I am new to this board here. I have a 99 Maxima SE 5 speed with about 27,000 Miles.

While I was driving the car today, my clutch went bad. I can shift from gear to gear but if I go higher than 1500 rpm, the car doesn't move any fastrer, and the engine will just rev higher as if the clutch was engaged.

I took the car to the local dealer, he told me that the clutch is burnt, and it needs a new clutch. and of course this is not covered under warranty. Their estimate for the repair was about $700.

I need help in determining if this is normal for a clutch to go bad in 27,000 Miles? and if it does should this be covered under warranty or not.

All help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

Your symptoms point to a slipping clutch. It is not normal for a clutch to wear out in 27K miles. The dealer can do a warranty repair if there is good reason to believe the clutch failed due to a defect in materials or workmanship. However, most ordinary wear-outs are because of use.

There is another possibility worth checking. Your clutch has a hydraulic actuator. If the actuator is "hung up" the clutch will not engage fully. Perhaps the actuator (master cylinder, slave cylinder) can be repaired. Of course, if the clutch friction material is worn out there is no alternative but to replace it.

 

you could also check to see if your clutch pedal is not adjusted properly. Although it,s probably fine if the clutch is adjusted to where it,s allready engaging the clutch before you even touch/press in the pedal then that,s something that can be fixed. It would never allow the clutch to fully engage.

 

that is awfully wierd, that 27000 miles and it would go. do you like give it a pounding every time you drive, or do you like race your car. if you so any of those activities which i doubt maybe it could go. for 700 i would recommend that you get an aftermarket clutch. look at it this way it was diagnosed that the clutch went bad put in an aftermarket clutch and see if it goes bad in another 27000 miles or so and then you could tell if it was a manufacturers defect, and see if nissan or the dealership can work out some kind of monetary settlement, i really do not know what else to say but this is very unusual

 

Thank you all for your advice. I do not push this car hard often, well I ocassionally do push it a little(that's why I bought a Maxima SE in the first place). I will try to approach the dealer where I leased this car from, if I get no help I will have to find an indepedent mechanic to look at it again.

Cheers

 

hopefully you can get it as a cheap alternative if the warranty doesn't work out. it is currently 100 bucks and it is supposed to be better than OEM.

 

Hey man if I were you. I would take any aftermarket performance enhancing parts off your car before taking it in.

It's is also very unusually for your clutch to die after 27K. I'm having my clutch replaced now and my car has 48k on it. I also drove the car a little hard than normal. The extra power (20hp/22TQ) from the CAI, Y-pipe, & RT cat didn't help.

$700 is way too much to replace the clutch with an OEM clutch. It only takes less than 4-4.5 hrs to replace the clutch, but it'll be hard to find someone to install it for less than 6 hrs of labor. I wouldn't pay more than $500 for the parts and labor.

I decided to go with a Centerforce DF, since I have had good luck with it in the past. I also heard about someone having problems with the oem clutch slipping.

I also heard there are 2 different versions of the the OEM clutch. The one that most of the dealers carry is the US version. It costs ~135 to 200. Then theirs the Jap. version thats ~300 that's the one that your car comes with.


Blade

 

My Nissan dealer advertises a Maxima clutch replacement at $400. This price
gets you a Nissan Key Value (low price line) clutch kit. Some Nissan owners
have complained about the quality of Key Value parts. I haven't tried
them.

Independent shops in my area advertise clutch replacements for $300. This
price gets you a Brand X clutch. Beware!

 

That "some Nissan owners" would be me. At least for the VE 5-sps, the Nissan Key value clutch kit is VERY POORLY DESIGNED. I had one in my car and it slipped from DAY ONE. I freakin' had to do a 2ND clutch job (myself no less) and put in the OEM Nissan clutch parts. It's tons better at holding the power. Even w/ mods and huge sticky tires, it holds fine.

 

I have a 99se with 28k, my clutch was slipping and the dealer picked it up before I said anything. They replaced it last week under warrenty, said there was some kind of factory problem and had replaced quite a few of them.

 

My clutch went bad at only 8,000 miles. I have driven manual transmissions my whole life and can shift smoothly with most oif my clutches lasting to near 150,000. Turns out Nissan had a Bulletin for a slipping clutch for 95/96 5 speeds and I had the dealer fix under warranty after I argued for a while. I would think 27,000 would warrant a new clutch at Nissan's expense. If they refuse, call Nissan (number should be in your owners manual. Good luck.

 

Nissan Motors Corporation USA
Consumer Affairs Department
PO Box 191
Gardena CA 90248-0191

1-800-NISSAN1 (1-800-647-7261)

nnaconsumeraffairs@nissan-usa.com

 

Hmmmm...my clutch has 65000 miles and about 30 1/4 mile runs plus at least 100 street race runs on it. It's still rock solid and has never slipped....never. This clutch really amazes me at how much abuse it can take. Maybe it's the way I drive and the way I launch. On launch I wind it up to 3000 or so and quickly slip the clutch, almost dumping it.

Do these clutches go out quickly or do you know the end is coming (ie slipping, noisy)? When I have to get another clutch, I'll probably stick with the orginal equipment since it's lasted me so long. I don't see a need in upgrading a clutch that already has proved to me that it can last.


Dave

 

Please help your fellow Maxima 5-speed owners by doing the following, and then post the answers here.

1) Ask you dealer if there is a "campaign" or a Technical Service Bulletin relating to this clutch problem.

2) Look at the paperwork from your Nissan service department. Which parts, specifically, were replaced?

 

I'm also new to this board. I don't know if you guys take kindly to receiving posts from Maxima owners outside the US, but what the heck. I'm living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and I own a Maxima '99 5-speed. I'm not sure what model I can equate my car to in the US, but over here it's referred to as the 30J. I bought it with 0k on the clock and still have not made any modifications.

Anyway, I can see where EasyMan is coming from, because I've replaced my clutch disc, pressure plate and flywheel twice (once at 18k miles and the other time was at 25k). I was able to drive and shift ok at all speeds, except the clutch would slip when I start rolling from a standing start (and boy did it sound awful). I was lucky the warranty covered the major replacement parts which cost about $1000 each time. I did have to shell out about $70 each time for the clutch disc which was not covered in the warranty.

The only 'abuse' the clutch takes is a weekly 220 mile drive to Dubai and back which I have not done for a month now. Although I average about a 100mph each way.

I'm just nervous now because the warranty runs out in another 6k miles.

I've checked with Nissan if there was a Technical Service Bulletin regarding this problem, but they say that this is the first time they've come across something like this in the UAE. Strange considering there are a whole lot of Maximas out here.

 

The Maxima family is worldwide. Glad to hear from you! Your English is perfect.

Which engine do you have? The US and Canadian models have a 3.0 liter V6, but there is a similar 2.0 liter V6 engine sold in other countries.

Technical Service Bulletins vary from country to country. Some TSBs have been distributed in the US but not in Canada, and vice-versa. That seems reasonable, since some vehicle problems relate to climate conditions.

 

Thanks for the welcome, Daniel. Regarding the engine, all the Maximas that come to the UAE are the Twin cam 3.0 liter V6's. There are only two models, the 30J and the 30GV. The GV has more options (leather, sunroof, cruise control, better ICE, etc.) The engines stay the same though.

The Maximas that are imported need to have certain specifications to match the Gulf climate (bigger radiator, and some other stuff I can't remember) Because of these obscure model names/numbers, I usually have a really tough time trying to find car related stuff on the Internet.

Thanks for the perfect English comment I'm actually only working in the UAE. I'm originally from Sri Lanka.