DIE DIE

iTrader: (1)

Well guys..to start off, I do love my Z, but my patience are gone with this thing.....I've only had it for 8k miles, and already I've brought it in twice to get the tranny checked out.. It's basicallly a POS that makes noises while in neutral, and clunks when I let the clutch out.. Of course they keep telling me it's normal...Now the 1-2 shift is getting really scratchy.. if I shift fast, it scratches, still goes in, but I'm sure it's not good for the syncros...so last night after driving my Z pretty hard I get home and the ****ing thing smells like burnt oil!! I shrug it off, but in the morning theres TONS of oil on my garage floor!!!!!!!!! I'm praying that nissan did a shitty job on my last oil change and it's just the plug/filter/seal, whatever.. but who knows...to top it off I need new tires already in the rer.. haha, yeah thats kinda my fault

^yeah I drive my car hard, but ****.. I broke it in perfectly, and it should be able to take a little abuse.. I'm now starting to qustion my choice in buying a nissan, after realizing that I had 2 close friends and a GF with 300zx's that broke down left and right..not to mention 2 more close friends with brand new spec-v's that went through a total of 3 trannies and 2 motors..... Infact my dad owned an older turbo Z..not sure what year, but he only kept it for 6 months because one of the turbos blew out twice!!! <--was luckily under warranty...**** I don't think i've ever heard anything good about a nissan....

Anyone have any success with prior nissans lasting long???

apexi97tsi

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. All of my girlfriend's family's cars are all Nissans. All of them still work being the oldest a 1990 nissan sentra. The only probs I've seen so far is their 2002 Altima throwing check engine lights every other month. Of course this is all being fixed, but I understand where you're coming from. It sucks to buy a new car and have so many probs. But you're not the only one. See if your car would get into Lemon status then get a brand spanking new Z. Good luck. You have to do what you got to do.

sselway

Sounds like a lemon. If I were you and Nissan was playing rough.. I would trade the car back in to that dealer that is saying "Nothings Wrong" while miles are low.

Get yourself an 05' and cross your fingers you have better luck. Yes, I know you will lose some money but what's more important your money or your peace of mind? You can complain until your blue in the face, drinking like a fish, or you can just bite the bullet and get out of the LEMON.

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

87 Max, 88 Z, 93 Z, 96 Max, 03 Z, 04 Max, 05 SE-R

No problems. Yes they may have had a typical issue here and there, but never any major problems.

Oh and yes the tranny noises are normal.

hypeiv

iTrader: (2)

I think DIE DIE does have an 05

off topic but this is my first nissan. I used to be the biggest fan boy of mazda. I owned a protege and a 626 with minimal problems. My parents have owned 4 different proteges and a tribute w/o any trouble. I was very excited 3 years ago when I heard about the rx8 but when it came out I thought it was very ugly (I didn't care it was slow). I knew there was a pretty good rotary shop close to where I live now and considered buying a rx7 but I didn't want to put up with the pain of owning an 11 year old tuner car. I am pretty much sold on Nissan so far... if I got a truck it would be a titan... if i got a sedan... well I may still take a look at mazda

Camel

I've had:

'96 200SX SE-R
'96 Hardbody 4x4
'97 Maxima SE 5-speed
'98 Frontier SE 4x4
'98 Pathfinder XE 4x4
'99 Pathfinder SE 4x2
'00 Altima GXE
'01 Frontier XE 4x4
'02 SE-R SpecV
'03 Maxima SE 6-Speed
'04 Xterra SE 4x4
'05 35th Z

As you can see, I've had 12 new Nissans. I've owned 20 cars total in my life and Nissan has simply blown away the several other manufacturers I've bought cars from. Out of all of these cars, the SpecV had a TSB done on the rear suspension for a creaking noise. Otherwise, it has been oil changes and tire rotations, that's it. Pretty amazing track record if you ask me. So when you are talking about never hearing anything good about a Nissan I am going

EDIT: I forgot one on the list, lol

Low J.

I've had a few Nissans going back to 1990 and honestly never had to take any of them to the dealer for anything but routine maintenance or the occasional recall. I'm a big Nissan fan....just some of their dealers really suck. I've owned the following Nissan's and all but the SE-R were purchased new:

1990 SE-R
1996 Pickup
2001 Sentra
2005 350Z

rlw888

iTrader: (5)

Because of the outstanding reliability of Japanese cars, they are all I have purchased in the last 11 years. Mostly Honda and Lexus though. This is my first Nissan. I have to say of all the Japnese cars I have had, Nissan seems to be the lowest quality. I have not had any major problems, but I too have the same issues with the tranny, and the burning smell. Once I had a problem going up hill where the engine almost failed and then I smelled a burning smell for a day or 2. I took it to the dealer and they said they couldn't find anything wrong. The smell does seem to have gone away, but it just doesn't seem right at times. It seems really noisy sometimes just at idle, and the engine sometimes surges, but dealer said these were both normal too. The only other problem I have had was with the NAV door, it kept getting stuck and making clicking noises, so the dealer replaced it, and has worked fine ever since.

If you compare any Japanese car to any other auto maker German, American, etc, etc. Japanese including Nissan blows them away. I know that if I had any other car than Japanese I would be having 10 times as many problems.

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Dude what happened, did they not put the oil cap or plug back in?

That is why I WILL NEVA take my car on for an oil change. Remember thay are teenage oil technicians that work for Nissan, they did give .02 about your car.

E_Z_HOES

You know what I think.... treat your car like a woman.... Baby it and take care of it with a occasional spanking when in order and you'd have no problems..... I am completely satisfied with Nissan ( except 350's diden't come turbo )

hypeiv

iTrader: (2)

lol I wondered how they did oil changes so cheap... my local nissan dealer told me $88 to put on the front plate and charged $13.50 labor for an oil change. (still don't have my front plate on )

sselway

Doh! Didnt notice that... perhaps trade the car in on that 911 Turbo?

703z

i feel your pain dude, nissan makes some of the shittiest trannies ever. I've owned a 90 300zx TT, 93 300zxTT, and now my 04 G35 is getting notchy and making noise only after 8k miles. Yet im still thinking of selling my G and buying a Z =/

tacomaboy

Dude, have you tried another dealership? I had tranny problems, and the first dealership gave me the "its normal" B.S.

I took it to another, and they promplty replaced the tranny and clutch.

Risk

The trannys are strong (will take upwards of 600hp without being rebuilt), its the way that the gears engage thats the problem. It will eventually be fixed a long time after our warranties expire. The real thing to consider though is this: In my 27 years, ive had several sports cars, none of them were at all reliable. You dont buy a sports car because its dependable, you buy it because its sexy and fun to drive. If you want a reliable car, buy a sedan (I had a Maxima that I beat on WAY harder than my Z, and it never had any problems). Im on my 2nd tranny in 26k miles, workin on my 3rd and I still love my Z.

703z

How does it cost to get a tranny replaced after you void the warranty? =o

boldenmd

Two Maximas, a Pathfinder and two Z roadsters since 1998. Only problem I had was the sunroof motor died on my 2000 Maxima, which was fixed under warranty. I'll buy a Nissan any day of the week.

Risk

I think around 4k with the labor and all. I havnt had to pay for it though since my car is still under warranty.

hypeiv

iTrader: (2)

you can get the extened as long as you buy before 36k miles (they don't check) or 3 years. If you think your tranny is going to go and plan on the keeping the car after 36k I would buy the warranty.

bknezevic

I hate to say it, but my other car is a Chevrolet Cavalier '02 4-door base model. I've never had a single problem with it and it almost has 40k miles on it. On the other hand, my '05 350Z with 2k miles has been in the dealership for a new tranny and have taken it in to inspect other various noises and concerns which they deemed "normal".

I still love the car though. I just need to get a high-speed balance on my tires. I'm getting a very slight vibration after 75 miles/hr and it drives me crazy.