this isn't much and not a fix, but at least it's some kind of acknowledgment from nissan. and it means that all of our complaining (and all of the lawsuits) has had an effect. so don't stop fighting nissan until the problem is truly fixed... because it's working.

 

All:

2200 Miles after tire replacement and TSB003-006B - Cupping Er Feathering here... Very Slight but measurable.

Tires replaced.. Front Tow In set by hand - 2200 Miles from 12,300 to 14,500

Nissan Previous TSB Specs did not work.. New TSB is nothing new.

I will go to dealer Friday.. Just for my Service Manager to know current condition of the NNA provided tires.
And to have him drive the new configuration. Under the new TSB - my car is not qualified. It's not Nismo.

Cheers Amy -

The new Configuration of Suspension.. See Sig...

However.. I've just changed to Koni's and this may make a difference... If the cupping does not increase we have a winner.

Rear Adjustable Camber Rods installed Saturday.. They are slick.
( actually the rear Camber could be pulled in with factory CAM bolts ) But these look so sexy.. Pictures soon - Hotchkis Prototypes.. Test Mule.

Hotchkis Prototype Rear Camber Rods... Production models soon.

Looking from rear roll up - decrease negative camber.
Roll down increase negative camber.
Lock the Nuts - good to go..

The next step.. will be adjustable front A-Arms... Proto-Types

The front upper A-Arms will work the same way..
Roll both up - Less Camber...
Roll Rear only up decrease Caster.

Heh - And you thought Sprint Cars were Old School...

Cheers Amy -

 

I am an 04 owner with 13,000 miles. I originally took the car in at 9,000 miles with tire feather (it started around 6,000). They did the tire swap at 10,500 and are now agreeing to replace the tires for free.

Every time I brake at 35mph or lower, I feel like I am damaging my car. It really does affect the way I drive it, and I - for one - am sick of it. But it's like having a perfect 10 for a wife - who likes to nag on a regular basis. You tend to overlook the nagging when you get a good look at her.



The problem is not fixed in the 2004 models.

 

In case you didn't read my previous feathering history report.....


"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"

So, once again I take my car into the dealership @ 9am on my ONLY day off of the week. They call me at 11:30 to tell me they are working on the car to fix the improper alignment. Then again at 3:45 that it is ready to pick up. I go to pick it up w/ my fiance, and get my service sheet. First item said, "Found that toe was out on front and rear reset toe front and rear." Second Item reads, "TSB Does not apply to this car for the tire swapping TSB."
On the copy they kept in my file it said "Customer Educated on this matter" bellow the second item. lol.

When we were there we visited with the dealer that sold me the car. I told him I guess I would just call Nissan tomorrow morning to get this worked out. He seemed pissed at the service department b/c they did not align the car right the first time. I told him I knew the tire swap would only kill the pain for a while, but at least it would cure my headache for some time (MAYBE 3000 miles.) He told me to call Nissan, and then call him tomorrow. He would also see what he could get done before I call him back. This dealer has actually been more helpful then the service department. Looking for a good dealer in the DFW area PM me. After this I roooooooooooooooooooooooooarrrrred home, it might of been a hair less loud, or I'm getting use to it.

 

That with this 24 month / 24,000 mile alignment/tire warranty - this will push you out of the 24 month lemon law window that exists in "most" states. Once you pass the 24 month window from the date of purchase - you're SOL.

Like myself, my 24 month LL window would close on 1/25/05. If I took the 24 month warranty and at the end the Z was still bad - the date would be some where during the '06 year. Which would be 12 months too late to file the LL claim. (Why give up that right?)

Just a thought. Besides, this is Nissan's way of coming short of calling this a recall.



I'm chewing nails over here for my Firday hearing.

 

Lets look at worse case. I just got new tires and I have another 1 1/2 year of new tires. By then Amy and some of the others will have done all of the research to give us the fix we need if Nissan hasn't already done it. That works for me.

 

Relax my fine feathered friend. Nissan has sealed their own fate with their latest offering. They have given us yet another TSB so the previous three obviously didn't fix the problem. They just simply forgot to put the fix in the fourth or at least a fix that had not already been tried in the other three. And now, via their measurement scheme, they have at last given us a technical description of the problem. And if that wasn't enough, they have given us a warranty extension so obviously the 2003 vehicles do not comply with the warranty. Then they've taken it even a step further in excluding the 2004 models which, as it turns out, got a redesigned suspension. Well some anyway. If your tires have this problem then you have met the threshold for the defect. All you need do is show that Nissan failed to fix it on 4 attempts and that the defect affects the use, value or safety. They have done most of the work for you. I couldn't have recieved a better document from Nissan if I had called up Carlos personally and asked him to prepare a case against his Company for me. On my final repair attempt Nissan wrote on the work order that "heel and toe wear is normal for this tire". A couple of weeks later they produce another TSB that totally contradicts this and even provides a mechanism for measuring the abnormal heel an toe wear. Nissan Motor Corporation has generously negated the only argument Nissan could have made in my case and probably yours as well. I'd wish you luck but I doubt you'll need it.

 

I know.... LOL


I'll just be glad when it's over. So on Friday, I'll wake up early - have a nice energy breakfast, kick the dog and get ready for the hearing. I decided to take a day off to give it my full attention. and of course knock down a few drinks aftwards.

 

Since you're kicking the dog and from Florida, I can only assume it is a Georgia Bulldog.

 

Good guess - my wife is a UF grad.

 

In the Modifications section of the forums under Wheels/Tires/Breaks/Suspension is a Tire Feathering Poll. FILL IT OUT and we will see if the problem is fixed or not.

 

Getting ready as I type.


I'll update later today.

 

I had my tires replaced by NNA 1.5 months, & 1500 miles ago and now my tires are feathering again. I called NNA and they are starting to say that now I have too many miles to replace the tires again. I currrently have 17.5K miles total on the car. If I could do this all over again....I may not even buy another Z....

 

GOOD LUCK

 

Are you saying that they are refusing to honor the TSB extending the adj warranty to 2yrs/24k miles?

 

There's a new TSB out that extends the warranty period to 24 months/24,000 miles. Its dated April 14, 2004. Do a search here, I can't remember the link, but call NNA and your dealer about it. The TSB is NTB04-043, 2003 Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension. You can download when you find it. good luck.

 

Thanks Boomer! I'll do the search now, but this AM I tried look at the TSB/Nissan website and didn't see anything regarding the extension.

 

Here is the link to the 21 page TSB (PDF format) if anyone wants it.

http://autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0419/350Z_tsb.pdf

 

Well on the phone yesterday NNA said that they had replaced my tires originally because they were being courteous and now I may have too many miles for them to be responsible.... I just dropped my car off at the dealer and am waiting for them to call w/ the verdict.

 

O-K, so this is my first post here, I bought my 2003 Z Touring used about 3 months ago with 8700 miles on it. The car made the rumbling noise on the test drive, but I actually thought nothing of it since my wife's 2001 BMW 330i made the same noise (although not as loud) and showed no ill effects from it. I thought it was a wheel bearing problem. The tires on my Z looked barely worn at time of purchase, with no abnormal wear. It now has 11,200 miles, and the inside treads of the front tires are showing signs of cupping. Not real bad (yet) and the noise has not increased (yet) but is still there. I suspect the dealer I bought the car from had new fronts put on the car before putting it out on their lot. I have read the latest TSB release from Nissan on this, and I will wait to get all the mileage I can from these tires before my 'allotted time' runs out before contacting any dealers on this. I did purchase an extended Gold warranty on this car from Nissan, and right about now, I'm glad I did. I'm kind of waiting out my tire wear to see what Nissan does to address this, if anything. I will make sure there is enough wear on the tires before I take it in (per the TSB) that Nissan will be forced to give me 2 new tires. I haven't checked into it yet, but I feel like once the problem is pinpointed, whether struts, bushings, shocks, whatever, it should be covered under the extended warranty. So now, I'm in a "wait and see" mode.
What I'd like to know, is there any one else that bought their car used and has had Nissan work on this? Or, has anyone tried to get front end suspension work done under Nissan's extended warranty? I will probably not tell them I'm the second owner, but I'm sure they can run my Vin # and figure it out.
I do appreciate all the work & research you long-term owners have already done on this, I've been learning a lot from you guys (& gals) Otherwise, I love my new ride, but I wish I had looked at this site before buying.