Thanks for the heads-up on that!

 

http://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?p..._code=09711778

For you who do not know the name, Mikal C. Watts
is the attorney who litigated Ford/Firestone in the Explorer/Tire
problem.


His Bio

http://www.wattslawfirm.com/bio_watts.html



http://www.wattslawfirm.com

email

mcwatts@wattslawfirm.com

Cheers Amy -


In relation to the Tire Feathering / Cupping problem:
May I get compensated for all the 23 350Z wheels/tires for testing, and research?

 

Contains Text from Above post =
http://www.aliceechonews.com/ALICEE...&P=1016376&md=v
Type "Nissan" in search field.

See attached - a Class Action was filed in TX.


I wonder if those who have settled though the LL process can recoup the "off-set" out of this suit. Doubt it - but nice to know though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Class action lawsuit filed against Nissan
Christoper Maher
Alice Echo-News Journal


Suit alleges defect
in front end of
car causes tire wear

A class action lawsuit was filed in the 79th District Court of Jim Wells County Friday against Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. and Nissan North America, Inc., in connection with an alleged defect in the 2003 and 2004 Nissan 350ZX sports cars.
The suit, filed by Mark Salinas “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,” alleges that a defect in the front end of the vehicle causes the car’s tires to wear out too quickly.
The suit states, “The vehicles were designed and manufactured in such a manner that the front end and suspension of the vehicles are misaligned, causing premature, accelerated and irregular front tire wear. This condition has resulted in the vehicle’s tires having to be replaced at a highly accelerated rate.” The suit alleges that “thousands of Nissan 350ZX owners have complained of this problem; some owners have gone through three sets of tires within 12,000 to 14,000 miles.” An additional problem alleged is that when the tires wear down or “feather,” loud road noise, described as a “roar” can be heard.
According to the suit, Nissan has issued three separate bulletins addressing the problem, but none of them have worked. The first attempt to fix the problem involved switching the front tires, a process that involves removing the tires from their unidirectional rims. Dealers were then instructed to align the car to a new specification. “Unfortunately, this is only a temporary fix, one which will require the tires to be replaced again in a short period of time,” the suit says. “In fact, many customers have reported that within 3,000 miles of having the tires swapped and the cars aligned, the problems have reappeared to an even greater extent.”
Salinas believes these bulletins indicate, “Nissan has, in effect, admitted that there is a design defect in the Nissan 350ZX.”
Because of the alleged defect, the suit brings three causes of action against Nissan. The first, “breach of implied warranty of merchantability,” by selling vehicles that are “unfit for their ordinary purposes due to their defective front end alignment.” The second count, “breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose,” contends that Nissan was responsible for not selling “a proper front end alignment,” and that the customers were relying on Nissan’s expertise in car manufacturing to select the proper equipment. The third count is brought under the “deceptive trade practices-consumer protection act,” and alleges that Nissan’s violations were “knowing and/or intentional.”
In the suit, Salinas seeks compensatory damages, “consisting of the cost of replacement of the 2003 to 2004 Nissan 350ZX vehicles and loss of use of the vehicles during the time of replacement.” The cost of the loss of the vehicle use is not to exceed $500. He also seeks interest on the judgement, attorney and court fees, additional damages not to exceed $74,500 per individual and “other and further relief this court deems just and proper under the circumstances.”
Calls to Mikal C. Watts, who is representing Salinas in the suit, and to Nissan Automotive were not immediately returned Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web site lists 163 complaints filed on the 2003 350-ZX. Over 120 of those relate to problems with tire wear and misaligned front end suspensions of the vehicle.


Cheers Amy -

 

So exactly what does this mean for "us"? I mean I really would like to know what to do now. It just keeps coming back and coming back. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know where to turn or who will help. I tried the BBB and they ruled against me so what else? It really hurts that we are being treated this way.

 

I e-mailed him from his web site. See what he says to my inquiry?

 

What to do.

Find a lawyer that is familiar or has already handled cases with the 350Z's like me and several other people have done. My lawyer charges $750.00 flat fee, it is well worth it. Do a search on any search engine for "Nissan Tire Problems". One of the first sites comes up with lemmon law lawyers from every state. That is where I found mine. He has already won cases with the 350Z. Can't give you any more details than that.

 

I, for one, am more interested in forcing nissan to fix this problem rather having them buy back my car. However, $75,000 will almost buy me a used 911 turbo.
No matter how you look at it, this law suit is good news for those of us who want to keep these beautiful cars. Hopefully, it will force Nissan to understand that this is a serious problem and they need to do more than push a BS 24,000 mile tire warranty on us.
At 17,000 miles, I am on my second set of tires and am again driving what sounds and feels like a monster truck. With 133,000 miles, my 18 year old son's 1999 Toyota Pre-Runner pickup has a better ride than my Z.
Nissan has to address and fix this problem!

 

Does this lawsuit just include the z owners in Texas? If not, do Z owners have to register somewhere to be included?

 

Texas was first...

California and Florida a few day's ago..

Cheers Amy -

 

So how do we know when other states are added. I live in New Jersey. Anyone know about NJ????

NJZLady

 

this shouldnt have been a problem to begin with. i hate knowing my Z has a chronic illness .

john

 

Well this is the 4th set and 6th alignment. I reviewed the alignment settings with the service manager and the district manager and before and after alignment settings looked very close at every visit.

We had a long talk discussed the history and I made it clear that we were not making any progress with toe adjustments. The district rep stated that many of the 350's came off the line with incorrect alignment. I responded with It should have been corrected after the 1st or second alignment shouldn't it?

Well we talked about the fact I had Michelin Sports installed on my car at 20K. At 25K the wear started showing on the inside edge of the left tire only.

So...since we have explored everything including changing from Bridgestone to Michelin. The only other possibility was the weight of the driver might be affecting the settings.

Has anyone else been told this? Anyone else had their alignment set with weight equal to their own weight in the driver seat?

Has anyone taken a poll to find out if weight of the driver could be a factor? Sounds like a pipe dream to me but it was made in Japan where the average driver probably weighs 130-160 lbs.

Thoughts?

D

 

Give me a break! You weigh more than a Japanese driver? What if you drive with someone in the car too?

I have had 3 sets of front tires on my Z (including the ones when I picked it up) and at 17k I need another set of front tires.

I am doing my best to ignore the roar. But it gets louder day by day.
............................................................ ...............................

 

My opinion: If this car is so sensitive to toe changes due to changes in the load in the car, then there is a major problem with the car. If it can't operate properly with a change in load of a couple hundred pounds, it needs to be fixed. Even though its a sport car, its still a passenger car that is supposed to be able to carry either one or two passengers as well as varying cargo loads.

 

That's total BS; sorry, its lemon law time for your Z

 

GOD, WILL YOU PLEASE COME DOWN HERE AND FIX THIS CAR!!!

 

We should all email the attorney above, let him know we have the same problem, and ask him to keep us posted.

 

According to the latest (August 2nd) Auto Week (they have always been empathetic to the tiring problem), a Dallas Attorney has field a class action suit against Nissan. I settled my LL suit against them and Nissan bought back my vehicle, plus paid the legal fees. Its a beautiful car with front end problems. I can't say I don't miss it, I do, I don't miss the tire noise and hassles of new tires every 7,000 miles. Nissan should be ashamed of themselves.
Lew

 

Well stated, you are so correct...Nissan should be ashamed!

 

My dealer realigned and replaced my front tires after 10,000 miles and after some cajoling, including a call to Nissan America. I just returned from the dealer with my second set of new tires and alignment (no charge) after another 9500 miles. The service associate said that Bridgestone had design a special tire to fix the problem. He said it had a stiffer sidewall. I don't know if this is true or not, but instinct and past experience tell me that smoke is creeping up my pant leg. Generally, they will tell you something even when they don't know or understand the problem. I asked them to check a metallic snapping sound in sympathy with road unevenness coming from my driver's side rear strut tower that appeared after the first alignment. They cleaned my emergency brake shoe assembly...go figure.