Speedometer error - sticks at 50mph and will not drop

ZForce

Sir, you are absolutely correct I just confirmed with Nissan that they have to send out the old cluster to a certified calibration place (they use one in N.Y.). The vendor calibrates (programs) the mileage onto the new cluster and returns it to the dealer. The car cannot be moved during this time (it's down) because they do not want additional mileage added to the vehicle. Makes sense.

It's in the shop today, funny thing is...this morning when started up, it fell down to Zero.... it had been hanging out at 25mph during warm up idle and then progressing upward once the car is moving.

fuct

hahhahah

ZForce

Yeh....it would have been a priceless video if I had the GoPro camcorder onboard, downshifting with my loud arse CBE and HFC's, not to mention the look on my face.

ZForce

Ok ...the skinny on the Z...yesterday morning at startup = no problem. During the drive to dealer by brother- Hal = no problem. Good thing I emailed the dealer my photos. So they ran all electrical diagnostics and performed some extra checks at my suggestion = no problem or record of problem found, other than during their test drive in the torrential rain down pour, they threw a CEL for water on the air filters. CAI - Injen. Cleared the code and let it sit. They called Nissan Tech Support Line and.................all I got from the dealer as to the root of the issue....was Nissan did not know.....but based on the info the dealer supplied Nissan (including my photos)....Nissan said REPLACE THE CLUSTER UNIT. .....Yeh..woot...woot. None of this temp fix and it reoccuring in two months. So as I stated above, Nissan Corp will send the new cluster unit to the calibration vendor in N.Y. that is contracted with Nissan Corp to program in my current mileage. The car is down until next Weds...I have as a rental - Versa at no charge - except the gas I use. I am hoping Nissan Corp has a typo on the mileage they email to the vendor and drops a zero from 36,900 to 3,690 miles.

TongMan

I bet that Versa can beat Hals 370z...

..in mpg!!

ZForce

^ I just loaded up his back hatch with several batteries…..his car is now a Hybrid.

ZForce

Got the car back the other day. Murphy's Law kicked in the morning the car was going into the dealer. No 25mph when started and no 50mph sticking when driving there. Dealer could not replicate it and did all of their testing and could not find any broken circuits, logs of spikes etc.... Good thing I had these photos and sent it to them the day I made the appointment as they had to call Nissan Tech Support Line and emailed the photos.

So the car was OFF it's manufactured warranty at 36k miles (2009 model) it was 900 miles over the warranty expiration. Good thing I have the 100k extended warranty.

Nissan tech Support Line could not offer the dealer any more solutions or tests to run and they could of should have just said to me TOO BAD SO SAD take your car back and return when it happens again....but with the photos they said replace the entire speedometer cluster and have it sent to N.Y. calibration center to reprogram my mileage on the new speedo.

Got the car back and everything looks and works perfectly. The moral of the story is if it happens to you then it will most likely be an entire speedo cluster replacement. I did ask if a spike in the battery current could have caused the issue, they said no way, there are too many protection circuits between the battery and speedo to blow out the unit.

GaleForce

Glad to hear your back in business.

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ZForce

Mr. GaleForce, thanks it is good to be driving the Z again.

I do have my suspicions as to why they could not find the issue. Still think a a spike in the electrical current coming across the battery terminals could have been the culprit.

TZMN DVL

Any idea on the cost of this were it not a warranty repair?

I picked up a 2013 Touring coupe 6MT a few months ago, only under powertrain warranty at this point. Noticed today my speedo was reading alot higher than my speed "felt". GPS speedo app confirmed it was 15MPH high. At a full stop, it reads 15mph. With the car turned off, gauge does not return to the 6:00 position, more like 7.

You also mentioned some kind of electrical current issue you suspected. Seems odd that the gauge would not return to 6:00 position when the car is off. I'd be more inclined to believe that something was just physically sticking but I really don't know.

Presume there's a good chance you've long since sold the car and left the forum, but maybe someone else has some insight into what's involved in fixing this.

Thanks.

SteveBad

I know this is an old post, but......Before I spent money to replace the gauges, I would play with the "SWEEP" option settings, where you can set the gauge needles to blip to full scale (or not) when you start the car. See the owner's manual to see how.

Hey, it might have worked !

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"Take the cannollis..."

ahkent

Funny you mention this old post. My 2009 370z started doing the same thing that ZForce had except.....when I reach 60 plus it says I'm going 180, below 60 is accurate. My tach was reading double as well but the car itself was running completely at normal. I have scoured the internet for someone else with the same problem as me, no luck until now. Not so happy about the issue but happy to see another that had the same issue.
We unhooked the battery for an hour to let the computer reset and it has fixed the tachometer but now the speedo says 140 in neutral HAHAHA, All I can do is laugh at this point because its so crazy. There has to be a reason this is happening and a solution to the problem..... replace the cluster....UGH, will be expansive out of warranty.

bthomas87

Had a similar issue on my 16' Z, except mine was the tach sticking. It only did it once and it went back to normal after turning the car off and on again. I still dropped it off at the dealership to see if anything may have been wrong but they couldn't replicate the problem and sent me on my way. It hasn't ever happened again though and that was about 10k miles ago.
There's a picture of it in my post.
Rpm gauge is way off for no reason??