Nissan 350Z Problems and Solutions

fish8 · April 2005

Well, it sounds as though Nissan is playing the ver popular Blame Game. They tend to blame everyone else for the tire issues except themselves. In my Dad's case Nissan originally blamed the dealer for not have the latest and greatest equipment at their Servcie Department. That didn't make the dealer too happy!!! eventually, Nissan will except blame...but you'll have to take them to court!!!!

liongirl · April 2005

My dealers mechanic told me it was the tires too. He said they are high performance tires, thinner than average and don't last that long. I don't blame Bridgestone for being offended. I've been told to keep working with them, keep good records, be polite, the dealership can work with you if they choose and Nissan will absorb the cost. Keep us posted on your progress. Next week I bring mine in for 30,000 mainteance as well as having them check the new set of tires they put on in January (5000 miles ago). I'm going to sit down with them and see what my options are, go through the chain of command and see what they offer. I just got the one-on-one service announcement to mail last week, anyone else get that? N

kevink · April 2005

In this weeks installment of "Where's My New Tires" I find out that Nissan is pulling the "he'll go away" routine. I contacted my consumer affairs guy (no names) at Nissan who tells me I'm on my own with this problem. I told him that while I appreciated his help I would need to have this resolved by someone higher up. He questioned me to why....and I said I dropped over 60000 bucks last August on two new Nissan's and I think it's only fair that they address my 700 dollar problem. Now I wait to hear from someone higher up....probably the same guy disguising his voice. Keep you posted. In the meantime I still love the Z just not the corporation. :sick:

eeezzz · May 2005

I have a 2004 with 18" BBS wheels and Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-03 tires with 9,500 miles on them. They started off great - no noise at first then they got progressively worse. I couldn't take the noise any more and started looking into the fixing the problem.I checked with two local dealers, one said nothing would be covered on 2004's and they other offered to "see what he could do". Once I got to the dealer and they saw the aftermarket wheels and tires, they said the car would have to be returned to OEM before they would cover anything. I opted to pay $60.00 for the alignment with the aftermarket equipment but they mentioned only the front end could be aligned and nothing could be done for the rear wheels yet I found the same wear patterns on the rear tires (as the front). Is anyone aware of adjustments for the rear wheels?

gotz · May 2005

What was the outcome? Did Nissan pay for it? I have a 2004 Z and the clutch just went out at 10,000 miles. The dealer said (so far) that because the clutch springs are okay that it is not covered and will cost $2,200. I've only had it 11 months and drive it like an old grandpa (according to my wife). The dealer has told me that when they receive the new parts they will tear into in further and if I am lucky they will find something that will be covered under warranty. Yeah right!!!!
It's really sad because this is the 1st car that I have truly loved to drive and I am not very happy at this time with Nissan. :mad: ">
Steve

zlady · May 2005

Hi JW/Brett,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but being they are 'directional' tires if they are put on the opposite rim they will be going in the wrong direction whether they are removed from the rim or not...right? They can't possibly be rotated to the back as the back tires are slightly bigger. I haven't had any problems so far andI have just over 7,000mi on my 04 Z, but the service dept is hounding me to get it in for 'tire rotation', i suspect it's because they don't want me to 'discover' the horror tire stories I'm reading about the 03 & 04 Zs.

qbrozen · May 2005

they would be going in the wrong direction only if the outside of the tire remained on the outside when swapping, but then that would defeat the purpose of removing them from the rims. So, when swapped, the outside of the tire when on the right wheel becomes the inside of the tire on the left wheel, for instance.

zlady · May 2005

Hello gbrozen...
Oh, if I would have thought longer about it I would have eventually figured that out

. In any event, I am holding off just a bit before taking it in for service because I don't know if I'll be able to control my anger, no less my disappointment regarding this whole situation. I will continue to check in. Thanks again for the clarification...it makes perfect sense!

qbrozen · May 2005

what whole situation? did i miss something? i thought you said you've had no problems?

qbrozen · May 2005

it all depends on whether your garage door has a rolling code or not.

Oh, hey, just did a search ... the info you need is right on Homelink's site:
http://www.homelink.com/training/train.taf

Choose "Program for the first time" and pick your car.

zlady · May 2005

...by the whole situation I mean that they sold me a car KNOWING it had potential defects in the alignment/steering...and as we can see alot of owners are experiencing premature tire wear. Had I read any of this before last year I would not have purchased this car.
I have no problems so far, but I think the service dept is trying to get me in to rotate the tires before I discover there is a problem. Maybe i'm one of the few that don't have a defective car. It just bothers me that such a huge car company as Nissan would not be up front with consumers concerning the 350Z. They have lost credibility with me.

qbrozen · May 2005

I'm confused who you are mad at. First of all, you don't have the problem yet. And there are more than a few that don't have the problem, by the way.

Secondly, you are mad at Nissan for the salesperson, who they don't control, at a dealership, that they don't control, for not telling you that the car you are about to buy MAY have tire issues in the future? Well, i guess that's your perogative.

miata007 · May 2005

This question is to the 05 Z owners. Has the problem relating to front wheel/alignment issue been totally solved? I am getting near the decision of purchasing a new car but have been quite skeptical regarding to this problem. I've heard 04 owners got their car re-aligned with new tires, but the problem just keep on coming back. That totally ruins anyone experience of course. I also notice this problem doesn't happen to every Z out there but just afraid to take the risk. I rather go with S2000 or Miata to be safe if the problem for the Z is not completely fixed.

007

zlady · May 2005

I was mad at everyone! Correct, I didn't/don't have a problem yet. You are correct, there are more than a few who don't have a problem(s). via other Z chat sites.

Yes, I understand that Nissan can't control/ doesn't control the dealerships, etc.
but the KNEW the '03 Zs have problems and they still went on to sell the 04s anyway...that's what i was mad about :mad:
As an update I just had the tires rotated...talked at length with the Sev. Mgr. where I take it and he insited it was overblown as far as the 04s go because Nissan did not correctly tell the Z customers to make sure they get the front tires rotated before 7500 or there will be problems with wear and alignment, etc. because as we all know, we don't always read ALL of the manuals and so, I have to say at this point I am a happy camper :shades:

starchecker1 · May 2005

I have always had mild feathering, but little noise issue until recently. I have an 04 Touring Roadster with 6500 miles on these tires and notice they are feathering like most do, except on the right side the feathering was on the outside block not on the inside as most do. This creates a problem since I can't just swap the tires left to right to even out the wearing issue as the left side has the wearing on the inside.

So I took it to the dealership and they checked the alignment and it was WAY out. The left side toe was -0.21 and the right was +0.17 the acceptable range is +0.00 - +0.10. The problem is I just had the alignment redone with 3000 miles on it, after I slid into a curb on the left side.

After they did that alignment at 3000 I noticed immediately that the tires made a strange droning noise at high speeds. So I had them look at it just 3 days later and the alignment was way out on the right rear tire, they said they had it right when it left the shop, they redid the alignment for free, but hinted I must have hit something.

Anyway 5,000 miles later and my alignment is way out again. People that have the feathering issue, are you finding that everytime you take it in for new tires the specs have gone way out?

Thanks

Andrew

qbrozen · May 2005

I've actually read many reports where they took it in for feathering and the alignment was within specs. I think you may have a bigger problem due to the incident with the curb, and the dealership has simply not realized it yet. Did you tell them you hit a curb? Maybe they should be looking at replacing a component, but don't know it because you didn't tell them? Either that or, if you did tell them, and they can't figure out what is going wrong, try a different dealer or an independent shop.

qbrozen · May 2005

Glad to hear it you are happy with it so far. I still love mine, too.

That's potentially good info from the tech. I plan on having mine rotated at the next oil change just as a preventative measure. Based on that info, though, I probably should have had it done at the last oil change. Well, so far, I have alot of noise, but no noticeable feathering.

starchecker1 · May 2005

Yeah they know about the curb incident. I was extremely surprised that they couldn't find anything else wrong besides the two bent rims(not visible until you took them off and spin them) and the alignment being out of whack. It came into alignment beautifully everytime.

They swear up and down that no other damage was done and they checked everything very carefully, because they couldn't beleive nothing else got damaged either. I am going to give it a little more time and see if the alignment slips out again.

kawataworks · May 2005

Myself and MANY hundreds of other 350Z owners are suffering from some type of design flaw in the suspension. The tires are cupping and scalloping in a heal-toe wear pattern, which according to Firestone dealers is an unsafe situation and should be corrected. (tire cupping is a wear pattern where the trailing edge of a tread block wears more than the leading edge of the same tread block or vice versa)

Nissan is aware of the problem by evidence of their TSB (Technical Service Bulletin NTB03006).

The problem symptoms shows as tire roar (simular to driving your car with snow tires on it) The TSB tells the dealer to swap the left tire to the right side and the right tire to the left side (taking the tires off the wheels) and then align the car to NEW specs than the original factory settings. This does NOT fix the problem! It only hides the problem for a little while. Then the tire roar came back even worse. In my case, Nissan then gave the dealer authorization to put new front tires on my car and align the car again to newer specs.

3000 miles later on the NEW tires, the cupping (heal-toe wear pattern) came back! I then took my car in again and Nissan told the dealer to re-align the car yet again to the latest specs. 2000 miles later the cupping ireturned even worse. The tire roar became unbearable and the heal-toe wear pattern is now showed on BOTH the inside & outside tread blocks. My dealership, after 4 weeks of me calling Nissan North America to get them to call my dealer back to discuss the issue of changing my tires again and to put on a different brand of tire finally received the authorization to putI have been dealing with this issue since March of 2003!

I now have 36,000 miles on my car and I still have the cupping issue. Nissan has changed the alignment 6 times and I am on my 3rd set of tires!

Here is a just a small sample of 350Z owners that have the same problem:
Ian - VIN #100157, Case Complaint #4082264
David - VIN #100594
Scott - VIN#100903 Case Complaint #4059755
Robert - VIN#001766
Jason - VIN#100725 Case Complaint #4049797
Vince - VIN#000877 Case Complaint #4075864
Cobey - VIN#101116
Rod - VIN#110836 Case Complaint #4084933
James - VIN#001324 Case Complaint #4079129
Chris - VIN #103197 Case Complaint #4063661
Jim - VIN#003283
Steve - VIN#004278
Cam - VIN#103689 Case Complaint #4006573
Steve S. - VIN#006118 Case Complaint #4083945
Tim - VIN#103395
James W. - VIN#101018 Case Complaint #4081081
Brad - VIN#000368 Case Complaint #4069344 (2nd)
Conal - VIN#000786 Case Complaint #4089440
Michael - VIN#010832 Case Complaint #4084381
Matt - VIN#002594 Case Complaint #4089713
Keith G. - VIN#000680 Case Complaint #4088854
Keith H - VIN#001434
Lee - VIN#100674 Case Complaint #4087221
Glen - VIN#013166
Rick - VIN# 002043
Jerry - VIN#006027
Mark - VIN#015615
JD - VIN#002533
Joy - VIN#100850
Ricky - VIN#000172
Steve Se. - VIN#005449 Case Complaint #4126032
Jim T. - VIN#007045 Case Complaint#4203517
Vic - VIN#007468 Case Complaint#
Todd - VIN#005309 Case Complaint#4248428
Ron - VIN#009176 Case Complaint#4240264
Chris 2 - VIN#007549 Case Complaint#4097306
Thad - VIN # 114492 Case Complaint#598815
Mika - VIN #004318 Case Complaint#4254193
Robert - VIN#003612 Case Complaint#
Jacques - VIN#109759 Case Complaint#4309843
NHTSA DOI number is 10043366
Ramon - VIN#002338
Josh - VIN#112964
Milt - VIN#002370 Case Complaint#4322037
Artur S. - VIN#009051 BBB case number - NIS0358506
Randy - VIN#009959 Case Complaint#4230229
Linda VIN#101957
Nate B. - VIN#005088 Case Complaint#4308954

kgilleo · May 2005

My next neighbor, in her new 350Z Roadster, also lost the trunk lid panel while traveling on the thruway; I-95. But the dealer is refusing to replace under warranty and argues that it must have been due to some motor vehicle accident. Two lost trunk panels suggests a design and/or materials defect; "bad glue" sounds right.
Maybe there have been more incidents by now. Is there a better way to get resolution than arguing with the dealer? Any comments will be appreciated.
Ken Gilleo - Warwick, RI :confuse:

gazman · May 2005

I have owned a 260, 280 and now an 05 350 Z the only Problem I have is finding a place to dive my car. I bought the Ent. with the Auto and love the dual capability. We need to have a little more positive about the Z cars and remember that every car that is redesigned goes through a period of growing pains.... this include the dealers...so dealers make sure you look at the problems as they were yours and customers keep the faith.........

qbrozen · May 2005

Unfortunately, as is always pointed out, most folks don't seek out a place to vent how much they like something.

Anyway, while I'm typing and thinking of this... can anyone else confirm where the oil registers on the dipstick? About a month or so ago, I checked my oil and it read half a quart low .... so I added half a quart. Drove it that day, when I got home, I checked it again and it still said half a quart low .... hmmmmm.... I added a little bit more, drove it the next day and could swear I smelled oil. So this made me a bit suspicious and I decided to ride it out a couple of weeks and see what happens. Well, as it turns out, no matter how much I drive it this past month, it ALWAYS tells me its half a quart low. Does anyone else notice this? Is it just a quark I need to be aware of that it will never read full, even though it is (and may be overfull now)?

jkilcullen · May 2005

Love my 350Z Roadster This car rocks! However After putting just 2,954 miles on this Beast I am experiencing Clutch slippage from 1st to 2nd on the up change at 4700RPM. This is quite embarrassing when burning off a Porsche Boxster from the start position. And of course come to find out that any Clutch repairs are not covered under the Warranty. Also dissapointed to find out that Nissan North America are un sympathetic about my plight and my Local Dealer is rubbing his hands together waiting for my money. Before parting with any funds has anyone else suffered from this problem?

qbrozen · May 2005

not covering the clutch is not entirely true. i've read of other owners having theirs replaced under warranty. I don't really know how or why. I would think its difficult to prove that it is not due to your driving habits.

jkilcullen · May 2005

Thanks for the response I thought it might have been due to my driving also but this only happens from 1st to 2nd gear at High revs and I only have 2,954 miles on her . I never ride the clutch and have always driven sports cars. Over the last 25 years I have had the privaledge of owning and driving Lamborghini Espada, Lotus, Jensen Healy, E type Jaguar, and MG' s. This is the only car I have had this problem with.

fish8 · June 2005

How many miles on your '05?

qbrozen · June 2005

check my profile for my email and drop me a line.

zlady · June 2005

Hey Gbrozen!
I'm glad you're glad I'm happy

Here is my update: I picked up the car after the 7300mi tire rotation and the Service Tech said the tires were wearing evenly and smoothly! They did not have to rotate the back tires as the drive tire was good...indicating to them I was not jumping on the gas and burning rubber at every opportunity. As of this note the car is driving fine. I hear no tire noise and the steering is great. I do love this car and get alot of looks! That also has to do with the fact that I installed a custom grill, custom lights replacing the 2 reflectors in the front bumper and custom lights installed behind the Z logo on both sides of the car AND a custom spoiler from California! It's really a head turner. Drive on and enjoy your summer! :shades:

qbrozen · June 2005

Can you post a pic or 2? I'm curious what you did with the lights.

jlmora · June 2005

I am considering buying a 2005 Touring, but am concerned about this tire issue. One thing I haven't figured out from the postings is whether people see it more often with the 18" tires versus the 17" tires. I am looking at the model with the 17" tires, so I'd like to know if the problem is occurring with any tire, or one specific tire. Thanks in advance.

qbrozen · June 2005

nope, doesn't seem to be wheel-specific.

aloha1111 · June 2005

Help. My dealership is trying to rip me off with my repairs. They just replaced the clutch and flywheel 3 weeks ago. Two days later it felt like it was slipping again and brought it in about 1 week later. They say there are hot spots because of my abusive driving. They also admitted that the flywheel was not lined up perfect when they installed it. Wouldn't that put hot spots on clutch?

qchotwheels · June 2005

This also happened on my new 2004 Roadster I just bought this April. At about 3000 miles, I happened to notice my truck deck was not latching down properly after a couple attempts, I then noticed the whole deck lid was loose as in really loose. The driver's side hinge had both screws loose (hinge to deck lid), one had fallen out completely into the rain channel the other was about to come out...the right side hinge was still tight.....I noticed that there is no lock-tite built onto these bolts, in my mind there probably should be as there is no star lock washer either...I suspect these will be open to vibration and will come loose again.

I torqued them back in myself, all seems ok for now, but will now need to keep an eye on this....

qchotwheels · June 2005

I've got a new 04 Roadster Touring, I've noticed the same tint in my rear view and my blinkers do the same thing, I'm always riding around with them flashing. People must think I'm in my 70's....(not that there is anything wrong with that!).

Anyway, I have not had the pleasure of driving my Z in snow yet, where do you live, any luck with tires that work? I'm actually thinking about buying a $1000 junker to drive to work instead of investing in Tires, then drive the Z on days with no snow...(Iowa Quad Cities)

redn350z · June 2005

I have a 2004 350Z Touring Model and at 11,000 miles I experienced a "squeaking" noise when steering the vehicle and learned when I took it into the dealer that it was a TIRE PROBLEM. They indicated that it was a toe-ing problem that caused the tires to wear on the inside due to improper alignment and my 2 front tires were replaced FREE. Currently, I have almost 14,000 miles on the car. They were supposed to have fixed this problem in 2004, but apparently, it is still occurring. Keep us all posted and THANK YOU. (RedN350Z) western suburb of IL

texas350z · June 2005

Is anyone having brake problems with their 2005 350z?? I have 16,000 miles and the dealer says I need new brakes! And new tires!

starchecker1 · June 2005

Do your tires need to be replaced becuase of feathering(uneven wear on the inside tread blocks)? If so it looks like we have our first case of '05 tire feathering! Do we have a winner?!

qbrozen · June 2005

maybe first case here, but not the first case I've heard of.

texas350z - are we talking front tires, rear tires, or both?

leebro · June 2005

The brochure for the Lexus SC430 says that if you spend the extra for the run-flats you should expect 10-15k miles of them. Maybe you should be glad you're doing so well.
In addition to the worse ride you get with run-flats you also get to replace them 4 times as often. The tire companies love it.

texas350z · June 2005

I don't feel like a winner!!!! I've read of other 05 owners with tire problems....but could the brake issue be related to the feathering problem??

texas350z · June 2005

The dealer said the front tires for sure....

Do you think the brake issue is related to tires??

My dealer has been NO help whatsoever. When I called about the problem and said I think this is part of the ongoing problem they have had with tires his response was "we don't make the cars ma'am"....

I feel totally screwed by the dealer, Tom Peacock Nissan in Houston, and by Nissan, who also is not admitting to the ongoing defect and only paying a portion for tire replacement.

qbrozen · June 2005

well, is it brakes at all 4 corners? Or just the front? Is it pads and rotors? or just pads? 16k on front pads isn't unheard of, but are you sure the dealer isn't replacing them prematurely? I mean, its better to do them early rather than risking ruining your rotors, but I've had places tell me its time to replace when they have more than a quarter of their life left in them.

siphuz · June 2005

Does anyone know anything about upgrading their suspensions to either aftermaket or NISMO and having that solve the tire feathering problem?? I just got my 03 Touring this week - it has about 19,000 miles on it and I am noticing the tire noise when slowing down from 20 - 30 mph. I will be taking the car to the dealership next week but with all the "temporary-fix/condition worsening" horror stories - i'm debating whether or not to go through with the suspension upgrades to totally eliminate the problem. I think the cost of the Nismos are $1800, parts only. If it is a permanent fix - i'll head to the dealership, have them align it, slapp on some new tires, then get the Nismo suspensions upgraded at my buddies car shop. Any thoughts?? :confuse:

qbrozen · June 2005

I have not heard a definitive answer to this on the Z boards. I have yet to find a post from any one person who says "yes, i had the feathering problem, installed the suspension, and now no feathering for the past 20K miles."

tacomaboy · July 2005

15000 miles, bought the car new in November. I am on my second transmission, and now the second transmission is grinding in 5th and 6th gear.

-my transmission is garbage as stated above
-my seat shifts incessantly
-my rear wiper nozzle leaks on acceleration (only a bit)
-my rear axles click like a rattle spray paint can on crak
-my paint is chipping on the sides and the roof, despite the fact that I paid 600 bucks for a clearbra
-my seat fabric is wearing out..
-my front tires are feathering and roar when coming to a stop (at around 25 mph)

I no longer want this car.... I dont care how much fun it is to drive, and how pretty it is.

I pay 511 a month for it, and people driving by have LAUGHED at me because of the grinding transmission. I am sure I look real cool accelerating fast with washer fluid leaking all over my window, my transmission grinding and my axles clicking.

qbrozen · July 2005

Sorry to hear all that. Sounds like you've had EVERY somewhat common problem I've heard of on these cars.

I'm REALLY surprised you bought a Murano after being so disappointed in your Z. If I had all of those problems, I'd be turned off of Nissan altogether.

tacomaboy · July 2005

I bought the Murano before I had these issues... the Mo has 6k miles on it and the Z has 15k.

Had I known, no way in he|| I would have done this.

So far (knock on wood) the Mo has only had two minor problems, the alignment has gone off twice (this may not be minor, but hopefully it is) and the sun visors rattle...

nmz · July 2005

We have a 2004 350Z and have experienced this low level grinding when applying the brakes. The problem is that it comes and goes. We took it to the dealer when it was doing it and the mechanic said it was loose bolts on the control arms. It went away for awhile, but has come back. Did you ever find out the root cause of your problem?

starchecker1 · July 2005

I have an issue with my car. When I shift into fourth gear sometimes I get quite a bit of vibration I can feel in the stick. It's hard to describe actually. It almost feels as if the transmission/clutch are slipping or having a hard time getting fully engaged. I thought I might have the clutch issue some have mentioned, but it's always fourth gear that I feel it. Today doing some hard accelleration it was really bad going into fourth, the whole car vibrated that time.

The wierd thing is it doesn't do it all the time, sometimes the car feels totally solid when engaging in fourth. Two questions, do you think it is the clutch or the gear? The second is, the only thing I do different about 4th gear is that doing hard accellerations in town, I usually just shift from 2nd to 4th when I hit 45 MPH since that is going to be my cruise speed in town. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

TACOMABOY:

I had the rear axle issue you talk about too. They replaced both right and rear side underwarranty since it is a known issue in the 03 and 04 models. I bought my 04.5 Roadster in Nov and have 11,0000 miles on it. Will they not replace those for you. Also did you have to pay for the transmission or did they cover it, and how much did it cost.

qbrozen · July 2005

i don't think its a clutch issue since, as you mentioned, you would most likely feel it in more than one gear. I would have them check out your tranny. MANY folks have had their transmissions replaced under warranty. Usually for grinding in 3rd and 5th.

Nissan 350Z Problems and Solutions

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles