Posted: May 31 2010 at 9:07pm | IP Logged

At that point I would have bashed the tranny into 1st gear without the clutch.  The only manufacturer I know of that wouldn't play this game is Rolls Royce who puts customer satisfaction at the top. 

Nissan will just toy around with the idea of looking at it, but in the end I'd say you have a 95% chance them saying "Yep you have a problem, but your warranty is up"

Want a good educated guess, the synchronizer for 1st gear is worn out.  Even while sitting in neutral the input shaft is still spinning with the motor.  When you disengage the clutch the input shaft takes a little bit to slow down to the point where you can engage 1st gear without it grinding. 

I hate to say it, but if Nissan won't open it up for you, then you're down to 2 choices.  1, just sit a little bit longer before you engage first gear, 2 pony up the cash to have a transmission shop replace your snychro. And I mean a transmission shop, not the dealer.  Unless the dealer has a certified Transmission tech sitting in the back, it'll get sent to a local shop that specilizes in them.