Z Owners,
I’ve been having a unique clutch problem since I bought my Z in July 2011. This is not just another complaint about how notchy/clunky the gearbox is or how it’s
hard to shift smooth. Those are part of the (bad) drivetrain design. I wanted to document my problem and experience with the dealer and Nissan Consumer Affairs.
Detailed Symptom – Clutch is jerky:When starting, the clutch chatters or is jerky. At the second before full clutch engagement, you feel a few sharp vibrations. This, of course, disappears when the clutch is finally mated to the flywheel. During this vibration, you can feel the pedal pulse a little. My windshield mounted radar detector will even bounce. This can be noticed in every other gear. It can be less or more severe depending on the situation. A rolling start in 2nd with medium acceleration usually results in a violent vibration/chatter/jerk. Starting in first on an incline is more severe. A more humid day seems to be less severe, while a cold, dry day is the worst. Extremely annoying and un-enjoyable to drive. I’ve had several of my car friends drive with me and they immediately noticed it and said it was ridiculous.
My Diagnosis:The clutch disc is the culprit. It was either oily from the manufacturing line or the material properties were defective somehow. The solution is to replace the disc and pressure plate. Plain and simple.
The Dealer (timeline form):9 mi – Bought my 370z 
2000 mi – I had it diagnosed at dealer (waited until after break-in). Master tech identified the issue, and we scheduled a clutch replacement. After they disassembled it, their diagnosis then changed. They supposedly found nothing wrong with it. They wanted to replace only the concentric slave cylinder (CSC). I wanted them to replace the clutch disc and pressure plate as well which is clearly the solution. They insisted on replacing the CSC first and see what happens. . . They put it back together and, of course, the problem was as bad as ever. :/
2000-6000 mi – I put it off taking it back to see if it’d go away. Then I moved out of state.
8000 mi – Had it diagnosed at a new dealer. The service manager would not identify that there was even a problem. I brought it to the same dealer again and asked if we could compare to another Z they had. We drove two other Zs back-to-back (one had 6000 mi, another had 100 mi). We noticed a few things. #1, my pedal was NOTICEABLY heavier (about 40%?). #2, the other Zs had no jerking/vibration compared to mine. After all this, he told me I needed to contact Nissan Consumer Affairs. I thought the dealer should do this, but he sent me away to call them..
Present – I called Nissan Consumer Affairs. They started (or continued?) a case and got back to me a few days ago. They said the dealer will agree to replace the pressure plate since it is “out of spec” (noticeably heavier). They will also do the CSC, because it’s required, BUT, they will not cover the clutch disc because it is a “wear item”. I tried explaining... Long story short, warranty can’t cover it, but NCA is going to reimburse me the cost of the disc! I was pleasantly surprised.
Next Week – Once the parts come in, the dealer is going to install – all under warranty. I’m having them put in Amsoil gear oil in while they’re at it.
I’m really hoping this fixes it. With my luck the mechanic will probably smear grease everywhere lol. Has anyone had this specific problem? If so, how did you fix it? Feel free to comment if you see anything innacurate.
-zpower86
11/19/2012 Update:See my follow-up post here.