kbsig106-
I'm following your story, and I appreciate you posting it here. I hope it works out for you. At this point, I don't see how you'd be happy with anything short of a buyback. I'm nowhere near having a case for buyback yet, but I'm already fed up with Nissan. Like you said, it won't happen again.

On top of the problems with Nissan as a company, I now have my dealer telling me they won't work on my car anymore..."We're not capable of working on your car". I can't wait to see what NNA has to say about that.

 

Can you explain? Is this the only dealer in town? They are saying they are not capable? I have not yet had any issues with my Z, but if my Dealer said this I would be screwed since he is the only one within 80 miles

 

good updates. I just returned from a 2200 mile roadtrip to Florida. I am now also experiencing the grinding in third gear problem. Fine with me. The more times in the dealer = a better case for me. I called an attorney when I returned and told him I had a 350Z. The first thing he asked me was "Are you experiencing the tire cupping issue?" I was really surprised considering I offered no info other than the make and model of the car. This tells me that they have seen this problem before. I have had my car in for service over 15 times and the car has been out of service for over 30 days.

 

Sorry, I should have explained this better to begin with...I'm so mad I can't think straight.

Yes, this is the only dealer in town. The problem is they can't seem to work on the car without damaging something in the process. The only thing they were required to do was align the front end and put new tires on. So far they have:

-scratched my front bumper cover severely
-ripped my passenger seat
-damaged both front wheels
-broke a tire pressure sensor

At this point, they have not actually fixed any of this. They are supposed to be ordering me two new wheels and fixing the seat. I gave up on the bumper cover, and I'm still arguing with them about the tire pressure sensor. When it was in for the alignment, the seat got ripped but I also found greasy hand prints on the headliner on both the driver and passenger side, which I was luckily able to remove. And, throughout all this there have been several light scratches in the paint that mysteriously appeared, but I already know I can't get them to do anything about that.

They have tried very hard to make me feel like I'm in the wrong for expecting my car to be in the same condition that I dropped it off in. In addition, they continue trying to weasel out of paying for what they damage every time I go in there.

For example, on Tuesday I showed the service manager the damage to the wheels, after which he said he would order two new replacements. Then yesterday when I was there he said he had ordered my wheel...as in one, rather then two. I asked why just one, and he said that was all I showed him. So explained to him rather loudly that he had just seen both the day before and already had agreed to order two. He just turned around and walked off. Shortly thereafter, he came back and mumbled something to another guy about ordering an additonal wheel for my car. This seems to be the protocol for handling their f*ckups.

I originally brought the car in for the tire wear problems, and they first tried to get out of working on it by saying I should expect the tires to be worn out at 7k miles. Since then, I've made 5 trips to this dealer and they still have all the above mentioned items to fix. I did get new front tires on Tuesday finally, but I plan to be back within a few thousand miles when they start feathering again.

I did call NNA about the dealer telling me they won't work on my car anymore. The consumer affairs rep said they won't do anything about it, so too bad. If the dealer isn't required to do warranty work on my car, then who is? The rep's answer...well you can take it to another dealer and see if they'll work on it. So, once again, Nissan takes no responsibility. I have yet to talk to the manager of the dealership because he has been on vacation, but he's supposed to be in this afternoon. Based on what I've seen out of everybody else in this dealership, my expectations aren't very high for that conversation. But I do intend to use this dealer for warranty work as they are local and the next closest one is too far out of my way.



I can't wait until I have a lemon law case...

 

This sounds like my dealer experiences and I went to a few of them. Every dealer damaged something whenever I brought my car in. I could count the scratches all over my bumper and hood everytime I went to any dealer. It was infuriating.

The lemon law in IL sucks *** and the dealers refused to even look at half the problems I had and wrote them off as "can't reproduce", and I'm talking about common problems here like tranny grinding and axle squeaking. I'd try multiple times to get them to do something and they always blew me off. I wish the lemon law was an option for me, but if the dealers don't even TRY to fix a problem, its useless.

I'm very dissatisfied with the local dealers here in Chicago. The only thing Nissan did for me that was positive was FORCE a dealership to perform their tire swap TSB. In the end they scraped up both wheels anyway.

I sold my Z and got a Subaru WRX. My Subie dealer uses a Chevy service department (Chevy!) and when I met them at purchase ALL of them were amazingly nice guys who seemed infinitely more helpful than anyone I ever met at a Nissan dealer. I was kind of culture shocked. lol They even told me a story of how they ate the cost of a clutch that some kid burned out in 3k miles on his STi even though they weren't required to do so and Subaru wouldn't pay for it, since it was a wear part. They still gave him a free clutch. That was downright cool, in my book.

Anyway, I'm following this tire feathering issue and the Nissan stories in earnest. I only hope something is done on this. At the very least I hope that Nissan corrects the problem in future models (so I can buy another Z at some point). I'm not optimistic about Nissan making a retractive repair for the current owners, and that's partly why I sold my Z, but I'm still pulling for you guys. I'm even writing a dissatisfaction letter to NNA. I plan on citing posts information from this and other sites.

 

ARBITRATION- At present, the Federal Trade Commission has determined that no manufacturer has in place an "arbitration program" which complies with Federal minimum standards. What this means is that the FTC finds these programs to be unfair to consumers.

 

Glad I'm not alone. I brougnt my car in the the feather problems and had the dealer swap the tires, rebalance, re-align. Can't even do that right without hacking up the wheels.

Has anyone had a dealer put the counterweights on the outside lip? That is not how they came from the factory, and I do not expect them to be there when I get the car back. I'm not having a good experience with this car and the dealer. I'm going back to Mercedes. They know how to treat people and I never have to ask for a loander car. It's always waiting for me when I arrive to have my Benz serviced. Nice.. Screw NISSAN... and their dealers.

 

NEW JERSEY LEMON LAW RANKED SECOND MOST EFFECTIVE LEMON LAW IN THE NATION
Center For Auto Safety Commends State For Providing Strong Consumer Statute


New Jersey has the second most effective Lemon Law in the nation, according to a recent study by the Center For Auto Safety. CAS recently compared the NJ Lemon Law to Lemon Laws in other states and the District of Columbia.

Under the New Jersey Lemon Law, if a consumer's car suffers a defect which affects the use, value and safety of the vehicle, within the first 18,000 miles or 24 months, whichever comes first, and the problem can't be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts, the car is deemed a lemon and the consumer is entitled to a new car of equal value or all of their monies back, including down payment, taxes and tags, and trade in, minus a small mileage offset. The New Jersey Lemon Law also covers vehicles that are in the shop for repair 20 or more collective days during the first year. Both purchased and leased vehicles are covered under this statute.

In a congratulatory letter sent to New Jersey Attorney General David Sampson, the Center for Auto Safety lauded New Jersey for allowing consumers "to go to an attorney immediately to get rid of their lemon rather than waiting for the arbitration process." Clarence Ditlow, CAS Executive Director, also commended the state for providing cost-free legal representation under the Law. If a consumer prevails, the manufacturer is responsible for paying all attorneys fees.

"Many New Jersey consumers don't realize that they have rights if their dream car turns into a nightmare, and that legal representation is cost-free" says nationally-recognized automotive consumer advocate Robert M. Silverman of the Haddonfield, NJ based lemon law firm of Kimmel & Silverman. "The fact is that New Jersey consumers have always had one of the strongest lemon law statutes around and I am pleased that Mr. Ditlow has recognized this."

The Center for Auto Safety feels that New Jersey could strengthen their Lemon Law provision by requiring only one repair attempt if a defect threatens death or serious bodily injury, covering a vehicle that has many different problems at once, and penalizing auto manufacturers who willfully violate the Lemon Law.

 

Where can I find more info about this?

This is why I plan to obtain an attorney and file a suit when the time comes. It should stand a better chance of success, and may also stand to get more back from Nissan.

 

GaryK -

Check out the following sites.

www.lemonlawamerica.com

www.autosafety.org

www.nhtsa.org

I obtained tons of great info from these sites. I also found an Attorney who will take the case for free. If you have a solid case then most good law firms will take your case and bill Nissan for the time invested on their part.

What state are you in?

 

I have a question for the board on my on going struggle with Nissan.


The set up the final repair for Jan 5th (which is not reasonable in my book). However, in the mean time - what do I do with this car? I really don't know what to do during the next three weeks. The NNA rep told me if I feel the car is "unsafe" to take it to the dealership - then what? The NNA rep really couldn't say.

So I'm sitting here at my whits end not knowing what to do next. If I could just "park" her for the next three weeks I would - but I need transportation. So to me it sounds like I'm stuck. If I take the car to the dealership - the repair they would conduct does not count towards the "final" repair - go figure. If I attempt to get it fixed, the NNA tech who is flying in on the 5th my not have the chance to see my car in all it's glory and problems.


Any advice?!?!?!?!?!?

Thanks in advance.

 

Drive it like you stole it....

 

kbsig106-

I would drive the hell out of it so as you stated they can see it in all it's glory.

 

LOL - I'll drive like an a$$hole the next three weeks.


I called the state of Florida LL hotline, they said 3 weeks is a reasonable wait time. They told me if I feel the car is unsafe, rent a car at my expense and try and reclaim the expense at the hearing (should it happen).

Yeah right..... Renting a car for the next three weeks will put me in the poor house.

This is just STUPID - I never asked for this BS when I bought the car.

I thought I was to "enjoy the ride" - how bout "enjoy the ride w/o KY" because that's how I feel.

 

If you feel it is truly unsafe, request a loaner from your dealer, paid for by Nissan. If they refuse to reimburse you, drive it until the NNA tech gets there, send a certified letter to NNA informing them you are driving it under protest because it is unsafe, but I would not let your dealer attempt to repair it with an NNA tech on the way. Whatever you decide to do, document everything.

 

I am certifiably pissed off with my Dealership. Had warranty work done to correct the tire wear problem and the steering drift problem. First of all, this was supposed to take one day ... I took the car in Monday afternoon, and was to pick it up Tuesday afternoon. I was not suprised when my service advisor called me and said that they would need the car another day. They flipped the front tires, adjusted the toe-in, performed an alignment, and replaced the right front lower control arm and compression rod. So I picked the car up on Wednesday afternoon, and while driving home I noticed that my steering wheel was off center to the right a little bit. I figured it may be the curvature of the road, so I drove it onto the superflat concrete in my parking garage and it was still doing this. The nut holes on my rims are all scratched up now as well. Supposedly they fixed the window grease streak as well, I'll be you anything that will come back too, along with the feathering. Haven't tested for the steering drift yet, never really noticed it before ... but I guess they did in their road test. I will be testing for that as well when I go to pick up the car (again).

 

Hi Folks,

Here is an update to a previous posting. I had hoped to meet the Nissan engineer last Friday at Regal Auto Plaza but the Service Manager decided that they had enough to do on another 350Z without adding mine to the mix. Anyway, he said that they had updated specs for the alignment and I had it done this afternoon.

I spoke with the technician who worked with the engineer before and after the alignment and here is what he said, as best as I can remember through the senior moments.

The original specs for the alignment adjustment were in millimeters (mm) from Nissan. They have Hunter equipment and the specs had to be converted from mm to degrees. Several of the measurements were computed incorrectly. When the engineer who designed the suspension looked at the other car on Friday, he positioned the car, pick a tread block and measured from one wheel to the other and immediately said the alignment was wrong. He worked out the corrected parameters for the alignment and re-aligned the car. The service guys I talked to were very impressed with him.

Anyway, before the technician started I asked for a prinout of the before and after measurements. I scanned it in and hopefully it will show up with this post. I might have to make it even smaller but I'd like you to be able to read it.

The technician said that the major change was to set the toe to the maximum, 0.20 degrees. He was told that this had been the original spec which was converted wrong. I asked about the adjustments in the rear and he said they were minor even out of spec as they were.

The car drives even better than before and I don't feel that I have to work to keep the car from going right. I love the car and don't plan to ditch it. I've decided to get some stock in Bridgestone since I might as well get back some of the money I put out every year for tires if this doesn't work. My dealer sounds much better than the one's some of you have. Regal is also a Mercedes dealer and they are very good at customer service.

Good luck with your cars.

 

I'll try posting the readout again.

 

I am following these posts and hope I don't have/get the feathering/cupping problem. If the suspension design causes the problem then why don't all Z's get it.

I have 8000 miles and drive agressively (but safely) on mountain roads on a regular basis and do not have any wheel/tire problems (yet).

Seems I would have a problem by now if it was caused by the reasons listed in your post.

 

My post above was in response to DZIEVED post of 12/17/03.

Didn't show his post.