370Z Clutch? Problem

[GerryO]

Received this in an e-mail from a friend this evening;

My cousin burned out his clutch on I-5 coming from LA today near Magic Mountain.

How is this possible? He’s only had the car 4 months.

He said he lost power going up a hill, and now he’s stuck until they do a clutch change.

Anyone got any ideas or had a similar experience? Could it have started as a simple out of adjustment issue and now clutch/flywheel surfaces are glazed?

[BusyBadger]

Without knowing any particulars other than what you've related I'd go with operator error. Happens to sports cars all the time. Either someone gets one and they really don't know how to drive manual as much as they think they do and ride/slip the clutch causing premature wear or they beat the crap out of the clutch doing power launches and clutch dumps at every redlight and wonder why the clutch failed.

Seem it a million times. Well, maybe not a million...but enough to know that it's rarely an issue with the part.

[dasoupdude]

LA freeway eh. He probably had a habbit of resting his foot on that clutch pedal due to all that insane traffic.

[GerryO]

Without knowing any particulars other than what you've related I'd go with operator error. Happens to sports cars all the time. Either someone gets one and they really don't know how to drive manual as much as they think they do and ride/slip the clutch causing premature wear or they beat the crap out of the clutch doing power launches and clutch dumps at every redlight and wonder why the clutch failed.

Seem it a million times. Well, maybe not a million...but enough to know that it's rarely an issue with the part.

A leaky rear main seal?

Suspect the owner/driver is in his 50s and knows better, but then again...

[BusyBadger]

A leaky rear main seal?.

I suppose anything is possible. I figured the 370's had their "glitch" with the oil overheating/limp mode issue we've all read about by now.

My mind skimmed right over the I-5/LA reference. Soup's traffic diagnosis might be spot on, though I'd suspect it more in terrain that wasn't so flat. There are a lot of things it could be, the only way to really know is to start opening things up and checking things out.

I'll be interested to know what you find.

[GerryO]

Don't and will never know the mechanical details, but a Nissan dealership did make repairs fully covered under warranty, including rental car expenses.

[BusyBadger]

Bah on Nissan for not giving details!

But it's always good to hear a story where the consumer comes out on top! Send him my congratulations!

[dasoupdude]

And tell him to join..!