Navara clutch issues?

[crowe]

2007 D40 YD25 with 75K and had something fail this week.

Everything was okay and then.......

1. Started getting clutch shudder off standing start.
2. After shuddering the clutch will grab and clunk suddenly.
3. Now get clunk on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear changes.
4. A weird whitsle noise whilst slowing down but still in gear.
5. General drivetrain vibration at highway speeds, worse under accleration.

Lucky car is still driveable but will be taking in to Nissan ASAP. Thankful i got the extended warranty. Will post back here with outcome.

 

[Leprechaun]

2007 D40 YD25 with 75K and had something fail this week.

Everything was okay and then.......

1. Started getting clutch shudder off standing start.
2. After shuddering the clutch will grab and clunk suddenly.
3. Now get clunk on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear changes.
4. A weird whitsle noise whilst slowing down but still in gear.
5. General drivetrain vibration at highway speeds, worse under accleration.

Lucky car is still driveable but will be taking in to Nissan ASAP. Thankful i got the extended warranty. Will post back here with outcome.

07 mdls have a reputation of flywheel/clutch failure.
Could be wroth removing your tow ball(if you have one) so Nissan can't use it as an excuse to void warranty.

 

[bluessv]

If it does turn out to be the clutch I don't see how your Manufacturer Warranty, extended or otherwise, is going to help you. Nissan will use the same line they have with numerous others. Something along the line of normal wear. The only people I know that have had success with Nissan paying for clutch failures are those that have done very low kilometres for a clutch to fail....such as 40,000kms or less. As plenty have failed around the 30,000km or sooner mark.

Good luck anyway!! And please let us all know how you go as there are plenty out there that are having clutch issues

 

[crowe]

If it does turn out to be the clutch I don't see how your Manufacturer Warranty, extended or otherwise, is going to help you. Nissan will use the same line they have with numerous others. Something along the line of normal wear. The only people I know that have had success with Nissan paying for clutch failures are those that have done very low kilometres for a clutch to fail....such as 40,000kms or less. As plenty have failed around the 30,000km or sooner mark.

Good luck anyway!! And please let us all know how you go as there are plenty out there that are having clutch issues

Thats a very good point, i didnt even consider that Nissan would run that line of thinking. I suppose I am hoping then it is something else or that the clutch has actually broken somewhow rather than just "worn out". When it first went bang and these problems occurred maybe something did break?

The clutch still works, it now just has these issues so I am guessing it wont last long. I imagine there is plently of clutch material left on the plates and theoretically that is the only wear and tear component? or am i dreaming?

 

[Leprechaun]

Thats a very good point, i didnt even consider that Nissan would run that line of thinking. I suppose I am hoping then it is something else or that the clutch has actually broken somewhow rather than just "worn out". When it first went bang and these problems occurred maybe something did break?

The clutch still works, it now just has these issues so I am guessing it wont last long. I imagine there is plently of clutch material left on the plates and theoretically that is the only wear and tear component? or am i dreaming?

There is a big differences to a breakage, compared to worn out and there are a lot of factors to getting a repair done on warranty. Having a good relationship with the dealer is a good start, service history and amount of modifications are also factors. Certainly worth a try, If Nissan doesn't come through then it may be worth looking into the aftermarket solid flywheel conversion.

 

[bluessv]

From what I understand the clutches that are failing prematurely are the ones that the dual mass flywheel actually fails. This causes extreme heat and the wearing down of the clutch material within an extremely short period of time. And I mean quick!! Perhaps if you get the car to Nissan and they establish the dual mass flywheel has crapped itself, and there is still plenty of meat on the actual clutch plate, you'd be in a great position to claim a warranty repair as the dual mass flywheel "FAILED" and not that the clutch plate/material has simply worn out??

That's if Nissan tell you the truth once they pull it down. If they tell you that you need a new clutch and that it's not a warranty claim I'd demand to see the clutch plate and dual mass flywheel for sure!!

If the clutch does need replacing I'd definitely consider an aftermarket heavy duty clutch kit from Exedy...or my preference Extremeclutches. You can get them with a dual mass flywheel or a single mass conversion. I'll be going with the single mass conversation when mine dies unless otherwise talked into something else. I've previously spoken to Extremeclutches and they ashore me they don't have issues with their dual mass like the factory onces do, however they also lean toward the single mass replacement. The only issues I've read about relating to the single mass conversation is on overseas sites claiming it makes the trans noisier in when idling and not in gear....and also that gear changes can be harder to engage on the first few changes. However they stress that these symptoms only occur in a very small amount of cases and most can be avoided by correct gear selection.

I personally have difficult gear selections, especially between 2nd and 3rd on the first few changes with the factory setup but I'm thinking the clutch in mine hasn't been 100% since I purchased the car in December 2010. Food for thought

 

[crowe]

I finally got around to getting underneath the vehicle this morning to have a good look around with this clunking/vibration issue, the rear uni-joint on the tail shaft had some excessive play in it and the front one seemed okay. Upon finding this I rang Nissan dealership this morning 8am and they said if they have time they will look at it today as i went for the warranty angle.

To their credit they rang me at the end of the day and had managed not only to fit the car in to assess the warranty claim but actually had the part in stock and fitted it to the vehicle, they replaced the rear tailshaft uni and have ordered the parts for the front as it has also been assessed as requiring replacement, all of this covered under warrranty.

I havent ruled out a problem with the clutch however as on the way home the clutch still appears to grab and shudder when taking off from standing start. All the other symptoms have gone though, obviously due to the uni-joints rather than the clutch.

 

[GazSTX]

My 2007 STX dual cab diesel has now covered 243,000Ks it still has the original clutch. I have just ordered a new STX and hope I get the same life out of the next one.

 

[user 6268]

Clutch Gone

Last weekend I did the clutch on my 2010 King Cab Nissan Navara ST-X. Today Nissan advised they were not going to cover it with the warranty despite the vehicle having only 6643km on the clock. Their explanation: upon inspection the clutch components showed no sign of manufacturing defect. There assessment on the cause: use beyond design. Nissan comment was that the clutch failed because of driver missuse.

The vehicle is 4mnths old, had 6643km on the clock, has been offroad 3 times and towed a camper trailer 5 times, three of which was on bitumen.

After a discussion with the service centre Manager where I expressed my displeasure I was told that a clutch failing at 6000km was not an unusual occurence. Pointing out that even though Nissan felt there was no mechanical reason for the failure, and therefore denying the warranty claim, on a vehicle with only 6643km on the clock was a load of bollocks.

Twenty minutes after my discussion I was contacted back by the service centre Manager and advised that Nissan would now repair the vehicle in acknowledgement of its limited kilometres though not because of a fault.

I was informed that should the vehicle come back again with a similar issue they would not cover it by warranty.

I dont find this to be an acceptable outcome. I have little faith in the clutch being installed and feel very dissapointed by the customer service from Nissan.

I would love to hear from anyone that has a 2010 manual ST-X D40 that has also had cluth problems. I happy to provide copies of any paperwork I receive from Nissan in regards to my vehicle should it be of use to someone going through a similar situation.

 

[Dave]

^ FMD. Id be swearing and cursing.

D22's use a normal clutch and they dont have these problems.

 

[sparra04]

i agree
have a bit of mechanical knowledge/sympathy
dont ride the clutch between gear changes and remember a clutch is an item in the drive train that is is designed to wear
the rate of wear will be dependant on how you treat it
if you tow heavy loads you will wear out the clutch quicker, even the clutch packs in an auto will wear quicker when towing and under heavy load

 

[crowe]

Ouch Darren, That is rough!!!

Mine still shudders but still gripping and working. In the whole life of the clutch i have only ever smelt it (clutch slip burning smell) a few times, for yours to fail from 'driver missuse' in 6000K it must have been stinking the whole time.

Perhaps you can get cocky and ask nissan what proper use of a clutch is??

 

[jayk]

Clutch Rooted

i am pretty sure my clutch is rooted. i have done about 27k, and in the last week the clutch has been slipping when i hit the power at 2k revs. I'm embarresed that i bigged my self up having a manual and towing heavy loads with it. Here is the picture of what i tow ... up to 3tonne somedays. because of the biz i am in my driving is all stop start, all day long. i hope it is covered under warranty. is there anything that i should not say to the dealer to void the warranty?
If you tow heavy, dont be an idiot like me ... get an auto (words that old tony will be happy to hear!) ... Old Tony is right!
jayk

 

[jayk]

bump!......

 

[spoon1337]

About a month ago I was driving on sand, ended up bogging myself when reversing back to give the exit another go (was a piece of crap beach, too soft of an entrance/exit). Still in 4LO i just went back to 1st and tried going forward but the clutch wouldn't come up, more acceleration the more the clutch peddle sucked into the floor. Then the smell came.

Today, going up a hill in 2wd on bitumen I almost certain it did the same thing. But quickly stalled.

Anyone had this before? I've never experienced this in a clutch before. 14,000ks old ST diesel.

 

[jason84]

I did the same thing on the beach. Had to reverse, clutch starting sticking then the smell came. I let it cool down for a while and then got off the beach. Count yourself lucky as a mate of mine blew his completley on the beach and had to get towed off the beach $$$$

 

[Yep]

My son has recently purchased a Navaro STR 2.5lt Turbo Diesel and had the clutch burn out after 1000km. The only 4wd he had done was a short stint between 400 and 600 metres on hard sand were other members of his group were still on 2wd with 18psi in their tyres as was his.
His car was booked in for the 1000km service and decided to try out the 4wd before he took it in.
Anybody else have this problem. As we are waiting to see if Nissan will fix the problem. Their initial reply was to ask for about $850 to rectify the problem but have since said that they will investigate the problem before making their decision.
Personally I think that the clutch plate is not heavy enough to go with the power required.

 

[kyle300exc]

edited sorry wrong thread

 

[Mrbob]

Yeah, I had Nissan replace one under warranty at about 30,000km.

Just gone 60,000km and slipping like a motherf*&ker. Out of warranty

Have to find out the best option visa ve a better setup.

 

[nathand22]

I know the DMF are more prone to failure then the old solid flywheel counterparts, BUT i just dont understand how they fail with only 30k on the clock........ I am now

on my second D40 and 3rd navara and have not had any probs with any of them admittedly the new one has only 11k on it but the last one had 90k and the first one

had 370+k on it.

I just think people have to change their driving style to suit the lack of power the d40 has under 1800rpm.

When i would tow heavy loads or even the camp trailer, if the car labour in the siltiest way i dont start riding the clutch and revving the shit out of it i just STOP and

put it in LOW range just to get up that steep section, then if i can drop it out of 4x4 or put it in high. Doing that i never had an issue.

Having said that when i sold my last D40 to my Brother in law i told him that when he is towong his big ski boat out and in his STEEP driveway to use LOW or he will

FARK the clutch..... and what does he do?? NOT use low and rings me saying the clutch was SMOKING and he had to REV the shit out of it!! THE DUMB ARSE!!!!!!

PUT IT IN LOW and NO MORE PROB in your driveway!! FFS!!