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Maintenance & Repair 350Z up keep and diagnosing/fixing problems

Tire FEATHERING: FYI

Old Mar 31, 2004 | 03:51 PM
  #2581  
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I have had my tires replaced at 12000mls and now have almost 21000mls on the second set of fronts. At the time of changing tires, the psi was put at 38psi in the fronts because the technician said the tire pressure was alittle low....... ? Now I am no true mechanic , but,...... increasing the tire pressure can in no way be a fix. I have almost 21000mls and have the worst cupping, feathering, roaring tires that I have ever heard. I use to drive dump trucks for a living, and the trucks road more quiet than my 2003 touring model nissan 350z . The only fix I have ever heard of is a total suspension change. That is next for me. I sure can't get that out of nissan.
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Old Apr 1, 2004 | 01:35 PM
  #2582  
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be fore you do anything call NNA and get another set of tires . ie......with the LL's they well keep giving you tires till there is af milage is of no consaquance.
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Old Apr 2, 2004 | 09:28 AM
  #2583  
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Default Re: My usual update

Originally posted by kbsig106
My hearing date has been set for April 16th. Hopefully I can settle this once and fo all.
kbsig,

I may end up going before you. I may get a hearing date as early as April 14th. I did a little research project today and I thought I would post the results as they may be helpful to you or at least make you feel a little better about your case. It seems that Nissan's ultimate answer to this tire problem has been to declare the shoulder cupping normal for this high performance tire. And between Nissan and other forum people pushing the same position there is a tendancy to almost believe it or at least doubt the veracity of your own case. So today I decided to separate the fiction from the reality. We have discussed other vehilces that come equipped with the Bridgestone RE040 including the Lexus IS300 and I have previously stated that I did not think the IS300 suffered from the same problem. Today I paid a visit to my local Lexus dealer. I spoke with a Service Advisor and the shop Foreman who has worked there for 16 years. I was also invited to inspect some of the IS300's they had in the shop. I can tell you without a doubt that the IS300's equipped with RE040's do not chop the tires. I inspected one vehilce with well over 20,000 miles on the tires and they were perfectly flat and smooth. Both gentlemen told me that the tires may not last that long, depending on how you drive, but for the miles that the tires do last they should wear flat with no irregular cupping or heel and toe wear. Lexus even puts a warning right on the window of the new cars stating that the tire may last less than 20,000 miles but again this is 20,000 miles of normal wear not 20,000 miles of shoulder cupping. So the issue that you discussed about disclosure may have some merit. If Nissan is producing a car with a 4-6,000 mile tire life span then they damn well better be informing consumers of this fact at the time of purchase. NASCAR gets more miles thanthis out of a set of tires. Well everyone except Tom Cruise who smoked his in 2 or 30 laps. If you are listening Nissan, you better bring a better argument than this to the hearing because it's not going to fly.
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Old Apr 2, 2004 | 09:30 AM
  #2584  
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Default Re: Re: My usual update

Originally posted by overZealous
kbsig,

I may end up going before you. I may get a hearing date as early as April 14th. I did a little research project today and I thought I would post the results as they may be helpful to you or at least make you feel a little better about your case. It seems that Nissan's ultimate answer to this tire problem has been to declare the shoulder cupping normal for this high performance tire. And between Nissan and other forum people pushing the same position there is a tendancy to almost believe it or at least doubt the veracity of your own case. So today I decided to separate the fiction from the reality. We have discussed other vehilces that come equipped with the Bridgestone RE040 including the Lexus IS300 and I have previously stated that I did not think the IS300 suffered from the same problem. Today I paid a visit to my local Lexus dealer. I spoke with a Service Advisor and the shop Foreman who has worked there for 16 years. I was also invited to inspect some of the IS300's they had in the shop. I can tell you without a doubt that the IS300's equipped with RE040's do not chop the tires. I inspected one vehilce with well over 20,000 miles on the tires and they were perfectly flat and smooth. Both gentlemen told me that the tires may not last that long, depending on how you drive, but for the miles that the tires do last they should wear flat with no irregular cupping or heel and toe wear. Lexus even puts a warning right on the window of the new cars stating that the tire may last less than 20,000 miles but again this is 20,000 miles of normal wear not 20,000 miles of shoulder cupping. So the issue that you discussed about disclosure may have some merit. If Nissan is producing a car with a 4-6,000 mile tire life span then they damn well better be informing consumers of this fact at the time of purchase. NASCAR gets more miles than this out of a set of tires. Well everyone except Tom Cruise who smoked his in 20 or 30 laps. If you are listening Nissan, you better bring a better argument than this to the hearing because it's not going to fly.
Sorry, didn't mean to do that. I was fixing an error and it posted twice. This will probably make three. Has anyone else noticed that this site seems to be malfunctioning quite a bit lately?

Last edited by overZealous; Apr 2, 2004 at 09:33 AM.
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Old Apr 2, 2004 | 09:48 AM
  #2585  
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Default Re: Re: My usual update

Originally posted by overZealous
kbsig,

I may end up going before you. I may get a hearing date as early as April 14th. I did a little research project today and I thought I would post the results as they may be helpful to you or at least make you feel a little better about your case. It seems that Nissan's ultimate answer to this tire problem has been to declare the shoulder cupping normal for this high performance tire. And between Nissan and other forum people pushing the same position there is a tendancy to almost believe it or at least doubt the veracity of your own case. So today I decided to separate the fiction from the reality. We have discussed other vehilces that come equipped with the Bridgestone RE040 including the Lexus IS300 and I have previously stated that I did not think the IS300 suffered from the same problem. Today I paid a visit to my local Lexus dealer. I spoke with a Service Advisor and the shop Foreman who has worked there for 16 years. I was also invited to inspect some of the IS300's they had in the shop. I can tell you without a doubt that the IS300's equipped with RE040's do not chop the tires. I inspected one vehilce with well over 20,000 miles on the tires and they were perfectly flat and smooth. Both gentlemen told me that the tires may not last that long, depending on how you drive, but for the miles that the tires do last they should wear flat with no irregular cupping or heel and toe wear. Lexus even puts a warning right on the window of the new cars stating that the tire may last less than 20,000 miles but again this is 20,000 miles of normal wear not 20,000 miles of shoulder cupping. So the issue that you discussed about disclosure may have some merit. If Nissan is producing a car with a 4-6,000 mile tire life span then they damn well better be informing consumers of this fact at the time of purchase. NASCAR gets more miles thanthis out of a set of tires. Well everyone except Tom Cruise who smoked his in 2 or 30 laps. If you are listening Nissan, you better bring a better argument than this to the hearing because it's not going to fly.
That's my angle, also the 1/23/03 date of the 1st TSB is another angle I'm going to take since I picked her up on 1/25/03 with no warning (of any problem) what so ever. FLA LL case law stated that it's the Manufac. responsibility to inform me of any non-conformity, not the so called "Dealer". I think you and I both agree that it would have been easier to walk away from your deposit than have to deal with this BS 14 months later.

On the Lexus angle - My Father-in-law had a 2003 SC430 with RE04's on it. Yes they're a different profile, but the same brand and type. He did develop a bubble on one of the side walls so he went to Lexus and they simply switched out the tire. He raved about the Bridgestones till I pulled up next to him so he could feel the difference (He didn't realize my gripe till he felt them for himself) and changed his tune real quick. He has since sold the car before any further milage was added to the RE04's, so I never got a good look at his tires. Then again he didn't sell it due to the tires, he just switches car's every 3 months.

Finally, the abnormal wear (NNA claims) is the norm on these tires is BS. My rears have 16k on them and they are smooth as silk with plenty of tread left (I'd say 5 to 6k more on these). So it has to be the car - there is no other cause....


Also - good luck on your case. Keep me posted since I'm following two days later. We'll need to compare notes as to if we had the same NNA rep. and what their angle was if this goes to the state board. If I end up that far, I'm going to pull my Attorney in to this. The BBB wanted to know if he was going to come to the 4/16 hearing - they said Nissan needed 10 days notice of such... Why? So I opted to come w/o him - however I have been advised if Nissan try's to sucker punch me, inform the BBB rep that the hearing is over and that the NNA rep will be hearing from your attorney and walk out.
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Old Apr 3, 2004 | 02:05 AM
  #2586  
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Our '04, picked up in September of '03, has about 4700 miles on it right now. It exhibits a low whining at 40ish mph and a hellish growling during braking. I've spoken to my Dealership's GM, a pretty good guy, about the problem with references to this site.
The Z is going in shortly for alignment check/adjustment and the tire swap. I'll keep everyone posted.
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Old Apr 5, 2004 | 10:03 AM
  #2587  
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I've had my 350Z for 15 months and have just reached 6200 miles. I've had loud roaring at low speeds and during braking. I took it to my dealership, Suntrup Nissan in St. Louis, and they put new tires on the front and did an alignment with no questions asked. I had my Z back in two days. I'll be interested to see how long these tires last.
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Old Apr 5, 2004 | 10:06 AM
  #2588  
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Unhappy Welcome to the club

Welcome to the club guys. One by one Z owners are finding out.
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Old Apr 5, 2004 | 02:47 PM
  #2589  
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Alignment question?? I took my Z in a week ago and they aligned it and ordered me new tires. The tires are now in and I am getting them installed in the morning. The service writer said they would install the new tires but would not realign, since they aligned it last week. Is this a problem? When they install the new wheels do they need to realign??? Thanks
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Old Apr 5, 2004 | 04:29 PM
  #2590  
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Originally posted by Pit Bull
Alignment question?? I took my Z in a week ago and they aligned it and ordered me new tires. The tires are now in and I am getting them installed in the morning. The service writer said they would install the new tires but would not realign, since they aligned it last week. Is this a problem? When they install the new wheels do they need to realign??? Thanks
If they already aligned your car last weekend, it should be fine.

My dealership checked the alignment, and it was deemed fine even though I have feathering. My total toe was left at .08 degrees instead of toe'd in at 0.20 (per TSB). I asked them to leave it as is because I have feathering on both edge blocks. Increasing toe will cause my outside shoulder blocks to wear even faster. Well, I'm getting new tires installed next week as approved by NNA, and my alignment wasn't even adjusted.

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Old Apr 6, 2004 | 04:43 PM
  #2591  
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Today I had my car checked out by another shop that does nothing but alignments. They're a father/son shop that's been around forever and have the latest equipment which means they've forgotten more about aligning a car than standard Nissan techs.

Yesterday, the Nissan dealer reported the car was out of alignment and I would have to pay for this set of front tires. I took the car over to the aforementioned shop and they say it's dead-on Nissan specs. Go figure.

BTW - they do all the work for the Infiniti dealer who also owns the Nissan place.

So, it's back to arguing with Nissan about new tires.
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Old Apr 6, 2004 | 06:03 PM
  #2592  
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Got the new front tires today. Good thing I don't work. If I had a job it would be tough to get anything done on this Z. It took them 2 1/2 hours to mount the new tires. I've had them do two oil and filter changes and it took them 2 hours to do the work both times and that's with me having an appointment. Well I hope the alignment and the new tires fixed the problem. My Z has around 4700 miles on it, so at this rate I will have around 10000 miles when I hit the 12 month warranty deadline. If it is not fixed I should know it before the 12 months are up. If they have to give me another set I figure they will need to give me new tires for the life of the Z. Well maybe not but I figure two sets of new front tires should be good for something.
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Old Apr 6, 2004 | 10:42 PM
  #2593  
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OKAY just out of curiousity, has anyone who got new tires from Nissan lasted more than 20k miles on their Z?

and

Does the 2004 or 05 Z's show the same problems?
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Old Apr 6, 2004 | 11:27 PM
  #2594  
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Originally posted by aznkukuboi
OKAY just out of curiousity, has anyone who got new tires from Nissan lasted more than 20k miles on their Z?

and

Does the 2004 or 05 Z's show the same problems?
I drove a New Roadster 2004.5 And I was amazed No Bounce.

I think all Cars Before Febuary 2004 are defective.

The Struts and Shocks should be replaced on all 2004 and Before....

Just my Humble Opinion.

As a Nissan Stock Holder I recomend a Global Fix.


Cheers Amy -

By the way my Friends that Own Toyota Stock Say Bail. As Nissan is too Stupid to Confess. And I did move my holding to Toyota today.. Sorry guys...

Last edited by AmyCroft; Apr 6, 2004 at 11:32 PM.
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 05:02 AM
  #2595  
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I mentioned this in a couple of other threads but thought it might be worth posting here too. I am the webmaster for NissanTireProblems.com, a website designed to raise awareness about the tire problems with the Nissan 350z. By raising awareness of the 350z tire problems we hope to force Nissan to remedy the situation, and bring satisfaction to consumers.

We are looking to gather information for use on the website (photo's, stories). By sharing the experiences that you've had with the Nissan 350z tires, you will assist us in helping the 1000's of consumers who are suffering from problems exactly like yours. Please take some time and share your story with us.

In addition, an attorney who works with our site has indicated that if there is enough interest from consumers to pursue a class action lawsuit, he would do so. They are truly interested in helping consumers and don't participate in "coupon settlements". They have an excellent reputation and only accept the most well-documented issues. I know they have the TSB's on this issue and are looking to help. While they are certainly interested in pursuing a class action nationally, they tell me that a NJ client would be more desirable because it would be the most friendly place to get the class action certified and resolved. Apparently the outcomes tend to be more consumer-friendly in New Jersey even though the resolution would affect consumers throughout the United States. If you have anyone who might be willing to be the lead plaintiff in NJ, please let me know, and we can put everyone in contact. If you have any interest in discussing this further, please contact me via email or the website.
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 06:11 AM
  #2596  
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Good idea with the class action. I had a 1991 Acura NSX and that is what it took to fix the rear tire wear problem on the NSX. I just got new tires at under 5K miles on my Z. I will go to your site and support our cause.
Thanks
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 03:37 PM
  #2597  
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Well, I took my '04 Enth in for tire feathering. I started noticing it at 3000 miles. Now I have 3500 miles. The service advisor looked at the tires in the service bay and said, "yup your tires are feathering."

I took the car in at 9am and he told me they were going to rotate and check alignment. When I picked the car up all they did was do an alignment on the '03 specs. He told me that they could not rotate the tires because a service bulletin had not been issued for the '04's. My reply was that the tread pattern had already been set so the tires were only going to get worse. He told me to wait about 1500 miles and if it is still making the noise then call him and he would call Nissan to get the go ahead to rotate the tires. grrrr...I think the road noise was even worse on the drive home! roooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 06:55 PM
  #2598  
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hm...

i hope when i get my car there wont be any feather problems


if all nissan does is rotate or fix ur tires and sometimes align


does that really help? i mean some people see feathering occur over and over again
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 08:29 PM
  #2599  
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Default New Tires ...again

Well I picked my Z up from the dealer yesterday after having all 4 tires replaced (car has 20K on it). The two fronts were replaced 3,500 miles ago and the rears were close to the end of their normal life (2/32") The tech said nissan recommended the Michelin Pilots so they ponied up for the fronts and I bought the rears. Are there any others out there who have switched to the Pilots and are satisfied with the wear pattern (none/nominal)?
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Old Apr 7, 2004 | 08:38 PM
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Default Re: New Tires ...again

Originally posted by BigNDFW
Well I picked my Z up from the dealer yesterday after having all 4 tires replaced (car has 20K on it). The two fronts were replaced 3,500 miles ago and the rears were close to the end of their normal life (2/32") The tech said nissan recommended the Michelin Pilots so they ponied up for the fronts and I bought the rears. Are there any others out there who have switched to the Pilots and are satisfied with the wear pattern (none/nominal)?
BigNDFW:

You posted a Complex Question..

Break them (multiple questions) up in the future.. But on Tire purchases - Yes Front NNA buys.. Rear Your cost... A good compramise.. ( Sp?) (hic)

So how do you like the Pilot Sports? I know the G35 crew like them a lot....

Cheers Amy -
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