I absolutely would not accept replacement tires of a different brand/model without replacing them all. Depending on the differences between the tires, it can definitely cause handling problems. Besides, we didn't drive of the dealer's lot in 35k cars with mismatched tires, so there really isn't a reason why you should have to settle for that.

 

The replacement tires for the RE040 that dealers are authorized to issue by Nissan are identical RE040s. Some dealers are bending the rules a bit and offering Michelin Pilot Sports or Potenza S03s as a means of customer good will. The "mystery tire" that always seems to be out of stock is the RE040. Not surprisingly, the feathering problem is wide spread enough that there is a shortage of this particular sized RE040 worldwide.
HTH

 

I've had my Z for 1 year and have visitied the dealership more times than my entire car owning life with this car. I'm 35 years old and finally bought a fun car only to have this happen. Thank God I leased it so it will go back to Nissan eventually!

 

Good luck - I entered the state of Florida LL system last week. Did you go though the BBB autoline? If not, give them a call at 1-800-955-5100, They really helped me out being the middle man between me and NNA. I was very pleased with their help and they're the ones who advised me to go to the next level (FLA LL).

Good luck!!

Don't accept NNA's first offer of 2 months payment refund. I said no thanks - you can't buy me off.

 

Just got off the phone with Jamie's office at NNA. I spoke w/Jeannie and gave her a history of my car ; replacing tires at 1600 miles because of the horrible ride, found the beginnings of cupping started on the outside edges, went directly to the dealer to have my alignment checked and found it so out of spec it was almost laughable. Told her I was a preorderer, put down a $1K non-refundable deposit 02/12/02 and took possession 09/06/02.

I replaced the tires 01/10/03, only driving 1600 miles in that interval because of the lousy ride and when owners started complaining about the cupping, drove only a few miles a week until a fix could be found. I finally realized Nissan wasn't doing anything but rotating tires and checking alignments and decided I would put on my own tires for $1K to get some relief from the ride.

It still isn't even close to acceptable and ragged her about the 2004s getting the benefit of new suspensions because we, on the Z websites, were in communication with Euro fans who demanded the changes we wanted from Nissan and haven't received when we asked for them. They get what we wanted and we don't and explained how angry we all 2003 owners are about not getting the changes, especially the biggest fans, the 8500+ preorderers.

I also told her I was looking at Konis and had heard my warranty would not be honored if I had a return of the cupping. She quickly said that was true and I lambasted Nissan for not paying attention to the 2003 owners who have complained about the original suspension from the beginning of taking delivery of our cars. I told her I had ordered 7 months and 26 days before the car was delivered under the preorder plan and that we were so angry with the lack of attention paid to our complaints was causing owners to sell, trade, LL, and BBB their cars and owners getting out from under was getting worse daily.

She said the engineers will be taking their info back to Japan and will respond in 60 days as to what their findings are and we will be informed of their findings. I told her I have a historical perspective on these problems starting in November 2002 and would be willing to share my knowledge(good luck) with any Nissan rep who wishes to discuss it w/me(fat chance).

I believe I communicated how ANGRY we all are about not getting a retrofit of the new suspension components when we supplied the data about our problems to the Euros. I communicated to her that we feel Nissan and NNA have let us down by not listening to our complaints over the past several months and even told her I put together the first problems list to help owners and Nissan rectify problem areas and sent them to Nissan. Their receipt was never acknowledged, and no feedback was ever available from Engineering, even when specifics were given to NNA Customer Service, ie. Customer Service Rep, " I WILL SEND THIS FORWARD BUT I CAN'T MAKE THEM READ IT"!!

We'll see. I won't hold my breath.

 

Boomer that's why I am leery of stepping out and buying Konis or any other aftermarket suspension fixes right now. The one thing is hopefully by the time the Konis are out maybe NNA will have the crap together on the tire fix.

 

ChinaClipper:
Interesting, since my service writer told me that "we'll put the second set of Re40's on while we wait for the "replacement tires" that are out-of-stock now."

I said we'd probably be doing this dance again in the late spring after 5000 miles or so, given that the feathering seems to take about that long to wear off and ruin the tread.

Therefore, now what? Hurry up and wait.



Boomer:
My down pymt $, pre-order and delivery dates were almost identical: Feb 6th and Sept 9th.

great minds think alike...


hwj

 

Always, its a gift.

 

I'm bored at work so I had time to come up with a fresh approach to get NNA's attention.

We all count up the tires we have had to replace. Combined it has got to be in the thousands. We draft a letter to the following companies showing how many tires are going to the dump:

Green Peace
EPA
Sierra Club
ELF
Jane Fonda
CNN
Barbara Streisand
Trout and Ducks Unlimited
Democratic National Committee
Allen Colmes
Bill and Hillary
The French and German Embassies

Any others? I need a laugh.

 

You forgot the California Air Resource Board, who manages to set vehicle emissions policy for the entire country

 

Okay ezchief got me thinking now I just have to post:

The Top 5 things to do with feathered tires:
(Warning its Friday and I am already half baked...)

1. Ship them to Iraq to provide bullet proof barriers for our troops
or new tires for Iraqi cars (hey they won't know).

2. Hang some tires off the Statue of Liberty as a sign of defiance to "foreign oil" and Nissan Imperialism.

3. Ship all the tires to Oregon, make a giant pile, chain Boomer to the top of pile and say he is not getting down until Nissan comes out with a fix to stop this horrible pollution of the environment. (People in Oregon love that stuff).

4. Enclose Nissan's U.S. Corp. Headquarters with a giant ring of feathered tires and then set it on fire. We will all sit around the fire and roast hot dogs and marshmellows while recalling the glory days of anticipation before the 350Z was on sale.

And #5 ...drum roll please....

Declare a "Holy War" on Nissan. All Z owners will drive into the mountains and hide their cars refusing to make payments. We will become savage animals coming out of mountains only to steal gasoline, oil, twinkies, and new tires. We will spend our days auto x'ing and road racing in defiance of tire feathering.

 

In response:

1. Just ship the tires to Detroit where all the Iraqi's live. Save on costs

3. Pioneer Square and the Eugene Saturday Market. Boomer in Eugene and Pit Bull in Portland.

4. Tough neighborhood so bring your guns. They will be needed. Does my TX concealed weapons license work in CA? Who cares!

5. As our tires feather we will use them as Xylophones and drums to dance by the fire. RX8 and Mustang invaders will be plundered with feathered tires rolling down the hills. Boomers head will be placed on a Pike in defiance of the NNA customer service agents rudeness and stupidity. Carlos Ghosn will be hung in ef***y (sp?) wrapped in all of the 350Z DVD's and Books given us by NNA. Palestinian Alaxa Brigade members will be given day passes to teach us how to light him up. We will dance and drink rum by the glowing embers as we feast on our bounty pondering the fate of the poor saps who never knew the joy of feathering tires.

 

ezchief, I like your responses. Hey put your reponse in my post in the "coupe" forum in the general discussion area.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=52388

 

Done. Thanks for the laugh. RLMAO!

 

OK by me, except for that pike thing. That looks painful and fatal! Not me, I'll bring the guns, knives and other edged weapons, find someone else for the pike.

 

My dealer offered new tires but I had to wait three(!) months and call NNA. They are replacing them as we speak (front only).
Started to be noisy @ 5K, i have 12K now. Vibrate over 80mph.
Will see how the new ones work. They promised to adjust alignment too.
I will probably swith to Michelin Pilot Sport A/S soon. RE040's suck!

 

HWJ: I think your service writer is feeding you a line. Ask him what brand/style the replacement tires are!

BTW, your Z was the second car behind mine in the production line! I took delivery August 24th 2002 after placing a deposit on January 19, 2001.

 

bartek, so you called NNA cos the dealer told you to wait 3 months for the stock RE040s? i have been waiting for my RE040s for about a month now, i dont know what to do

 

The dealer acknowledges that my front tires need to be replaced, but the re40's are on backorder and they don't want to do anything for me. So I have filed a complaint with NNA and I'm requesting that they buy me a set of 4 tires of an alternate brand. I'm waiting to hear back, but I don't expect they'll do anything. If they don't, I'll take my car for a state inspection, and it will be rejected due the front tires without a doubt. So at that point, the car will essentially be out of service, and they'll have to do something.

 

I got my new tires in two weeks.. Right before Nov 25th