Add me as another 05 data point. 10,000 miles and no feathering (yet). Bought in Oct. 04. I remember reading a post a while back from someone at Nissan who said there was a front suspension modification in the 05s. Can't verify this though.

- John

 

I've not seen one complaint about feathering in the 2005s. Jason @ Performance Nissan has the suspension info.

 

Amy I'm sure we would all enjoy spanking you I too assume degrees. Mine are now-
L. Camber -0.9
R. Camber -0.9
L. Caster 8.3
R. Caster 8.4

Total Toe 0.11

That is close enough to yours that I hope I get the tire wear you've gotten. Only time and mileage will tell.

 

After being turned down for further work on my '03 Touring and not being able to stand the noise I gave in an replaced my front E040. They had been replaced about a year ago and looked good from outside. Dealer just said that car needed an alignment but Nissan would not cover it or the tire swap (had been done twice).

When tires were taken off the car the passenger side had TREAD SEPARATION and had balooned on inside tread. This is a very dangerous condition. So all of you that have tire noise please check inside or interior tread for possible tread separation.

I had NO other warning of tire problem other that the "tire roar" when slowing down and the noise from tire feathering. Car had been taken to dealer on 28 March 2005 and I had tires replaced on 25 May 2005. Dealer's comment was car needs alignment and car had been "in service" for over two years.

I have a 1983 Toyota Camry that can hold an aligment setting for 15yrs and over 300 000 miles but my 2003 350Z cannot hold an alignment for six months???!

The 350Z has been checked/aligned April and August of 2004 will be rechecked next week. The right side had minor changes of toe from 0.04 to 0.00 (April to August) and the left had changes in camber from -1.0 to -0.7, caster 8.9 to 8.6 and NO toe change with total toe change from 0.08 to 0.04. To me these are not enough changes to cause damage, tread separation.

So fellow 350Z owners, please check tires once ROAR begins.

 

Nissan has a big problem if someone gets hurt because of this tire issue. Their problem is that they have acknowledged the problem with the extended tire coverage, that doesn't get fixed but just becomes the owners problem after 2 years. I see a recall and a fix in the future. I doubt we will keep ours for more than another year. It sure is a good looking car, too bad they can't fix this problem.

 

I believe the front end is very stable on alignment setting. Every time the dealer aligned my front-end (for 37k miles), it needed adjustments. Once I changed to a good independent shop, the front end numbers did not change, and my "feathering" went away (18k miles and counting). Though the first time the independent did an alignment (3 hours after the dealer alignment) they corrected the dealer settings. Hmmmmm

I have zero confidence in dealer alignments. Yea, yea, they have warranty responsibility...so what! If they can't do the job, get a second opinion at an independent.

The Z alignment setting is too sensitive for many dealers. I recommend to anyone still having problems to let a GOOD independent shop take over alignment responsibility starting with your next new set of tires. It does not void warranty and has a cheap price.

While I don't believe any toe setting will take any tire on this car to 25k miles with no "wear patterns" (fixed settings too agressive), I do expect most cars can get substantially more roar-free miles by having high quality work done by an independent shop.

 

I have had the dealer align my front-end and replace front tires twice. Once at 7,438 miles and again at 12,493. I also needed front brakes at about 10,000 miles.
Have talked to a Lemon Law firm, filed complaint with Nissan, signed on to Class Action Case in CA, and filed a complaint with NTSB.

Has anybody else filed with the NTSB?

If Nissan is not having this problem with the 2005's why don't they fix our cars with whatever is different on the 2005's?

They have spent $2,000 on my car for band aids. A real fix would be less.

 

I am in the same boat. I reported the problem late, basically since I didn't know what it was and nissan again turned a blind eye. I called nissan consumer affairs over a month ago without any response. What do I get? Nothing so far, but I filed a lemon law complaint through the BBB and got contacted immediately but they proposed an offer which didn't satisfy me. That was to have my car taken to a nissan service person and they would recommend a fix. that sounds fair. I turned it down and countered with a buyback or a new car replacement. I also wrote a certified letter, and will send another one in a week or so. We'll see, but what a hassle.

 

I too have reached the end of NNA assistance since mine is outside the 24 month window. NNA suggested writing the Executive Office at:

Nissan North America, Inc.
Attn: Executive office
Po Box 191
Gardena, CA 90248

But my frustration level is high at this point and i may just sell it. Anyone in the market for a 03 Brickyard Enth - 17k miles

 

Nissan called me yesterday in response to my complaint call I made 2 days ago. It was obserd!! All he could say was take it back to the dealer and have them look at it again. This even though I told him it has only been 1,000 mile since they last aligned and retired the front end. His script would not let him say anything else. My Lemon Law lawyer told me to contact him when I get to 3 service problems, probably in 4,000 miles, and then he will sue Nissan. He says he has handled other cases and got total refund on the car. That sounds good to me!!

 

Here's my tire history:
• 02/18/03 odometer @ 43 miles > took delivery of new 2003 performance 350Z.
• 04/15/03 odometer @ 3574 miles > returned to dealer and complained about front tire noise. Dealer performed TSB NTB03-03 “cross switch front tires”.
• 08/18/03 odometer @ 7545 miles > returned to dealer and complained that front tire noise was worse, especially when braking below 30 mph. Dealer said tires wearing evenly.
• 11/10/03 odometer @ 10141 miles > returned to dealer and complained that front tire noise was getting worse and driving me crazy, especially when braking below 30 mph. Dealer inspected tires and said all components normal.
• 12/08/03 odometer @ 10832 miles > returned to dealer and complained that front tire noise was getting still worse. Dealer said it was normal tire and road noise.
• 12/23/03 odometer @ 11246 miles > contacted NNA and was told to immediately take the Z back to the dealer for another inspection. Dealer inspected the Z and determined that the front tires were “cupped” and needed to be replaced. OEM Bridgstone RE040 225/45-18 tires were on back order and they would inform me when the tires were available.
• 02/15/04 > the OEM Bridgestone RE040 225/45-18 tires were still unavailable and the Nissan dealer agreed to provide 2 Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position 225/45YR-18 tires for the front and I agreed to provide 2 Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position 245/45R-18 tires for the rear.
• 03/01/04 odometer @ 12797 miles > Dealer installed 4 new Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position tires on my Z costing me $414.00 for the rear tires. Dealer also performed latest TSB front alignment at this time. Z drove like a new car.
• 07/01/04 odometer @ 16621 miles > returned to dealer and complained about the return of front tire noise and asked them to check alignment. Dealer said noise was normal and stated alignment was not needed.
• 01/17/05 odometer @ 20860 miles > returned to dealer and complained that tire noise making the Z sound like a “Monster Truck” under 30 mph. Dealer stated tires and alignment were normal.
• 02/25/05 odometer @ 21571 miles > Front tire noise continued to worsen. Replaced all 4 Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position tires with Yokahoma EVS ES100 tires. Cost me $740.59. Z drove like a new car!
• 06/03/05 odometer @ 24033 miles > Front of Z is again sounding like a “Monster Truck” under 30 mph.

Also. Have had both drivers side & passenger side window lifts fail and replaced 3 times; repeated tire pressure sensor failures; 7 trips to dealer for the rear axle clicking problem before it was fixed; 13 trips to the dealer for driver's seat shifting & popping and it is still broken; throttle body failed and took 10 days to get it fixed; and on and on....78 days in the shop at the dealer since I took delivery. And the BBB arbritator wants the dealer to continue working on the car.

I need a Lemon Law Attorney. Any suggestions?

 

Broke:

You need to call this lawyer ASAP. Tell I refered you to him. I will e-mail him your message as well. Good Luck! Please let me know how it goes.

Todd Friedman,
Krohn & Moss, Ltd
5055 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 988-2400, ext 226 Voice
(866) 431-5575 Fax
email: tfriedman@consumerlawcenter.com
web: www.krohnandmoss.com

 

I used them with great results

 

Thanks guys! I will contact Mr. Friedman early next week. I am at my whits end here. I really like my Z and there is really no other car out there that I can afford to own that I would rather drive! However, I am sick and tired of messing with my dealer and NNA and BBB.

 

wow i cannot believe this problem is still around!

i too had a Z with the same problem, and about 4 months ago, the car was taken back. took me almost a year to resolve the problem, i think.

 

So ... what was your resolution?

What do you mean "taken back"?

If "taken back" means "bought back by Nissan", why was this necessary if the problem was resolved?

or

Does this mean that you had the problem, couldn't resolve it and it took you a year of dealing with Nissan before they agreed to buy the car back - which finally happened four months ago?

 

Called PERFORMANCE nissan and "Jason" was not there at the time. The fellow i did speak with said he had seen 05's with the feathering issue and from what he observed there had been no parts changes between the 04's and 05's.

 

My 04 Touring with 15,000 miles had the tire feathering really bad! Barberino Nissan in Wallingford, Ct would not do anything. Had the Toe-In reset to specs, tires remounted across from each other by an outside source for $260.00!!!! This fixed the problem but my tires are badly "cupped". Took back to leasing dealer, Bob Sharp in Wilton, Ct. they contacted Nissan and have agreed to give me two new front tires. Being installed this coming Monday. No more Barberino..............

 

No matter what you do, the tire noise will return. I have had 3 different types of tires on my Z along with numerous alignment and tire rotational adjustments and the roaring always comes back. If you have a Z you live with a sports car that sounds and drives like a monster truck. I am curious if there is a proven long term after market fix for this problem. I have less than 4,000 miles on my latest set of tires and I can’t even hear the stereo because of the noise and vibration. I hate this car!

 

Actually 2005 has Three suspension parts different.

Both Lower Control Arms have a different part number for 2005.
I have not seen these parts side by side. They may be a bit shorter. ( They may pull some negitive camber - Get it ? )

And just the right (pass) side upper control A arm. ( Remember the American crowned roads issue. ) The left is the same original part for all three years.

I have a print out of the parts page for front suspension. Have your dealer print you out the page.

Cheers Amy -