Ok, since NO ONE seems to want to protest infront of NNA's headquarters, how about we do a Z meet in front of NNA's headquarters!!! Yeah!!!

It will be open to ALL Z owners not just the ones in socal!

All of us fellow Z owners and soon to be owners can meet and share our pride and joy with eachother.

I'll provide hamburgers and hotdogs. It will be a SWELL time!

Oh, there will also be a drawing for a FREE Greddy TT kit!

Oh, we will also take some time out to hold up a few nice sign for NNA to read but that will not be the main point of this meet. uh huh.

Anyone intrested?

 

I don't think that is the new suspension. The Bilstein kit has been available for several months at Japanparts. I haven't read any reviews, but some must have been sold.

 

Rolling changes that have not hit the dealer floor. How will we know when they hit? Or is it just more propaganda!

 

They are probably doing this as a "rolling change" because they need to use up the remaining "defective" suspension parts in inventory. Seems like a mistake to me. Who would buy an '04 now knowing that if they wait until '05 they can get a much improved suspension, one that presumably will not eat the front tires every 4,000 miles (YMMV). Who knows what you'll get in an '04. I can see it now. "I purchased an '04 and my car pulls to the right while bouncing violently and the tires are badly cupped at 30 miles because I got the old shocks, the new springs, the old bushings on the left and the new bushings on the right and the dealer says I need to check my alignment and rotate the tires." Now that I think about it, that's about what the '03's do now. At least they would be consistent.

 

They all do it, I have owned Cummins turbo diesel powered trucks and Cummins is one of the best engine manufactures in the business. They changed the dowel pin on the front of the engine since they could work loose and drop down into the engine and do a lot of damage. The new one was tabbed and would not work loose. The change came in 1999, but Cummins just dumped the new ones in with the old and you were not assured of getting an engine without the old style clear into the 2001 model year of the Dodge Cummins turbo diesel. I bet you will see the same thing with the Z suspension changes. The best bet is to get the most from Nissan with new tires and then hope for the after market to come up with the correction. We will all want new shocks anyway and it will give us all a chance to play with our Z's.

 

I think the fact that this was referred back to Customer Service, the very same people that brought us "I cannot assist you at this time as we have no access to technical information but I am certain that your local dealer would be more the happy to assist you." speaks volumes about Nissan's response to the faxes. That is, there will be no public response, just lip service for a few individuals. I faxed a letter, not the same letter, to all of the names on the list, at least those that worked, and got no response. Then again, I didn't really expect to get one. I guess the only time I will get an appropriate response is when I send the certified letter demanding that they fix the ****ing car or buy it back. Sorry, I am just getting sick of this ****.

 

Ugh! I hate Nissan. I really hate Nissan! If my 04 has the feathering I will, umm... I'll make the news!

I *PROMISE* you I will.


On a totally unrelated note, anyone know which bullets are the most leathal for a .45? I have this really nice Sig Sauer P220 .45ACP and I want to have the best bullets for self protection. If anyone can help me out I'd be very greatful.

 

I'm in. Where is NNA offices?

 

Grow up!

 

NNA HQ is in Gardena/Torrance area of L.A. off of the 405 Freeway. Toyota's HQ is just down the street. Normally easy to see from the freeway except through a bouncing, window streaked, grinding in 3rd 350 Z. I couldn't resist.

 

11/21/03 Update:

NNA assured me the replacement RE04's (Fronts) would be in today. As of 11:50 est - No tires and the dealership does not believe the tires will be in since ALL warranty replacements come directly from Bridgestone not NNA's depot/warehouse. So as of right now, no replacement or a 3rd alignment for me tomorrow. I will contiune to move with the LL process and the BBB process.


I'm thinking for getting my lease holder involved since they "own" the car. I'm sure they would find it quite interesting that NNA is not taking car of the problem in a proper manner. Just a thought..

Makes me glad I chose to lease looking back now.

Updates to follow.

 

Just wondering what advantage the "lease" gives you???

 

well the advantage is this: If they do not get the problem corrected, at least at the end of the lease I can say "Here - take it back". More or less what I'm saying is, I would be smoking crack if I paid the balance on the car at the end of the lease knowing that the problems had not been corrected. I also know that I'll be turning the car back in right towards the end of the warranty period - more or less I would let the Z become someone else's headache.

Also with a lease - If I continue though the LL hearing, Nissan will have to pay Chase (the lease holder) & Myself if they are found to have a Lemon. I get my deposit, all my payments, tax, tag etc - minus the milage from the day I took delivery to the 1st day I reported the problem which was just over 5k.

So in the end, if all else fails (BBB/LL) then atleast I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I can simply drop the Z off at the end of the lease looking all nice like a new penny and head off into the sunset...

So until then..... I'm going to "Enjoy the Ride"...

 

Just got off the phone with Jamie Copenhaver. Had a descent discussion about the tire feathering what is being done. Here is the jist of the discussion:

Me: Nissan issued a TSB for tire feathering and alignment some time ago and yet we have people who are on their second and third set of tires with the same problems. What is Nissan doing?

Jamie: At first Nissan engineers thought the feathering problems were isolated to initial alignment problems when the cars were delivered. The TSB was intended to resolve this. However ever since the letter and fax campaign was recieved Nissan is now starting a large investigation into the problem to find the root cause. Nissan engineers from Japan are coming to the U.S. in two weeks to investigate some of the cars that have had repeated problems.

The Japan engineers will be investigating whether the dealerships are able to align the cars to proper specs with their equipment or not. The engineers believe the problems are with incorrectly set toe by dealerships.
********

Me: So Nissan does not think this is a suspension problem but rather a problem with dealerships not setting toe properly?

Jamie: We do not think there is anything wrong with the suspension. The 350Z is very sensitive to alignment settings.
********

Me: Nissan has only now realized that there is a major problem with the tire feathering and the TSB has not fixed it?

Jamie: Yes. Nissan Japan thought the TSB would fix the problems.
*********

Me: Nissan just released a press statement saying that the 350Z will get the new Euro tuned suspension. Doesn't this indiciate there is something wrong with the suspension?

Jamie: The suspension changes DO NOT alter the suspension geometry. It will only affect ride quality.
*********

Me: So Nissan does not think there are any problems with the suspension's ability to control the car's front end and the wheel motion?

Jamie: No
**********

Me: What is the timeline for finding a solution?

Jamie: Engineers from Japan will come to the U.S. in two weeks to start examining dealership's alignment equipment and determine if the cars are being aligned properly. As of now there is no timeline for a permanent fix / resolution until the problems can be determined.
***********

Me: Right now I am on my 2nd set of tires and they are feathered badly. My dealership, Nissan consumer affairs, and Regional rep all say that there is nothing they can do and it is my problem. They also say to rotate the tires even though that is not in the service manual. What should I do?

Jamie: Until there is a resolution for this problem we can look into getting you new front tires again to temporarily fix the problems. I will contact your dealer to look into this further.
*************

Jamie: Can you take your car to another dealership and have the TSB performed again. This way we can verify the alignment settings?

Me: Well, I could. However most dealers are refusing to do anything after 12,000 miles on the car. I am at 16k right now.
*************

Jamie: Really? Let me note that....

Me: Yes, many people have been denied service or had to fight tooth and nail to get the TSB done.
*************

Me: Have you seen or heard about the testing done on the 350Z's suspension with Hunter alignment equipment that showed the suspension was unable to control the Z's front end properly under speed / load?

Jamie: No
*************

Me: Ok, let's see about getting another set of tires and or alignment done at another dealer to check the settings again. Can you see about getting this done?

Jamie: Yes let me call your dealer and look into this further.....
**************

Me: It would be helpful if Nissan could tell us what type of alignment equipment should be used so we know....

Jamie: Yes I will see about getting that info.
**************



My observations:
1. I was positively stunned that Nissan did know that the tire feathering is a repeating problem and not just a one time thing. Wow good thing the email / fax letter campaign was done.

2. Jamie knew ALOT about what was going on and was very well informed. Seemed helpful and very willing to fix the problems. This made me feel alot better about getting the problems fixed.

3. Nissan engineers think that the problem is still with the alignment settings either not being done correctly or accurately enough by the dealers due to old equipment -- ehhh maybe.

4. The email / fax campaign has had a positive effect at Nissan and is making them work on the problem.

Okay let's see what happens now....

Ja

 

I'll be damn! I just recieved a call from Nissan Consumer Affairs (Jamie). She wanted to ask some question concerning my 350 regarding the petition letter that was faxed to them. She said that Nissan is bringing in their top engineers from Japan to look at some of the affected cars. She said that they are going to conduct a "Tire Investigation". (I hope they do more than that) 6K miles must be the average when the "Feathering" begins. That was a number she quoted to me.

She also stated that the 350Z customers were very important to Nissan and that they were going to resolve this problem. So there you go. Some positive information. Lets hope it true!

Regards!

 

Well, well, its nice to know our fax and e-mail campaign has initiated movement by Nissan's technical support division. It will be interesting to see it play out.

 

Didn't say anything about fixing the crappy bounce? Just go by a 2004.5. I was told by NNA there was no ride problem. Then what the heck are you changing it for? Screw them. Hopefully Koni's fix the problem......

 

Stupid Americans! "The Japan engineers will be investigating whether the dealerships are able to align the cars to proper specs with their equipment "

 

a bit OT here, but when you say that the tires are coming in on 11/21, does that mean the dealers will get them at this date, or the tires still have to be shipped to dealers? I am waiting for my front pair now.

By the way, did Jaime call EVERYONE on the fax list???

 

Not me. They are starting at the "out of alignment" stage and tracing the course of the problem. A few months late, about 10-12, I figure. If they have any sense at all, they should be checking the Z sites for the onset and subsequent progress into the mess we have now.