I dont know if anyone has experienced this issue but it is getting to be really bad.

I have a 2006 AT maxima with ~103,XXX miles on it and it sounds like the transmission is starting to give out. I took it into a shop about 5k miles ago and they said the car would be better off running until it dies and then replacing. Awesome...

The issue is when im starting the car and for about the first 20 minutes it sounds like something is clicking in the engine and has been getting progresively louder the more it wears on. It it is directly in sync with the RPM's so i figure it is the transmission issue again.

Likewise, when i shift into "sport" mode, the downshifting is extremely jerky and anytime i downshift from a low RPM it feels like the entire transmission is about to fall off the car and gives a huge thud and the car jerks.

any ideas?

 

Clicking could be a lot of different possibilities on start up, couple that come to mine is that alternator or a heat shield

 

sounds like it could be motor mounts, valves, timing chain, your trans, heat shield. Exhaust. I recommend you take a video and post it. Also if you take a video, get different angles so that we can try and pin point it. As for the shifting, check your fluid color. Also check your oil level while you are at it. Go get some CD2 from Autozone or Walmart and add that to your oil. Make sure your oil level is at the right prior to adding. If it goes away then it is your valves tapping. CD2 is safe for our car and works like a champ. It is fairly cheap as well. If your trans fluid is not bright clear red color, then you need to change it out. That could be the cause of shifting issues. Also what transmission do you have in your car? is it the 5 speed. there is a big issue with those, not with the 4 speed.

 

yeah it is a 5 speed. I will head over to autozone and grab some of that. I will also post vids ASAP

 

Could also be sticky injectors. They make abnormal clicking sounds as well.

 

it was the oil... im still doing the rest of the maintenance but once i changed the oil it seemed to go away thankfully

 

Don't worry you are not the first with a fear of the VQ ticking. I thought something was wrong with my engine when I first heard the tick. Very common. I since then changed my oil to 15w50 and never looked back.