Well, it's been a month now and I have 2500 miles already. The engine seems to be settling in and smoothing out. Seems much happier these days. I will have an oil change at 3000 and 6000 and then at 9000-10,000 will switch to synthetic.

Some observations:

1. Tranny is not the strong suit for this vehicle. I have an 05 and some gears are grinding and other times I have trouble moving the shift lever smoothly into 2nd or 3rd. Smooth as in (not grinding), the lever feels like it is bogging down.

2. The clutch feels vague. Initially it was making a noise, only when depressed, not a clicking but more like a "clank" sound like if you hit the side of an empty coke can. This was around for a bit then mysteriously disappeared on its own. The first 1-2 inches of clutch pedal is extremely light and then firms up dramatically. This makes shifting smoothly a challenge. You never know when the clutch plates have engaged fully and just when you think, I have shifted smoothly and successfully, the vehicle does an ever so slight lurch to let you know that is not the case. I can certainly feather the clutch more, but this would wear out the cluch prematurely and a bit of a lethargic way of shifting.

3. Small rattles abound. Annoying, causes me to raise the volume of the radio, which is already a few clicks higher to mask the wind leak noise from the driver's side window seal which the dealer deemed normal.

4. Paint on the A-pillar, which is all plastic btw, feels course compared to other plastic parts. It looks shiny, however feels like there is no clear coat.

5. Gap tolerances on the front fender/hood are deplorable. If I ran a ball bearing down the gap it would fall into the engine bay and probably get sucked into the intake.

6. Passenger side seatbelt has portions that are frayed and the sad thing is, is that I carry NO passengers. Damage from the port? Warranty? Hmm.

7. Vehicle steers to the right slightly regardless of crowning of road. Not severe, however not normal. I want to say bad alignment, however there is also a tsb on the front control arm for the 03's.

8. Our vehicles are not nimble. Very much a GT/Touring vehicle with good midrange. Vehicle is not as tossible as other vehicles out there. Could it be because of the stagger of the tires/wheels? If I ran the same size rim and tire on all 4 corners will it make this car more neutral?

9. Had to loosen and realign the passenger side wiper arm myself because it was sitting up about an inch higher on the passenger side than the driver's side. It came from the factory this way.

10. Back to the tranny, I here all the rattles and noises that everyone else has, however I have come to accept them as a characteristic of the vehicle, unfortunately.

Although, most of this sounds negative, I still enjoy the vehicle quite a bit. It is just a bit of a let down for those of use who have owned Nissan products designed and built during the late '80's and early '90's. The quality control seemed better back then. Still for $29,470 quite a lot of bang for the buck.

I am afraid of what resale will be like on these in 2 years. Some '03 are already being sold private market for $20K. Just my $0.02.

 

Wow, sounds like you have noticed quite of bit of stuff. I haven't noticed any problems really and I dont look out for them. I dont want to spend every minute in the car trying to find a problem, or else I would be worried all the time. It sucks about your tranny concerns though. I haven't noticed any on mine. I'm not even thinking about resale, i plan on having this car for a while, definately after the car has been paid off, so by then I wont care what i can get for it really.

 

i too have an '05 and i agree with DBZ's #2, 3, 8 observations. i haven't experiences the grinding nor other shifting problems and i hope that i never do. yeah, the z has its share of problems but i enjoy the car very much and dont regret the purchase.

 

WRT #4, claybar will remove that which appears to be overspray.

#3, #5, #6, #7, #9 You should have seen/heard those during your test drive and inspection prior to accepting the vehicle. I would not have accepted until they were fixed.

 

Stop complaining and have fun

 

Well as far as the clutch engagment "zone", the 05's clutch must of been redesigned, because in my 04' the 1st 1-2inche when depressed are very firm, then the rest is very light. When i first got the Z, I was stalling like it was the thing to do, because trying to find the engage point was terriable. But now its second nature..

And to be honest with ya, thats one of the reasons i got a lease. Due to the fact that he Z33 model was then only in its 2yr of production, and was certain to have faults, so this way, I can burn up the clutch, drop the transmission, etc. And not worry about a thing...

Good Luck pal, you bought your self a sports car!

Sully

 

have an 05 myself.... Ultra yello enthusiast.... exactly 2000 miles in little less than a month.............. like the car..... a ....lot... I concur with #2 the rest I don't care nor pay much attention..

 

I have had my 05 Roadster for a month and I HATE the clutch! It seems like it never catches in the same spot two shifts in a row. HOWEVER, the rest of the car more than make up for the bad clutch.

 

Hav'nt had any of those problems on my o3, all I had is some small window grease otherwise its the best ride of my life

 

Sounds like you just got a sh!tty car. I have an '03 Enthusiast and do not have half of those problems (15000 miles and counting).

No gaps, no rattling, good clutch and transmission, etc.

As for it being a tourer, now you are talking like an idiot. The car weighs 3300 pounds, of course its not "nimble" like a 2800 lb car. Way to not understand that simple concept.

 

03's on the market for 20k? What model and where?

 

My shifts got smoother after a had few thousand miles on it...

I'm sure me getting more in turne with the car is a big part of that though....

When I first got it, it was tough to get through some of the gears, and sometimes it just plain wouldnt let me get into 2nd.

Now it shifts smooth every time....

 

With most cars, you're going to take it up the donkey if you sell the car 2 years after you bought it. There are exceptions, but the 2 year resale price shouldn't be used as an indicator as to what long-term resale value will be. In other words, it's not going to drop $5K a year and you'll see people selling them for $5K in a few years.

 

With the exception of the grinding gears, those observations are pretty much in line with mine.

In addition to being a heavy steering vehicle, and horrible city commuter, I also feel that it's hard to tell where my fenders are. One of these days, I'm going to run over a curb because I can't see it. High speed manuverability is amazing though.

 

Too all of you with '03s and '04s, keep in mind that the clutch was redesigned for '05. Obviously we won't see problem #2.

Apparently people thought the clutch was too heavy so Nissan re-worked it to require less pedal pressure.

 

Awe, it was redesigned.. hmm I dont mind the clutch on the 04 anymore, when i first got the Z, i was irritated, but not with Boston traffic, aint nothing to it.

The only thing i noticed, is that there still is a minor jerk every so often going from 1st to 2nd. Not matter how i feather it.. I think it might be because 1st Tach so damn fast, and im not in 2nd fast enough.

Sully

 

Thats wierd I really like the clutch on the 350z I also have an 05 and compared to my other cars it is a realy please to shift very smooth but has a good bite when you need it.

If you want to feel shitty clutch engagement get a WRX or STi they feel as it your going to drop the transmission out of the car everytime you shift.

 

I saw a Super Black one in Orlando for $18995. I didn't stop and look at it I just saw it driving by.

 

ditto

 

Well compared to what? A Miata? S2000? RX8? All those cars a much lighter than ours. That will affect it's toss factors.

I highly suggest installing adjustable front and rear sway bars. These make the car an entire new beast for handling. It makes it feel and handle like you'd expect it to. Toss left, toss right...it's a blast.