My 2004 Max Silver SE has 6900 miles on it and appears to have a transmission problem. Out of nowhere Saturday, it started to shift pretty violently into second gear from a standstill. This eventually progressed to not even engaging a gear at all. This happened while going up a hill - I was in drive, the rpms were flying, but the car was hardly going anywhere. I made it to the top of the hill and encountered more problems after parking the car for a few minutes. I doubt anybody has had a similar problem, but any thought on this??? I am waiting to hear back from the service manager this morning.

Also, anybody know (generally, since I realize the law is different in each state) if the lemon law would come into play if there is a major transmission problem and the transmission would have to be swapped?

 

Go to your dealer, go directly to your dealer, do not pass go, do not collect $200 (yet).

definitely a nasty thing. the tranny may need replacing, but leave that up to Nissan to decide.

AFAIK, the lemon law doesn't come into play until they've unsuccessfully tried to fix the car three or more times. the first new tranny shouldn't be a problem.. it's the third one you should worry about!

 

Matt93se is right, you're going to have to encounter several attempts to fix the problem before the lemon law steps in. BTW, that sucks man, I sure hope I don't have that problem. Good luck to you.

 

I have a feeling that it may not be as serious as we all think. My wife's '03 Altima had a similar problem, and it ended up being a computer glitch which was fixed right away...I hope that is your case, too.

 

Hey, come on. I wouldn't be happy either, but it's not like you're driving a TL with the "Time Bomb Tranny." Hopefully it'll be something like DansMax3 encountered with his Altima.

Keep us posted.

 

Well, Day 2 has not brought any good news. They are still looking into the problem but are reasonably sure that it will need a new transmission. I inquired about the potential for a computer problem, and the mechanic said that he doubted it because of the way the trasmission was acting and not engaging a gear at all at times.

I have looked further into the Lemon Law and it looks like I am sh*t out of luck in that regard. I have a serious problem putting even a "new" transmission in a $33,000 car with 6900 miles.

In my searches, I came across the 350Z forum, and it appears that many people with Z's are having similar issues, including a few with less mileage than myself. One person is on their third transmission already. I refuse to deal with a new transmission every 15,000 miles from here on out.

It's easy to say sell it and get another one or something else, but I feel like I am being raked over the coals taking any hit on this car at this point.

Hopefully no one else out there encounters this issue. I will let you know of any final resolutions.

 

Nissan (and Infiniti) are known for earlier than normal transmission failures and more frequent brake rotor replacement. Buy an extended warranty to protect against the next transmission failure.

If that bothers you, get a Camry or Accord.

 

Last week (7500 km) I had to take my 04 in for a leak from under the engine compartment. Turned out it was transmission coolant leaking from a transmission cooling hose. This hose carries fluid through the radiator to the auto transmission. Luckily I live in a cooler climate and did not risk damaging the transmission due to low coolant level. I wonder what that can do to the auto transmission. The dealer offered no explanation as to how the hose may have begun to leak. They did have to order a new hose since they did not have them in stock, so I had to return after waiting a couple of days.