Not at all. I misunderstood your post and thought you had taken it back to the dealer already. Take it back to the dealer, if they refuse to do the work under warranty, contact NNA and complain. They can tell the dealer its warranted and Nissan will pay for the work. The issue is usually the dealer won't get paid, they think, so they refuse to do the work. NNA can authorize the work and Nissan will pay the dealer.

Definitely take it in for the transmission and tell them you need a tech or a service writer to ride w/you to see the problem for themselves, because if it sits they won't be able to duplicate the problem after it cools off. Insist on it, why would you want them to look for a problem that occurs only when its hot, if it sits and cools off? Its a reasonable request, they may not be able to free up someone on short notice, ask them for an app't for someone to ride w/you when its malfunctioning.

 

I just took my Z in for the feathering and the tech immediately said he would order me a new set of tires. Said that in their experience the rotating was just a waste of time, the feathering came right back and the noise didn't really go away. I was happy because that is one less time that the rims get exposed to the tire mounting machine! If your dealer won't replace the tires then definately get in touch with NNA.

 

I need some help here.
My wife has a 03 early production Z. We waited 10 months for the car. She loves it but, like many of you had the front tires feather .
The 17in originals lasted 4900 miles. We fought with Nissan over repacing them or swap sides. I refused to have them swaped. The local dealer agreed and told Nissan that they were to far worn to swap. They repaced the tires and alligned the car at no charge under the warranty.
The car now has 7200 miles and the tire are feathered again. It has started to howl at highway speeds and under braking.
My question is how many of you have had this same problem on your second set of tires?
We took it back to the dealer today and Nissan told them the wear was normal for a sports car? The dealer told us " we cant fix it if Nissan says it is normal". I have owned many sports cars and never had to install new front tires every 3000 miles?
I have contacted my Attorney and we are talking about a lemon law case against Nissan.
What do you fellow owners think?Is there another answer?
We love the car and would buy another one but we want this one fixed.
Thanks Mark 804 784 8851 or 804 347 8560

 

Same situation here. Some members have hinted that Nissan may be close to a fix but who knows.

 

I think your on the right track, claim it as a lemon or you'll start paying for tires every 4k miles.. Maybe that will start raising an eyebrow at NNA. Your lucky you got your first set of tires free, I couldn't even get that far. I ended up trading it in and now I wish I could of just kept the Z so that I could claim it as a lemon and made Nissan take the loss Obviously its not normal or safe for your tires to be feathered and I would stress to your attorney how the car is not safe.

 

Your options are gone if you file suit against Nissan. If they come up with a fix next week, you may not get it if you file against them. I would suggest you find a really good alignment specialist in your area and pay for a 4 wheel alignment. This could solve your wear problems. If your car is beyond Nissan's alignment specs, a specialist has a lot of tricks that can be done to properly align your car.

Remember ezchief? He is in the middle of an alignment/wear test with his dealer and Hunter alignment services. Hunter wrote the book on 4 wheel alignment in this country. The results should be available soon. Not all alignment specialists are created equal, your dealers tech may have made a mistake or their alignment equipment may not be up to par or the wrong settings could have been programmed into their equipment.

If an independent alignment does work, I can get one for $75 in my area(find one that works on Porsches and other high end cars), you can show the results to your dealer and/or call NNA with the results. Something may be able to be worked out. If not, you can still file under the lemon law if you're not satisfied.

Boomer

 

Boomer

How close do you think we are from an official fix from NNA??

I didn't know that Hunter wrote a book about align, sounds like these guys are legit and nOT a bunch oy yahoos. I hope it fixes it soon, I don't put a lot of miles on my car, but it is getting slightly more noisy when braking (after align and new Toyos), I don't want to totally RUIN these tires, and would love to have a fix soon. If it gets much worse, I will take my aftermarket wheels/tires off and run the stock ones until we get a fix

 

Be sure to check the laws in your state. Here in Maryland lemon law complaints need to be filed within 15,000 miles or 15 months of purchase which ever comes first.

After seeing obvious tire feathering at 2,400 miles I took my car to the dealer. They performed the TSB (align and rotate), scratched my front wheels, had them repainted, and after a week gave me my car back with front wheels that don't shine right, like the back ones (in my opinion).

Two weeks, 600 miles later, I saw feathering on the insides of the tires again. Took the car back in. Dealer said they had problems with the alignment machine and the alignment was out slightly from the first time they aligned it.

Called NNA got case number and mad at the girl on the phone. She immediately started talking about new tires, before I even asked. But then said that she was only aware of 2 Z's with this problem.

I'm giving the car a month, if I still see tire feathering, I'm taking the car back (try 3), demanding new tires, and filing a complaint with the BBB.

1 month later if feathering appears on the new tires I'm filing for "protection" under MD's Lemon Law.

If you have the problem I reccomend you familiarize yourself with the laws in your state.

 

A very reliable source says this summer would be the time we got relief. I can't guarantee it, but he's been a very good source with the right answers when we needed them. That's all I can tell you for now because its all I know.

 

Well, the dealer called. I have been approved for new tires, but "there is a national backorder, and I can't get them right now. However, I'll try and get them in next week, and I'll let you know." I mentioned that the G35C used the same size tire, but they were the Michelin Pilot Sports, and his response was that Nissan had not authorized that.

As mentioned before, my dealer does EVERYTHING by the book. So, since Nissan doesn't have an official fix for the driver's seat, the dealer won't fix it. Since the tranny problem couldn't be reproduced, nothing could be done.

While I'm not happy with my dealer, I understand from a business standpoint why they do everything by the book. However, this is the 2nd time I've brought up these problems at the dealership, and NNA needs to accomodate me as a customer.

Tomorrow I will call NNA, and file a complaint.

Boomer, you seem to have the most experience with this, so if you can offer any pointers, I'd appreciate it. If some wants to be nice enough, perhaps, they'll even respond with the phone number that I need to call so that I won't have to browse through 28 pages of this thread.

 

Minor Update

As I told you in my last post, I bought a depth gauge and have been monitoring my tires along with the dealer. I am at 2,000 miles and wear is even side to side and treadblock front and back. No visible pattern is showing either. I called the SM to set up an appointment. My goal is to get it over to Hunter and have the suspension and front (new) tires re-examined. In my opinion, this would be the true gauge if this is working or a possible solution. Waiting on the SM to call back to see what our next course of action will be.

ezchief

 

ez, thanx for your help, NEVER feel like no one cares about what you are writing, some of us wait everyday to see if you haev given an update on the issue, so we might get our cars fixed. We are waiting for this, I hope it all works out

 

Thanks RodH. I hate posting what amounts to almost nothing. But I do realize that you guys and gals are reading this and want to keep all of you up to date. I have been keeping a low profile so this time can pass a little quicker without my name on the board too much. But now it feels like Christmas and I want to know from an expert (Hunter) if this is working.

The post above is my tribute to Seinfeld. A post about nothing except important to everything.

 

I just brought my car in for service at 3K. Had Stillen Exhaust installed and the oil changed (Mobil One 5W/30). Also I asked the Service Manager to check the tires they seemed to wearing on the outside (no feathering yet). He aligned it (it was out) and now we watch the situation very closely.
This is a great forum to share issues and look for solutions. My dealer is aware of this problem and has been great to deal with. it's a super car and don't forget a first year model

 

1 (800) 647-7261, ask for Steve Lam, alternative names I have heard are Megan and Phillip. Apparently, Steve can authorize new tires and I have only spoken to him once. Many others have much more experience directly than I have had with the process of getting OK'ed for new tires. I was not OK'ED for new tires because I bought new Michelins out of my own pocket. Some owners have reported the OE 040s to be out of stock, said Steve, and been told they weren't available and received new Bridgestone 03s instead. This is not a wide-spread practice by Nissan so far as I know. Asking for different tires would not be by the book, unless you can make a compelling statement as to why you need the tires right now, I strongly doubt you will receive them.

This is only my opinion, others are welcome to jump in and voice their experiences and opinions. Good luck, Hedonist. Boomer

P.S. Let me know what happens if you have the time.

 

LOL... Rod, Hunter makes the alignment machines that probably most folks use, so they pretty much have an excellent engineering knowledgebase. My Nissan dealership uses a Hunter. I caught the beginnings of feather and got a free alignment at the dealership -- had some loose bolts and alignment was pretty far off. Still keeping an eye on the tires.

 

Hunter is the gold standard. 811 series alignment and I always have any new tire/wheel install balanced on the GSP 9700.
JMS in TX

 

Despite what I've read, I'm still ready to buy a Z. There's a shipment coming in at the dealer I want to work with. But when I talk with my sales person, what should I say to make sure my dealer will help when the time comes that feathering occurs?

And, can I ask to have my alignment set up like ezchief's, since he's having success with his specs (so far - cross my fingers it's a permanent solution)? That way I won't have to worry about this issue ever happening after I drive off the lot?

 

WOW, so we are talking about that HUNTER???? I know that "hunter" makes a align machine, BUT I htought that EZ was just going to some shop named "Hunter" in his area, I had NO idea it was that HUNTER?!?!?! WOW!?!?! Nissan should pay close attention then, these guys obviously kknow what they are doing, I am starting to feel like after a few more weeks and if EZ still has NO feathering, I want his specs and get mine done to his specs UNTIL an OFFICIAL NNA fix comes out.

since the info source is that legit, I think I might go back and re-read all of EZs posts (looks like EZs posts on the Hunter issue start about page 16 incase you guys want to look)

btw, I read that you are talking about the toe out under load problem. I have noticed that my car makes a loud noise UNDER braking, I at first thought it had to do with a certain speed (which it may), BUT if you slow down, buy down shifting the Ummmmmm isn't nearly as loud as when you brake (causing increased LOAD as the nose dives, teh amount of noise seems to relate to the amount of braking force you apply, interesting coorelation I think).

 

Yes, it is that Hunter. They have a training base here that has all the state of the art equipment. I just got a call back from the SM. This week is his Nissan Planning group where they set up goals and budgets at the dealer so he has been busy. We agreed to do a work up on the tires next week so he can give his full attention to the matter. I am to call him next week to set up the appointment and get a free rental for the day.


PS- If anyone has a scanner, I will forward my alignment to them to post for all to see via a fax. It is pretty cool diagram from Hunter that is unlike any I have seen posted on the board.

How's that for a teaser?

This is my third and final offer guys (jk).