I just got off the phone with the Customer Service manager at my Nissan Dealership (Largest Nissan Dealer in DE, PA and MD). He was calling to understand my satisfaction level with my last service visit which was the tire swap TSB. I asked about a long term fix and he stated that Nissan indicated to them the next released TSB would be out before the end of February. This TSB will call for a replacement of the front tires, but not with the RE40s. I asked if this was speculation or if that was what was communicated to him. He said that is what HE was told by Nissan. Apparently this dealership has a list mile long of owners with feathering. Not what I wanted to hear, but we'll see. Wanted to throw this out on the radar to see if anybody else has heard anything.

 

Did he say what tires they WERE planning to put on?

 

we have to watch what the wording of this initiative is going to be. if nissan decides to call this a "TSB" , then there is the potential for a lot of owners to get the shaft. TSB's are only advice on how to fix something, they do not guarantee free service and are warranty limited. many 2003 owners may get left out in the cold cause they are already over their mileage for warranty tire work. If they call this a recall then everyone gets new tires. this sounds very much like something that i was told back in middle december. sucks that it has taken this long and back then they were calling it a recall, i bet now it comes out as a tsb. sneaky nissan.

 

back in december they put the all-weather bridgestones on mine, alluding already back then that alot or at least some of the problem had to do with the sh**ty 040's. My fronts were replaced with the RE92's. They are better but still not all that great for handling, just a lot harder compound than the 040's. Since my rears were fine i still have 040's and they gave me BS about why they didnt get the rears changed. well here is the interesting thing that i learned, those RE92's do not come in the size variations to fit the rear. So we will see what they choose.

 

I'll throw my two cents in. I had my dealer put S03's on after they did my alignment. (This was when the RE040's were out of stock nationwide.)

I have had the S03's on now more than TWICE the milage of when the RE040's were already destroyed. I still show no new signs of feathering. Was it the alignment? Was it the tires? I don't know, but I'm still happy with the results.

 

I've had the same experience as you. I tore through my RE040s after about 6k miles, with horrible feathering on the fronts. I went with the S03s, and got twice the mileage. What concerns me is the alignment. I got it done at my Nissan dealership at 15k miles, then had to replace my rear tires at about 17k. I got the alignment done then at NTB, and they said my alignment was out by more than 50%!! I doubt that I did that in under 2k miles of driving. What's up with Nissan alignment?

 

from reading the feathering forum and seeing what dealers have been putting on people's cars, my guess would be that this "fix", "recall", or whatever its called will be to put the S03's on. I am glad yours are wearing well. I look forward to putting those on. How do they handle in the weather, specifically the snow?

 

I love they way they handle. I think they are GREAT on dry roads. They fell better than stock on wet roads.

My Z doesn't TOUCH the snow. That's what the 1989 Jeep Cherokee is for.

 

I was told the same thing by my dealer. The only difference is, he said it woudld be the same RE40s. He also used the words "will exceed customer expectations" when referring to this TSB. HA!

 

hey cinciZ,

What dealer are you referring to. I bought mine also in cincinnati and used Falhaber in Colerain. I know i talked to one other person from the nati but cant remember if it was you. I like falhaber, they were nice enough, but overall seemed clueless about the what was going on with the Z.

 

Won't do anything. I had Pilot sports put on and they are now feathering (after about 4K miles). Its not the tires. Nissan needs to get a real fix for this.

 

The CSR manager couldn't tell me (insert-didn't want to tell me) which tires they were going to use with this TSB. He did say the RE40s are on back order.........still. Maybe they stopped making them? I don't know, but that would be nice. That isn't a tire.

 

-----------------------clueless is nissan's training for service people----ie....never know anything about any problem

 

RE92's?!?! Although I've never driven a car w/them, people on maxima.org complain about them left and right and call them "Craptenzas"! (My Max came w/Goodyear Eagle RS-A's which don't seem as commonly complained about, but people call them crap too).

 

moved

 

I hope, at the very least, that this means replacing all four. I can't see running different tires on the front and rear.

 

Do you guys have the TSB # for the tire swap? thanks.

 

I believe they are:

NTB03-006
NTB03-006a
NTB03-006b

I've never seen 6a. I know they were setting the total toe to 2mm before 6b came out. This information was not in 6. I assume it was in 6a. Anyone have a copy of 6a? Please?

 

I have two Front tires replace by NNA lst month.

I drove the Car twice and have 350 Miles on the front tires.

It was quiet until I was coming home on the last trip

The WowWOW sound is starting already with 350 Miles on the new tires.

This sucks
Big time,

Cheers Amy -
So much for Nissan Dealers adjust Front only Alignment.

 

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

I called NNA yesterday to file my first formal complaint regarding tire feathering. I got very lucky. I spoke with a representative who drives a track 350Z. He was well aware of the problem. He did state though that Nissan executives weren't formally made aware of the problem until Novemeber 2003. It was at that time that Nissan decided that this was an issue that needs to be fixed. The TSBs have been considered temporary fixes until a long term solution comes out....which he said will be soon. He too has had the tire feathering issue, but changed to the S-tune suspension with S03s. No feathering since.

He went on to say that Nissan has assembled a tire feathering specialist team to research and develop a fix for the issue. Nissan is working with Bridgestone to solve this. The primary source of feathering is the compound of the RE40s. It is too soft. This is why tire feathering became such a big issue during this past summer. The alignment specs for the tire contribute to its wear. He stated that the alignment specs out now are right, but should be completed by a Hunter machine.

Apparently Nissan is losing money on the 2003 models due to this issue. The profit margin on Z is not that great to begin with, but a massive repair like this is financially crippling. That is why the long term fix is taking so long. Nissan is looking for the most economical solution to this issue. He assured me that Nissan will solve this issue for good. They don't want to lose Customers.