced it back to leaking inside the transmission. Looking at the Service manual I found that it's the concentric slave cylinder (It was leaking on the outside of the tranny.)

I read the service manual and realized the whole tranny had to be dropped....not good for his pocket book. I came on here and did all the searching and found this was quite the problem. I think his mileage is around 112k. I looked up his carfax and it said a dealer replaced it at 16 2/6/2008. It doesn't say under recall but I'm assuming thats why they did it because it was most likely just the oil change it was in there for.

On the infinitiusa site, the vin pulls up no recalls. Which is what I believe has happened to a lot of other people who have posted on here. That's probably the same database the local dealers use...

Well I found:

Communication Number: ITB08-001, Date: 2008-01-12 Category: 101000 POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY Summary: INFINITI SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH BUTTON FOR OWNER LETTER. VOLUNTARY SERVICE CAMPAIGN--2007 G35 6-MT CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER. VIN: JNKBV61E*7M00138 TO 727518. CSC WAS RECEIVED. *NJ

Read more at: https://www.obd-codes.com/tsb/2007/infiniti/g35/
--------------------------------------------------------
His falls in that range of VINs
I plan to call the dealer tomorrow and see if I can get the recall to stick...yea I know it's a long shot but I thought I'd ask if anyone has tried this successfully?What if the replacement was just as faulty. I'm trying to save my son some $ because it sounds like dropping the tranny to replace it is gonna cost quite a bit.
Thanks!

 

I had that problem with my previous 06 G35 6 speed. The CSC was replaced under warranty by the dealer at 92.2k miles in 10 July 09 at no charge. No further clutch problems and the vehicle was traded in for my 2012 G37S at 171796 miles.

Telcoman

 

Be prepared to call multiple dealers if necessary, even some a good distance away. Driving there will probably be cheaper than paying out of pocket for a repair like that.

 

Yep.
I found a dealer to replace my belts after they weren't locking up under heavy braking. Local one to me wanted $500 to even look at it. Scammers.

Best of luck OP. It's a major issue so I'd think it could be recalled.

 

That's the problem with VOLUNTARY service options. It's up to the dealerships discretion.

There is a kit to relocate the CSC you might look into since they are such a pain to replace when they fail.

 

I was wondering about the voluntary part vs a proper "recall". A recall is government-mandated and will be safety related. Some will argue that any failure could be safety related but frankly, the NHTSA disagrees....

In this case, if the mileage was 12,000 instead of 112,000, it would be a different story. 100k add'l miles and 10 years later ? Cross your fingers ! Also, if it was replaced at 16 (??) thousand miles, well, it lasted 96,000 miles and it's hard to claim it was a defective part.

Infiniti could say they'll cover the repair if the original p/n slave cylinder is installed but if the updated p/n is installed, the owner covers it....

 

Nope. Local said I'd have to call corporate. So I did. The part was replaced under the recall so that is that...The local dealership said it would take 6 hours of service at $170/hr. They didn't even quote me prices for parts.
Meanwhile, I just got my first quote from a highly rated shop. Ugh....
They recommended replacing the clutch while in there (because of the age it's gonna be soon, and probably got brake fluid on it) Clutch $852 list. CSC $192 list. Fluids $30. Labor $610. + tax ~$1900
He did say those aren't the cheapest parts.
He also said that once in there the flywheel might be worn out. For that type of flywheel it said to replace instead of machine. $1100. He said they could try to clean it up if it's worn, but wanted me to know this up front. Another shop might spring it on me once it's in there and the tranny is dropped. If it's worn and they don't replace it, he said shifting won't be smooth and will chatter.
So taking it to this shop would cost $3000 worst case. I'm not sure how long he planned to keep the car but he wrecked the back suspension earlier this year hydroplaning into a curb. That cost him $1500.
It was bought last June for $7500.
So I'm not really sure what to do here. I'm open to suggestions!
I'm waiting on another quote now.
Thanks for any input.

 

Don't reuse the flywheel it's almost certainly shot and not just the friction surface, the springs of the DMFW wear out and cannot be replaced. Talk to the shop about a single mass aftermarket one, they make a little noise but are cheaper than a DM one.

Also ask if they will install a kit that you buy, you can source ALL the components, clutch, flywheel, TO bearing, pilot bearing, CSC, CMC, and fluid for under $1K, call or visit Z1 Motorsports and get a price from them.

 

You can also get a price on the CSC relocation kit but it's more money, I think they were $250??

 

Thanks for the response!
I looked at z1
https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pro...bo-p-5384.html
$1132 with the csc elimination.
I also read somewhere else on the site that the master cylinder should also be replaced $100

I might ask if a shop would install this kit but it looks like it's gonna go over $2k. Still way out of his range.
Just really not sure what to do. He's afraid of what's gonna be the next issue (oh he needs new brakes also, which we were supposed to do next week then this happened.)

 

The master cylinder should be replaced yes, typically when replacing a clutch you replace EVERYTHING since it is quite an undertaking and those older components aren't going to last the life of another clutch.

Yeah I hate to say it but it sounds like you're already thinking it, you might consider just cutting your losses and selling the vehicle as-is. These are luxury sports cars and are fairly expensive to work on for both maintenance and repairs.

What year is the vehicle and is it a coupe or sedan?

 

Reason I ask the year is I thought all 2007 6MT G's came with the VQ35DE which still had the external CSC?

 

Also I would call EVERY shop in town for a quote, you might find someone who can do the work for a better price. Ask about using the Z1 kit as well as their shop-sourced components.

 

Thanks for the responses. It's a 2007 sedan sport
I believe the vq35de is for the coupe.
Before I found the leak I was looking at the service manual and simultaneously watching youtube. I saw the external slaves and thought this wouldn't be hard to fix.
It kind of sucks because the oem slave is $195. With labor, he could have afforded it. But I understand the necessity to do all the extra stuff at the same time. Perhaps someone else will want to do it and easily get 100k miles out of it....damn the luck. He really liked the car. Today was his last day of school also. Timing really sucks as the summer starts and he needs to get to his job.
Thanks again.

 

Well knowing the entire situation I suggest you either offload the vehicle or just have a mechanic crack it open with the intention of replacing ONLY the slave cylinder, he's going to have the transmission out and will be able to quickly determine if the clutch is contaminated OR NOT. If it's not then just replace the CSC and put it all back together, sure it's not IDEAL but since you'll probably take a $2-3k LOSS on the vehicle if you try to sell it now then your best bet might be to just bandage it along.

If you do have to replace the clutch because it's contaminated then you'll be looking at probably +$250 on the cost of the repair, it's definitely possible it's not contaminated though.

You will probably get a year or two AT LEAST out of the clutch but ask the mechanic to give his best estimation on how much life is left in it. Don't resurface the flywheel but know that this is basically a bandage job only intended to last a couple years at most. You will be able to sell the vehicle at full value this way, drive the vehicle for a year or more, and then have the time to decide whether to get rid of it or keep it.

They should be offering a labor estimate in the area of $600-700 for replacing only the CSC since it only takes about 5 hours with the right tools like a lift and transmission jack table.