7AT stalls whenever I put in Drive or Reverse

bunk

I was talking more about what nissan wants to charge you if the top ever fails..lol Just a little less than what a used 370Z in decent shape would cost!

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markesc

Insanity!

Funny they list the transmission for $8k, yet planty on ebay for $1k

jchammond

Yep; new ones are expensive- but dealerships don’t always have techs to troubleshoot & repair,,,they’ll just warranty out a new one
Hope all goes well.

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markesc

Well received the word that they are working on their whole internal claims process to put a new transmission in there. Evidently that's it's own bureaucratic nightmare, but so far things sound hopeful.

jchammond

Sounds good; afterwards I’d get it on a drain & fill regimen,,,as the fluid does get pretty dirty in those & maybe add a trans cooler

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jchammond

I never had any slippage issues with mine & even dragraced it some/drove really hard at times...my first fluid flush was at 50k & it looked like dark coffee
Didn’t smell burnt; but I wanted that fluid clean.
Did a drain/Fill,,,drive 5 miles & repeated 2 more times to flush.
A drain/fill takes about 4qts,,,but used 12 on the flush. Afterwards I only did a drain an fill every 10k (probably a bit much), but it was like a transmission tuneup every time...really firmed up my manual shift points.
Z got crashed @93k but trans was perfect

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markesc

Yeah I think the issue is that even Nissan has such high turnover that it's really a roll of the dice to get someone that knows what they are doing.

They refused to touch it until after asking several times and hitting around 40k miles to then change the fluid.

It now makes me wonder/question: Was it perfectly fine and they somehow either over or underfilled it when it was changed at 40k?

I'll never know the truth and it could of course be purely coincidental, but I do wish Nissan would make it crystal clear and simpler from a design aspect to change out the fluid just like any other fluid in the car.

I suspect they went to a "sealed" design to attempt to avoid dealership and/or user errors in the process (since the lawsuits on the 5AT and CVT's), and thus created a timebomb that will self destruct but is then conveniently outside of the 5 year/ 60k warranty period, or even if you paid extra for the gold/silver plan: 7 years / 84k miles.

The whole thing is puzzling as it seems like Nissan sends three messages:

1) It's fine, "sealed" for 100k, nothing to see here *cough* oh it failed, OH WELL, you're outside of warranty now sucker!

2) Severe Duty = 30k intervals, but we're not going to make that clear nor offer consistent messaging to dealership service department that is the bottom line (and furthermore: who knows how well and to what extent they are trained since I doubt they touch many 7AT's compared to CVT's as it was mentioned when I dropped off: "wow, yeah we don't get these with transmission issues at all..."

3) Just sell people a new Nissan if the old one falls outside of warranty and presents a large sunk cost; I.E. I'm sure this approach didn't work out well since Nissan now is offering 10 years / 120k mile warranty on the CVT's

So yeah if I had to do it over again, I "woulda" purchased the 6 speed setup and bit the bullet on the whole CSC thing....

Now the question is: Should I even keep the car past the 7 year mark assuming all goes well with this issue?

SouthArk370Z

I'd say yes - if reliability is your main concern. The 370Z is a pretty reliable vehicle. There are a few problems (eg, CSC) but every car has it's quirks.

For best reliablity, do fluid changes and other maintenance often. And don't let a dealership touch your car unless absolutely necessary (ie, warranty work) - find a good, independent shop/mechanic. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

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Eagle

I had a lot of "bad luck" with my 7AT before i switched to the 6MT. The problem you initially described where the car would not stay in D or R and stall out at idle was exactly what happened during my first warranty issue. Dealer said torque converter seized and ended up replacing the whole trans. I had the extended Silver warranty and it was done at no cost to me.

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markesc

That's EXACTLY what's occurred here.

So I learned something new:

Evidently the ambiguity and lack of clear communication from Nissan and all of the other major manufacturers around AT fluid change intervals all stems from attempting to advertise a lower cost of ownership of the vehicle.

Basically what's happening is that they are gaming the numbers by trying to label the transmissions as "maint free" "Sealed" and other terms that lead the majority of the public to think that the fluid is fine for 100k miles.

Now I'm unsure of how many people shop for cars and actually look at cost of ownership over say 5-10 years vs. just the price of the car + say gas mileage, but this to me sounds believable and explains why dealerships/manufacturers mutually benefit although at the destruction of reputation and risk of lawsuits if you have enough people that have self destructing transmissions.

............

As far as mine goes: They've gotten the claim finalized and approved, so it's just a matter of waiting 2-3 weeks for it to arrive and get installed. Luckily my dealership is letting me keep the loaner car at no cost.

Overall I think it's been handled well, but I do believe that the above explanation vindicates my suspicion around why I couldn't get a straight answer whenever I'd inquire about AT fluid changes in the past.

and yes, I agree: Next car will just be a reg manual as the AT or even dual clutch setups seem like a major liability post 5-8 years unless of course one is willing to have them built/modified/etc.

While I do love the Z, it seems like it would be a smart move if Nissan sourced something more robust like the ZF 8 speed perhaps?

Eagle

I also came to the same conclusion that the ambiguity on maintaining the 7AT was no accident. Unfortunately my problems with that trans did not end there with that first replacement, however the remedy I sought ought was all related to maintaining the trans fluid. First I just changed it out more frequently (every 10-15k) since I was using the car in a "heavy duty" sort of manner. Secondly, I added a transmission oil cooler core.

One thing id watch out for is the fluid that the dealer fills your new trans with. Make sure they use Matic-S and not Matic-J, there was a training issue here in SoCal where the techs mistakenly thought that the 370z could use matic-j because they thought it was interchangeable. The truth is it isn't, that fluid is designed for the automatic in the 350z and does not have the necessary friction modifiers for the 370z. If they put that fluid instead of matic-s in your car, you will legitimately have another warranty issue on your hands. There is even a TSB out there that describes this very issue but somehow, it gets misunderstood by the dealers.

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Tractionless

As a 7AT owner I can't wait to hear the outcome.

I full flushed per JCHammond's directions at 72k when I got the car. 10k later I dumped the pan and the fluid was still red so I simply refilled. I'll go in 15k later and see what it looks like on a pan dump next time. I have a Hayden trans. cooler sitting in holding pattern for when my front bumper cover comes off for headlight mods. I'm also working with an ECUtek tuner firming up shifts so as to save the friction plates. The car is only street driven but sometimes spiritedly.

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markesc

Yeah still rolling in the loaner 2019 Sentra... basically you have to plan an 1/8th of a mile ahead if you want to be in a certain lane at a certain time, because there really is NO power. I mean, none. A prius is faster. It beats walking and it's strangely calming to drive, but made me realize one thing: 99.9% of the cars/vehicles on the road are boring and just "fit in" and now I'm one of them! I just don't see Nissan lasting much longer selling cars like the Sentra...

So apparently they had to order a transmission from NY and have it shipped here, "2-3 weeks" So I think it's been about 2 weeks, so perhaps I'll get the car back this coming week...

My latest theory:

1) Transmission fluid wasn't changed til 40k miles, and either that was simply too late and damage was done up until that point (and yes, I asked starting around 20k miles, and got the "it's a sealed transmission/100k miles speech), or
2) The wrong fluid/under/over fill occurred when it was done
3) Bad luck...

I think a Stillen Transmission cooler will be ordered once I get the car back and if everything seems fine. I'll only have 12months/12k mile warranty on the new transmission, then, I'm on my own with the thing.

In the big picture: If this doesn't work, or it breaks again, I'll just have a transmission built as that's still going to be cheaper than starting over with a newer car and going into debt (Short of a new job that pays more, then I'd keep it and get a lexus product as a daily/shoulda kept my sc300).

Is this the one to buy?

https://www.stillen.com/performance/...ooler-kit.html

(something tells me that the only reason it didn't come stock with the car was: a) cost savings b) risk/reliability with running additional lines c) Nissan doesn't adequately stress test vehicles before putting out into the market (the cvt lawsuits are a perfect example).

Tractionless

Not sure I bought the Hayden unit Z1 sells on their site for $79 on ebay for $29 shipped. Says for vehicles 10k GVWR and under.

I believe the Z's have a trans cooler built into the radiator but it probably doesn't keep the fluid cool enough during spirited driving.

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Ghostvette

There is a trans cooler inside the radiator, and barely holds up to daily driving. That's why the recommendation to put an external cooler on (heat is the killer for ALL A/Ts, not just ours). I've had best luck with A/Ts when changing fluid & filter at 10k or annually, depending on how it's driven. Yeah, it's a pain in the tuckus, especially on the ones with no drain plug.

in short:
1) external trans cooler
2) regular fluid changes with a quality fluid
3) don't buy the dealer BS about 'sealed' transmissions... they don't exist.

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