[DJ Balasa]

Hello All:

I was curious to know if anyone else has had this happen. I noticed this even when I bought the car new.

When sitting at idle at a red light, when I clutch down and shift into first I can hear this very audible sound like the car slams into first and I notice that the tach dips to about 650 - 700 RPM and then goes back up. This only happens when I idle for more than about 45 seconds. I noticed that it doesn't happen when I double tap the gear lever to the left before shifting into first.

Does anyone know if this is normal? I don't think it is but it has been there since I got the car.

 

[Francesco]

Does it make the sound if you depress the clutch, wait 4 seconds and then move the shift lever from neutral into 1st?

Frank 2009 Versa S sedan MT-6 with 50200 miles

 

[07Versa6MT]

Mine does the same thing sometimes. Just a quirk of the tranny. More likely this to me indicates that the clutch is still spinning the tranny input shaft slightly, meaning a slightly engaged clutch, and that "thud" you hear as you put it in first is the sound of the synchro "jamming" in a fashion since the input shaft is not stopped completely. Check for floor mats migrating forwards and jammimg clutch pedal. I know some people stack floor mats. My tranny is on its way out, synchros wearing out. Ever notice the lower gears being hard to get into on deceleration? Mine are bad, i rev match to reduce wear and sometimes don't use the clutch for steady moving traffic. Glad parts for these things are cheap and plentiful, just like a Civic. Used low mileage tranny's are a dime a dozen.

 

[DJ Balasa]

Francesco:

I haven't tried that method of getting rid of the sound, I will give that a try. The double tap method I mentioned earlier works well.

07Versa6MT:

The car is practically new, its a 2012 but the car only had 17.0KM on it when I bought it. Apparently the car was built and delivered but never sold so the dealer parked it for over a year before I came along and bought it. Could the car sitting for so long do somthing to the tranny to cause this? I'm thinking if the tranny is wearing out, it probably was caused by people who test drove the car and didn't know how to drive stick or didn't know how to drive stick well. The car now only has about 4,400KM so the powertrain is still on warranty. Could this be solvable with an adjustment or does the whole tranny need to be ripped out and replaced?

 

[07Versa6MT]

Oh, i didn't know it was that new. Still sounds like a clutch not fully disengaging. Idiot test drivers wouldn't even scratch a new tranny, they take a lot of abuse. Check thick floor mats for jamming up between the pedal. Also ive found that there's usually about an inch or so more the pedal will go down from how far i normally press it. Try it. Push clutch in during a normal shift, then push harder, this could be it, too much force required so people don't disengage it fully. In fact i think this may be a common 2000's Nissan problem. I drove a 6 speed G37 with same "thud" of synchro's colliding.

 

[DJ Balasa]

I'll check out the pedal travel and see if I can't push it down more. Usually though, from a stop, the pedal is down to the floor. I also still have the stock floor mats that came with the car. I tried using my old floor mats from my '01 Civic (automatic trans.) but my foot kept getting caught in the grooves so I took it out. I only now have the carpet mats that came with the car.

Thanks for the help. I'll update soon as I find anything.

 

[2013Versa]

Mine doesn't do this. First check to be sure that your seat is far enough forward that you CAN push the clutch pedal aaaalllll the way to the floorboard without the floor mat there. Just because you can't make your foot go any farther where the seat feels comfy doesn't mean the pedal doesn't still has some travel left. That's the first thing I check when I drive a new car, can I depress the clutch without my chest being right up against the airbag? If there is some interference from the mat, you can even cut away the part under the clutch pedal while keeping the rest of the mat. My floor mat is starting to want to shift to the right from how I step on it when I get into the car, I have to put it back on the pegs once a week or so.

Is it like the noise when the transmission lever doesn't quite want to go into gear and you force it into the slot anyhow? That's your synchros binding. Try double clutching - first push the pedal down FULLY, go into neutral, release the pedal and take your foot off it, wiggle the shifter left to right to clear any linkage binding, press down the clutch pedal FULLY a second time before selecting the gear you want and then release carefully, keeping slippage to a minimum and then removing your foot again. That usually helps the synchos mesh better. It's slower but better for wear and tear, that extra second spent shifting isn't gonna matter! You're not on a Formula One track. Any foot pressure on the pedal will make the clutch slip a bit, keep you foot off it like you keep your foot off the brake pedal. Don't ride your clutch.

If it's fairly new and still under warranty, and this doesn't help, then have the dealer check the transmission linkage and adjust the dead space on the clutch pedal.

 

[DJ Balasa]

Hi 2013Versa:

I'm 6 feet tall so the seat has to be all the way back for me to fit behind the wheel haha. I also had a look at the pedal travel. I had my girlfriend push the clutch down while I watched the stroke and the pedal goes all the way down and misses the floor mat by about 3/4 of an inch.

The sound occurs when I'm sitting at idle, like at a red light or something. Basically what I do is a come to a stop, come out of gear and let out the clutch so it sits idle in neutral. Once the light changes, I clutch down and shift into first and that's when I hear the thud. The gear lever moves with normal effort. I've never had to force it into gear and I definitely don't ride the clutch. That was the first thing my dad told me NOT to do when I was learning to drive stick. My foot is off unless I'm changing gears and then off it again.

I'll try the double clutching although I've tried it before and failed miserably, need practice.

 

[07Versa6MT]

I wouldn't be too worried... my tranny has almost 330 000KM on it and synchro's still feel like they're in good shape. Running Royal Purple now though. Not a huge difference but it's there, i wish Royal Purple made the correct weight for this tranny however, which i believe is 75W80 or some oddball weight that somehow only the dealer can supply. 75W90 works fine, but i deffinitely notice more effort when the tranny is up to operating temp due to the higher "hot" viscosity.