Hey, Great idea about the fax... this is a serious issue. I want to enjoy the ride, not get a migraine from the ride. That resonance in the cabin with the windows up makes me feel like my head is going to explode! What I love is the "It's a sports car and it will wear tires faster" line... PLEASE!!! I guess they are hoping that this is all our very first sports car and we will be like.... ooooh..... so that 120db roar is on ALL sports cars with 8k miles.... ok... never mind. I also love the "The TSB is working for everybody else line".

Seriously, is anybody having any luck with a particular person at NNA, I've got finally got approval from the dealer that the tires are well beyond anything the the TSB will help...and I've got someone at NNA to say I can get 2 new 040's... but when I said that others are getting S03's and Pilots as the most recent attempt to fix the problem (and it has been proven that alignment is not the entire problem by others on the forum), she said that NNA "is not in any cases" replacing the tires with anything other than the OEM tire... she then said a few dealers have done so without NNA approval and that they have been reprimanded for this.

What I would really like to do is get them replaced with the S03s, then immediately put on the S-Tune suspension and get it aligned at a specialty alignment shop as an extra measure. Then cross my fingers and hope for the best.

So, If anyone has had any luck with a particular person who is actually familiar with the problem and has approved NON-OEM tires, please let me know....

 

Well, today, i brought my car in for an oil change at my local mechanic. I told them that there was a strange noise coming from the front area and i think its the tires, and if they had it on the lift just to look at them to see if there is any problem. I knew of the tire feathering issue, and ive had my tires replaced twice already. Well haveing the tires replaced exactly 1,000 miles ago(for the second time), and not telling the mechanic of a known problem. He Told me that there is some serious wear to the front tires. on the inside. Well what can i say. 1,000 miles and the tires are doing it agian. Even though my dealership told me that they checked and checked agian and made sure that it was okay. Well, THEY SUCK. excuse me. How many times am i going to have to go through this. I havent even been dring the car hard. Its been raining for the past two weeks since ive has the new tires. And its only been highway driving. Seriously, going straight to the highway, to school, then to work, then home. all miles on the highway. nothing with turning that crazy, no turny roads (which nissan was telling me was the fault of the tires being like this). So What in the world should i do now. i cant just go back and say, "replace the tires" and accept it at that. How can i go about this? Im only 21 and they are really being a pain in the ****. They dont believe im driving like a sane person. What should i do?

 

Shadowrwr,

Lemon Law is your friend.

 

i have a question for everyone here...why does nissan keep insisting on the 12,000-mile mark? what significance does it have? i thought the warranty covers 30,000 miles, and if so, why would this feathering issue not be covered for those 30,000 miles?

 

please add me to the list of the names on the letter to be faxed out to NNA

Benny - T003524

 

I have only seen one post for someone having this issue in a 2004. Are there any others? Could it be that the newer built 2004's really do have the new suspension that fixes this and the person who posted having this issue with his 2004 just drives extremely hard or has a very early version of the 2004 before the fix?

Has anyone actually had this problem fixed with after market upgrades? I dont mind buying a Z if I can put on a new suspension and tires and know that it will fix the issue.

I have not seen anyone post about finding their own solution to the problem.

 

Honestly, I'd do the same in hindsight, before I'd purchase. I hope you're not actually "walking" and leaving money on the table because you don't have to - you can take delivery and get it all back in most states in a 3-day window. Don't leave a grand in their pocket - there are ways around that.

What really sucks is there is little else in the market that is really comparable for the money, and the car is a joy to drive.
I think the only reasonable fix requires enough $$$ out of my/your pocket that we now have a $40k+ car instead of the $27k list my Base SuperBlack '03 went for.

If you have any second thoughts, ask about a lease before you consider a purchase. Right now you're likely so pissed you'd do neither. IF you do have a change of heart, look at the difference with a lease.

Remember during the lease period you never actually "own" the car, it's their issue to ensure it holds value at term end, because if you give it back within mileage, etc. - it's their problem. All residual is defined up front w/o regard for true market value unless you trash it.

So far as complaints, or lack of, s**t, look around at this forum and add up the number of people spending $5k, $10k, or much more above and beyond their initial purchase. If you're willing to buy a car, toss the stock wheels, tires, springs, shocks, sway bars, seats, stereo, air intake, speakers, etc. you're likely to care less about this issue. Hell, if you've dumped $2k into JIC's, another $3k into aftermarket wheels and tires, etc. the LAST thing you'll do is admit your "baby " has a problem.

Maybe if you toss an entire new suspension into the car the problem may even go away - but, should we have to do this just to get 10k miles out of a set of tires?

I don't think so.

 

Good question - your base warranty is 3/30k, but after year one or 12k miles, the rules change. In year one or <=12k miles, you're pretty well covered.

After that, it becomes a pro-rated crapshoot - sorry to tell you, but the real warranty is effectively 12/12k. After that it's all debatable and you can share in the cost of most issues short of major engine or drivetrain failure.

For not much more, I choose the 10 year, 100k miles option - maybe $20-30 per payment. That may not save me here, but it had enough service included for my situation it made sense. I just don't have the time I used to for car maintenance, some of the stuff I easily can do just isn't practical for time reasons.

Read the fine print - ask Nissan what the cost would be for you to replace tires after 12k - it's not "free".

 

No luck at all. The "non-OEM" tires seem to be mostly Michelin Pilot A/S , a much harder compound and really and all-season tire - not Pilot Sports. We're talking a wear rating of 400 vs. 140!!! Even the S03's are 220!

All that tells me is the "non-OEM" tires are just a method to buy time because their wear rating is so much higher it will get you out of the 12k miles range before you have the same problem again.

I can see using the S03's or a set of Pilot Sports, but for the cost, not unless I put some $$$ into suspension mods. Otherwise you're just chewing up good tires...slowly.

BTW, I noticed the price on the 040 OEM's at TireRack dropped $20 per tire recently...and there is a shortage???

Check it out:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....=Potenza+RE040

 

I kinda question that they put a new suspension in the 04's. Nissan fixs things as they find them, they would not wait for a "model year" to make a change. I figure I will get some new tires from Nissan before I reach 12000 miles. I will then have to pay for new tires myself around 15,000 to 20,000 miles. By then I will have the correct alignment (any other tsb corrections) and much higher tread wear rated tires on the Z and they will be good for 12,000 to 15,000 miles like most tires are on any high performance sports car. Comes with the territory. Guys I know the feathering is not or should not be normal, I trust that Nissan can correct this problem in the long run. I also think the OEM tires are a major contributing factor. I remember when Acura came out with the NSX, they had Yokohama develop a special tire tire just for the NSX. The rears would wearout in 10K miles and the fronts in 15-20K miles. The thread would be scrubbed off and this was based on the suspension setting that provided great handling. You could have the alignment changed and it would improve the tire wear by 5K miles, but it would effect the handling. Don't worry guys I think we will get there. But remember some people will never be happy and some will never realize they have a problem and just buy new tires every 10K-12K miles and think they have the greatest handling, best looking car on the road.

 

I recently started to hear very very annoying noise so when I check my tires, I notice that my tires started to feather. It seems like the feathering is worse on the right side than the left. I have 10K on my car. I took it to two different dealer and they both said that they could not do anything because I have after market wheels on them. They told me to call Nissan Cons. Affairs. They also said that they do not have the equipment to service after market wheels. They said that it would scatch my wheels. I have ( see my sig) wheels. Is anyone else having this problem?

I alrealy have call into Nissan Cons Affair due to tranny issue & I did mention to them about the tire feathering issue. They told me to go to the dealer & dealer to me to call them back.

Please give me some advice.

 

11.5k I took my Z in for the cupping on the inside front tires. They agreed in the fact that there was substantial noise and unusual tire wear. They preformed an anlignment and said that there was still a loud noise after the alignment so they decided to order me 2 new tires.
12k I took her back in to replace the old tires.
15k miles and I still had not seen any signs of cupping or noise. 15.5k put on new rims and tires.
16.5k still no sign of cupping. Wish me luck!
___
Problems Thus Far:
Boths door windows getting grease streaks: Fixed
Transmission not catching the gears: Fixed
Pulling to the right: Fixed
Tire Cupping: Fixed

 

There is hope! I got my Z in August 2002, so I have had it a while. I had major tire feathering at around 5,000 to 6,000 miles. Got my alignment done, and put on the S-Tune suspension, and got rid of those nasty RE0-40's and replaced them with Toyo TS-1's. I am proud to say that I have over 20K miles on my Toyo's, and not a single sign of feathering. I am no longer worried about the problem.

 

Well... Not to be rude, but most of us don't have the $1,500 bucks to get the S-tune suspension. Besides, Nissan should have done it RIGHT the first time - period no excuses, it's not like they haven't built NEW cars before. I can hear my dealer now at the time I bought the car, "Ohh BTW your OEM suspension is going to eat up your tires at 5k, so you'll have to buy this $1,500 dollar kit".

Like I've said before, Nissan has us by the ***** (sorry lady Z owners). We're in the position of either suck it up or take them to court. What sorry options...



That's down right bull$hit if you ask me.

 

alex - that's a comforting thought for some of us...i myself have been considering aftermarket suspension, but wasn't really sure if they'd help the feathering issue. did you get an alignment done after you got the coilovers installed? if so, did u go by the nismo specs that were provided to you with the coilovers? also, i don't know if it makes a difference, but did u get the official US version of the coilovers or did you get the japanese version? thanks!

 

Hello! owners of 350Zs. I am an attorney here in Houston. A client of mine came to me with the problems that he was having with his new 350Z he purchased back in January of 2003. It was feathering. He is in one of those Z clubs and told me that most of the Z owners were having this problem.

I am in the process of gathering information from the Z owners regarding this issue. If you have any more information regarding this matter, please write me.

My e-mail is tkimlaw@justice.com. In your e-mail, please include your Z's year, style, color, tire specs., exact problem with the tire, when you first noticed the problem, cost in changing the tires, and if the problem still exists.

This is not a solicitation for employment. I am in the process of gathering how common this problem is for all the Zs' out there. Please take your time and provide me with this info. Thank you in advance.

 

Good Job!
I'll be faxing. I think the media always get attention!
Add me to the list:
Linda VIN# T101957
Thanks!

 

Count me in on fax.

John L. VIN# 00607

Zeeman03

 

Spoke with a customer service representative at Nissan today to check on my file claim regarding the tire issue. Explained to him how nervous and frustrated “Z” owners are concerning no response from Nissan regarding the feathering issue. I gave him the names of a couple of Web sites I thought he and his superiors should check out to get an idea as to how serious this issue has become with “Z” owners. He acknowledged that there is, in fact, a problem with tires feathering and they do not have a solution yet, but there are engineers working on it 24/7 and they will come up with a resolution. I also told him how important it is that an official reply be made from Nissan stating they are aware of the problem and that it will be resolved soon to everyone’s satisfaction. He assured me that Nissan will not let us down.

Also, it sounds like they have people monitoring these web sites. Why no official response has been made yet is beyond me. Let’s hope what this service representative said is true and we will be getting more information from Nissan soon. Told them it would be good Public Relations to nip this before this great cars reputation is tarnished irreparable.Just relaying what I was told.Just in case, I'm filing a complaint with Ma.Lemon Law.

 

Not a PR specialist by any stretch. How awesome for the comapny's rep would it be to come out via a mailer or e-mail to '03/'04 owners and say "Thanks for buying the Z. We now realize that a slight tweak is needed to the fromt suspension due to abnormal tread wear. We have our best engineer's working on this 24/7. We appreciate your patience as we perfect the problem through trial and error."

I know it could not happen because of our letigous society but it would be nice.

Just thinking out loud.