j-man

Hey All,
Looking for some feedback from you guys. I got a 2004 Z, purchased Jan 15'04. About a week after purchase, I noticed the car was pulling to the right. It's a significant pull...

First Visit to Nissan - They told me nothing was wrong. They said they checked the alignment, all was good.

Second Visit to Nissan - Same story

Third Visit to Nissan - This visit also included a formal complaint to their consumer affairs department (which never contacted me back), the BBB, and the CA New Motor Vehicle Board. This time, Nissan spec'd it and said there was an alignment issue with the right rear tire, which they claimed to fix and sent me on my way.

Well, as per their MO, the problem remains unresolved. The car is pulling to the right, most notably at speeds above 65+ (speeds I commonly maintain). They tell me that the tire feathering issue only appeared on the 2003 models and permanent fix was applied to '04's.

Are any of you guys with 2004's experiencing this issue. It's not my imagination and I've grown quite frustrated with them on this. I'm scheduled for another visit friday, different dealership--I'm at a bit of a loss.

Thoughts?

thanks

Pusha Z

I have a 04 Z bought on 2/20/04 and I have no problem with the steering at any speeds. I recently drove on a 3 hour road trip and the alignment was perfect. Maybe if you took a service rep on a drive and try to replicate the problem they would understand your problem. Good luck

DiRN

10/11/03. No pull.

zpylot

2004 Enthusiast Roadster built 7/03 no pull.
You are doing the right thing by going to another dealer. It's amazing isn't it, how some service departments don't like to do warranty work?

j-man

3rd time around I took them on roadtest--tech confirmed the problem. Thats why I was so upset when I got the car back and it remained unresolved.

It will be discovered, just need a new start at new dealer. They're most uncooperative--kiss your rear-end when you're buying, but once they have their cash, it's all about me being on my own.

Definitely an issue--once this other dealer confirms, I can't wait to through that back at Boardwalk Nissan's Service Director. Give me a little attitude, I can play that game too...

$30K car--make it work right!!!

Phatmitzu

iTrader: (34)

2004 Enthusiast coupe, delivered 1/22/04.
Yes, it pulls to the right. But I didnt bother bring it back to dealer cuz Im getting Teins and Volks installed...will 4 wheel align. I heard with aftermarket suspension and proper align, will eliminate feather and pull to the right problems...

Asterix

I had that problem, too. First, I took it to the dealer and all they did was try to recenter the steering wheel, but, of course, it still felt funny. So, I took it to another shop that actually knows how to align cars and has a good alignment rig. They found the thrust angle was slightly off because the rear toe wasn't right. For $100 I got a good alignment.

I've never gotten a good alignment from a dealer. Never. Find a shop in your area that also races and ask about their machine. That's the only way, in my opinion, you'll ever get a good alignment.

Asterix

Big Sexz

iTrader: (6)

I have an early enthusiast 04 (purchased 10/17/03) and it also has the tire feathering problem. I just noticed it at 8300 miles. Took it to the dealer and they switched the front tires along with a new alignment. As for the pulling, the roads suck so bad I cant tell. One lane pulls to the right, and another pulls to the left. Some are nice an straight. The dealer said that if this doesnt fix things then I will have to contact Nissan for a new set of tires.

Just out of curiousity, how do I find out when my car was made?

mcjohn1

Just a heads up the pulling and feathering are seperate, I have an 03 with feathering but no pull of any sort!

WayneTN

The "build month" is on the inside of the door panel.

WayneTN

leemik

iTrader: (2)

My Z pulls slightly to the right at highway speeds.. It was also hard to keep it straight at times (likes to wander left and right)

I have a 2004 Enthusiast, build date is 7/2003..

Brough it to the dealer early on.. they said the alignment was a little out of wack.. They adjusted it and it still pulls to the right but a lot of the wandering is gone.. I have a feeling I might have to bite the bullet and pay the $69.99 to bring it somewhere else for alignment rather than go through constant aggrevation with the dealer..

Oh, the car has 1400 miles on it..

--mike

Jsn350Z

My first 04 model Z pulled to the right. I took it in and they noticed the problem right away. They were going to order acouple suspension parts for the front right I think it was. I am not sure exactly what they were but they were of a langer length or something. Apparently there was a TSB on the 03's and my car barley made it in there to have it done. They did have to call NNA to confirm that my car was eligable though.

However, the car was totalled and I am now in a later model 04, no pull.

Ruhtra

i got a 2003 enthusiast same thing happens i kinda got used to it sorry to say .......

j-man

Well, I got my car back from Capital Nissan today--low and behold, they confirmed all my problems for me, something that Boardwalk was either unwilling or unable to do.

Car did complete lane change to them in 4 seconds--they confirmed that the rear camber and toe were completely out of spec., as was the front toe.

They term they used was 'grossly' out of spec. They also, and it was documented on the service form, that had car been road tested by boardwalk nissan on any of the 3 occassions that I was in there, there would have been no way they could have returned back to me. That leads me to believe that boardwalk really didn't do anything to my vehicle when it was up there on the previous three visits.

The car handles like night and day difference. Due to the way it was aligned previously, it turns out I was 'fighting' it the entire time as it was going all over the place. Now its tracking straight and responds very different from before.

Only issue now is that my steering wheel is off-center a little. I'll get this taken care when I go in for my service at 3750 (oil change stuff).

Guess I got lucky and caught all this before the tire feathering started.

Want to thank all you guys--had it not been for all the information I found here on this website, I'd probably still be getting jerked around from Boardwalk.

Timings perfect though--I need to respond to the BBB regarding my complaint that I filed against boardwalk--looks like I get to slam them one more time. I'll also file another formal complaint through NNA regarding boardwalks ineptitude and lack of customer service.

Lets hope this is the last time I deal with this...

thanks

Z CRUZN

First of all, I'm lucky to have a decent dealer & great mechanic there near me. All NEW Z OWNERS - you need to have the alignment checked ASAP! I had mine checked at 300 miles and it was WAY, WAY off - spec calls for toe @ .04 all around & mine was between .27 & .38 around. Nissan does not do alignments at the factory (as per Nissan rep I spoke to) which means it has to be done after purchase. My dealer did the alignment at n/c seeing how far it was off. If it hadn't been done, my tires would've been ruined in a short period of time for sure.

Whether it's at the dealer or at a good alignment shop, get it done!

350Zenophile

iTrader: (20)

Just wanted to add my car to the list...

It pulls right and has a build date of 06/2004. Salesman even said they checked to make sure the alignment was right on delivery.

I'm going to schedule with another dealer ASAP and give them a chance.

ezchief

There is a TSB out for this pull. I had the same thing on mine. It is the compression rod that causes it. A bad alignment on exagerates the problem. Search the forum for this compression rod TSB. It is a common problem for the Z. The rods are one size fits all. They used to have many years ago graduated rods that got stiffer to compensate for the pull. Now it is hit and miss from the factory.

ZRACING

MINE IS 03 TOURING

AND PULL TO THE RIGHT UNTIL I FOUND THE SERVICE BULLETIN

THEN THEY FIX IT , REPLACING THE ARM SOMETHING

BUT DEALERS SAID THEY DONT HAVE ANY BULLETION

BUNCH OF IDIOTS

CALL NISSAN HEAD QUARTERS AND COMPLAINTED SO THEY VE A CASE

GOOD LUCK

350Zenophile

iTrader: (20)

Thanks ezchief,
I was having no luck searching under "alignment TSB." I will be bringing the compression TSB in with the car.

Jsn350Z

This is what they were going to do for my early model 04 Z. They had to call Nissan to make sure my car was eligable for the fix and it was. My later model 04 never did pull in any direction.