Did anyone catch the Long term update on MotorWeek TV last weekend?

I did and they mention the "Our only beef with the tires is actually noise. They are producing lots of rumble as the tread wears down."

On the TV show they stated that Nissan is aware of the problem but they left those statements out of the online version.

When I took my car in to have the alignment done this week the SM even mentioned the TV show and the negative publicity it might bring. Lets hope this might push Nissan a little harder at getting a fix for us. I am not going to let the 12/12 warranty run out without getting a fix or filing a Lemon Law case.


See the article online at:

ref: http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/longterm/

about half way down the page.

 

Well, not a RECALL but a TSB I have not seen yet - I sent the number to Mike for posting on the TSB page.

Title is:
2003 350z STEERING DRIFT TO THE RIGHT
APPLIED VEHICLES:
2003 350Z (Z33)

This was my original problem, and the parts I mentioned earlier are not a recall - but here's what is in the TSB:

ROD-COMPL COMPR, FR SUSP RH
#54468-CD084

The TSB specifies removal of this part and replacement of this keeping the tapered sleeve from the spindle side of the compression rod on one end, using the new rod and sleeve on the other.

This bar is in front of the tire spindle - I don't know much more than this.

SMgr stated following this and the do the alignment is supposed to correct the RH drift and tire wear problem on my Z. Date on TSB is April 25,2003.

I'm wondering if there is a sound basis how this problem and tire alignment, wear are connected ???

I've scanned the TSB and will send to Mike when I hear back from him,

SteveZ

 

This is the first that I have heard of it. How does this offer compare to a lemon law buy back?

 

What is NADA value? I'm not sure this is Nissan talking, but a dealer following this thead hoping to buy a 2003 for a nice profit from a disgrunted owner. I'm curious to hear what he thinks NADA value is; why don't you contact them and tell the rest of us the scam?

 

The buy back offer is from my dealer, United Nissan in Atlanta.
NADA on-line does not show values yet. Regardless, I would not sell.

This front-end problem WILL be solve, if not by Nissan, by the owners collectively. There's a lot of talk from owners that are having the problem...venting frustration is healthy for the soul but does nothing for the problem.

The only constructive effort I recall to solve the problem is from EZCHIEF, his SM and Hunter. They're documenting an adjustment for long term success. thankyou thankyou thankyou!

As an engineer, I suggest we start a new thread (Tire Feather Research) to study the cars that are working! EZCHIEF represents only one (good) data point for potential success.

Research summary,
Owners with more than 4000 miles on car, report the following:
1. mileage on front tires
2. Growling while braking (none, minor, major)
3. 4-wheel alignment actuals
4. highway driving %
5. related modifications (tires, wheels, springs, struts, compression rod, etc)
6. driver weight
7. cargo (including passenger) weight and location

Someone (like myself) could crunch the data and develop a span of configurations that are working. Also useful would be any P/N changes incorporated by Nissan on 2004s. This should work if there is enough interest and response. Owners not having the problem should recognize that the resale value of their cars WILL drop unless this problem is solved!

 

Crunching data, listen I bought a car not a problem. I contacted an attorney myself to look into forcing Nissan to address the issue. Good luck on crunching the data.

 

Hey, OhioZ didn't mess with your car. Vent where the air should go. His suggestion IMHO is very good, something I mentioned awhile ago.

An informed complaint is often a successful one - having individual references with detailed information is a big help.

If you don't believe me, ask your new legal eagle...detailed cronology with a large body of evidence over a year...hmm, my guess is he/she would like that, but then again, I'm not a lawyer

 

Correction - BobW didn't mess with your car, my mistake!

 

I'm not sure the RH drift has that much to do with tire wear, its just for the drift only. I still think the initial misalignment, too soft tires and 4-5000 miles are the magic ingredient. Aligning the suspension and puting the same tires on continue the suspension(bushings?)wear. Catch it early w/OE tires, you may be OK, but I wouldn't put money on it. New tires, after alignment, can sometimes correct a beginning wear pattern, but not w/the 040s.

They appear to have a tread pattern and softness that makes everything worse. ezchief had to go to Hunter w/his SM to find new settings for alignment at 13,000 miles w/040s. Are we going to need a specail set of alignment settings to bring the alignment back at 4-5000 mile intervals? My hypothesis says YES W/THE 040S.

I keep saying this in thread after thread and I know for a fact pre-production Zs in this country were developed on Michelin tires, not Bridgestone 040s and how crappy they are is documented in Tire Rack's Customer Surveys dating from the year 2000!!! I'm sick of hearing about Nissan's bandaids that don't work and every SM, SW and NNA rep has a different story. The newest one is there's nothing wrong with the tires. The party line in politics is often a lie, and when you hear it from the reps, its the party line=LIE! Real Nissan dealers that care about the product they sell are replacing the 040s with other Bridgestone tires like 03s that don't have a problem. The other riff-raff don't care.

Boomer

 

Another thread, "Anyone with 5k + miles and no feathering" list over 25 owners with no feathering problem. I've moved the feathering "data crunch" discussion to that thread...that's where the information is to support the research.
Any and all avenues to resolve this problem should be respected and supported if possible.

Ohio350Z, don't hessitate to request my results in support of your legal claims, in case your attorney has any use. None of us intended to buy a problem but the reality is...we have. Good Luck.

"An informed consumer is a powerful consumer"


Silverstone Perf.

 

Yes, I think there's consensus the tires are crap, no question.

I still have not heard of one case in this thread where alignment and different tires "cure" the problem. My guess is you might just extend the time it takes to wear given a different compound and tread pattern.

I seriously doubt there's anything with the 040's that *causes* this problem; they just show it more quickly.

Just slapping >$1000 worth of rubber with 4 Pilots sounds like boundless optimism and delusion that the approach somehow constitutes a "solution".

BTW, as I stated, no idea what if any the connection is with my car pulling right and having the bad wear pattern - I'm just passing along what I find, when I find it...

 

I changed tires at 1600 miles to Michelin Pilot Sports and had the dealer align my car the next day. I have 5700+ miles on the car, 4100 on the Michelins. I just had another alignment done after I hit a 2x4 in the road at 75mph, thinking the worst, I had the dealer check it out. No damage and NO abnormal tire wear. The OE tires were feathering at 1600 miles, the Michelins look brand new w/4100 miles on them. I sold the OE tires to a Porsche owner who autoxs and tracks his car. Thats all the 040s are good for, IMO. They are lousy at daily driving. I've read every post on this site and others and thats what I think it is.

I don't have a wear problem anymore since I switched tires AND aligned the car, no boundless optimism or delusion, its a fact. My VIN# is OO1434. At my alignment, my toe was so far out of spec, it was laughable. Do a search and you can read my post of my before and after alignment specs. Most of the owners who changed tires and wheels early have no problems w/tire wear unless they are wearing them out on the track racing. Look it up, you have no idea what you are talking about, IMO.

Boomer-my advice, use it or lose it, I don't care.

 

I don't believe doing research for a widely known problem, Nissan should do that. I agree, I bought a car and want Nissan to address the issue. if they don't then the trade journals will. Consumer Reports is a good place to start (Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Automobile), all of these should be contacted and aksed why they have not seen this problem

 

I agree with you. Nissan needs to take care of their customers and fix this issue.
A recent MotorWeek long-term update addressed the 350Z tire issues. Their touring model has ~10K miles and the dealer performed the tire swapping TSB. The reporter claims that it did not help and the tire noise was louder than the 350Z roadster with the TOP DOWN!!! To my surprise, the journalist shines it on like it's not a big deal.

If you haven't already, check out MotorWeek’s long-term update here:
http://tirefeathering.reallysucks.com

NissanCar

 

Boomer:
I hope you are right when you say this is no more than a tire issue. If true, it would make this whole issue a mute point. How do the Michelin's ride?
Lew F

 

Just a minute, I did not say it was just a tire problem. I said it became a tire problem after the first 4-5000 miles. I think the alignment is number 1, if you haven't had it aligned before 4-5000 miles some damage to the suspension was done. At that time, puting the 040s back on, whether they are swapped from side to side, or replaced completely w/new, continues the tire wear degradation. A small number of owners reported no alignment/tire problems at all; these were cars that were not out of alignment caused by shipping, or the dealer aligned the car BEFORE delivery to a customer, I believe..

Back to my point: Other tires might have kept the suspension degradation from continuing and the new alignment would work then. I don't believe new alignment helps at all if the 040s are put back on, the abnormal tire wear will continue unless different tires are used.

Remember, the out-of-spec alignment was the original cause of abnormal tire wear, mine was so far out of alignment, the beginnings of abnormal tire wear could already be seen at 1600 miles. The tires were not ruined at that time, but I didn't want them on my car to begin with, because of their horrible performance as reported by owners of different cars in the Tire Rack surveys beginning in 2000! and their harsh ride. Continuing to demand new 040s from Nissan is just a continuation of the tire/suspension wear.

This is my theory and I have formulated it as a result of reading all the tire feathering threads and my own experiences.

Boomer--my advice, use it or lose it, I don't care.

p.s. My Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss ride very well on all but the worst pavement, then they bounce, but 75% less than the 040s.

 

FYI - I have talked to enough Nissan people to be quit certain that they are working on the problem. As our own discussion here shows, it is a very complex problem with no certain solution. It is a combo of tires, shocks, springs, etc...

Nissan is trying to get a permanent fix in place by the fall, and is working very agressively on this. We're all frustrated, but it's silly to think they are not taking this seriously.

 

I had my alignment and tires replaced 3 thousand miles ago and so far, I don't have any tire issues. One thing I do notice, however, is that I realize the car has some constant vibration at certain speeds over certain surfaces. I never noticed the problem when I first got the car. Could this be a suspension issue? I had the cupping problem at 3k and didn't change tires till 13-14k.

I just want to know if this is due to the tread design or if I am dealing with a suspension problem caused by the stress of the cupped tires.

Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

Black Track.

BTW, I thought I saw a redline Stillen Z at a local dealership today while driving to work. The larger spoiler without any vent was what caught my eye.

 

Two weeks ago I took my car to the dealership and tolds them that there was slight road noise as well as rough braking.

I can almost feel that the tires are not balanced at slow speeds of 20 to 25 mph.

The dealer said that they checked it and found no problems. My guess is that they did a test drive only.

Since there is no real visable tire wear yet can any one give me a suggestion of where I go from here. I plan on taking the car in again on Monday but I have a feeling it will be more of the same and the look from the Service manager that I am crazy.

I love the car but the feel at lower speeds and when braking are driving me crazy.

 

bare with me as this my first post ever on any board. just had the alignment done. car was IN specs. tires swapped from side to side. they would not replace them. i didn't feel like an argument at the time and knowing i would have to bring the car back in would help my lemon law case. a question i have to ask myself is if the car was in specs how in the hell could anyone believe swapping tires from side to side is a cure. the noise started at 5000 miles and it now has 7200. vin#7000's.

current list of problems
tire feathering

window streaks both sides. only kinda fixed

bouncy ride. i had a 93 rx7r1 i know what a stiff ride is. this is just wrong. i like to call it dolphining because the car is blue and grey. what a joke.

rattles, my god the rattles. "could not duplicate" till i took them on a ride and pointed every one of them out. seat, hatch, doors, dash, left b pillar. to name a few.

tranny 2nd and 3rd gear. waiting for it to get worse before i call them on this one.

blose need i say more.

windows only going down 1/4 what they used to. waiting for them to break also.

just a little ranting to fuel the fire. maybe it will help till they buy the car back.