Wife drove my Z in 1st gear on the highway

[2bits]

I took deliver of my new 370z LAST NIGHT, and she drove it to work this morning. She leaves. Ten minutes later calls me on my cell to say the car is loud and lurching, and to ask what rpm she was supposed to stay under during break-in. I say we should try to stay under 4k, and she says "but then I'd only be going 20". Doh! I tell her to put it in D.

She had the engine running at around 7k rpm for a couple miles, and ultimately confessed that she smelled something burning.

Bottom line, what should I look out for? Do I have to worry about long term damage to the drivetrain? I assume the burning was something organic such as plastic, rubber, or fluid. Any ideas?

I've since driven it all day without issue. No smell at all. You'd never know, but it's eating me up until I find out what "burned".

[TheStig]

You need to look out for a new wife, thats what.

[BMW Killa]

Originally Posted by TheStig

You need to look out for a new wife, thats what.

Thanks, very helpful and informational.

[Josh@STILLEN]

Originally Posted by TheStig

You need to look out for a new wife, thats what.

I have to admit.. the phrasing and delivery was immaculate..

This is the equivalent of 'The Office' and a "That's what she said.." comment..

You're on an automotive testosterone-driven forum.. of course you'd hear this..

That being said.. I think you will be fine.. I doubt the smell would have been any different if you were raging through gears for a good canyon run and jumped out with everything being as new (or old.. try it) as the car is..

Getting it up to temp and back down will emit smells and "tings" from things heating up and cooling down..

I'd say break-in period achieved.

[chubbs]

Let's hope there's no damage, because if any dealers in the SEATTLE AREA read this forum (and why shouldn't they?), they'll sure as hell know who you are and how the damage occurred by now, as you have given them all the information they could possibly want.

Bye bye potential warranty claim?

People really should be very careful what they post in PUBLIC forums.

How about editing your details or your story - maybe it was your 'friend's' wife's car?



Edit - Having said that, I have a very similar story. We bought a Peugeot for my wife (a very careful, slow driver) a few years ago. On her first journey she phoned me to say "This car's going back, I can't get it to go more than 50mph". Of course, she'd been looking at the rev counter, not the speedo. ...I worked out that to get it up to 5k revs in 4th or 5th gear along the twisty country lanes she was driving, she must have been going at PHENOMENAL speeds - heeehee. The thought still amuses me.

[Josh@STILLEN]

Originally Posted by chubbs

Let's hope there's no damage, because if any dealers in the SEATTLE AREA read this forum (and why shouldn't they?), they'll sure as hell know who you are and how the damage occurred by now, as you have given them all the information they could possibly want.

Bye bye potential warranty claim?

People really should be very careful what they post in PUBLIC forums.

Well Mr. 2bits.. I'm sorry but we cannot honor your warranty because one of our techs believes he found proof of your wife hitting the rev limiter on several occasions during the break-in period of your new Z..

While I'm all for the tinfoil hat here and there, discussing issues that happen and looking for honest insight on problems should not invoke some secretive society to get a real answer.. or live in fear that your local dealer is dying to screw you out of a warranty claim by spending crazy amounts of time lurking in forums and documenting your alleged abuses..

We've all done some stupid things here and there with our cars, including pure enthusiastic abuse over others who baby theirs at all opportunity. This is most obviously an unintended 'overuse' of the cars abilities.. but I can assure you there are plenty others that will put the ropes to their new cars a 1,000 times more than this guy and his lead-footed wife..

[MC]

Originally Posted by Josh@STILLEN

Well Mr. 2bits.. I'm sorry but we cannot honor your warranty because one of our techs believes he found proof of your wife hitting the rev limiter on several occasions during the break-in period of your new Z..

good thing it wasnt a GTR... the black box would tell the tech not only how far she went at 7K but what she was listening to on the radio what road she was on what kinda drink was in the cup holder and what type of panties she had on

[2bits]

Originally Posted by Josh@STILLEN

Well Mr. 2bits..

What he said... +1

[2bits]

Originally Posted by chubbs

Let's hope there's no damage, because if any dealers in the SEATTLE AREA read this forum (and why shouldn't they?), they'll sure as hell know who you are and how the damage occurred by now, as you have given them all the information they could possibly want.

Bye bye potential warranty claim?

People really should be very careful what they post in PUBLIC forums.

I'm not worried about the dealer finding out, and posting here wasn't a mistake. This wouldn't constitute abuse since it's operating within parameters, and they themselves have told me there's no break-in period due to "microfinishing of driveline components". I was worried about reduced lifespan after the warranty expires, hence my mention of 61k. The encouraging comments here speak highly of the Z, so I'm feeling better about this morning's episode. Time to move on.

I should add that a proper break-in is not a condition of the warranty.

[zZSportZz]

Originally Posted by 2bits

I'm not worried about the dealer finding out, and posting here wasn't a mistake. This wouldn't constitute abuse since it's operating within parameters, and they themselves have told me there's no break-in period due to "microfinishing of driveline components". I was worried about reduced lifespan after the warranty expires, hence my mention of 61k. The encouraging comments here speak highly of the Z, so I'm feeling better about this morning's episode. Time to move on.

I should add that a proper break-in is not a condition of the warranty.

Dealer told me the exact same thing. When I asked them about break in, they said not to even worry about it lol. I'm still taking it kinda easy though.

[Dwain65]

Good grief! Not that I would want to test that wide open throttle in first scenario but I would figure they (Nissan) would have added some programming forcing an upshift in a situation like that. The CVT I had in my Altima had logic that would keep a higher range if the transmission is overheated.

[theDreamer]

Originally Posted by Dwain65

Good grief! Not that I would want to test that wide open throttle in first scenario but I would figure they (Nissan) would have added some programming forcing an upshift in a situation like that. The CVT I had in my Altima had logic that would keep a higher range if the transmission is overheated.

The problem is that this car is suppose to be full control when in M mode for automatics, so if she did not know she was in M mode then the car will not shift. Gives more control to the driver, but I could see a fail safe system where if you are riding at red line for X amount of time the car will shift.

[BanningZ]

Ouch! Might want to take it in to the dealership and mention the smell, but omit the whole driving in 1st thing.

[ChrisSlicks]

That's why you get a manual, then the wife wont want to drive it.

Not sure what would be burning unless she managed to get the oil temp up to 280 that quickly, doesn't seem likely. Although the engine was revving high, it wasn't under load.

[AK370Z]

I don't think she caused too much damage (or any in this case). What she has done is same as taking your car to the track straight from the dealer and driving at 6-7K rpm for 15-20 mins. Many people track their car as early as 100-200 miles. Is it recommended? NO. Do they still do it? Yes. Does the car drives fine in the long run? usually. The plastic burning smell is normal. I still get that in my car and it's been 1150 miles already.

You are more than welcome to get the car checked at your dealer but if everything is running fine, I wouldn't bother. Seems like you wife did an "express break in" on your new Z...haha Enjoy!