WangDoodle

I have an '04 with the feathering issue. The dealer (Brown's Nissan, Leesburg VA) did the alignment and replaced both front tires under warranty. In fact, they dinged both front rims in the process and ended up replacing both of them about a week latter.

I think you just have a $hitty dealer .

Here is some food for thought:

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Bulletins/350Z/Year.htm

Main problems with early '04 Z Summary:
-Alignment issue. (they will fix this. G35 is the same platform, no tire problems)
-Fuel door doesn't always open on the first button press.
-Rattles and squeaks.

The '03 guys have it worse:
-Transmission issues. (only the very early '03s)
-Rear axle noise.

We are just now entering the third year for not just a new car, but a completely new platform. Nissan is fixing these problems, all the afore mentioned are the issues I keep reading about in the forums and all have TSBs. If you look at the dates on the TSBs, the problems are getting less and less severe.


How many model years did Toyota make a Supra? I guessing 98 was not the second or third generation of that car. All I'm saying is that early model year cars have problems. It's better than it was in say 1970, but not gone.

.

mxpx_8

I am suing Nissan due to the fact they are not covering my issue under warrenty, and the fact that they can not fix the issue. That is what I'm doing....

Soon they will have their POS back.

WNC350ZR

[QUOTE]Originally posted by WangDoodle
[B]I have an '04 with the feathering issue. The dealer (Brown's Nissan, Leesburg VA) did the alignment and replaced both front tires under warranty. In fact, they dinged both front rims in the process and ended up replacing both of them about a week latter.


My service dealer didn't even want to give me a free alignment. I live in NC and bought my car out of state (due to the fact the local couldn't find me the exact car I wanted). So now I have front tires with the inside worn almost to the belt while the outside of the tire is worn only 3/8. The tires have 14,500 miles on them.

I called 1-800-NISSAN1 two days ago and have yet to hear back from them.

Should I expect the local dealer who didn't sell me my Z to come off a free alignment and tires? I find it hard to ask for that knowing I didn't notice the problem until they pointed out the wear on the tires.

Since it looks like I will be in the market for some new tires soon what kind should I buy?? Also, should I replace the back tires even though they have very little wear???

Thanks in advance for any info.

Laurie

Laurie

I will check out your web site, I was at the dealership today, shame on me this is the second time, first time I did not get it documented. But they are ordering me two front tires, but from what I have been reading this does not fix the problem it is just a bandaid. Who want to replace tires every 6 months?

WNC350ZR

I've seen your site and I will go there now and fill ou t some info.

cpoe52

I have a 12/2002 build Z that Nissan replaced and realigned the front tires/front end at 6,700 miles and then again with the magic April 12, 2004 settings at 12,500 miles.

At 17,300 miles the roar and feathering were back.

I took my car to an independent tire/brake shop that specialized in sports cars (BMW's, Mercedes, Porches and X-Crossers).

They cross rotated my feathered front tires and realigned all four of my wheels. They laughed at Nissan's settings I showed them from the latest TSB (April 12, 2004).

At 21k miles my car was quiet and the feathering seems to be under control.

My rear stock tires were shot so I replaced all four tires with Good Year Eagle F1's.

WOW! Much quieter and smoother ride!

Nissan has no clue on what the alignment settings are suppose to be on any year 350Z.

The dealer will NEVER remove my wheels ever again to inspect my brakes or tires.

Stevie Wonder could do a better front end alignment than Nissan!

zmann

As I said, a local dealer in Franklin, TN admitted that their equipment can't properly align the Z and therefore they farm it out. You'd think sooner or later all these guys would be reading from the same page but unforunately for the consumer, they aren't.

jccarr

"They cross rotated my feathered front tires and realigned all four of my wheels. They laughed at Nissan's settings I showed them from the latest TSB (April 12, 2004).

At 21k miles my car was quiet and the feathering seems to be under control."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
So do you know what settings they used? Might be good information for others to try out.

jccarr

I was looking hard at a touring 350Z till I found this information about feathering and lack of a fix from Nissan. I was at the dealer the other day and inquired if a fix was in place for 2005. They would do some research and let me know. The answer was no, although I am not sure my sales person actually knew anything. I looked at a 2003 with 7000 miles on it and I could feel feathering by rubbing my hand along the front tire. Same story for a 2004 with 4000 miles on it. I typically keep a car for 15 years and 200,000 miles, so I need to think hard about a purchase of a car with a significant and costly wear problem.

jccarr

I currently have 93 300ZX. We just removed some Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Positions as they were worn out we because we drive it very hard on the street and Solo races. We selected some AVON M500s as a replacement, based on all the positive reviews on the Tire Rack .com and it is about 1/2 the cost as the S03. I like the M500s just as much as the S03s. The M500 is not directional, but is designed with an inside and outside tread. It would be possible to rotate this tire from side to side at every oil change to keep them wearing evenly. However, the M500 looks to only fit the 17" 350Zs. Good luck.

cpoe52

jccar:

I took my car to an independent tire and alignment shop at 17,000 miles (total) and the front tires were removed and cross rotated.

At over 21,000 miles, the feathering has not returned.

The last alignment specs performed on my car by the independent tire/brake shop were the following:

Front Caster
Left was 9.22 degrees by Nissan after 9.21 degrees by American Tire & Brake.
Right was 8.80 degrees by Nissan after 8.79 degrees by American Tire & Brake.

Front Camber
Left was -0.87 degrees by Nissan after -0.92 degrees by American Tire & Brake.
Right was -1.04 degrees by Nissan after -1.01 degrees by American Tire & Brake.

Front Toe
Left was -3/32 inches by Nissan after 1/32 inches by American Tire & Brake.
Right was 1/16 inches by Nssan after 1/32 inches by American Tire & Brake.
Total was -1/32 inches by Nissan after 1/16 inches by American Tire & Brake.

Nissan tried twice after replacing my front tires, American Tire & Brake cross rotated my feathered tires and realigned and no feather after 4k miles.

I would suggest having an independent shop in your area check your alignment. Hopefully they will have sports car alignment experience.

WNC350ZR

Called 1-800-NISSAN1 on NOV 9th to report my tire issue. They told me that someone would get back to me in 24-48 hours. It has been one week now and still no word from Nissan.

Am I wasting time trying to deal with Nissan? Have any of you here had any luck with the people at 1-800-NISSAN1???

Thanks!

mxpx_8

Its easy once you have a layer. I would not waste time w/ 1-800 Nissan. They will not do anything until you start hinting at legal action.

cpoe52

I contacted 1-800-NISSAN1 one time over the feathering issue back in April of this year. They stalled me and were not very responsive (i.e. didn't return phone calls or call when they said they would).

Finally the latest feathering TSB came out on April 12, 2004 and they authorized my second set of front tire replacement and my dealer performed the magic new alignemnt settings as per the TSB.

5k miles later the feathering was back. Surprise, surprise, surprise!

I now pay for my alignments at American Tire & Brake in Mission Viejo, CA. (They are not part of Discount Tire/America Tire companies).

They are a winner!

WangDoodle

I bought my car at Fairfax Nissan. It's a long story, but after they put a dent in my door I decided I'd had enough and moved to a different dealer.

You absolutely should expect any dealer to honor a warranty issue no matter where you bought the car.
A) The service department has nothing to do with the sales department.
B) The dealer is not paying for anything to resolve this issue, the manufacturer is the one paying. In fact, the dealer makes a profit doing warranty work.

Now if the dealer screws up the work (say by denting your rims), they have to pay out of pocket to make it right. Perhaps your dealership sees this TSB as a high risk procedure, or maybe Nissan corporate is discouraging the dealership from performing the service. Either way I recommend you find another dealer.

Like I said, the service guy at my new dealership (not the one I bought the car from) didn't bat an eye. He just verified the problem was there and fixed it (hopefully).

Powersurge

I just got my Z about a month ago. I have 1500 miles on it. Is there anything I can do at this point to see if I too will fall victem to this issue?

WNC350ZR

Just an update...

I have called 1-800-NISSAN1 on Nov 9th, 12th, 16th, and the 18th. NEVER has anyone returned my call. The last time I called they told me that a 'specialist' was working with the dealer and that I would get an answer WITHIN 48hrs. Still no call even though I left a message with the 'specialist' days ago.

DON'T FALL FOR IT! If you call 1-800-NISSAN1 and they tell you 24-48 HRS you tell them that you know their game.


Has anyone here ever had any luck going around the dealer and Nissan by calling Bridgestone at 1-800-847-3272???

Thanks and good luck. Don't let Nissan screw you!

WNC350ZR

Watch the tread on the inside of the wheel close and do not trust that a Nissan tech will spot it early. I took my Z in every 3500-3700 miles and they didn't 'see' anything until I had 14,700 miles on the tires. By then the tread on the inside was worn almost to the belt and the outside only had 8/32 wear. You will also notice more noise in curves and braking.

Hope that helps.

Powersurge

Thanks for the info. I will check this frequently.