This thread should be a "sticky" at the top of the forum and EVERYONE who has this problem should take the 2mins and let this guy know about it. Nissan is trying to skate out on this one for sure!

Trust me, if we let it go, they'll simply re-design the Z and sweep us under the rug.

 

for some reason i am with you Dr. Volk. I am emminently afraid of the fact that somehow Nissan will drag this out, string us along with the tire swap, etc. Personally I can say that I do not want to lemon this thing out. I love this car and despite my last two posts here have faith that NISSAN will step up with a fix. With that said though, i am afraid that after waiting this out we as 03 owners might be left out in the cold, the 2003 model will be deemed to old of a model to be part of the "RECALL" (laugh as you might try and remember what follows NNA's words everytime they talk about this upcoming fix or recall; "of course we dont know what year or which cars it will involve or what VIN's will be recalled). All the while the fix will have been implemented on the 2005's, 06's, 07's, etc. I hope I am overexaggerative in my worry, but this is why I think its imperative as owners we take every chance at getting the public and media involved. Especially media that doesnt get endorsements from said Auto company like Motor Trend or Autoweek might. So again, to everyone reading this, please take a few minutes and email this gentleman. the link is in the very first post of this thread, now that this has gone over to its second page. thanks in advance for your support.

 

I doubt poor Consumer Reports reliability ratings will hurt sales that much. TONS of unreliable cars continue to be sold.

For example, look at how many GM sells, they sold 353,117 cars in the US last month. Many of their models if not most of their stuff is unreliable. By comparison, Toyota sold 146,783 and Nissan sold 74,836. Or another example, last month Mercedes sold 5,819 C-Classes which have crappy reliability. That's more the 2x the # of 350Zs sold last month. Their brand's sales were up 0.5% compared to Feb 03.

BTW, I know so many people who don't bother looking at reliability reports before buying a car and some who ignore them even after I show them.

 

Just wanted to say sorry for loosing it in a earlier post....


Just getting grief from the wife on the Z. I ordered it 2 months before the wedding to keep her from saying no....

Oh well.


I did e-mail the guy on his site. FYI

 

Donning Flame retardant suit…..

You guys are killing me with this crap. Yes CRAP!
I experienced the feathering issue. One year ago my Nissan dealership replaced my front tires and FIXED camber/tow.
One year and 13,000 miles later I had the dealership check my alignment and the numbers are perfect and I have checked for additional signs of feathering and there is NONE.
I HAVE NO ISSUE! I LOVE THIS CAR!!!!!!!!!

Flame away boys and girls…..

 

Kitkos,
I am truly happy for you that your fix has worked and that you have been able to get that many miles out of your tires without the feathering returning. Thats not sarcasm, thats sincerity. I can only hope that in 10 mor thousand miles I can also be sayong the same thing. However, as much as you think your case is evidence to why we shouldn't be flaming, I think its just the opposite.
The extreme inconsistency even in the technology of dealer service techs between dealers is a major contributor to the problem. Some places have the hunter machine, some dont. Some have techs that know how to rotate and flop, some dont even have the machines capable of handling the 350's tires. Say what you can but this is unacceptable. A direct analogy can be drawn across the board to all walks of life. I am in the medical field and I know that we as therapists have to maintain "x" amount of hours every year on continuing education to stay up on the latest techniques and technology. If a new method or surgey comes out (in the car world this would be the new car) we as therapists have to attend classes in order to be able to work with that patient. Now to get back to the car. If this car was to be so different and special, Nissan should have done a better job of readying its dealerships and techs for handling of the car and its service. This car is already almost 2 years old and ther are too many instances where my car is basically a guinee pig for my dealer. thats not right.

 

I am sorry some of you are going through the same thing that some of us that pre-ordered our cars and sat and waited (impatiently) for 8 – 12 months for delivery but as they say “poo poo happens”. But now that I am closing in on 20,000 mile I am happier now thatn ever with this car. It’s like my 7 year old son. If you love something enough the little issues don’t matter. You deal with them and move on.

There is already a 200 page thread on this issue. If any thread should be a "sticky" it should be that one.

This issue shows it's ugly head around 4,000 to 5,000 miles. If you go 10,000 miles without it showing up you will NEVER get ANY dealership, no matter what brand, to replace tires or take fault. Any pothole in the road or concrete bumper in the parking lot can throw your alignment tow/camber off. As nice as my dealership was in fixing this issue they would not fix it a second time if I came back in 10,000 miles later.

You live in Dayton, OH. If you are not happy or don't think your dealership is knowledgeable enough you should go to a different one. Noting in your warranty says you must go to the dealership where you bought your car.

I would think that comparing your profession to that of a mechanic would **** off many of your colleagues.
By process of elimination, if you ranked everyone in your field from best to worst you would find the absolute worst therapist. There are people all next week with appointments with this person. If they aren’t happy with the results do they call the local radio station and tell them or do they find someone that can actually perform the necessary treatment with the “latest technology”.

Could they predict that this feathering issue would happen? If so they would have prevented it to begin with. Are you aware that the Hummer H2 in 2003 had the highest trouble rating? 148 defects per 100 units sold. Did Hummer foresee these issues? Probably not, but they have sold a heck of a lot of 70k dollar vehicles.

[QUOTE]grifferjr] - This car is already almost 2 years old and ther are too many instances where my car is basically a guinee pig for my dealer.

You live in Dayton, OH. If you are not happy or don't think your dealership is knowledgeable enough you should go to a different one. Noting in your warranty says you must go to the dealership where you bought your car.


I am not trying to start a war here but let’s face it folks that there isn’t a car that rolls off of ANY assembly line in ANY factory that doesn’t have a problem of some kind. The 350’s have had 3 that I can see that affected a large community of Z owners. Tire Feathering, crappy sound system and window streaking. 4 if you want to count the pulling to the right issue on some cars. Plus some minor issues that don’t even matter such as the fabric on the seats.
Is this a big enough deal to try to create a smear campaign against Nissan? I think not. If you have a Dealership that doesn’t want to fix your problems then call Nissan North America. They’ll take care of you.
I have owned Z-Cars since 1976 (5 total) and currently own a 240Z and my 350Z and I will tell you that this is the sweetest Z-Car ever.

My advice to everyone is “get over it”. Find a good Nissan Dealership and start using them. Then put your butt in the driver seat, turn up the tunes (not on your Bose system. lol) and SHIFT!

 

well put

 

Aren't you a little biased in your comments being a 4th and 5th Z owner?


Besides, YOU are the reigning 2003 NISMO Award Winner - ZCCA International Convention - as your tag line states.


Wouldn't be reasonable to expect a NEW car to be pretty much free of defects. Even if there were, wouldn't it be reasonable for the Mfg. to correct those porblems in a TIMELY manner? I've had my Z for 14 months and I don't exactly call that timely.


But what do I know - I'm just a 1st Z car owner....

 

You would rather that we kept having the problem?

 

Easy for one to say, but I can imagine if/when I have all these problems I will be pissed as hell too. I strongly suspect the alignment does not fix the feathering problem, as 99% of people that have had alignments still have feathering. I'm glad it worked for you though. And Nissan is definitely trying to screw 03 owners over this. DEFINITELY. In fact, I think it's already been done, and we are without hope...we'll have to look to the aftermarket if they can fix things. So, as you suggested, we might as well get over it...b/c nissan has given us the royal screw, and we have no effective way of recourse.

NzZ

 

sounds like a good idea. You never know about the hundreds of other Z owners on this board. They may have the same problems as the rest of us..... then again they might not. My cousin has one, and we're both experiencing tire feathering under 10K miles.

 

i'm not flaming, but your experience does not represent the typical case for those who've had feathering. there's a 128 page thread showing that you have been pretty lucky. this is really good news though, it could imply that most mechanics just don't know what they're doing, and the problem CAN be fixed if the adjustments are performed correctly. it just seems kinda weird that so many professionals could have so much trouble getting it right.

 

"Professionals" should be in quotes.. lol

 

I got new tires and an alignment and haven't had any problems

 

Check this out:

www.freshalloy.com

It sounds as if Nissan "cares" and has a "fix" for you all.