WTF? 2005 G35 6MT

[mycocaine]

Okay... love the car... but I'm having some issues.

Firstly... I've seen the other posts about the sticking clutch. I was ripping around... about 14K into the engine (1 year 4 mths old) and going through 2nd gear, the clutch stopped about an inch off the deck. I didn't realize this until I was almost at the red line and ready to go into 3rd gear... at which point... when I didn't feel any pedal... I slowed down... put it in neutral and pulled over. The stench that emanated from my car was brutal. It's been a week and when I push the clutch in with the (auto) vents on, I get that burning smell. Not happy. I've been driving stick for 15 years and I've never had this problem (Mazda MX-6 Turbo, Cavalier Z24, Mustang, Nissan Sentra SE). I was talking to a buddy tonight who has a 2003 350Z and he said he had that happen to him about 6 months ago. I was happy to hear that in a way. It's not just me, or my car. I have no clue what rpm I was at, I was merely letting it go in 2nd gear and it caught, the clutch stuck, I got it going faster, ready for 3rd, and I realized there was something wrong.

Secondly. As noted above, low mileage, not very old, and my driver seat is wearing out on the left side. The dealership took a picture, but no response. Any ideas? The lower left side of the leather steering wheel is wearing as well. I don't wear sandpaper pants or anything of the sort, just nomex, and I'm not joking.

Thirdly. The MP3 Bose soundsystem. Yeah, MP3 CDs, whatever. My CD player is in and out so often that I've decided to just use the Ipod alone (don't even go there, I know it's one of the worst products ever, but Bose, c'mon). I'm still waiting for a new CD player... 6 months +.

Fourth. There is a tinny sound sometimes when I let the clutch out. Not all the time. But I get a sort of "pop", like that of clicking a bent bottlecap (know what I mean?). They say they investigated, but nothing came of it. I'll have to get a tech in the car with me and drive around a bit I guess.

Lastly. My lock nuts, I was putting my summer tires on two weeks ago (by hand) and I broke about a quarter off the lock nut. Nissan product?, they still charged my $40 for a new set. Thank goodness it was on the final tire, and I wasn't riding around on winter tires to the dealership (about 2 clicks away) with one or two 19 inch summers. They kind of screwed me in a way. They told me I was putting the lock nut on wrong. But when I look at the lock nut and the lock key they fit... the key actually ripped about a 1/4 inch into the base and the lock nut snapped. Nissan told me they had never seen anything like it. All 165 lbs of me... I gotta lay off the spinach I guess.

Any help is welcomed. The thing that irks me the most is the stuck clutch. Can Infiniti do anything about that or am I kinda screwing myself if I say something to them.

Crash and burn.

Modified by mycocaine at 7:09 AM 4/20/2006[/i
Modified by mycocaine at 7:10 AM 4/20/2006

[Nick240sx]

um your title sounds as if your discussing a BMW M6, if a mod could change that to 6MT or to G35 then youll get better response. Nice car by the way, i plan on gettin the same car this fall

[joe603]

The clutch...you've just experienced a "safety feature" in our beloved G35 (not in the 350Z) that will not let the clutch engage when the engine RPMs are above 5k. Usually it will happen from a stop though...

Drivers seat; use some leather cleaner/conditioner, which may help. Bose-What can I say, it sucks...personally, I'm adding a subwoofer system using either JL audio cleansweep, or Audio control’s OEM interface units. But it sounds like yours is going in and out? Be more specific...sound dropping in/out, cd player skipping...

I love my car too! You should invest in some mods, you’ll like the results. The JWT popcharger/Z-tube combo is awesome!

[mycocaine]

Yeah, my bad. For some reason it won't let me edit the title in the forum.

[Nick240sx]

^ yeah u cant change the title that everyone sees in the forum, a mod has to do that. but yeah just condition the leather, my explorers seats were starting to show signs of wear, i condition them every month and they are baby soft.

oh and welcome to NICO by the way

[wholesale salvage]

I have had the clutch issue in both the Z and the G35. It was the slave cyl. on the bottom left side of the transmission. I know exactly how you feel, very frustrating ( we didn't buy a hyundai ).

The "Safety Feature" deal I have never heard of before. If that feature was there that means we couldn't drop the clutch off the line b/c the "safety feature" would save us from ourselves. I have dropped my clutch from redline and it engaged just like it should. I hope there is no confusion between the traction control feature and the "safety feature" which "doesn't let the clutch engage over 5k rpms" ????

I agree about the quality of the leather, it sucks. I have 13k on mine and it shows much more wear than you would expect from a $40k car. I have several audi and porshce cars which I have driven to a ripe old age and the interior still looks great.

I would make the dealer pay for every last bit of it like we paid when we bought the car. Dont let them tell you that it is caused by improper use or some other BS. We didn't pay for the car to not be able to sit on our leather seats or to not shift b/c in there terms it is called improper.

Good luck and I would stick it to them.

The safety feature deal.... turn of the traction control and your clutch will engage. LOL

[joe603]

Even with the traction control off, the clutch will not engage from a stop if the RPMs are over 5k. It does do it, I've tested it myself...Of course this is in my '05 6MT coupe, maybe 03-04 cars are different. The 350Z guys say that's not the case in their cars...I'll have to look through the service manual and see if it mentions it.

I use leather conditioner at least once a month, and so far my leather looks new. Now, I only have 9k on the car. Maybe the G35 interior needs more TLC than others?
Modified by joe603 at 3:59 PM 5/15/2006

[AZhitman]

I definitely feel you on the Bose issue.

Mine's not *too* bad with CD's, but FM and XM sound worse than a Delco radio in a rental Cavalier.

Boomy, dull, muddy and weak.

What a POS audo system they put in these.

[tigerrabbit]

Yeah, man, i have the same sticky clutch problem with my 05:( Pain in the butt...I talked to couple of dealers and none of them gave me a solid solution. The leather too, I guess i will just have to condition it more.

The 1st gear engaging area on my 05 G is so light that it's hard to feel...Don't if u guys have the same experience. And recently I've noticed that when i rev in neutrol the meter's needle drops in a jerky way, not very smooth or linear like my buddy's 350z's. Is this normal? The engaging point of the clutch pedal is really high, wondering if there is any way to adjust that.....The dealers say no, oh well...I am actually thinking getting a new clutch and lighter flywheel. Is ACT a good brand?