I wanted to pass this on. I had the once a day during the first trip front end clunk. I was driving me crazy. I took it to my local Dealership and they kept the car over night and with my help were able to replicate the Clunk. The tech driving my car noticed that my transmission was lagging too. He attributed the Clunk to a bad Motor mount. But he also said the transmission was on its last let. After the test drive he orders a new transmission and motor mount. Upon removing the Transmission and Motor Mount they found the Motor Mount was broken and the Transmission fluid was burnt with metal in it. Both were replaced at no cost . If you are having the elusive front end clunk that only happens once a day and you are having a hard time reproducing it please PM me and I will give you the instructions on how to do it so you could show the service manager and or tech the clunk.

Hope this helps
Chris

 

Which motor mount was bad and which side of the car did you notice hearing the clunk coming from? Is there a TSB for this condition?

 

Surely, everyone who has expeierenced this doesn't have a broken motor mount with burned transmission fluid.

I actually have the issue, not just once a day but everytime my car sits for about 30min

 

I have the once a day clunk that comes from the driver side wheel but after replacing the control arm I still get it.

So please share with us how you duplicate this clunk?

 

im so confused about this...

is it abs or not?

 

The ABS is not the issue here as the sound is an actual clunk. The ABS noise is more like a pop or snap like sound and is a normal repetitive process.

 

Chris, instead of asking individual members to PM you in regards to what you had done to resolve this issue why don't you just spell it out here in this post so we all can have access to the info.
This is exactly what this forum was intended for my friend.

 

+1 having same issue

 

so there is a different "sound at 30mph" that people are having?

 

I really think this is a one off issue. I have the "clunk noise" upon first going when cold (usually only happens in winter here) and had the exact same noise in my 3.5 altima. I do think its a motor mount noise but not due to a broken mount but rather the design. It doesnt appear to be damaging anything but rather more of a quality issue. If i take it very easy and the car warms up in the cold i dont get the noise.

 

i guess i am confused on the issue my 2013 has. at 30 mph i hear (from the left front of car) and feel (in gas pedal) a sound that makes a quick pop, or almost a click. then at stops i do not hear it again at 30mph.

after the car sits for roughly 30min or so, it will pop again at 30mph exactly, then never again on that same drive.

is that the abs?

 

I pretty sure my ABS check initiates somewhere between 15-20mph. Yours actually sounds like the ABS. The 2013 may activate at a different speed than my 2010?
My clunk happens on acceleration only usually after sitting for more than 4+ hours.

 

Mine hits at exactly 30mph every time.

 

In my experience:

After each start of the engine...I always get the ABS pulse right at 30-31 mph. Never matters if it's warm or cold...having just driven 500 miles or 10 miles just before you restart the engine.

The clunk in the front end is a different sensation as it usually occurs when cold...or after the car has sit for quite some time. Never happens when its been driven recently. That's been my experience since the first week of ownership...going on 14 months now...and 13k miles.

BTW...2012 SV/Tech

 

So the Nissan Tech was able to replicate the clunk by. Stopping the car putting it in Reverse and reving the engine while holding the brake. He stopped and then Shifted in to Drive and reving the engine while holding the brake. The reving the engine in Drive with brake held replicated the clunk.

Chris

 

Thanks Chris, good info. I will give this a try sometime this weekend and report back on what I hear.
Being able to replicate this has been the main reason for not taking the car into the dealership yet.

 

Changed oil today and while under the car I inspected what I could see with a light and mirror in the attempt to determine where the clunk is originating from.
Being the sound/feel comes from the left side I removed the (drivers side) transaxel mount and found that it was not the culprit.
The search continues....DOUGH!!!!