Over the last week, I’ve noticed an increase in tire noise coming from the front tire on the driver’s side of my car. I finally made an appointment with my dealership’s service department to have them take a look at it. After a brief inspection, they call me outside to look at what they’ve discovered. I’m told that the tire is “cupping” and that the tire is defective. They say that they don’t handle issues with tires and that I should contact a certified Bridgestone dealer.

After contacting 2 service centers, I’m told that the problem sounds like there is a mechanical defect(alignment or suspension) with the car that caused the tire wear and that is not covered under the tire warranty.

I tell the service department this and they give me the look of what do you want me to do. I had to suggest, after reading a similar story on this forum, perhaps you should check the alignment to see if that in fact is causing the tire wear.

By now, I’m getting really peeved. So, I call my old dealership where I purchased my 2002 Nissan Altima and relate the story. Their service department said pretty much the same thing. But suggested I call Nissan North America. I did. They take the report and tell me they will contact the dealership to see about resolving this issue.

A few minutes after getting off the phone with NNA, the service guy comes and tells me that my car was mis-aligned from the factory and they are ordering 2 new tires for the front and will re-check the alignment once they are put on.

Guys, I suggest that you make plans to have your alignment checked at your dealerships as soon as possible. Seems it’s just a matter of time before you experience the same problem.

 

How many miles did you have when this first started?

 

I just made an appointment to drop my car off Monday for an alignment. I started really noticing the extra tire noise around 4000 miles. If you run your hand along the inner tread blocks, you can feel the waviness from block to block. Compare the feel of the outer edge blocks to the inner edge if you are having trouble feeling the cupping.

I'm gonna wait to see what my dealership says, and then suggest they order me a new set of front tires if they don't offer to do it for me.

On a side note - don't be surprised if Nissan North America doesn't return your call. So far they have contacted once out of three seperate cases that I've opened with them.

 

I have about 2800 miles on the Z. No pulling or excessive noise. I can't see anything when I look at the inside edge of the tires, but I am not able to see all that well without putting it on a ramp. Will I be able to feel the "cupping" or "feathering" before I can see it?

 

Just crank the steering wheel all the way to one side and then run your fingers along the inside tread blocks. No need for ramps or a lift or anything. You can feel it before you'll be able to see it.

The main thing I noticed was a big increase in tire noise from the front, at low speeds and especially when braking to a stop. From 25mph down to zero the tire noise is a real bad wah-wah-wah noise. At 3500 miles it wasn't that bad, although I've always thought the car had too much road noise. This weekend I went on a 800 mile roadtrip, and now its easily noticeable. I never inspected my tires before now, so I can't say if a slight cupping precedes the noise or not.

 

It started a week ago at around 4300 miles.

 

Not to be an ***, but I told this site about the feathering issue last year, as well as documented everything in my stickied thread here.

There's absolutely no reason for any 350Z owner to not go and get their front-end alignment and specifically toe-in checked by their dealer. Even if you have to pay for it, this is VERY IMPORTANT preventative maintenance.