Last week I read a post about a warped clutch plate causing a squeal when shifting out of first gear (thread "2K2 Clutch is bad..."). I had a similar squeal and took my 2002 6-speed to the dealer expecting them to find the same problem. However they told me my clutch pressure plate was fine, and that the squeal sounded like it was originating from the flywheel within the clutch assembly, where the ?pilot shaft bushing? was ?missing?. The service manager initially told me that my flywheel was manufactured incorrectly, and that Nissan directed him to install a new flywheel containing the bushing. However, today I spoke with him again and he told me that the flywheel was not incorrectly manufactured but that Nissan has now changed the design of the flywheel to include the pilot shaft bushing (could this contribute to the notchy nature of the 6-speed?). When I asked if any damage might have been done to my pressure plate or any other part of the clutch assembly he told me that not only the flywheel, but the entire clutch assembly was to be replaced. He has ordered the parts from Nissan, which should be delivered and installed within 2-4 weeks due to a national backorder on the part. The dealership and service department have been great. They offered me a Sentra rental during the wait for the part, but agreed when I requested another Maxima instead. Is anyone familiar with a problem like this one?
Sorry this is so long but I wanted everyone to know about this problem because in the other thread it sounded like some other people were having the same problem. Judging from my experience it sounds like Nissan is aware of it and doing what they can to make things right.

Thanks,
Brendan

 

wow I really hope this doesnt happen to my 2k2. At least the dealer is being helpful about it.

 

what's the build date of your car?

 

i hope my car falls apart, nissan rushed these hunks of junk to the market and they have way yoo many quirks.

 

I have class in 15 minutes and have to hit the library after - I will check the build date when I get home and post it tonight. Can the build date be found on the driver's door frame?

Thanks,
Brendan

 

i think so.

 

same thing in my car.. stoopid dying squirrel sound

got the whole clutch replaced... 1500 miles so far so good

 

is this squeal really noticeable or do you have to be listening for it?

 

I didn't make it to the dealership before closing time, so I will try to make it over there tomorrow or Monday (have to take the MCAT on Saturday) to get the manufacturing date of my car. I took delivery the last week of January if that helps at all.

The squeal was pretty noticable if I released the clutch slowly, and less so if I released it faster than I should or at higher RPMs than I should. The dying squirrel description is pretty close to the way it sounded - just a high pitched whine lasting for a maybe a second or so as the clutch was released. If the music was turned up you might not notice it, but in my case at least I couldn't miss it.

Hope this helps, and I will get that date up ASAP.

Brendan

also - does it sound like this clutch problem might be partially responsible for the notchy shifter? Those that have had the replacement - notice any improvement? After the clutch is replaced I think I will switch to synthetic tranny fluid.

Thanks.

 

Hmm, I have not heard that sound on my 2002 SE 6-speed yet.
I did hear similar sounds on my 2000 SE 5-speed. It drove fine, so I never worried about it.
I am gona check my 2002 SE tomorrow to see if it is making that sound. I don't think it does.

How many 2002 SE 6-speed people have their clutches replaced by Nissan already?

 

Damnit. It seems this may be my problem then. Mine amkes the noise too going into first and reverse. It doesn't sound THAT bad so I never got it checked out. My luck though, the dealers gonna attempt to screw me bad.

 

Sounds like a TSB is or should be issued on this problem... do you know?

BuddyWh

 

I am going to the dealer tomorrow to try to get my clutch fixed too. I started getting this whinning noise when starting from first or reverse gears.

It doesn't happen all the time, but it is definetly there.

I hope I will be able to reproduce that noise to the dealer and get it fixed.

 

I have just been told by the dealership that my 2002 Maxima SE needs to have the very same exact job done. My concern resolving this problem, but what the long term effects of having, what I think is a fairly major fix for a car with less then 4k miles on it. I am curious to know if anyone who has had the clutch and flywheel replacement done, has asked for additional warranty time? Am I over-reacting?

 

Hey, what will Nissan replace for you? Did you have whinning noise when starting from first and reverse gears?
I thought I heard it this weekend, but two days driving now and I can't duplicate that same noise.
Does that noise was there everytime you started from first?

Thanks.

 

haha go to performance and tell james clark that will sent u!!! mine does this too even after having my tranny replaced which feels like it is going again!!! i agree with steve i hope my car falls apart which it is in the process of doing! problems i have encoutered so far:

bad tranny- nissan fixed the internals didnt tighten a bolt and it fell into my gears and cracked 4th.... i got a brand new clutch and tranny!

tensioner pulley bolt was finger loose one day.... so i tighten it down in my driveway and immediately go to nissan..... they adjust stuff and say it is fine! 3 weeks later i am driving home from work on the bolt and the sheild on the tensioner pulley fell off while i was driving down the road (i looked in my rear view and saw something rolling behind me after hearing a weird noise) i stop and what do u know the same bolt that I KNOW I TIGHTENED just happend to come loose and fall off! had to get a tow truck to tow me to nissan!

kid shot my car with a bb gun kind of irelevent but still! i got it fixed and the guy that did it oversprayed big time so my paint feels like sand paper on the right side on my car!

my bose head unit shorts out when i hit a bump and the left speakers turn off and dont work until i smack the head unit which is when they turn back on!

sunroof wont open sometimes! suroof has a bad wind leak!

rotors r so warped i dont use my brakes unless i have to! the cars shakes so violently it pulls me back and forth accross the road!

rear right passenger door has a very bad wind leak!

clutch makes funny noises still!

hood feels and looks like it is about to fly off!

the gas pedal recall even though i wasnt one of the ones on the recall list!

i think that there is more but i am tired and cant think if i remember i will post it! oh and keep in mind that my car only has 9k miles on it!!!

will

 

 

What is the tensioner pulley bolt?

I just want to make sure mine is not loose.

Thanks.

 

The noise become noticeable just recently, and it was mostly in 1st gear, and not all the time. I just had the dealer fax me the work order, and it describes they were able to hear it in all gears, including reverse. It can be heard by just releasing clutch 2 inches.

They have corrected the problem by doing a complete clutch replacement, plus the flywheel. I have never heard of a flywheel ever needing replacement on a car. It's basically one of those simple parts.

The dealership has been very accomidating, almost as if they have seen this before, and wanted to resolve it asap.

I am just not sure if this will pop up again down the road, or if this is just one of those things that gets fixed and is fine for the life of the car. I have owned many Nissan's before and they have been good cars, just nervous about starting out with this problem on this car.

 

Yeah, well I thought I was getting that noise pretty consistenly, but two days driving now and I can't hear a thing. Lunching in first, reverse, slipping clutch, etc. no noise.

I am also afraid of giving the car to the dealer to do such a large work on my car. They always mess something up, scrutch something, etc.
I try to avoid them, if possible.

 

I've been reading this forum for a while now, just didn't have anything to say until now. I've been reading a few people here having 6spd issues. Being the owner of one and it being my first MT, I am very paranoid about this problem showing up in my car. From what I remember seeing, it seems that this is more of an issue for early build date 6spds. Can anyone confirm this? Mine was built in January '02 and I was just curious if anyone with a 6spd w/HLSD built in or after January '02 had suffered from tranny problems, particularly this dying squirrel sound. Thanks for any info.

 

Hi folks,

My Altima 5-speed started making the same "dying squirrel" (great description) noise a few weeks back, primarily when slipping the clutch in reverse. It started doing it a little in first gear last week, so I took the car in yesterday. My service writer gave me the same diagnosis, and they're ordering and installing a new clutch kit. The guy said it'd be done in a day, but I'll believe *that* when I see pigs flying outside my office window. Fortunately I finagled a loaner '02 Maxima SE (automatic) out of them.

Imagine my surprise when I surfed over to this site to see my exact problem appear with a *totally* different transmission. I wonder if the clutch assemblies are the same part? Regardless, I thought I was all alone. If this thread is any indication, I have a feeling that more and more 5-speed Altima owners will be making that hated trip to the dealer with their squealy vehicles.

Jarrod K. Wright
'02 3.5 SE 5-speed w/Squeal-O-Matic Pack
'02 G20 Sport 5-speed

 

I'm having the same issue with my clutch.

 

I just finished reading another thread here on this issue where some folks thought this problem might be related to premature clutch wear caused by poor driving technique. I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case I know that's not the case. I've driven *only* cars with manual transmissions for the last 16 years. My last car, a '91 Sentra SE-R I bought new in that year, still had the original clutch in it when I traded it for the Altima in October of 2001.

My Altima has only 4500 miles on it and I drive pretty conservatively -- no smokey burnouts (although I've been tempted). Nissan apparently had a run of defective clutch assemblies or put out a poor design to begin with. I'm glad thus far the company has been responsive in fixing the issue. I would expect nothing less.

Jarrod

 

Yeah I am going to wait until I can get that whinning noise in first and reverse gears consistently. So far have been two days and no noise. I noticed the noise this weekend and two day s went by I can't duplicate the noise anymore.

My 2000 SE 5-speed started making similar noise right before I sold it. Strange?

Maybe it the clutch that Nissan is using?

 

Well, I might as well post my problem. The 6 spd manual trans in my 2K2 SE seemed really quirky from the day I drove it off the lot (Feb 4th 2002). Besides noticing that the shifter was extremely notchy, I immediately started to have problems shifting into 6th gear on the interstate... the shifter just didn't want to go down from 5th to 6th. That problem actually just went away. Now 4th gear doesn't want to shift into place unless you're at a REALLY low RPM (1-2K). Every person who has driven my max has commented on 4th gear. It feels as though the synchronizer is going out or something. I don't know, but it makes me really nervous to read all of these posting about 6 speed problems. I have already taken it to Nissan for the 4th gear problem (and 6th earlier on), but of course they "Could not duplicate problem". I'm thinking about driving up there and making them drive it with me in the car. Any suggestions? Has anyone else had this problem? The ONLY other problem I've had is an engine hesitation that has been driving me crazy from the day I purchased the car... but I'll post a separate thread about that in a few days.

 

Well my 6-speed seems to be fine. I mean it shifts fine in any gear.
I got this whinning noise when starting from first and reverse gears this weekend. I was all ready to go to dealership to show them the problem, but it stopped making that sound. Some people had their clutches replaced for the same problem. Now have been three days and no noise. I guess it is good.

And about hesitation, I don't think it is a problem. I kinda like it, it feels like boost kicks in

 

I don't know if the problems are exactly the same here, but the noise in my Altima comes and goes. Some days it would squeal/hum a little at *every* backup; other times I'd go a few days without a peep. I'm guessing that once the problem manifests itself, it doesn't go away on its own.

Jarrod

 

Yeah, you might be right. I just always try to avoid dealers if I can.
But if I start hearing this noise again, I will go to the dealer to show them the noise.
Also you said they gave you a 2002 Maxima as a rental? That's nice. I don't think they will give me one.

 

I have the same problem on my 99 5spd. They said it was from my driving and they couldn't get a squeak out of it. It was going into first, reverse and sometimes second. Maybe the same 5sp in the older Maxima as in the new Altima?

 

Odd, I just had my entire transmission replaced for a similar problem noise. They didn't touch the clutch or the flywheel, and it cleared up the problem. Just replaced the transmission. I was very surprised to see the bill they sent Nissan, though. Only billed for 4 hours labor for the transmission replacement.

 

Just got my Maxima back from the dealer after they replaced the flywheel, and clutch. Don't hear the noise anymore, now I get a constant vibration on the clutch pedal and the "service engine soon" light came on. So back to the dealer, sshheez. Has anyone opened up a case with NISSAN corporate office? I am thinking about it in case this issue starts to get progressively worse, I hate chronic problems.

What I am gathering from this thread is that NISSAN has had a tough time with manuals for the Maxima. No issue with with the Z-cars that I have or 4x that I owned. What happened?

 

Short answer: problem resolved. The dealer replaced the clutch disk, pressure plate and throwout bearing. No more dying squirrel, and clutch engagement and disengagement at low rpm is about a zillion times smoother than it ever was. I think mine was bad out of the box and it never bothered me enough to take it in until the noise manifested.

And jtomasel, yes, I opened a case with NNA through their 1-800-NISSAN1 number. The customer service rep with whom I dealt was very professional and helpful, and I felt much better throughout the process knowing there was an intermediary between me and the dealer (even though the dealer did an outstanding job). He's the guy who set me up with the loaner Maxima; he's also the fellow who called me to let me know the car was ready. With anything major like this, I'd recommend that everyone go through Nissan North America before lugging the car in to the dealership just to ensure that all the ducks are lined up in a nice pretty little row.

Jarrod

 

I wonder if that whinning(dying squerel) noise will come back after getting it fixed?!?!

It has been about a week now since I first heard that noise in my clutch, but since, I didn't hear it again.

I am thinking if Nissan is replacing the clutch, I bet after some miles it will start making the same sound again.
I remmember Nissan replaced brake rotors on my 2000 SE because they were warped.
After 10K miles, they got warped again.

I am gona avoid dealer until this noise will appear again.

 

I went through all this a few months ago. The car sounded like a banshee coming out of first gear. I took it to the shop and got lucky. this guy was there from Nissan Japan for a week. The dealership I go to is a service response place that reports directly to Japan any issues they see or find. Well I had to let the dood ride with me but as soon as he heard it he said it was the throw out bearing. He said that they dont get greased right or something when they come over and they squeel after a little wear and tear.

I had to have the clutch replaced. I took it back in for another iisue and the dealership wrecked my car (search for the thread "dealership wrecked my car".

To make a ling story short: if you are having this issue just take it in and tell them to replace the clutch. They will not touch the flywheel, the flywheel is a totally new design and costs about $1600 per. Nissan wont allow them to be replaced unless the dealership is sure. If there is nothing wrong it gets charged back to the dealership.

Good luck all.

 

I am getting a new clutch installed on 5/13/02, after Nissan resurfaced the flywheel a week ago the dying squirrel returned with a serious attitude problem in every gear except for a shift from 5th to 6th gear. I have also received a vibration in 10 mph downshifts from 40 mph to 15 mph. I was all excited about owning a Nissan but going from a trouble free Accord that cost me 10 thousand less, to a 24K dealer ***** has made me regret leasing this car. Hopefully, this will be the last visit, except for oil changes and scheduled maintenance.

 

Sorry to hear it dood. Hope it gets better for you. Also, hope they dont drive your car into another car like they did with mine

 

Well, brakes and clutches are two totally different components with different wear characteristics. Warped rotors have about a million different causes, but the most common is overbraking (and hence superheating). You can kill a clutch in millions of fine ways as well, but considering I drive like an old lady much of the time and know how to upshift and downshift properly, I'm 95 percent sure my clutch assembly was bad out of the factory. Or at least off the dealer lot -- the car had 120 miles on the odometer when I bought it, had been driven by several sales monkeys to and from the State Fair of Texas for display, and probably hot-rodded by countless ham-footed customers used to driving four cylinder Accords. Since day one, the car had a vague hesitation/judder off idle that came and went. It never bothered me enough to take it in; since the new clutch went in, that nonsense is gone, and the car just *glides* away from a stop with just a brief feathering of the throttle. (If I'd tried that six weeks ago, the car would've either juddered like a Pinto with two missing engine mounts or died altogether.)

I'd be surprised if this problem arises again if your dealership fixes it right the first time. Considering the high warranty cost of this job, I expect Nissan is doing everything it can to minimize its losses on this issue. They absolutely *do not* want to pay for multiple clutch replacements on our cars. That'd be a killer: high upfront cost and lost future revenue, 'cause nobody is going to plunk down another $25K for one of their products if the first one went through three clutches in 18 months.

Jarrod

 

I dropped my Max off this morning. The service department believes the clutch issues are on production dates from September 2001 thru January 2002. I am not sure if that would include the HLSD models. The dealer received 4 other 2k2 SE's with the same problem over the weekend. It is an epidemic.

 

I have to wait three damn weeks for the clutch to come in. Now I am stuck in a chevrolet cavalier rental which is my new lease vehicle at 554.13 per month. Ain't this a...