THe sound seems to be coming from the front-drivers side... it is more prevalent when going fast over potholes, I describe the sound as.. a plastic popping sound? Sounds like a piece of hard plastic being banged on... does anyone here know what i'm talking about or am i just being overly paranoid? Thanks.

 

I've been hearing the same noise in my Z. It may come from the 6CD player but I need to verify this by taking out all CDs. will report back to you on this.

 

It couldn't be the same sound because I do not have the touring edition... no 6CD in my car. It could be the same sound though.

 

If it is coming from the wheel area and you hear it when going over bumps or potholes or when making sharp tunrs or u-turns in the direction of the noise it is probably lose steering control arm bolts. I had the noise on the passenger's side and the replaced everything from strut to all control arms and they finally figured it was the torque on the bolts. Later the noise cam on the driver's side and a quick check verified the lose bolts. That was almost 3 months ago and no more noises.

 

I think thats EXACTLY what it is... will go to Nissan and find out on Friday.

Reason I think this is the culprit is because I had rack and pinion + steering pump replaced under warranty and thats when the sound started appearing... could be they didn't tighten those bolts all the way on the drivers side... who knows.