Well I picked my car last Tuesday for the tire problem. They had my car 3 days. All they did was re-align the front end and rotate the two front tires. It was definatly quieter when I picked it up but the noise was still there. Now...... 500 miles later, the sound is back just as loud as it was before. I went back to the dealer today and they told me to bring it in on Tuesday (6/15). Here we go again.

 

I'm still waiting for the dealership to call me when the front tires arrive.

Sorry to hear that, TreyBone, let us know what happens at the 6/15 appt.

 

Just a word of thanks to rouxeny. I still believe this is a big one for Nissan. If they don't fix it, it will surely bite them.

 

I recently put 19" rims on my ride. Will nissan still take care of the problem?

 

My $.02:
Last week, at 21.2k mi, I noticed tire roar at 35mph and below. Took my 2003 performance-model 350 to Mossy Nissan. They said the tires needed to be replaced due to "feathering", ordered 2-reo40's, and charged me 10% ($56) of the purchase price for the 2 new tires cuz i had >21k miles. They mounted and balanced the tires, but the invoice said nothing about realignment.
On the day i had the new tires installed, i rec'd Nissan's official notice: "Nissan has determined that 350z front tires are sensitive to any toe-out condition; and if the front toe alignment is not correct on model year 2003 350z vehicles, an irregular wear pattern on the inner edge of the front tires may occur". They gave instructions on what to do and extended the front wheel alignment warranty to 2 yrs from the "original in-service date".
The noise has disappeared completely. The question is, will it return, and if so, when. My original in-service date was 12/25/02, so that gives me only 6 more months on the extended warranty.
I'll subscribe to this thread and help out as i am able.

 

I recently purchased an '03 Track. I had reviewed this and other forums regarding the tire feathering issue prior to purchase. Although I was reluctant to buy a Z after reading about the tire issue, the dealer offered me such a deal on essentially a new car (87 miles) that I couldn't refuse. Frankly, he had been having trouble moving the car and it had been sitting on his lot for several months, probably due to the tire issue. I did have the dealer set the alignment to the TSB specs. Although my car has only 670 miles, from everything I have read I fully expect to hear the the road noise and see tire feathering somewhere after 3K miles.

CLearly this is an alignment/front suspension issue. Although given so many problems, I suspect there is a design defect such that the problem may not be fixable. But I wonder if anyone out there has done any performance modifications to the front suspension and, if so, has that corrected the problem.

Also, Walkman422, how is your car doing after getting the compression rod and/or lower control arm replaced at Cerritos Nissan? Your response was the first I had seen involving actual replacement parts besides the tires. Have you noticed any improvement yet?

 

Dropped off the car for the tire/alignment issue on 6/17 with 1200 miles after seeing 'cupping' on the inside edge of both front tires.

Dealership called same day to confirm and ordered 2 new tires.
(on backorder: 3-4 weeks)

So...2 questions:

°Once they dial-in the correct toe-in amount, will the alignment hold without continued worry and/or new alignments??

°Will I have to pay for these alignments and at what time/milage intervals?

 

I recently put some costume rims and tire (19") on my ride. Will Nissan realign my car or will they deny me because of the after market rims and tires?

 

Just picked up my Z today about noon. They had it 1.5 days due to tire availability. They replaced my tires and did the alignment. I'm real surprised they replaced the tires, I didn't think they were as bad as some that I've seen. Anyway, I'm not complaining and the problem and tire roar have seem to completely vanished (for now anyway). Looks like they scratched one on my wheels. But there were some marks and scrapes on them before I brought it in. Would be very hard for me to prove they did it, and probably not worth the aggravation.

 

Some folks that have gone to Michelin Pilots have noticed the feathering go away. It may be a tire issue that is causing the feathering. But their is a pulling problem. I took mine in and they fixed the pulling issue and replaced the tires with the same tires I had. If they go bad I will request the Michelins.

 

Make sure you get the back end realigned at the same time they do the front end, even if it costs a few bucks.

 

Had my Z in today , all they did was confirmn that the alignment was screwed up and that the tires are to be replaced, but they are on back order..more updates to come

 

Where did you take your Z the dealership on RT. 13 in De. ? I live in Woodbury about 20 miles from you. My local dealership got my new tires in 1 day, but ran out of time to do the alignment. Thats why they had it 1/2 day extra. I lived in Pennsville for about 4 years right on the river by the park. I loved the scenary but disliked the people. Moved back here where I belonged ;0) Oh, I ran my 350 through the Lazerjet brush free car wash in PV. about 2 weeks ago. The one by the old shopping center. Good luck with your Z. Maybe we'll run into each other sometime.

 

If you upsize tires on your Z to 245 in the front, and 275 in the rear...will the tire feathering still occur??? I would like to know that before I go out and purchase new tires!

 

Took my 04 Track in for "tire roar"...."the TSB does not apply to this model (the 04)," said the service manager. They rotated the fronts and re-aligned the car. Noise is less, but still there, I expect it back in a 1000 miles or so.

They did a nice job of cleaning my car inside and out and drove me to and from my house, so I guess I am okay so far. If it were my money I would do the same (rotate the tires), heck the tires are like new still, 8500 miles on them.

 

I just order a 2004 350Z Touring Daytona Blue on 4-25-04. They expect the car to be delivered late Aug. I knew about the alignment problem, but thought Nissan would have fixed it by now in 2004. Do you think I will still have the alignment problem on this car? Thanks Frans

 

Nope. Stock or Nismo only, according to my extended warranty from Nissan.[SIZE=1][SIZE=3]

 

[SIZE=3] I called with the same questions. The guy said nissan's official position is that the alignment will correct the problem, but i see lots of complaints on the web about the problem returning. The nissan guy said he recorded my complaint, so maybe everyone with a problem should call nissan corporate (800-NISSAN). There's even talk of a class-action lawsuit (search for "nissan tire problems"). What I'm gonna do is have the dealer check the alignment at every service interval and request the computer printout for the alignment-check results.

 

I have the same feathering problem, but not nearly as severe. My Z was the 9099th one built (last numbers of VIN). What was yours? Be sure to call nissan corp to file a complaint. Some people have returned their z and got their money back thanx to lemon laws in their state. Nissan said some batches have the problems, others don't.

 

got my front tires replaced by the dealer, 3000 miles later, its Back again (Tire Roar, Feathering)

its obvious.....it comes back after 3-5K miles after
replacing the front tires............

its getting very repetitive buts its very much true.....

I have to go back and make an appointment to get
new front tires again B/c the "Roar" came back.
(from 40mph to 0mph)

I can't believe this thing......

??????