My car goes into Nissan next monday for an alignment to fix the road noise and feathering issue. How are you guys getting the dealers to put new rubber on your Z's? I'm at about 9500 miles and the road noise is REALLY annoying. My dad borrowed my car and asked me what was wrong with it...its that bad.

I know TSB isn't the same as recall but I mentioned TSB about a million times when i set up the appointment and "warranty work".

How did you guys get Nissan to put new front tires on? I'm thinking the alignment wont fix anything. If it still makes noise after, are they suppose to change the tires for me free of charge? Is the "feathering" problem even fixable?

Just not 100% sure on these issues.

 

I took the TSB with me (printed), just in case. DIdn't need it. You have to complain about ROAD NOISE, not feathering and don't ask them to rotate your tires.

They sent the car to the alignment shop, the alignment shop said the tires are toast and the TSB won't help, so the dealer said they would order new tires.

This was at 8100 miles.

Don't get too nervous about it. Show you are aware of the TSB, and that you have this noise. They will have to flip the tires (per the TSB), check alignment, and order new ones if those are too far gone.

Or, as stated, call NNA. The lady from NNA actually called my dealer and talked to them abut my case.

 

Well my appointment for Monday is for an alignment cuz thats what the TSB says is first procedure...so I'll just let them do that. I made them aware I know about the TSB and told them how the road noise is bad.

I asked him if they'll replace the tires if the alignment doesn't do anything and he told me they can do nothing about replacing them and that I was have to call Nissan Consumer Affairs....is that the same as Nissan North America? I got a phone number of 1.800.647.7261

Only thing is I never really even looked at my tires...Im just assuming they are bad cuz the road noise is getting progressively louder.

 

I went in armed with the TSB and expecting a big argument. The tech said the TSB rotation was a waste of time and he ordered new tires without even looking at my car!

 

Have you guys with the feathering problems that have been getting new tires at Nissan's expense, been getting new rears too ? I got new fornts repalced for free, but they won't cover the rears...what did you do to get new rear tires, b/c my rears are just plain worn out, with no unusual wear patterns, or alignment problems. I only have 8500 miles on my baby right now, but that seems a little low to need new tires already, and was hoping Nissan would help, but it doesn't look promising. I took my Z to a local National tire and battery who told me that the factory had my rears misbalanced by 2-3 degrees. I am debating whether or not to bring this issue up with Nissan and open ontehr ticket--UGHHH!

If anyone is getting new rears at Nissan's expense, due to the front feathering issue, let me know, I would like to know how you got the rears taken care of at the same time....

Thanks!

 

Hey Guys,
I talked with David Phillips at Nissan North America about my feathering problem. He's a 350Z specialist in the Consumer Affairs dept. He ended up giving me (4) Michelin Pilot Sports. He was great to deal with - his phone # is 1-310-771-3857 and his email is david.phillips@nissan-usa.com. After I had bitched enough about the feathering issue and the window streaking issue he also told me that he would put a rear spoiler on my car free of charge as a "good will" gesture. He was really great in the entire process. Good luck!!!!!!!!

 

Tried the phone number and was answered by voice mail belonging to 'Jillian'. Is the posted phone number correct?

 

Same here, I think David is one of the 350Z problems specialists, and he is extremely busy. He probably has some other people helping him out. I will try a few more times at different times of the day to reach him directly, but I have heard its almost impossible to contact him directly. His name has been exposed in these forums in relation to other problems...

You do not need to call the toll number, if you dial 1800Nissan1, and use the last 4 digits of his extension, it is the same as dialing him direct, but the call is free...I have made enough calls to Nissan to know by now.

 

Just left a message with Jillian asking for David to call me back..lol

 

Good luck, your own NNA reps never call back let alone pass messages to other reps....I wouldn't expect a callback...ever. I think the only way to get this done is through a dealership willing to take the customers side, or through a good rep and a lot of bitching.

 

yeah, seems the only way to get something done is to be a real a-hole on the phone.

 

OR, I have to turn my wife loose on them...she can be a real *****.

 

Bad news guys...

I just talked to the only rep at NNA that has been of any help to me, and she informed me that David Phillips is no longer at that office and handling 350Z issues. Apparently he left the customer service side of things, so you will not be able to contact him any longer.

I did open a new file and complained about their handling of the situation. I wanted to know why they have so many different proposed fixes for the same problem. Some people are getting Bridgestone S03 Pole Positions all around, some are getting new Michelin Pilots all around, some are only getting new fronts, some getting all 4, some getting the same crummy Potenza RE040s, and some are getting modified alignment setups, like me along with 2 new front tires...its a major clusterf*ck. I told them that I wanted the same solution as everyone else, and that I was no guinea pig. I told them that if the problem occurred again, that there would be legal issues. They are checking into the situation now, and trying to determine why they are handling my situation differently than others in the past. I told them that I wanted 4 new tires like everyone else got, and there's no reason why, for my troubles, they could not do that...I am curious to see what excuses they come up with this time...

I will post any updates as they occur...

 

So should I even bother with JUSt an alignment? I should be complaining to NNA that I WANT new tires becuase an alignment solves nothing?...alignment AND new tires is the only way to fix? I don't want to waste my time at my Nissan dealer if I don't have to.

 

My alignment was off, plus my tires were improperly balanced from the factory...these problems in combination with your driving habits, potential suspension issues, and the OEM front tires, you get the feathering that most of us have.

As far as I know, the TSB has yet to fix anyone's problems, and its total BS. All it does is move the inside feathering to the outside. IT DID NOT FIX MY ROAD NOISE AT ALL! I took my car for a drive then went right back to the delaership, and told them it wasn't fixed. That is when they got me new fronts. They did realign the vehicle to begin with, and it was out of spec as far as the toe numbers are concerned.

Hopefully, getting some of the above problems fixed will prevent the feathering from coming back to the extent it is now...You will need an alignemnt and make sure that you ask them for the alignment sheets, from before and after, you may need them as ammunition for later on. If your dealership is cool, you may be able to bypass the TSB fix altoghether, and all it does is put your rims at risk of being damaged. You should call NNA and open a file for feathering/tire problems...then goto your dealership and tell them they need to call Nissan Technical services for a fix, since the TSB fix doesn't help...hopefully they won't put you through the hassle of rotating tires the, off rim which is what the TSB does.

Good luck.

 

Ok...I opened a case with a dude named Alex at NNA...took my info and said that the dealer should do the TSB work first to see if it fixes it...i told him most poeople say it doesn't help at all....after the alignment if it doesn't work..THE DEALER is suppose to call waranty claim number to try and get authorization for new tires....my dealer is trying to tell me that I have to, so now I have the info from NNA that THEY have to. I wish I could just skip the damn TSB and get the tires, but we'll see what happens after the alignment on monday. I'm DEFINITELY taking pics of my rims for proof of damage if any...and MILEAGE count so those bastards don't decided to go for a joy ride.

 

yeah, take pics of all 4 rims and odometer, make sure your digital camera inserts the date and time. I had 10.4 unaccounted for miles during my last dealer visit. The car was there almost a week...so, probably a few trips to Mcdonalds, the cigarette store, who knows, maybe even a quick rag-out joyride... I always set my "B" trip meter to 0, then change it back to the "A" meter. As soon as I get in the car, I check the mileage...if there are more than 2-3 miles on it, someone better have a damn good explanation the next time.

 

lol..I'm almost hoping for a few extra miles just so I have a reason to be a dikhead...but I'm sure they'd tell me "we had to test out the road noise"....you don't need 10 miles to check for road noise!!!

 

Exactly....

If you are ever in the Harrisburg area, give me a shout...we can have a Z meet.

 

A Z meet would be cool! You could see how many scratches show on my SB Z!