My 2005 Touring Roadster went in for its first attempted repair at 4,000 miles, when I could no longer tolerate the problems I was experiencing(currently at 10k). I drove it off the showroom floor with only 10 miles on it, but noticed something funny about the driver door. Every time I go over a speed bump, driveway or any uneven surface the door panel creaks or sound as if its going to pop out of the door! Nissan has attempted to fix this 4+ times with no success, they just keep creating new problems. Every component inside the car squeeks, rubs, or is seperating! My hood and trunk do not visually fit right on the car; Nissan has sent it out to the body shop which did not fix the problem. My tail light "popped" out of the bumper! I have been told by engineers that by removing the hard top, the car does not have enough structural support to keep these components in place due to the frame flexing. My car is morphing into something that I can no longer stand to look at or drive! Good from far, far from good. PLEASE ADVISE!!

 

Sorry that you are dissatisfied. Everything that you described is subjective: acceptable rattles - too many rattles, body parts aligned a little off - way too off, minor creaking - creaking driving me crazy! One member might drive and love the car, while another will hate it. I respect you disaffection.

Nissan will give you a new car? I doubt it. You described no safety or major mechanical problems.

Lemon law suit? Same situation. Two transmissions is cause for a suit, but not squeaks and rattling.

I see two choices: live with the imperfections and enjoy the ride. Or buy another car.

 

Any idea on why the car shakes so violently that you hear a metal grill vibrating inside the dash when the car is in Drive and stopped at a light/ stop sign. If I put it into Neutral the shaking stops???

 

I have a similar problem on my roadster but not that that extreme. I definately have what appears to be body flex which I think is normal. Every time i go up and down my driveway or any incline really, I hear the same kind of creeks you near or just behind the driver side door. the fact that your whole car is out of alignment is a little strange and something that I would definately pursue with the dealer which i am sure you had done without any success. Good luck!

 

Don’t mind Davidv he likes to go on rants sometimes. I have "minor" imperfections with my Z, and I know exactly what you are talking about. I hear rattles when going over bumps, or might hear a creak every now and again. I live with it, that is part of the car and is acceptable for me (my dad has a 300zx and is much worse in terms of rattles.) I am not going to nit pick the car apart. However Davidv I don’t think it is acceptable for a taillight to pop out (under normal conditions) along with a few other things mentioned (maybe he is nit picky and is making an issue out of nothing). I don’t think Nissan would attempt to fix a non-existent problem 4 times plus.

Respect

 

Hmmm my roadster is tight, although I do have a rattle that comes and goes from the dash, but then again I have more rattles in my G35 sedan

I have yet to notice any flex in the car tho....

Is your car completly stock or have you modified it in any way?

Also have you bottom out your car extreamly hard at any point? thinking maybe your broke a motor mount...

Almost sounds like you bought a car that was in a accident and not fixed properly, but since you drove it off the show room floor with only 10 miles on it I doubt thats the case tho ..

Might have a body shop give your car a look over to make sure the frame is not bent or anything is loose.

 

All convertibles will have some degree of rattle, although yours seems extreme. I've been very happy with my ZR for 2 years now. The only rattle free convertibles I have heard of are Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Rattle free convertibles = $$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

The roadster was engineer as a convertible from the get go with a fairly rgid body compared to most convertibles just like the corvette convertible as oppose to redesigning just the roof from the coupe (like the Camaro convertible I had). You could actually feel the camaro body flex and the drivetrain rubbing when it flexed. Minor squeaks and rattles are normal even my $65k lexus SC430 hardtop convertible has some minor squeaks and rattles. I also owned the s2000 with a seriously rigid body and it still had some minor noise. Sports car suspension and a high torque engine will make you feel more stuff.
Honestly, the Z roadster is one of the better handling and more civil sports convertibles I've driven.

 

After 5,000+ miles I still have no rattles from my '06 ZR. I've been impressed with just how tight the car is. Being a roadster, I was expecting some flex with resultant noises. As it ages it will probably develop rattles, etc.

Ken

 

Ambergrl29,

I am VERY sorry you are having soo many problems with your ZR. I have a mid '04 and have not had any problems to speak of before I started modding it. I have never noticed any discernable unusual noises (that is not to say they were not there, just that I did not hear them).
I have had some aftermarket stereo work done that causes the crossover to rattle in my door and the aftermarket shift **** rattles on the shifter sleeve but these are modifications I have made.

As for the frame, I have been pushing growing amounts of HP and so far..... have not noticed anything unusual. So, I would say stock there should be limited or NO problems caused by the normal amount of frame flex. I am on the other hand going to be working with AAM on creating a under chassis brace for the growing # of high HP roadsters out there.

NOTE: I do not drive my car during the week or any bad winter weather, so it only has 10K on it in 2 years. I am not sure if more miles = more possible damage... Only time will tell.

Mike from the shop as spoken to me and shown me a few signs that some of the other high HP cars are starting to warp under the additional stress. But we have not seen any indications on relatively stock cars.

Just my $.02
--B

OH, as a afterthought, is it possible you got a new Kitrina damaged car? Can you have someone check the VIN to review the manufacturing/shipping/delivery history of your car? I am just tossing out ideas as it sounds like you possibly got a lemon and I have not heard of many of those on the 350Z platform since the ’03 model.

 

I have a 05 roadster with 7500 miles and I don't have any rattles or any of the nightmares you are having. The roadster is heavier because of the extra rigidity built in. IMO the problems you are having are not normal. You might want to try a body shop that does frame work to see if they can diagnose the problem.

 

My complete stock '05ZR has a dash rattle, especially when cold, once temp. increase rattle disappear.
26.000 kms now, but from 3.000 km onwards I have the same knocking noise from drivers door area. Only at low speed on oneven road surface.
Dealer cannot fix it, I have to live with it, doesn't spoil my driving pleasure.

If you have excessive flex problem, please check flex resistance of your Z at body shop with special torsion bench. I remember once a welding robot at production line missed number of spot welds. (Non Nissan) The factory QC missed the defect but after a intensive technical inspection the problem was found and case was settled.

 

8,200 miles and still not rattles, squeeks or other noises. This car is very tight; no cowl shake and all body panels align perfectly.

Ken

 

5,700 miles and 15 months on my 2005 Z Roadster and no rattles, squeaks or creaks. I had my 2004 Z roadster for almost a year, and it was as tight as this one. The lack of body flex was one of the the things that impressed me about the car.

 

I have any early '04 and drive around downtown Toronto a lot (which has some mother potholes/crappy pavement) and I am impressed with the quality of this car as a Roadster. Body flex has increased a little since new but overall it is well above average IMO.

I do have some rattles etc, but so do the coupes so I don't think its unique to the Roadster.