Here is a question for you guys. I have heard mention of the 2004 and then the 2004.5. I believe I have a 2004.5 because of the kneepads.

My question is this: What are the advantages of the 2004.5? Are there certain recalls or TSB that were fixed by the intro of the 2004.5? ie. Issues don’t apply to the 2004.5

What is the hype about the 2004.5?


o and yes i have searched

Steve

 

there is no hype, and i guess you did not search hard enough

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ghlight=2004.5

 

Geez and i searched for 2 hours i didn't find that??

well thanks for pointing me to the right place!!

 

Two hours huh...

"I'll believe that when me **** turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbet"

 

i have a 2004.5 as well....and from wut i heard the 2004 Z's that were build early had some recalls on some things that the 2004.5 didnt have.......dont know for sure tho

 

LOL I had a 2004.5 and it literally had EVERY freakin known Z issue that the 03 and 04's had. Too numerous too mention all of them, but that thing was a hangar queen. I still loved it anyway, since it was underwarranty it didn't cost me anything but trips to the dealer.

I hope my 05 doesn't have the same problems.

 

wut problems did it have???

 

I'm sure I will miss some things, but I'll do my best.

Control Arm issue(pulled to the right)
Feathering Issue(front tires replaced), but continued to feather.
Rear Bearing Issue on both sides(sounds like chains clanking when you start rolling)
CD Player replaced(skipping issue or not playing discs)
Top of Convertible Seam Issue(replaced 1,000 miles before end of warranty)
Water Leaking around A-Pillar on Drivers side
Window Motors(both sides) started to go out(after the warranty, but fortunately I totalled my car BEFORE I spent my own money to fix those, LOL)
EDIT: Rear Bearing Issue rears its ugly head again at 49,000 miles(my dime this time) - I knew I would forget something.
EDIT 2: Window streaks, Window Governer Failure(made window clunk when you shut the door.

(all this in the first 2 years of ownership!)
These are all the common issues of the first 2 years of production and mine had them all.

I know some people had clutch and transmission issues, fortunately I didn't have those, but those are about the only 2 common issues I didn't have.

Again, don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved my car and didn't regret one cent I paid for it, but the 04.5 certainly didn't do me any good regarding maintenance issues, but like I say, as long as it doesn't cost you anything, not a huge deal.

However I would never get a used one, the 05 that I bought to replace my 04.5 was in pristine condition and had 2 years left on the warranty, but if I could have found a new 2007 DB/Frost Interior, Manual, Touring Roadster I would have definitely went the new route.

 

^^ That's a ****ty deal with yours. I'm driving an 04.5 right now and *knock on wood* I haven't had any issues other than the gas tank problem...but tank is hardly ever full anyways.

 

LOL, I forgot to mention the bearing issue showed up again at 49,000 miles, which would have had to have been on my dime, but again, fortunately she was totaled before I threw away my own money on it.

 

Rear bearing issue i think i may have......can u tell me the specs when you went to the dealership to get this problem fixed......honestly i hate going to the dealership for anything....i sometimes would drive around with the problem for a while before going to the dealership...but the noise is a little annoying....please tell me details and how they handled the situation.....THank you

 

No car is immune from problems.

I've got ~50,000 miles on my 04.5 and I have had 3 minor problems.

#1 Tire feathering. Fixed at 19,000 miles. 100% fixed.
#2 Gas tank hard to fill. Got a full tank maybe twice in a year. Had dealer fix it. Pumps still shut off early every now and then but not a big deal and it's not as bad as it was.
#3 Cd player ate a cd. Wouldn't play, wouldn't eject. Needless to say the HU got removed from the car. I was always looking for an excuse to take it out.

 

It's kind of funny, for the longest time I thought I had a glass jar rolling around in my trunk clanking against some coins or metal. They described it was the clanking of a chain. It would happen just as you would start to roll, I think it mostly did it going in reverse, but maybe also going forward.

Bottom line I didn't know about any known issue at the time and I thought they would think I was nuts, but I finally took it in and they knew right away what it was and then they found BOTH bearings were out. They said that was the first time they had seen that. It happened at 9,000 miles. I only heard the left one, but they checked both and found both to be defective, so they were great about it.

Funny thing is, when I bought the 05 to replace it, I didn't notice it until the day after I took it home, but it had the same sound going on back there, so I thought it was the bearing issue. But it also shuddered on take off, so I was afraid the previous owner had fried the clutch. It turned out to be a defective rear differential making that noise, but also producing the shudder on launch.

Anyway take it in, and don't worry, if it's under warranty, they will fix it no problem.

 

That's great about yours. I am sure many 04 Z's out there are mostly problem free. To give you an idea of how awesome our car is, I bet I had one of the worst ones out there, and I still loved it!

 

i think i have the bearing issue.. for the longest time i couldnt describe the sound.. how bad is it? does it need to be serviced immediately?

 

dont forget about the window streaks

 

Thanks for reminding me, see I knew I would forget stuff, I not only had the window streaks, but a failed window governer causing it to make a clunking sound when I would shut the driver door.

2nd edit made to original post.

 

From what they told me it's more an annoyance issue than anything. Not a safety issue, or something that is going to cause them to fail.

However if it's under warranty it's certainly worth getting fixed. I didn't fix mine the second time around, since it would have cost me several hundred dollars. If the noise got really bad I would have though.

 

Just counted them. 14 issues in all(each item counted separately ie. both bearings failing two separate occasions are 4 items). It's almost like driving a Ford! LOL!

 

So what is the concensus on what they did with the 2004.5s? Updated suspension? Updated tranny? One person says something, then another person says thats not the case. I have a 2004.5, and am curious to know what they fixed. btw how do I check if I have the tire feather problem, what will my tires look like?

whats the gas tank problem? The other night it wouldnt completly fill up, or it was fuller then I thought it was. I was on E, and the pump stoped filling at like 13.9 gallons..im pretty sure its a 20 gallon tank.

Then last night I put 50 bucks in it(the night before I put 50 as well but it stoped at $44, so I figured it would be more then enough), and it used all the $50 dollars up, it was at 15.8 gallons. So I dont know how far it would have gone, I was tempted to put more money in, just to see how far it would fill up. Last night I was lower on the E though then the previous night, as the light was on.