I was driving home after purchasing a 96 5 speed se today, and after about 30 miles on the highway the stick pops out of fifth, or so it looked like anyway, front brakes locked up for some reason, and I went skidding with no control of the wheel. I was stuck halfway in the left lane on the highway and half on the shoulder since the brakes where stuck.

Anyway, what happened? I have had quite a few manual cars in the past, but never had any problems with them. No shops are open today so I dont know if it is just my clutch or the whole transmission or what. I find it wierd that the brakes locked up and stayed that way. I could start the car, but could not get into any gear. I would let off the clutch and the engine would die. It seems like it is stuck in some gear. Any guesses on whats wrong?

Also, is anyone familiar with new hampshire's lemon law? Should the dealership pay for this? It happened only a half hour after I got the car.

Has this happened to anyone before? Is this normal behavior when a clutch goes? Thanks for any help.


And one more thing, I have the option of purchasing nissans 2 year warranty for 600 dollars. How is their warranty and would it be worth it?

 

b13 5th gear pop out I do have experience with, but never heard of the brakes locking up.

 

probably the detent *****/springs are not good. I dont think your brakes locked up I think your tranny did

 

thanks, it all happened pretty damn quick. is this something expensive?

 

Yup, kiss your transmission good-bye.

 

sucs to hear that man , maybe your dealer would fix it for you for free or something.

 

thanks, i think ill def need a new tranny and who knows what else. I hope the dealer will take care of it... but it is out of state so I dont know what kind of laws appy. They might just tell me to go screw myself... I am so ****ed, it was only like a half hour after i got the damn thing.

 

It sounds like the dealer forgot to put gear oil in the transmission...and it ate itself on the way home.

Damn...that's almost exactly what happened to me. Mine was stuck in 1st gear after it melted...[flashback]I was in 5th, then it felt like I slammed the brakes. I put the clutch down, and tried to shift into neutral...no dice. Somehow I wound up in 1st gear, even though my shift lever said it was in 5th.[/flashback]

My tranny was totally shot, and it still needs to be replaced. I later found out that the tranny leaked from the axle seals (replaced a month before). I never noticed any puddles or even drops anywhere...weird.

Back to your problem, I'd call the dealer and tell them about it. I'm sure they'll say 'tough ****', but it's worth a shot. Not sure about the lemon laws...never needed them.

Check www.car-part.com for a used tranny. That's what I did...and I found a VLSD tranny...goes in this week. A new tranny will run you ~$2200.

 

Hah yah i was like...wait this isnt SE-R list?

Question. How do you check the level of your gear oil? Is there a way?

 

Open the fill-hole, stick your finger in...if it gets wet, you're all good

 

Thanks sryth, that is the exact same thing that happened to me. So now all I have to do is hope the dealer won't pork me. Did you change anything else with the tranny? Like a new clutch or anything? I see a few trannies in my area for about 780 bucks. Not lsd though... Thanks for the quick replies everyone!!

 

Well, I've been taking this tranny off/on all last year. I got an ACT at the beginning of last year, but I only got to put ~10k on it, so I didn't need to replace that.

I just chose this time to upgrade to the VLSD. Actually, I'm in the process of verifying whether the tranny I got really is an LSD (as they told me).

If it's not, I've got a choice to make...send it back and buy a new VLSD tranny, or keep it and buy a Quaife. Either way, it's a lot more than I planned on spending.

 

Hey, you were right. They said they didnt check the gear oil. Yesterday they said they would go and get the car this morning. So I called at 930 this morning to see what is going to happen. They said they got the car yesterday after I called and told them what happened, and that it was on the lift right now getting a new tranny put in. I could have picked it up today but could not get out of work early enough. I figured I would have a big hassle on my hands, but they are taking care of me pretty well. They also had about 20 other maxes out there so if someone is lookin for one they might have it.


How many miles do I have to take it easy on this new tranny?

 

If i were you, after you get the car back, take it to another mechanic and have it checked out.....just to make sure nothing else is almost going to break or screwed up--if something else tears up later on and it was the dealers fault, you may not be able to get them to fix it free

 

Good to know they're taking their punches (as they should). I second NissanSE98's advice...take it somewhere and have it looked at. If they forgot to add gear oil, who the hell knows what else they missed.

I don't know about a break-in period for a new tranny. Are you really getting a new tranny, or a used (rebuilt maybe?) unit? If it is new, I'd ask them to throw in a VLSD unit...they're cheaper, but you need a new drive axle for it.

Probably too late for all that now, though...

 

You should take it easy even on a rebuilt tranny because most of the internals will be new. You want to give it a chance to get oil soaked, meaning you want to give the metals a chance to completely absord as much trans oil as possible before running it hard. Usually 500-1,000 miles.

 

Man, I can't believe you're letting this go so easily. The dealer's negligence almost got you killed, and you're saying you're lucky that they're not sticking you with the bill? It's like going to a doctor, having him punch you in the face, then feeling lucky that they're not going to give you the hospital bill for fixing your face. If it were me, I'd have called a lawyer...

 

unfortunatley i have had worse experiences in the past, so i am surprised they are even doing this without an argument. i will be having it checked out by someone else...

 

Good thing it was a dealer and not a private party "AS IS" sale....then you wouldve been f*cked