A shudder in 2nd

1581 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by villageidiot, Feb 28, 2010

Mogh

Discussion Starter · Feb 28, 2010

Ok so I was taking a road trip earlier this week and had the car pretty full.

Full tank of gas
About 725~775 pounds of passenger
Full trunk 75 pounds estimated weight

I'm driving up an entrance ramp after filling up the car, getting ready to merge back on the highway. Clutch out of 1st just fine. I know I'm running full weight so I rev a little higher than normal, maybe 4k or so. I shift into 2nd and let out clutch. In the gas pedal and thru the stick I can feel a shudder, almost as if the drive shaft was off balance. The high end of 2nd gear did not have this problem. 3rd was fine as well. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, but when we got to where we were going we dumped a passenger (100 pounds) and the trunk luggage (75 pounds) and we never refilled so I had less than 1/2 tank for the return trip. It has come back slightly when I had 2 passengers in the car, in 2nd gear at lower RPM.

My 1st car 16 years ago was a manual, I've owned 3 since then and never had to replace a clutch. Even put 140k miles on a Kia and had the mechanic tell me it looked brand new. I know how to drive a stick and what they feel like. I know this isn't normal, but I don't know how serious it is. Anyone have some insight?

Could it have been the clutch slipping? My passengers were a little on the heavier side, but the car wasn't packed to the gills, and I feel our clutches should be able to handle what I was asking just fine.

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iluvmyVersa08

· #2 · Feb 28, 2010

My old car used to shudder between gears (almost as if it didn't want to change gears). It was an automatic but any small incline (whether in the city or highway) and it would jump and not shift gears. It used to scare the living daylights out of me! It was horrible ... but then again, it was a Hyundai ! lol!

Can't say I've ever experienced anything like that in my Versa.

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villageidiot

· #3 · Feb 28, 2010

coulda momentarily lost a little traction, i wouldn't think anything of it personally

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jlhcrawford

· #4 · Feb 28, 2010

i agree with the traction thing. ive only driven manual shifts and ive never had to replace a clutch (even on a 9 year old corolla). i expect the same quality from nissan.

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Mogh

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 28, 2010

No, this was in the car... This is why I haven't involved the dealer yet, I'm not explaining it correctly or something. I can feel it at low RPM in 2nd just a tiny bit, but only because I'm hyper-sensitive to it. As the weight of my car increases (i.e. passengers, cargo, full tank of gas), so does the problem. I was just hoping someone could say, "oh tell the dealer it's this" and it would be dealt with.

I might just go to the dealer, pile in 3 or 4 techs and go for a ride. LOL

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villageidiot

· #6 · Feb 28, 2010

Mogh said:
I might just go to the dealer, pile in 3 or 4 techs and go for a ride. LOL

this, might be the only way to get them to understand the issue

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