Hey all, I'm thinking of picking up a new Z Roadster but I'm a little concerned about a couple of the issues surrounding these cars...

1 - Tire problem ... fixed for 2004.5 or not?

2 - Transmission problems... I have a 2002 Acura RSX S right now and the transmission in that is a total POS. There are thousands and thousands of people that have problems with it! I had my transmission rebuilt twice in less than two years under warranty! So what's the deal with the Z? I don't need another car with a weak transmission.

Is this just a small but loud minority with these problems? Or are these common problems that I should be ready to deal with if I take the plunge on this car?

Thanks,
Brian

2002 Acura RSX-S - Great daily driver... crappy transmission
1993 Mazda RX-7 - 420 rear wheel horsepower... yeah, it's fast
1961 Porsche 356B Roadster... For cruising

 

As far as I have read it's seem like only the earlier year Z's have had all the problems. Just with any new car, you wait at least a year to buy one. It's gives them time to work out all the bugs. I did that with the car I have now. I have a 03 Altima SE and I read that alot of people with 02's have had problems, but I haven't had any and I have 20K on mine. By the way I just ordered my Z: a Daytona Blue Track model, I can't wait.

 

I have a 2004.5 Track and so far my transmission is working alright. It *is* notchy at times going into second and even less so when going into third but for the most part it's smooth.

As for the tires, I had noisey roaring tires from the day I picked up my Z from the dealers with only 6 miles on it. It has since gotten a tiny bit worse but after taking it out on the back roads and scrubbing the rubber it went away. I still don't know if I have feathering or not. Only time will tell.

The thing that annoy's me more than anything else is this one rattle coming from somewhere near the mid-rear passenger side of the car. It sounds almost like a cricket chirping and it drives me nuts!!!

$100 to the first person to tell me what's causing that dang noise and how to resolve it!!!

 

Grommit: Is the noise just when you start off going slow in either direction? Does it sound like bb's in a tin can kind of? If so, mine did that and the dealer retorqued the rear axle nuts and that took care of it.

 

See signature below for my Z issues.

 

Dont let the hype scare you.

I just posted my experience with feathering. Mine are feathered, never got the TSB done, and I have 30k on my tires, and I will get another 5k on them. It isnt a big deal, they just get noisy.

As far as the trannys go, if you get a bad one, they will replace it.

If you love the car, dont let the problems keep you from buying one. All cars have some problems.

 

Your comparing the 350Z to the Pinto? What are you nuts? The Pinto was the worse car ever made. Anyway my Z is reliable. Just minor adjustments no new tranny. I have over 16k miles

 

2004.5 Enth here, no problems at all, although the engine idle doesn't seem quite as smooth as I expected... Oh well, I'll live.

 

2004.5 Enth Auth here. 2000 miles and the only thing I've had done to it is an oil change (can't beat a free one fromt the dealer).

Do you 1000-1200 mile break in, then drive it like you stole it.

CaptinB

 

man we need the seach to be fixed. posts like this are so annoying. if you are that scared and post something comparing the z to a pinto you deserve to drive anything but a z. goto the toyota eco forums, probably great reviews there. every car has a few glitches, get over it. god we need the search....

 

Take a look at Consumer Reports reliability ratings so far for the Z in the April auto issue. It got better than average. If it had much worse than average (true of many American cars, some Audis, many VWs, and many Mercedes) and continued to do so then I'd be worried.

If you were to compare to a Pinto it'd need to have crap reliability and explode when you touch the back end.

 

Ok, when you say bb's in a tin can do you mean the sound bb's would make when rolling back and forth in the can or if they were shaken in the can? I get the noise when I'm doing 45MPH+ on the highway. It's not there only when I start off.

Again, I'm not sure exactly where it's coming from but it's on the passenger side towards the rear. It sounds more like a robotic cricket chirping... It's fairly silent but over time it starts to wear you down mentally to the point where you want to just hop back in the hatch and start beating the heck out of the car. Ugh!

I am serious when I say $100 to the first person to tell me where the noise is coming from and how to fix it!

(btw, sorry for hi-jacking the thread)

 

Ok I could be totally wrong with your problem...but I have a problem just like yours....its like the annoying clicking sound...now loud at all but its there...I found where it is on my car....Its the Mirror...the review mirror....just when it starts try moving the mirror a little or grabbing it..see if thats your problem...I could be totally wrong....if thsts the sound just move the mirror a bit and it will stop...Let me know if thats what it is.

 

Mostly the early 03s had most of the probs a very few amount of the early 04s had some problems also.Its. funny becuase some people have 03s early had they haven't had a problem the 1st there shyt is flawless. Tire Feathering were there biggest prob. in 03/04. Most of the the dealer didn't even want to fix the issue. The told most people to take it up with the tire company and there warranty I guess they didn't want to be fuccked up

 

I have the same problem. It sounds like a chirping noise coming from the right side. The dealer is having a hard time finding it. I think it is the cross bar across the trunk where the Z emblem is.
Not for sure until the dealer get's it resolved.

 

I'm aware of the review mirror rattle. I have it every now and then depending on the road I drive on. For me it wasn't really the review mirror as it was the mirror cover on the visor. I fixed that by adding a few felt pads on top of the black rubber ones the car came with. That fixed it for good.

Thanks for the help though.

 

Wow, glad to know I'm not the only one hearing things. heh.

Is the noise you are hearing continuous or is it off and on? Also does the noise appear when you start going over 40MPH?

I honestly do not have problems dealing with rattles but this chirping noise seriously causes me to go insane after hearing it non-stop for 15+ minutes.

I first thought it was coming from the passenger side door but when I had my sister in my car she said it was coming from around the b pillar. Later that week when my friend was in my car he said it was coming from the back of the hatch near the fuel pump. At this rate I'm seriously about to hire some little kid to lay in the hatch and pin point that annoying sound. Kids have good ears, don't they?

Please please please let me know when you ever figure out where that noise is coming from. Thank man! :P

 

I can almost *guarantee* is the rear strut tower bar. I had it on the driver's side. It's not loud, but definitely clear enough to drive you nuts. We confirmed the location by pulling over when the noise was consistent and then pressing on the trunk panels. Dealership greased some stuff under the tower and it's been quiet for months. Unfortunately, a few days ago I heard the chirp on the passenger side. Thankfully, the car is going in for other stuff (alignment and maintenance) tomorrow anyway.

On the topic of this thread. My car has been great. I owned a 12 second FD for 6 years... now that was a PITA for reliability. Dec '91 build date, model #70 meant that I got a near prototype and a vast amount of recalls and issues... Yeah it was fast, but a head ache to keep it that way.

 

Okay. I'm going to tear apart my strut tonight and take a look. I hope this solves it!

 

goodluck on that..Let me know what happens...Hopefully it will never happen to me...but If I ever hear it I might know what it is if thats what is going on wiht you....Wow what a runon sentence.