I am wondering whether it is safe to say that cars manufactured after some date in the year 2004 have tire feathering problem fixed.
If yes, then what would that date be.

I postponed a purchase of 2004 Z (new) because I want to know if there is a chance that I will NOT have this problem.

According to TSB ALL 2003 cars have the defect.

Thanks to anyone who would have patience to reply

 

Id be interested to know as well as my Z is a 2004 model. It was built in Feb of 2004, but i did not purchase it until April.

 

My car has a build date of April 04, purchased it in late May. I have 4000 miles on my car now. I dont know how long it takes for feathering problems to show. As of right now, I dont have any tire problems.

 

Your best chance is if you buy a coupe with a VIN of D*4T160001 or E*4T060001 or higher (roadster D*4T110001 orA*4T110001 or higher) and with the new front tread pattern (where the inside and outside blocks are not separate all the way to the sidewall.

 

Looking at the Nissan dealership inventory websites, I'm seeing VINs on 2004 coupes with an "M" in place of the "T". For example:

VIN: JN1AZ34E64M154960

2004 or 2004.5? Anyone know?

John

 

Duh, shoulda read the earlier post on where are Z's built. The 7th alphanumeric tells the answer. See:

http://www.courtesyparts.com/specs/vin.html

"T" is Oppama, Japan and "M" is Tochigi, Japan. Still, it looks like serial numbers less than 160000 are still on the lots. I suppose these are 2004 models not 2004.5 models.

-John

 

My '04 Touring Roadster (build date 01/04) has the feathering problem which was first noted at 7,500 miles. Thus far no untoward noise and pulling to the right or left. I'm having the tires demounted and remounted across from each other and having a realignment as well. This must be done prior to 12,000 miles on the odometer to qualify for a dealer action at no charge.

 

My 04 Roadster was built in 7/03 and I have 13500 miles and haven't noticed any feathering. my vin is 94T002655

 

Above VIN 154960 is 2004. Since it's 8th digit was an E, if it had been 060001 or higher, it would have been 2004.5.

Repeat, look for D*160001 or E*060001 or higher with new tread block design for the latest and best. Still doesn't guarantee it won't feather.

 

This Z just popped up at local dealer (via Nissan's) web site within last 2-3 days.

JN1AZ34D34M103679

So, you're pretty sure this would be a 2004.0 and not 2004.5? ie < 160001

Seems there wouldn't be that many 2004.0'still in the pipeline, but maybe more than you think. Could have been dealer traded, I guess. I actually saw a 2003 still on the lot (different dealer) recently.

 

Ronny, since 154960 > 060001 wouldn't that make this a 2004.5? Six digits for s/n. Forgive me if I'm being stupid, just finished a long day of work.

John

 

No, you're not stupid. I'm just wrong. Yes. since it follows an "E" and is a coupe, 154960 makes it a 2004.5, IMO.

Numbers really screw me up.

My VIN is 152xxx, but it follows a "D", so it is a 2004.

The D and E, I believe, signifiy equipment, in this case I think it is air bags. One is probably dual front and the other is probably side.

Sorry to mislead you.

 

whoa wait.. ALL 2003's have feathering?! Im sure some of them don't have it... i thought there were some people here without any feathering. That's weird.. this seems to be a more wide spread problem than i thought.

 

Buy a Z built after March 2004, they might have worked the bugs out of the new plant. "M" is Tochigi, Japan

Nissan moves the Fairlady(350Z) to the Tochigi plant

Nissan moves the Fairlady to the Tochigi plant
Nissan Motor Company has announced that it will transfer production of the Fairlady Z (350Z) and the Fairlady Z Roadster (350Z Roadster) from its Oppama Plant to its Tochigi Plant, with output at Tochigi due to commence in January 2004. The current Fairlady Z has been on sale since the summer of 2002, and sales of the new Fairlady Z Roadster launched on October 1, 2003. Nissan needs the Oppama plant to concentrate on such models as the March (Micra), the Cube and the Cube Cubic. The Fairlady Z is currently produced on the same line as the March. To increase production efficiency, Nissan has decided to transfer production of the Fairlady Z to the Tochigi Plant, where models such as the Skyline (Infiniti G35) are produced using the same platform as the Fairlady Z.

 

What does the feathering look like?? I have an 04, and I dont think I have it... Tires look normal to me!

 

Using the Nissan web site, I'm seeing very few (actually none so far) "D" VIN's greater than 160001. So, either there are a whole lot of 2004.0's out there, or the numbers don't hold up? Actually, they are way < 160001. Haven't seen and "E''s, yet...a few "T"'s.

I'm not challenging your info, just trying to verify it.

 

Hey, challenge away. What do I know. I'm just like you.

Actually, this info is something I copied from two sources. One was a fellow member some few months ago on a similar post. The other was from a Nissan Service Manual which differentiated between 2004 and 2004.5. That was several months ago. There have been changes since then including the movement of all Z assembly to a new plant in Tochigi. That alone will effect VINs. In fact, all the VINs we're now seeing with an "M" in lieu of a "T" as the last alpha figure are from the Tochigi plant (as opposed to the Oppama plant). That alone may be enough to signify 2004.5.

You picqued my curiosity, so I checked a few local dealers and found a real mixture of VINs. I found:

some Coupe D*T's over 160001
the Coupe D*M's I found were all 101*** or greater
a few Roadster A*T's of 101*** or greater
a lot of Roadster A*M's over 250***

Looks like most of the 2004s are gone, but there are surely some still out there. If you feel uncomfortable with this mish-mash of VINs, I would suggest you look for the other clues - build date after March 04, new style front tread blocks and the Tochigi (M) as the last alpha figure in the VIN (7th digit from the end).

 

I have a 2004 Roadster built in August 2003 with feathering. Dealer confirmed it. I first noticed it at about 10 or 11k miles; I now have 17k miles. Dealer offered to replace tires and do alignment (at a Non-Nissan service dept., by the way stating that his equipment cannot align to required specs...interesting to say the least) but I've got new wheels and tires on the way so he offered to do the alignment when I got my new setup. Mine was the first 04 that he had seen. This was about 6 weeks ago I had it looked at.

srm

 

Just had my car checked out for feathering, dealer confirmed that I have it and is now ordering me new tires. I have 2004 Base with a build date of 10/03 w/13,500 mi.

 

Me too. 4k and purchased in May. Car is perfect...except the poor seals on both passenger windows that cause a whistle above 60.