I just bought my 2010 3.5SR March 13th and from day one I've noticed upon starting the car and backing from my parking space then shifting to drive it will make a clunk, sometimes a twang sound when first starting out. I'd venture to say this isnt normal. I'm not pushing the pedal down hard at all, but I've begun to think maybe I'm not pushing it down enough, but theres no need to open it up in the parking lot to avoid this happening.

Has anyone else noticed something like this or should I take it back for service?

Thanks

Nobody has an idea or even suggestion? I swear forums get more worthless every year. 45 ppl read this in the past 2 days and nothing? Atleast Toyota forums had responses. Ban me or whatever for my response to a post which got none from any of you "Nissan enthusiasts" as you call yourselves. Bye bye altima forums Ill take my knowledge of 12+ years of tearing cars apart elsewhere where I might atleast get one suggestion.

i have 2010 3.5 sr when i get back and drive it for the first time i will check for this sound also.i purchased mine but its at home waiting with 106 miles on it.im on deployment in africa

I also have a 3.5 sr coupe and hope this is normal. Mine also does the same thing when taking off in a parking lot, only does it one time after start up.

Well if mine does it too then its gotta be normnal.drives fine doesnt it??

My recently purchased 2010 Altima 3.5SR also experiences the same 'clunk' sound upon first driving out. It happens only once per drive/trip. (It appears to occur only after a cold start, but not certain as I have not done enough testing) My car had 35 mi when I purchased it and it now has ~250 mi.
I would agree with firewurx this does NOT seem normal. Common apparently; but not normal.
Everything else seems to be ok with the car, so I've been reluctant to go to the dealer as I have little, to no confidence in their ability to diagnose unusual issues. So I'm going to wait it out a bit.

From what I have been reading its normal for CVT.Some reviews i have read state the CVT sounds and performs very different from normal transmission and takes some getting used to.So what color 3.5SR did you get ? Post some pics.I wanna see all the 2010's i can .I have a brand new white 3.5SR Sedan waiting on me at home.I haven't even drover her yet
Had the wife go get it for me.I'm on a military deployment till november.Mine is sitting in the garage with 104 miles on the dash mostly from the drive home from where she bought the car from,

Thank Berg, Yeh, I'm actually not going to worry about the clunking too much for now. I'm just going to keep an eye out if anyone reports any adverse effects.

Congrats on your 3.5SR. Mine is in black, but I would have preferred to get White! I'll try to post some pics soon. Just haven't had much time. It's a great car overall, just wish it handled more like a sports car :-( (there's just way too much body sway). Apparently its a sports tuned suspension; so it may just be the OEM tires.
Eh, who am I kidding? - Is a Front engine, FWD sedan, with horrible weight dist... I shouldn't expect too much. Everything else is great though!

I too have a brand new 2010 3.5SR I just purchased it last week with 52 miles on it. I LOVE the car but just noticed the "clunk" sound on Monday morning (probably because every other time I had the music up too loud :).
I called the dealer and they said that the sound is coming from the power steering fluid starting to pump back into the system after settling.
I only have the problem when I first start the car and reach 10mph there are no other incidences during session of driving. I was told it's not a problem but I don't like the fact that my car is so new and already has this "issue" They gave one recommendation: let the car warm up for a little bit before you drive (I didn't purchase this car because I like to be slow to get going). I'm going to try my own little test of driving straight for a long distance after starting it and passing 10 mph...no sound then I'm inclined to believe him; however, if there is a clunk I'm taking the car in. I'll let you know how it goes.

That sounds like a good idea!

Awesome. Look forward to your update - i highly doubt its the PS pump. I usually let my car warm up before I drive, and this clunk occurs more often than not.

Regarding the clunk i only got my 2.5 s a week ago... and well its happend once but hasnt happend since i was guessing it was just a cold start when i was in a hurry to get to school

I have a 2010 3.5SR too (bought in March), and it has makes this noise every time I put the car in drive and go about 10 feet. It's hard to ignore, but I hesitate to go to the dealership and get the run around.

I think all of you will find that it is your ABS pump making this noise. I haven't tested a 2010 Alty yet, but if they are anything like the 02-08's you will hear a distinctive humm/whirr/buzz from under the front floorboard.
Symptoms:
Only happens *once* per startup.
Occurs at less than 7mph.
Sound/clunk is brief (less than 3 seconds).

This is part of your ABS (anti lock brakes) Power On Self Test. The last thing the computer does is test the pump when you start moving. So you'll usually hear this backing out of your garage, o r upon initial takeoff. The car has to be in motion, but below about 5-7mph. This is completely normal. If you are on the brake when the test occurs, you'll feel it in the pedal.

On a side note, are the 2010's really 5th Gen Alty's? I always thought they were more like 4.5Gens? I mean, all of the hardware is the same as 2007-2008, only the wheels/fascias have changed right? Or am I missing something?



I just bought my 2010 3.5SR March 13th and from day one I've noticed upon starting the car and backing from my parking space then shifting to drive it will make a clunk, sometimes a twang sound when first starting out. I'd venture to say this isnt normal. I'm not pushing the pedal down hard at all, but I've begun to think maybe I'm not pushing it down enough, but theres no need to open it up in the parking lot to avoid this happening.

Has anyone else noticed something like this or should I take it back for service?

Thanks

New guy here... first post. I've had my 2010 2.5 SL for just a week now, and I have that same clunk/click sound. Happens within the first 100 feet of driving, and then never occurs again that day - even after the car sits all day at work. Next morning - there it is again. Perhaps it's something turning on? Not sure.

When it first happened I thought I had run something over. After reading the above posts, I guess this is normal. :confused:

in my opinion its a 4.5
i have a 2007 accord also and it also is a model that got a face lift.its not considered 8th gen accord its considered 7.5 gen.

I just bought my 2010 3.5SR March 13th and from day one I've noticed upon starting the car and backing from my parking space then shifting to drive it will make a clunk, sometimes a twang sound when first starting out. I'd venture to say this isnt normal. I'm not pushing the pedal down hard at all, but I've begun to think maybe I'm not pushing it down enough, but theres no need to open it up in the parking lot to avoid this happening.

Has anyone else noticed something like this or should I take it back for service?

Thanks

I recently got a used, 2008 3.5 with CVT and have the same issue. Always happens when I hit 10 mph for the first time during the day. Doesn't matter if I'm coasting down a hill or applying the gas -- except that it is even louder when coasting. I can drive forever at 5 mph and it doesn't happen. Anyone get new information other than the power-steering theory? If not something that needs repair, it seems pretty clearly to be a design flaw.

Hey guys,

I have a 2010 Sentra SE-R. About 2 months old now. I hear this cluck type noise as well.

I have tried to isolate it. For me it seems to occur around 20 mph, when the car has been sitting for a little while. It can be heard most when the car is completely cold.

Been google searching to try and get an idea of what this is. My car is only 2 months old and I too don't trust the mechanics at Nissan for figuring out problems. Usually when they touch something, more things will go wrong.

So is it the power steering pump? ABS? or just the CVT?

Thanks.

2010 Sentra SE-R=Sexy !!!!!

I have 2010 Altima 4 dr 650 miles same sound. Clunk from right front. VERY VERY distinct. Called to set up service to check it. They asked why we calling. Mentioned problem. They said............its normal....its the ABS running a check. I don't know.........It is very bothersom.

If every single 2010 Altima is making the same sound and none are broken maybe it is that test they are describing.

I have 2010 Altima 4 dr 650 miles same sound. Clunk from right front. VERY VERY distinct. Called to set up service to check it. They asked why we calling. Mentioned problem. They said............its normal....its the ABS running a check. I don't know.........It is very bothersom.

Someone should ask what about the abs running a check would ever make that kind of noise, I would love to know.

I just bought a 2.5 s altima yesterday and I noticed the same sound. It usually happens after I started my car when I exceed about 10 mph (right after my doors automatically lock) now I feel relieved to see others on here it looks like that is just normal for the altima to do that. It is a great car I love it!

It may be the abs also. Earlier someone said you will feel it if you have your foot on the brake and one time I did have my foot on the break and I really felt it. The first few times I thought I ran something over or drug bottom.

I was reading thru the thread and if you guys say its true about the 5th gen being similar to the 4th gen, can i use the 4th gen grille on the 5th gen?

Nope. The front lip of the 2010 hood is straight across and the bottom part of the grille does not have that "notch" in it.

Yes, I have a new (2010) 2.5 S and it does the same thing, but I did a bit of testing, here's what occurs (100% repeatable).

1. Car is cold (or you turn-off and open doors)
2. Start car, drive slowly until auto-matic door locks come on (15mph)
Results: loud "chug-a-chug-a-chug" noise (sounds for a couple of seconds, or until you pass 18mph)

About 1 out of 10 times, you hear a loud metalic "Ka-BANG!" sound.
(sort of like hitting an empty coffee-can with a wrench).

The problem does seem to occur only when door locks are automatically locked. Note that your doors are (automatically) locked only after being physically opened - so you can simulate this by simply opening your drivers door while stopped at a light.


I schedule a service review at the dealer, however when scheduling the service, the Service Manager told me they determined the "chug-a-chug" is related to the system resetting itself (ABS brakes) - not a problem...completely normal. I'm not sure about the loud metalic "Ka-BANG!". However, I can get this noise to occur whenever I open the door at a light, and thus alerting the automatic door lock mechanism to shut the locks again. I will keep you posted on what happens.

Peter