I was told by Nissan that the TSB's didn't apply to my car since it was manufactured after 9/28/02. Like most on the thread, I think the BOSE system sucks and I'll have to change at least the amps and speakers if I want the stereo to sound good.

 

Ok, lets get something straight, Nissan is better than most manufactures. Lets go for the "wonderful Toyota". Did you know that Toyota's V-6's are burning values right now? I am not talking about just a couple but a lot of V-6's are having trouble. My brothers shop has 3 of them right now lined up for repair, all the same problem. The problem is the car mags and surveys only check on what a car does in its 1st year. To me, what matters more is how the car performs at 60-120,000 miles. This is when the warranty is gone and the expensive repairs occur.

Maybe I have a different perspective than others, many of my friends and family work in the auto sevice industry. I am speaking from experience from people that work on cars all day long 50 weeks a year, not just experience from what I own.

 

When i went to my dealer yesterday and specifically told him to check tsb087, he only saw tsb086 instead so he said the same thing like you guys, that my car did not apply to the dates said. I called NNA this morning and they told me my car falled into the tsb087, so she put me on hold and called my dealer. So this afternoon they changed my amp with the new one, and i have to say we have to do another petition saying that even with the new amp, the bose system is not comparable to a premium stereo system. I happen to own 2001 Mercedes S500 and happen to have a Bose sound system. There is no comparison. The sound system in the S500 is really nice and a real premium sound system. Unfortunetaly, Bose had to work some more and SHOULD come up with another fix (maybe it will happen in my dreams).

 

I received my letter today. If someone wants to see it I will try and scan it in then post.

 

Anyone posting that their dealer is saying they do not qualify for the amp swap.......and then just accepts this to be the truth.........has NOT read this thread.

lungta did exactly as I suggested and he did indeed get the amp.

Don't let your dealer's ignorance of what is happening within his own company impact you negatively. All the information you need to get your amp is in this thread. All you have to do is read it.

Good Luck to all..........

 

Stopped at my dealer today and asked if I could compare sound in 2004 to mine since I had the amp replaced. For better or worse I thought they both sounded the same. As I said in an earlier post the dealers do not have an incentive to do this work since the amount of time they are payed by Nissan is about a quarter of the time that it actually takes. Do not take no for an answer and take it to NNA if you have to. That will usually get their attention.

 

I just got my letter in the mail today...Nissan better not give me crap!!! They are all nice to you BEFORE they get your money...but AFTER...they don't care as much about you.

 

I also received my letter today. Looks I'll be making my appointment next week. I'll let everyone know what I think after the replacement. This will be the second replacement amp (#3). -m

 

I wouldn't mind seeing it. I'd also GREATLY appreciate seeing the actual 087 TSB

FWIW I've often been asked in person and on other forums what I think of the car and I've always outlined how bad the stereo is.

 

Stopped by the dealer today to show him some recent posts. He then went looking for 087. All he could find on Monday was 086. His comment today after finding 087: "If you don't think you have the problem, this does not apply!" My comment: "If it has sounded this way since the day it was driven off the lot, I might not think there was a problem! My "Tour" was manufactured in 11/02, the TB applies!"

My dealer does not have an amp on the shelf. I am not going to let them go looking until there is an amp available to replace the bad amp. NNA representative could not even confirm if letter would be sent out.

Yes, it would be nice to see the letter!

 

OK, for the last times folks!

NTB 03-086 is for Pre 09/2002 cars
NTB 03-087 is for Post 09/2002 cars

PLEASE READ THE THREAD!

Pv

 

I have already briefly reworded the petition to include all 3 TSBs as unacceptable:
NTB02111, NTB03086, and NTD03087

Pv

 

I talked with my dealer yesterday after reading your post and they seemed to be on top of it. Told me I would be getting a letter and to bring it in and they seemed to think the whole system would be replaced. **everything**, first I've heard of that. I am in IL - - - have you heard of anything like that? Also, at the nissan sight, how in the hell to you get to the TSB area?
Thanx

 

Mikela1,

Somehow I really don't believe that Nissan/Bose is ever going to agree on changing the entire Bose Audio system. That path would be a consideration that is way too costly. However, if that information would ever turn out to be true/accurate, I'd be waiting on that particualr dealership's line right now.
I think we need to all wait and see on this Bose issue. Thus far, I'm not at all impressed by the various comments regarding the 'new' amp replacement assessments. It's still far less than one would expect to be offered in a company 'flagship' car.

Then again......what the hell could Bose offer for its replacement?

More BOSE?!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yikes!!

 

I know that the way this replacement amp thing is supposed to work is to wait for your letter, take it to the dealer and go from there. I didn't wait for the letter..........and still got my replacement amp. Here's how to do it if you don't want to wait....

First.........be a pain in the butt to both your dealer and especially NNA.........by calling them often. If you have a case number, they have to update it every time you call.

Second.....and most importantly........use the following strategy.

1. While talking to either the dealer or NNA, bring the existing warranty on your car up

2. Explain that since a part of the car (the Bose system) is not performing properly......(which has been admitted by both Bose and Nissan in writing), it is no different than if the windshield wipers or the speedometer are not functioning properly.

3. There is a FIX available (well......somewhat of a fix), and the PARTS to fix it are available.

4. I, as a customer have brought a problem covered by warranty to your (Nissan) attention.

5. Are you refusing to perform a legitimate warranty repair in a timely manner?

6. If so, then you are in violation of both federal and state consumer rights laws.

Now, I am not saying that this threat was directly required to get my amp. What I am saying is that while talking to a Nissan Consumer Affairs Rep one day, I just posed the above facts as a sort of question. I began by saying, "You know, something crossed my mind........maybe you can answer this for me".......then I laid out the scenario that I described above.

That afternoon, my dealer's service manager called me to say that he now had the TSB applying to my car.............he had an amp just for me in his desk drawer.....and could I come in tomorrow for the replacement.

Anyhow, that worked for me......I figured that all the work they put me through to find out about this TSB justified my getting the amp as quickly as possible.

If you get static from your dealer..........try using the warranty repair refusal thing.........it may work for you too.

 

Mikela1...

Unless your dealer is willing to give you an entire new system at his own expense with no reimbursement from Nissan, then you will just be getting an amp like the rest of us. Also, as frankmusic said, there is nothing out there to replace it with from Bose, unless they give you a voucher to buy an aftermarket non-Bose system.

As far as a site to see all the TSB's goes, you can purchase a subscribtion to have this right from Nissan. It is expensive.

Sometimes, they will post recalls (this is not a recall by the way, it is called a "Customer Satisfaction Initiative") on the Nissan News site. It will just generally describe the issues but will not be a word for word TSB. Nissan News posted a desciption of the 086 TSB, which led a lot of people to believe that only cars built prior to 9/28/03 were covered. In fact, for a while there, people thought I was full of it because I described the 087 TSB and neither Nissan News nor their dealers seemed to be aware of it.

I think they did not want to post the 087 information because they did not want a stampede before the letters came out to the customers. Who knows?

Anyhow, the replacement amp will make your system tolerable until something better comes along. Tolerable is a long way from Premium though.

 

Did you fianlly have the amp installed by the dealer who magically made an amp materialize in his desk drawer? (nice trick - huh?)
How does the replacement amp sound compared to what you previously had? Did you find it satifactory?(on a scale from 1 to 10)

I'm just very curious about it. I'm wondering if I should start the excercise of disassembling the necessary items in my rear hatch to get a look at the existing amp number.

Thanks.

 

Yes, I had the amp replaced the next day. As it turned out, the amp had been ordered for me even before the dealer turned up the 087 TSB. He said he knew that sooner or later I would be in for it once the 087 was in his hands. It seems the 087 came out to the dealers in a different batch of correspondence and many thought it was a repeat of 086 since the fix was the same as the 086. So they say anyhow.

On a scale of 1-10 regarding PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEMS with the original amp being a 2.........this one is probably a 6 on some songs and even a 7 on others, but can drop to a 5 as well. Just not consistantly at one level of quality. Then again not all CD's are created equal. Certain CD's just seem to sound better than others. A good test song is the Eagles, Welcome to the Hotel California from the Hell Freezes Over album. Lots of guitar rifts and then some bass to test. This song sounded okay, but a few Bob Seegar and the Silver Bullet Band oldies actually gave me a thump in the back and had my rear view mirror vibrating with the bass turned up. Yes, you can tell the difference now when you adjust the bass setting. I think the amp may have more power than the previous amp, but the existing speakers don't seem to handle it well if the volume is turned up too high. They sound like they are giving up and straining to handle the power. As someone else posted, the Bose sub-woofer is more like just another speaker than a true sub. More than likely, if the system had sounded like this the day I picked up my car, I would have been somewhat disappointed but not as adament about how bad the system was and may have accepted it as is. Now my expectations are even higher.

Until another fix (doubtful) comes out, or you decide to just replace the system altogether, I highly recommend you go ahead and get the replacement. It is truly better than the old amp. As far as checking your current amp to see what model you have goes, I can just about guarantee it is NOT the 2860-CE400 amp they will be putting in. My car was one of the last 2003 Tourings made (May 03) and it did not have the new amp. It is my understanding the the replacement amp was especially produced for the two new TSB's and not installed on the production line at all. The reason for the line in the TSB's talking about replacing the amp if it is not a 2860-CE40 is simply to keep from doing this replacement twice on the same car.

If nothing happens regarding an additional fix in a few months, I may try replacing the sub and speakers to see how things sound then. I will not do this quickly however, as I have other things I want to get for the car first. I think this may have some impact on the quality of sound.

You may have seen the post a while back concerning the 20cent fix for over boosted bass. Namely putting a 1k ohm resistor across the terminals of the plug that goes to the audio pilot mic. This apparantly cuts out the audio pilot altogether and was a fix for the booming bass issue WITHOUT getting the first replacement amp, which took away all the bass. I might try that to see what it does with the new amp I just got. I don't need the audio pilot, and even the most expensive aftermarket systems don't have this feature to my knowledge.

Again, if you have the swap done, be sure to check your plastic when they give your car back to you. Mine was royally screwed up and I had to do it all over when I got home. Especially look at the rubber molding around the hatch area. None of the molding should be under the plastic.

Let me know if you are going to have the swap done, then be sure to post your impressions. I am very interested in what you have to say.

 

Wedge,
Thanks for your honest impressions on the new amp install. In some respects, we are actually in the same boat, relatively speaking. My car was manufactured in 5/03 as well. This car became available to me (in NY) during the month of July. So, YES, I will be going for that new amp change. I guess my self imposed exercise of checking for the qualifying ID number on my amp won't be at all necessary (thanks).

Dealerships usually scare me to death at the thought of them perform services that are more complex than oil changes. I will probably bring the car in with the required panels and such already removed. Their job will be made easier and I will have some peace of mind. What a wonderful compromise. Most people think that these guys are highly trained on the why and where fore of your vehicle . . . but...... uh...but let's not go there on this thread.

Down the road, I will slowly be changing the speakers. (starting with the sub, of course) I'm wondering if changing the toy sub for a better one might cause a drain on the power. We'll see.

I plan on bringing a variety of CDs for the test ride. Joe Bonamassa, Tom Petty, SRV, Tab Benoit, John Fogerty and probably (that's right) some Hendrix too. I'll be taking the LONG way home if the sound is pretty decent. It's been a long while. YUP!

When my scheduled amp swap service has been completed, I will share my impressions of the results with those who are willing to hear it. It will be just another written entry regarding this most anticipated corporate response.

So, enjoy your tunes for now - Hey, it seems that today is now better than yesterday. Right?!!

 

Yep........today is always better than yesterday........it means you didn't DIE!...lol

Mechanics are not body shop guys.........the removal of the plastic is more a body shop thing.

I have read a ton of good things about the Basslink sub........it has it's own power supply built in and may be the way to go for a sub without robbing power.

I listened to the test CD's on the way to get the replacement, then listened to the same songs after the replacement. I could tell there was some improvement.

Good luck with your replacement amp frankmusic! Looking forward to your review.