Anyone had any issues with shifting? (6MT)

[NocturnalEmber]

Trying to ascertain if there might be an issue with my car in particular, an issue in general, etc.

Driven manual cars my whole life and I've yet to run into this issue, so I very much doubt it's a me problem (I've had someone else drive my car to confirm that they have the issue as well.)

When driving, even when warm, the transmission seems to have a very notchy and audible feel/sound when changing gears. This is much more pronounced than what you would expect to feel from a typical rwd box with the shifter mounted directly on the trans, as opposed to say, a fwd cable or rod operated shifter.

This is mainly upshifting into 2nd and 3rd gears. The issue gets less noticeable and less audible the higher the gear (4th is hardly noticeable for example if it does it at all in 4th.)

If I had to try and put a description to the noise, think of how a manual transmission car can sound when you put it into reverse at a stop; That audible noise from the transmission itself as it goes into gear is what the shifts sound like.

The noise and feel is almost like it's having an issue with the synchros or the clutch releasing. If I shift slower (think how long it would take to double clutch an old box) then it's less inclined to do it, but shifting at any reasonable pace for daily driving will likely cause it.

Just thought I'd see if anyone has encountered this, never had the issue on any of my other cars and it's concerning enough that I wouldn't want to attempt driving aggressively at autox, etc for fear of the problem being worse.

 

[MacCool]

“Notchy” upshifting into second, and to a lesser extent into third, was common in both of the Z34’s I owned since 2011. Between that and the clutch, the MT 370Z was a hard car to shift smoothly. My wife has been driving MT’s all her life too but didn’t like driving my 370Z’s because of that. I don’t by know about the RZ34 as mine’s an automatic but I believe it’s the same transmission and shifter.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

“Notchy” upshifting into second, and to a lesser extent into third, was common in both of the Z34’s I owned since 2011. Between that and the clutch, the MT 370Z was a hard car to shift smoothly. My wife has been driving MT’s all her life too but didn’t like driving my 370Z’s because of that. I don’t by know about the RZ34 as mine’s an automatic but I believe it’s the same transmission and shifter.

I really wish I had a better way to describe it; I'm surprised its not grinding because the way it feels going into gear you would expect it to. The shifter doesn't glide into the gates/gears I mentioned smoothly by any means whatsoever unless I take about double the time you would expect a normal shift to take.

This almost feels like trying to shift a car with a cracked synchro, but without the grind and only in the gears I've mentioned. 5th and 6th are mostly fine, 1st I never use unless I'm stopped obviously, so that doesn't have an issue either.

 

[MacCool]

I really wish I had a better way to describe it; I'm surprised its not grinding because the way it feels going into gear you would expect it to. The shifter doesn't glide into the gates/gears I mentioned smoothly by any means whatsoever unless I take about double the time you would expect a normal shift to take.

This almost feels like trying to shift a car with a cracked synchro, but without the grind and only in the gears I've mentioned. 5th and 6th are mostly fine, 1st I never use unless I'm stopped obviously, so that doesn't have an issue either.

Yup. Sounds like my 370Zs. Just one of the quirks of that transmission. I just shrugged it off, but maybe it feels worse in the higher-horsepower RZ34.

 

[vern24]

My 2024 is a bit notch, but nothing I'd describe as problematic. I do find there are times it feels a slight bit mushy and without the dash indicator telling me what gear I'm in, I'd not know.

 

[Zenogias]

It's strange because I hear stories like yours and see many people agree and say "its just the car", but mine does not feel like this. The only sounds I hear shifting are the normal sounds I've heard in every other MT i've driven. I do sometimes (1 out of 50 maybe?) get a slight "grindy" feel when I upshift to 3rd gear when the car is hot, but other than that I'd describe the Z's MT as the best I've ever driven hands down. Starting to think I just got lucky, because more people seem to be in your camp than mine.

 

[JonnyG]

No noises at all - my complint is the the 2nd gate is sloppy and shifts are long. Other tha that you can 2 finger shift. Short shifter should solve my issue just waiting a little longer.

 

[bpeckham]

Here's a similar thread, which seems to have a similar set of responses.

Mine's been fine, and I think my Z shifts smoother than all of my other MT cars. Thinking back, all of my MT cars have been Nissan/Infiniti (all pretty good, Z is best of them), Toyota, or Honda (actually a motorcycle), and a VW Jetta (worst of the bunch).

I wonder is this is actually the difference between a Nissan transmission and some other brand, say BMW or Porsche. Do I not know what I'm missing?

 

[rocksandblues]

Here's a similar thread, which seems to have a similar set of responses.

Mine's been fine, and I think my Z shifts smoother than all of my other MT cars. Thinking back, all of my MT cars have been Nissan/Infiniti (all pretty good, Z is best of them), Toyota, or Honda (actually a motorcycle), and a VW Jetta (worst of the bunch).

I wonder is this is actually the difference between a Nissan transmission and some other brand, say BMW or Porsche. Do I not know what I'm missing?

If you shift a Porsche you would see the difference
Porsche > BMW > Nissan

 

[mikecarpage]

I really wish I had a better way to describe it; I'm surprised its not grinding because the way it feels going into gear you would expect it to. The shifter doesn't glide into the gates/gears I mentioned smoothly by any means whatsoever unless I take about double the time you would expect a normal shift to take.

This almost feels like trying to shift a car with a cracked synchro, but without the grind and only in the gears I've mentioned. 5th and 6th are mostly fine, 1st I never use unless I'm stopped obviously, so that doesn't have an issue either.

I have experienced troubles shifting into 1st and 2nd gears - like you said, it almost feels like it would grind - where it takes more effort, and isn't as smooth. I don't ever hear any sounds/noises though. After so long, depending on how I shift, I've gotten a bit used to it, or it doesn't happen every time.

 

[CPerdomo]

Trying to ascertain if there might be an issue with my car in particular, an issue in general, etc.

Driven manual cars my whole life and I've yet to run into this issue, so I very much doubt it's a me problem (I've had someone else drive my car to confirm that they have the issue as well.)

When driving, even when warm, the transmission seems to have a very notchy and audible feel/sound when changing gears. This is much more pronounced than what you would expect to feel from a typical rwd box with the shifter mounted directly on the trans, as opposed to say, a fwd cable or rod operated shifter.

This is mainly upshifting into 2nd and 3rd gears. The issue gets less noticeable and less audible the higher the gear (4th is hardly noticeable for example if it does it at all in 4th.)

If I had to try and put a description to the noise, think of how a manual transmission car can sound when you put it into reverse at a stop; That audible noise from the transmission itself as it goes into gear is what the shifts sound like.

The noise and feel is almost like it's having an issue with the synchros or the clutch releasing. If I shift slower (think how long it would take to double clutch an old box) then it's less inclined to do it, but shifting at any reasonable pace for daily driving will likely cause it.

Just thought I'd see if anyone has encountered this, never had the issue on any of my other cars and it's concerning enough that I wouldn't want to attempt driving aggressively at autox, etc for fear of the problem being worse.

Driven manual for over 40 years as well. I have also felt an unusual behavior when shifting from 1st to 2nd. I would have to take a few seconds to do it if I wanted it to be smooth.

 

[Katum68]

I've driven manual cars since 1963. First car was an MGA with a non-synchro first gear. After that transmission anything else was golden. My 370Z with twin-turbos 513RWHP and stock transmission but high end clutch shifted fine. No notches, My 2024 Z performance is like silk, very smooth. My only caveat is that I have been shifting for 61 years.

 

[MacCool]

I've driven manual cars since 1963. First car was an MGA with a non-synchro first gear. After that transmission anything else was golden. My 370Z with twin-turbos 513RWHP and stock transmission but high end clutch shifted fine. No notches, My 2024 Z performance is like silk, very smooth. My only caveat is that I have been shifting for 61 years.

Heh. My first car, when I was 16, was a 1960 Austin Healey Sprite (bug eye). No synchros. It was a great auto-X car, but twice I had to pull the transmission to replace a broken 1st gear. Engine had to come out to do that since the tranny wasn't accessible from under the car. Super PITA. That experience, along with SU carburetors, put me off English sports cars completely.

Anyway, notchiness in the 1 > 2 shift on the 370Z was very commonly mentioned and complained about over on The 370Z forums. This discussion thread provides a lot of deja vu .

 

[Katum68]

Oh those young kids, having trouble shifting.

 

[heritageownerKurosawaz400]

My 2024 is a bit notch, but nothing I'd describe as problematic. I do find there are times it feels a slight bit mushy and without the dash indicator telling me what gear I'm in, I'd not know.

My 2024 Z feels very similar, but naturally it goes into gear no complaints, even when I am a bit faster or slamming it the notches are noticeable but no complaints. I have yet to grind a gear on downshifts despite the loudness haha.