Symptoms - Do You Have A Diagnosis???

[BeachLivin]

Hi! New here and looking for advice

I have an '05 G35 with the following symptoms:• Started with clutch burning stopping and going up a hill – to be expected on the hill I was on and the frequency I had to stop and go (traffic).• Got to the top of the hill and the clutch was on the floor. Had to physically pull the clutch up from the floor.• Since the day mentioned above, the petal feels week the warmer the car is…• When the car is cold, clutch feels fine• When car is being driven with frequent stops, the clutch weakens – meaning the petal gets limp when it’s being let up off the floor. It gets weaker the more frequently I use the clutch, stopping and going. At the worst, petal goes limp right around the half way point off of the floor• No slipping

I’ve had the dealer analyze and independent car shops take a look. They all have a different estimate $$$ and idea of “what I need”. I didn’t trust the car shop and felt they were trying to rip me off. At the same time, I find the dealer typically charges too much but at least they know this car and know what they are doing. At this point, I think I trust the dealer’s diagnosis more than anyone else.

Just curious if you have any strong feelings about what is wrong and what it will take to fix my G?

Also, anyone know for sure what kind of flywheel comes in the G35? Is it just a regular flywheel or a dual mass?

Thanks so much! Appreciate it!

[telcoman]

Hi! New here and looking for advice

I have an '05 G35 with the following symptoms:• Started with clutch burning stopping and going up a hill – to be expected on the hill I was on and the frequency I had to stop and go (traffic).• Got to the top of the hill and the clutch was on the floor. Had to physically pull the clutch up from the floor.• Since the day mentioned above, the petal feels week the warmer the car is…• When the car is cold, clutch feels fine• When car is being driven with frequent stops, the clutch weakens – meaning the petal gets limp when it’s being let up off the floor. It gets weaker the more frequently I use the clutch, stopping and going. At the worst, petal goes limp right around the half way point off of the floor• No slipping

I’ve had the dealer analyze and independent car shops take a look. They all have a different estimate $$$ and idea of “what I need”. I didn’t trust the car shop and felt they were trying to rip me off. At the same time, I find the dealer typically charges too much but at least they know this car and know what they are doing. At this point, I think I trust the dealer’s diagnosis more than anyone else.

Just curious if you have any strong feelings about what is wrong and what it will take to fix my G?

Also, anyone know for sure what kind of flywheel comes in the G35? Is it just a regular flywheel or a dual mass?

Thanks so much! Appreciate it!

I had esentially the same problem. The clutch pedal would not come all the way up after driving for an hour in very hot weather. It was always fine on the way to work in the cool mornings.

Took it to the dealer and they replaced the clutch slave cylinder and new clutch fluid under the extended warranty at 92257 miles.

End of problem

Telcoman

[AZhitman]

^ There you have it.

It's a dual-mass flywheel, BTW.

No need to slip the clutch on hills... Either use all three pedals or use the e-brake for steep starts.

[joe603]

could be the slave cylinder...I had problems with high rpm clutch dropping. Replaced the transmission (for other reasons, see other clutch post) clutch and flywheel.

[BeachLivin]

You were right on...took it to another dealer and they said it's the clutch but that the hydrolics were fine.

Hard to know who to trust out there...one place, I could just tell they were trying to rip me off, and I don't have a mechanic I trust yet so I'm really at a disadvantage.

Well, my warranty has ended and I elected not to get the extended warranty...so as it stands right now, I'm stuck with a $2250 bill for the clutch and flywheel (dual mass - thank you!!). That's as far as they've gone so far - from $2659.

Dealer says although I don't have to replace the flywheel, they are insisting I do it because the new clutch will wear out faster if the flywheel has burn spots in it <--I guess that's true. Although, I heard that it doesn't always need to be replaced.

Would you replace the flywheel in a situation like this? Assuming it looks fine when they get into the engine and pull eveything apart.

Also, I've heard some talk about putting a regular flywheel in the '05. Much cheaper and apparently makes for better performance and it lasts longer. Only down side I've heard so far is that shifting is not as smooth (this is the plus side of dual mass??) and that it makes a horrible noise. Some people notice it, others don't. Haven't heard the sound it makes so I'd hate to risk that I'd hate the sound.

Any experience with a regular aftermarket flywheel in an '05? I'm thinking I may not go this route but I have sticker shock over the $2000+ price tag of this thing.

Real shame I didn't have the extended warranty...I had no idea the warranty would cover a wear item like this....need to pay more attention to that next time I guess....

[BeachLivin]

Oh wait, I re-read that...you said clutch slave cylinder and new clutch fluid. So the warranty wouldn't have covered this anyway...guess that makes me feel better.

[juicedgsr95]

I got a quote for $173 to replace the clutch slave cyliner cause my dealer said it was bad after replacing the transmission.

Have you looked at your clutch fluid? Is it clear or brown? You may have overheated it and I have heard that this will cause the problem you are describing.

Check out this site, a lot of people have had a lot of success with this.

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

[BeachLivin]

That site had lots of good information in it! Appreciate it.

The fluid is.....almost clear. So from the sound of things, that ok. No brown and no chunks floating or anything.

[infinitiguy]

The problem is not the slave cylinder, it's the clutch master cylinder that is causing the pedal to stay on the floor after getting warm. I have replaced plenty of them. In fact, I did all of the transmission work on Joe603's 05 Coupe. Hope this helps....Jason

[BeachLivin]

So, I took it in to another dealership. Over the phone, listening to the symptoms the guy said it was the clutch slave and master cylinders.

Took it in to have them actully look and they confirmed what they had told me over the phone.

I looked at the fluid again (before I didn't know it was the same fluid as the break fluid). Since they are side by side it was easy to compare. It was really brown compared to the break fluid.

Now I'm confused. How could one dealership (Infiniti) be SO sure I needed a new clutch and flywheel and the next dealership (Nissan) be SO sure it had nothing to do with the clutch/flywheel but it was instead the slave and master cylinders???? Ug, so hard to trust someone when I'm just learning about this stuff myself.

I don't have the extended warranty and it looks like this is not covered under the 70K powertrain warranty

Well, at least the slave/master cylinder replacement is not anywhere near as expensive. Hopefully this works.

[telcoman]

So, I took it in to another dealership. Over the phone, listening to the symptoms the guy said it was the clutch slave and master cylinders.

Took it in to have them actully look and they confirmed what they had told me over the phone.

I looked at the fluid again (before I didn't know it was the same fluid as the break fluid). Since they are side by side it was easy to compare. It was really brown compared to the break fluid.

Now I'm confused. How could one dealership (Infiniti) be SO sure I needed a new clutch and flywheel and the next dealership (Nissan) be SO sure it had nothing to do with the clutch/flywheel but it was instead the slave and master cylinders???? Ug, so hard to trust someone when I'm just learning about this stuff myself.

I don't have the extended warranty and it looks like this is not covered under the 70K powertrain warranty

Well, at least the slave/master cylinder replacement is not anywhere near as expensive. Hopefully this works.

The Elite Infiniti extended warranty covers items that the original warranty does not cover. I generally do not buy extended warranties but I did for my G due to the 2k miles a month that I put on it.It has since expired but Infiniti did bill my credit card monthly for one year with no finance charge.

Did I get my money's worth?

NO! My G is an excellent vehicle.

It was an insurance policy against a large repair bill.

They did replace my defective hood hinges at 1/2 price a few thousand miles past the expired warranty.

Telcoman