I have a 2003 Enthusiast Brick. I didnt run my fingers over the tires but I did notice dust on some of the tread, and some did not. I have 10,300 miles so am I covered for any of this?

 

Sounds like a plan. Fax...
Steve

 

Joe, are you saying a new suspension kit will correct the problem? Because I'll have a new set of coil-over suspension set install on my car soon, these coil-over are from D2 (and we are the US distributor for them ), here is the thread;

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....5&pagenumber=1

No matter what, I think Nissan should pay for the new tires and find out exactly what's wrong with their design

 

Only1-
Do you hear a roaring sound at ~25MPH? I would take it to a dealer and tell them you hear sound and have them look at it immediately. I have read a bunch of comments on the 12,000 mile warranty on the alignment. Better to have it checked and a service ticket in hand if it does happen and you go past 12,000 miles in my opinion.

EvoR-
I am no expert by any means, but quite a few people are saying that the problem does not appear to be happening AFTER they upgrade some of the suspension components.

Also, I thought that the standard warranty carried over to the 2nd owner. You said you went to a "shop" I assume this was NOT a Nissan dealer? I would take it in to a dealer and get it documented.

For some strange reason when I took mine in 11/25 for the FIRST time, they ordered me 2 new tires. All I told them was that I hear a "whomp, whomp, whomp" in the front at ~25MPH. ??? I guess I am lucky...although they haven't replaced them yet, 7-10 days.

I took pictures this morning and used my iPaq to record the noise on the way to work this morning. I have a clip of the sound.

If anyone wants the pics/sound, PM me with your Email address and I can mail it to you...I will try and host them later this week.

Joe

 

I have been struggling with this tire wear issue and related front tire roar as I am breaking to a stop. Currently have 10,500 mile on my Z and the noise is driving me crazy. I had the TSB adjustment applied at 3500 miles when my dealer had the 2 front tires rotated from left to right after remounting and flipping them for directional integrity. This was followed by alignment.

The noise has continued to worsen along with the feathering on both side edges of the front tires. I called NNA and lodged a complaint and they sent me back to the dealer. My dealer's service manager drove the car 2 weeks ago and claimed that all the noise is normal and coming from the rear tires and brakes. "Normal and expected behavior from the rear for a sports car.” He agreed that there is abnormal tire wear on both front tires but claimed that all the noise was coming from the back and that the back tires are in perfect shape. He told me that the Nissan TSB corrected my front tire wear and suspension problem.

Last week NNA called me back and said that according to my dealer service manager there is no problem with the front tires or suspension on my Z. I told my NNA advisor that I was in total disagreement and wanted to get an independent opinion from a local Bridgestone tire dealer. She declined saying that only authorized Nissan Dealers can make a diagnosis. She asked if I wanted to take my car to another dealer for inspection.

The nearest alternative dealer is a 2 hour drive and will require me to take at least 1 day off of work to make the round trip. I asked if NNA was willing to compensate me for a day off of work in order to get a second opinion. She declined and closed my case number.

I love this car and do not want to have to give it up. I just want it fixed! Where do I go from here?

 

My car is being inspected by the "Japanese" engineers on 12-9 in Dallas. They appear to be crossing the USA regarding this problem. I am opening this or another thread to a list of concerns or "ideas" we want them to hear. I will attach the list to my steering wheel when I drop it off!

PS: Who is Scott? He is the other car in Dallas if he is out here?

AKA ezchief

 

Did you talk to a supervisor? If not, go to your Bridgestone dealer, get an opinion and tell it to your advisor's boss. Entry level Customer service has a script to go by designed to deflect your concerns. A supervisor can over rule your advisor.

If it doesn't work, I suggest you think about changing tires to a harder tread compound to stave off the rapid wear and see what becomes of the new found interest Nissan has in investigating the problem. I wouldn't put the OE tires on a donkey cart.

 

Did you talk to a supervisor? If not, go to your Bridgestone dealer, get an opinion and tell it to your advisor's boss. Entry level Customer service has a script to go by designed to deflect your concerns. A supervisor can over rule your advisor.

If it doesn't work, I suggest you think about changing tires to a harder tread compound to stave off the rapid wear and see what becomes of the new found interest Nissan has in investigating the problem. I wouldn't put the OE tires on a donkey cart.

 

PM me please as to ID of "Scott"

 

Broke
Your only recorse is to look in to your states Lemon Law.

 

Broke, call the owner of the stealership and inform him of your BS treatment and poor response to your needs. Give him a chance to do something. If he does not help you out, get a sign and picket his dealership on a Sat. stating your lack of service. I bet you get some new tires real quick.

 

Originally posted by droideka
The wear problem on the inside of the tire is cupping and is caused by too much toe-out. Period. Once I had my toe-out corrected way back when, I've NEVER experienced cupping ever again. Yes, I'm the one who started the "feathering" thread and mistakenly called cupping "feathering". I was mis-informed.

Feathering occurs with too much toe-in and will shread a tire in two-thousand miles depending on the severity of toe-in. Feathering helped me destroy 5 sets of tires this year due to my dealer's FAULTY alignment machine.

 

Sounds like you are The One (as in the only person I've heard of saying their problem was resolved through alignment)

 

I know the feeling, but I tend to agree with perauto's advice here.

If you know her region (NNA) try to contract a higher manager. They cannot close your case w/o satisfaction on your part, in this case the alternative dealer. Check the fax-blast part of this thread for names and addresses, or simply contact the same rep and demand to speak to her super.

If she gives you any grief on that request, tell her your next contact will be from your attorney w/Lemon Law filing, and be prepared to back it up. Once you file, you typically MUST allow them to attempt once again to repair the car, but they have a little more incentive. Honestly I think once you've gone LLaw route, you may as well start thinking your next car if your dealership choices are limited - why would you want any car from a dealer that won't work with you?

For business reasons I lease my Z, so I'm not in the same situation. If I had $10k or more of my cash as down payment/payments, I'd already be there, too. With the lease I don't face the same issues long term as a purchase - I can bow out gracefully (or not) if they won't get this problem fixed. Resale value is their problem, as are any inherent long-term defects in the design of the car.

Sh*t, maybe I should go get an '04 Maxima SE "Flagship" car so they would pay some attention to service issues...

 

I just got back from the dealer and my alignment was barely off. Toe was off by -0.01 in the red!

I asked how is there cupping then? he said i don't know. I went out to inspect the rims and tires and what did i find...DAMAGE!!!
The service manager said he would not be held reponsible for it although i showed him the shards of metal that were on my fingers that could only be there if it just happened!!!

I asked him if that was his final stance on the opinion and he said yes.

i said thanks! I have contacted Montgomery county consumer affairs and will be actively pursuing a class action suite against NNA because on my car i got cupping and the alignment wasn't the main culprit after all!!!.

I figure i put 5000 miles on my car every 4 months so within a year this problem should reoccur 3 times in one year and i will have myself a LEMON LAW action!!!

I will never buy another nissan again. HONDA all the way from here on out!!!

 

Droid is not alone! My problem was also resolved through alignment at 13K miles. I put on another 6K miles on my replacement RE040s with NO recurrence of feathering. Since then, I swapped all four tires and wheels and put on another 7K miles with no recurrence of feathering.

 

Originally posted by droideka
The wear problem on the inside of the tire is cupping and is caused by too much toe-out. Period. Once I had my toe-out corrected way back when, I've NEVER experienced cupping ever again. Yes, I'm the one who started the "feathering" thread and mistakenly called cupping "feathering". I was mis-informed.

Feathering occurs with too much toe-in and will shread a tire in two-thousand miles depending on the severity of toe-in. Feathering helped me destroy 5 sets of tires this year due to my dealer's FAULTY alignment machine.
This is a very important revelation! Definitions, “feathering” or “cupping” set aside.
Facts:
1. Many of us have experienced abnormal front tire wear patterns on our Z’s. In my case manifested on the inside of both of my front tires.
2. This abnormal wear causes noise and vibration from the front of our cars. The noise is most noticed when braking to a stop below 25 mph. In my case it became noticeable at 3500 miles.
3. Nissan recognized this abnormal front tire wear on many but not all Z’s. They issued a TSB instructing their dealers to check and change the front alignment on those Z’s with complaints.
4. Along with alignment adjustments Nissan had their dealers rotate the front tires left to right after swapping rims and tires for directionality.
5. Once a wear pattern is imposed on a tire it can not be reversed. This wear pattern will continue to worsen along with attendant tire noise. Even after alignment corrections.
6. Many Z’s had their tires replaced after alignment adjustments only to have the abnormal wear return. Droideka’s ( now Cotton Wood) testament indicates if a new alignment is faulty then new tires will be destroyed.
7. Fingers are pointing at a Nissan design problem.
8. Fingers are pointing at dealers.
9. Fingers are pointing at a Bridgestone tire problem.
Theory:
1. There is not a design problem with the front suspension of our Z’s.
2. Some Z’s received front suspension damage after final assembly and before customer delivery.
3. This problem was introduced when Z’s were shipped from Japan to the US on cargo ships where they were chained or strapped down to prevent deck movement.
4. Some Z’s sustained more suspension damage than others depending on their deck location during shipping.
5. Nissan has been trying to correct this problem without having to issue a very expensive recall.

Bottom line is that a final and lasting solution is very complex. Nissan needs to come clean here. These are popular sports cars and the longer they wait the more it will cost them.

 

This theory has been out there since the very begining of the problem, however, there are a couple of stumbling blocks. First of all ask yourself how the suspension would be damaged? It would be damaged by bending the components would it not? And if the components were deformed then this damage would become readily apparent once the vehicle was put on an alignment rack would it not? So we are back to the Nissan proposition that their own dealer network in the US is incapable of operating alignment equipment. Mine has eaten 3 sets of tires in 12,000 miles, by the way. The alignment has been checked at several different dealers and the numbers are nearly identical and all within factory specs. So where is the damage? I do agree with your conclusion though. They are going to end up buying back alot of cars if they don't. I looked this up on the FL AG's website, by the way. Only two 350's repurchased so far in FL to date, however, we have a 2 year window here.

 

I just had the fronts replaced with re040s this week by the dealer for the feathering and an "auto roll-up" window repair.



First question: Has anyone experienced our front tire feathering problem on the rear tires?

I'm not sure if I may have that going on now, or whether it was just the tire scaping off road dust, as I have to make a 90 degree turn to get into my garage from the driveway. I just noticed this yesterday.


Second question: Does anybody have the Bridgestone S-03s all around, and has there been any recurrance of the feathering in the fronts [or rears]? Additionally, how does your Z perform if they're just on the fronts?

 

I have S03's on only the front. (Dealer wouldn't spring for all four corners.) After an alignement and the new S03's it's not been over 7,000 miles with no new cupping to report. After I got my alignment done, and the new S03's, the car drove like it was on rails. I loved the way the Z handled when I got it, but after the new tires and alignment, it feels like a whole new car.

I am HOPING the cupping does not return. The S03's have a different tread pattern as well as a higher wear rating, so I ASSUME that if the cupping were to come back, it would be at a time noticed well AFER the stock RE040's. Just for an FYI.. I noticed the feathering was getting LOUD on ny stick RE040's at 5000 miles. Like I said before, I now for 7,000 on the S03's and so far show no signs of cupping returning.

(I am going to be putting on a Nismo S Tune and Sway bars this winter, so after I change the suspension, my observations will no longer be accurate for a stock suspension set up, but for now, I feel confident the cupping is gone.)