BCZip

I had this problem with my 2006 350Z Coupe from the beginning. I bought my car new from the dealership. After about 1,500 miles, I noticed unusual vibration in the gearshift ****; this caused me to look at the oil pressure, which was very low. I took the car to the dealership to have it checked. They could not find a reason for the problem, so they changed the oil and sent me on my way. I never had any oil leakage on the garage floor, driveway, or in the engine compartment.

The car continued to have this problem approximately every 1k - 1.5k miles. In talking with some friends who previously owned 260Zs and 280Zs, they said they had this problem before and it was common and they learned to just keep a couple of quarts of oil in the car to top it off whenever necessary - it was part of owning a performance car. Therefore, I really didn't think too much about it until just before the 5 yr / 60k mile Warranty was set to expire. That's when I found this post (and others).

I took the car back to the dealership to have it checked again, since the issue was still occurring, and I told them that there were TSB(s) for this problem. The dealership looked into it, found the TSB information, and contacted Nissan. We performed an Oil Consumption Test (OCT). The test proved that my car was consuming a large amount of oil much quicker than it should - almost empty after ~1k miles! We had to perform the test once again, and then Nissan approved replacing the Short Block! (Warranty )

After the Short Block was replaced, I drove the car for another 2 months / ~1k miles and it began doing the same thing again - consuming oil rapidly! I took the car back and found the car had NO OIL IN IT! We perform the OCT once again. This second round of OCT took longer as the Tech wanted to see a trend in oil consumption, so I had to drive it 500 miles, bring it in to check the oil levels and top it off, then another 500 miles (4 times).

After this 2nd round of OCTs, Nissan finally approved replacing the Short Block again. So, we proceeded with Short Block #2, and the dealership also replaced the Valve Covers with PCV elements to help alleviate any breathing problems. (Warranty)

I drove the car another 3.5k - 4k miles, and IT HAPPENED AGAIN - still consuming oil faster than normal, even though it took longer before the problem resurfaced!!! I took the car back to the dealership a 3rd time. We performed yet another round of OCTs, with the dealership working with Nissan.

This time, the dealership recommended replacing the entire engine, as we've already replaced the Short Block twice without correcting the issue. The Nissan Field Engineers began delaying their responses, as they were perplexed as to what would cause this issue to continue to occur.

After 3 months, I contacted Nissan Consumer Affairs about my case. I worked with them and the dealership for another 2+ months, and we finally got approval from Nissan to REPLACE THE ENTIRE ENGINE! (Warranty )

I have had the car back with a new engine for about 3 weeks now. So far, everything is working fine; however, only time will tell. I am hopeful that we have resolved the issue and I will drive the car for another 6+ years.

The car is a 2006 Nissan 350Z Coupe with ~80k miles. I normally only drive it on weekends, the occasional clear weekday, and a few road trips. It is not driven aggressively, although there have been a few times...

I will update this posting in a few months to give an update on how it is performing.

MY POINT: Don't give up - push Nissan "gently" via Nissan Consumer Affairs, and be patient. I have had 2 Short Blocks + 1 New Engine - ALL UNDER WARRANTY. Nissan has done the right thing in my case, and if this resolves the issue, I will definitely buy another Nissan (370Z, 380Z...).

GOOD LUCK!

dmemenza

iTrader: (1)

^^ what Nissan dealership did you take it to? I wonder if they would help me even though my car is a Infiniti. The Infiniti dealership of Annapolis is supposed to be the best in my area, but they seem to be dickin' me around too. I see your from Georgia actually, but would consider towing the thing down there if I knew they were going to be concise and thorough with the OCT. I'm desperate. I love my G, but constantly worry about the OC issue with the motor.

JKL1031

I guess I dodged this bullet. I almost made a trip to buy an 06 g35 6mt with nav for a good price. the title had lemon law but I researched hard and found that the dealer replaced the engine and I figured out that was why it was lemioned, but after reading g I c some people were still burning oil on their second and thirD engines!! luckily the credit union doesn't finance lemon titles. so now what should I look for, 2004-2005 and 07+??? avoid any 300hp rev up engines???

Slyguy_38

How can we tell if our vehicle is affected? Any way to run the VIN and see if the engine has been replaced or not?

This means we should avoid any/all 2006 M/T Zs?

Ryan

Slyguy_38

Brought my 2006 350Z GT 6MT Roadster home for the first time last night from the dealer. Checked the dipstick. What a god-awful mess they made of that thing. So many bends and twists. Wow.

Anyways, the oil was clean and up to the H mark on it. Beneath oil fill cap was nice and clean. I'll keep an eye on the level.

Wish me luck...
Ryan

Slyguy_38

Brought my 2006 350Z GT 6MT Roadster home for the first time last night from the dealer. Checked the dipstick. What a god-awful mess they made of that thing. So many bends and twists. Wow.

Anyways, the oil was clean and up to the H mark on it. Beneath oil fill cap was nice and clean. I'll keep an eye on the level.

Wish me luck...
Ryan

BCZip

I took mine to the dealership, told them about the oil levels dropping too quickly since I purchased the car (new), and then I told them about the TSBs from this article. They began testing it and working the TSBs with Nissan from there.

I don't believe it affects all 2006 350Zs; only certain ones (early-mid 2006?).

The beginning of this article thread gives great details about the TSBs, and when I mentioned it to the service manager, he had to go look them up as he was not familiar with them.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

It would cost $5k just for a simple rebuild? Damn...I'm looking at 06+ 350s and found a few 06s with everything I want and within my budget...but since there isn't really a way for me to know if it has severe oc, I figured I could just rebuild for $2k or less if it had severe oc...

TheSyn3rgist

iTrader: (3)

Just hold out for a cheap 07 or 08. You can easily get 300whp with some nice boltons and you don't have to deal with this ****. I took a gamble on an 06 and it was an idiotic gamble. Unless you are planning on building the engine for more power its just not worth it.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Yea...just I found a local one up here in Canada for a pretty good price, was gonna check it out and look up service records. It has 157k km on it so I would assume if it did not have any motor swaps under warranty that it was one of the good ones...it is a grand touring...other 07s I found were All U.S. base models...I want at least the vlsd...

And the only 08 one I found is Canadian with 25k km grand touring but $25k...more than $10k than the 06 I mention lol I haven't been able to find anything in between...

How much work is it to replace the core issue? Piston rings or so? I read about people building it but not much about just repairing the main problem parts...

Wu-Watt

iTrader: (24)

$2000 to rebuild it?? Do some more research its way more than that.
You could find a motor at a wrecker and swap it for 2g's maybe.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Yea lol I Pm'd with some Canadian members here and got their experiences and costs lol

MIKE D'S Z

Dealer had my car for 6 weeks while they sought a short block from warranty. I did get a rental under warranty.This is my second short block replacement.
They got one, but after installation they discovered a crack in the block near a casting plug,leaking antifreeze. Installed the third. Now its leaking oil near the dipstick. Went to another dealer for an oil change & they added dye to the oil to see where its leaking. I go back in a couple days for them to check it out. Hopefully it will be easily corrected, & I can start the OC testing again to see if this short block is worth more than a slice of pizza. Nissan should be ashamed of themselves. STI,135I,GTI,TT,all looking good.

werdnash2002

is this TSB still good? I just purchase a 2005 Anniversary Edition (300hp Rev up) with only 15k miles. If it has this issue its very likely it has yet to be discovered as it was not a daily driver until now. I did purchase an extended warranty but I'm curious if my car is still covered by the TSB?

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

if you're under warranty, take it to a local dealer and ask the, to do an oil consumption test.

BOATS N HOES

iTrader: (2)

my z became my DD recently and i discovered i have this problem. 06 with 70k miles, im the 4th owner. bought it from a toyota dealership about 1 year and 6k miles ago and i have an extensive extended warranty... basically everything besides clutch, brake pads, tires etc... ~$1500 because i really wanted to cover my a$$... so much for that!

i DO NOT want to have to deal with this issue for the next 5-10 years. i still owe about double what i would get for this heap for trade-in.

do i take this thing in to get tested? if they admit it has the problem and refuse to address it im guessing it will be noted in some computer system next to my VIN right? and im also guessing that will seriously hurt what i would get out of them for trade-in? so, would it be best to skip the testing and the hope for help and just trade it in without any paperwork on the OC and take the loss?

i dont have too much faith in getting this issue resolved because of the extended warranty but i almost feel obligated to try i just dont want to screw myself down the road.


just looking for some advice i guess, ive talked to a bunch of people and no one i know personally has ever dealt with something like this....


thanks in advance


edit- oh yeah, im burning well over 1 qt/1k mi...... and what a stupid dipstick!

Golden_Armz

iTrader: (3)

This is terrible! I bought my 06 thinking that it didn't have and oil problem but it does. After 3k of driving the oil level was at the bottom of the notches by the L. So yea it's burning oil. NISSAN is full of ****! The Z is not my daily driver but I hope the later down the road this doesn't become a bigger problem since I have plans to mod this car. I'm gonna put penzoil platinum and see if this will slow Down the consumption.

350_ZEN

I've babied the crap out of my 06 350z since the day I got her. I mean, regular service, royal purple oil, oil change at 3000 miles, and kept at low miles. So at around 45,000 miles I started to notice the oil consumption issue and took it into Nissan service to get a diagnostic. They had me do the oil consumption test and wanted me to return in 500 miles. The amount of time it took me to drive 500 miles wasn't very long, but in that time I went out of warranty. So, I go back to the service department and they hand me the paperwork saying that I need a new longblock with a cost of around $8000.00. Oh yea, and I have to pay for it because I'm out of warranty. So, I've talked to the service manager, the dealership owner and I've contacted Nissan Consumer Affairs. Every one of them is essentially saying it's my problem. Service manager even went as far to say he wanted to see my oil change records. I told him that I change my own oil so I can use Royal Purple, so he said he wanted to see the receipts for the oil purchases. Are you kidding me? This is how a Nissan customer gets treated? Someone brings in a 6 year old car with 45,000 miles on it and you question whether or not the person did the damage regardless of the known TSB? Also, shouldn't warranty be from the date of the diagnostic? Anyways, I know this is TLDR but I am so disappointed with Nissan at this point and short of getting a lawyer I don't know what to do. Suggestions?

e30cabrio

iTrader: (30)

I feel your pain. This is exactly what they did to me on my replacement engine. I escalated it at consumer affairs and suggest you do too. Maybe point them to this thread so they see all the bad press/lost customers they have. I tell anyone that will listen what they did and that I will never buy another Nissan (including cup 0 noodles that I know is a different company) again. I know I have cost them sales and will continue to do what I can to cost them more.

350_ZEN

Yea, I think I'm going to call Nissan again. The first few times I talked to them I was depressed, so maybe I didn't push hard enough. Well, now I'm pissed and am willing to go as high as I need to. Regardless of the outcome, I will never buy a Nissan again. I hear Toyota takes care of their customers...and the Supra is coming out eventually. Btw, keep your Z under 4,000 rpm is the most retarded, ridiculous thing I've ever heard.