A&Q about 350Z
Q:
What I want to know is, is it a problomatic car? What kind of problems have there been and what not as well. We are both looking to purchase in the next 5-8months.
Thanks,
Ronnie
A:
No reoccurring problems other than the front tire issue for me and I now have 27K on the car. And my wife and I have enjoyed every time we have gotten into our "Z"
Mspeasl
Central Illinois - Form member since 2/02
"Growing old may be mandatory, but growing up is optional"
03 Redline Touring 6sp "350Z" (Pre-Ordered 02/02) - Delivered 29 August 02
05 Satin Jade Pearl Chrysler 300C 6/04
Post Edited (Mar 25, 5:27pm)
A:
Even though some people have not experienced tire feathering don't let that make you think this car does not have a front suspension design flaw. Because it does. Do not believe the hype when they tell you it's an alignment issue only on the 03's, that is toatal b@llsh@t. Buy the car then when the tires feather , join the lawsuit. Remember get as many free tires you can BEFORE 12,000 miles or one year, Nissan will NOT take care of you after that, they are being sued and they will Not admit there is a problem.. enjoy the car
NNA runs this site!!!
A:
so you say it is an issue with ALL models of the Z not just the 03/04?
A:
note JD Power surveys.
Nissan now ranks near bottom, right after Kia.
too bad, in the old days Nissan was a top performer, but quality now comes at a cost. and too bad for all Z owners (and I have owned more than one) like me who expected far more from this company.
A:
tire feathering is an undocumented feature on the Z so reconsider unless you wear through front tires in 10K miles. My disappointment is not in the car but in how Nissan has chosen to hide and screw everyone that owns the car. They aren't fixing the problem!
A:
:'(
This makes me sooo very sad. I fell in love with that car after the test drive yesterday. Oh well, I guess it's fate.
A:
Mirage, where is this ranking list?
I saw the z had a 4 out of 5 for build quality for 2k4
A:
Don't buy one until you are sure that the tire feathering issue is resolved
either by aftermarket or factory engineers.
A:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-04-28-quality-chart.htm
Nissan now ranking behind Kia, Saturn, and even Suzuki.
Sad. But not surprising.
A:
Koolaid,
I say get it!! I love my 03. So far there is not 1 case of feathering that I have read any where on the 05 Z. Prob because no one with an 05 has racked up 8-14k miles yet. Most likley it will have it, but in my opinion, WHO Freaking cares. I love my car and if that means I have to spend 450$ for 2 new tires every 12k miles then oh well, small price to pay considering how nice the overall car really is. Heck most but not all Z owners dont even put 8k miles a year. So after 2 years you pay 450 bucks on tires, big deal!! Get the 05 and enjoy it. BEN
2006 Acura TL, Black on Black, 6 speed Navi with Brembos.
A:
The tire issue is a problem, but to Nissans defense, my friend has a 2004 s2000. I was surprised when he told me yesterday that he had ordered 4 new tires for it. He had just put new tires on it 6 months ago, thats 12000 miles ago for him. So in this case all 4 tires in 12000 miles. So I can tell you that Nissan isnt alone with this, plus the Honda cost much more than the Z. Food for thought.
A:
GET THE CAR!!!!! not everyone has had bad experiences with the car.it's a true work of art it handles very well and has great power.i love it and at a fraction of the cost of a 911.i'll tell you this for a fact the 350z out performs the boxter and the stock 911.definitely in handling and very comparable in power to the 911 stock that is.buy the track model if you can i know the 25th anniversaries have the brembo brakes.it's an overall nice package with the brakes.good luck!
mike
Z's are like woman maintenance,maintenance,maintenance!
1971 240Z gunmetal metalic 5sp 4:11 gears in the rear
illuminas and purchased from the original owner w/136k original miles
A:
Zelous350Z ,
I would prolly be putting 1k-1500 miles a month on it, maybe more, maybe less. Depends really. I have put 3k in a month on a car before though, so $450 every 12k miles could be a problem, especially when the car is really 10k more than what I wanted to originally spend :-\
zlion,
I would be getting the Touring model with the Auto Transmission that has the manual feature, loved that. I really do love the 35th anniv wheels and I wouldn't mind the 300hp but too expensive, I dunno if it's worth the 5k extra for different wheels and 13more hp.
One thing I do miss is the Brickyard color, but the Blue is my #1 choice.
A:
big deal i put nearly 3000 every month as well... and here's something i STILL have the original front bridgestones. AT 31K miles... granted the Front Left tire is bald now (mainly because most of my daily turns are right turns and hard at that)... but i could probably pull another 500 miles off of it. I need to get new tires but need to pay for a few more important things first.
i'll post pics of these tires if i can...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chrome Silver '03 Touring -MT-
C.F. Nismo Wing
Shorty Antenna (Stolen!!! Thanks alot!)
Kicker Solo Baric L7 1200w
I don't think, I know...
Well, I don't think you know either
A:
oh god please,do not listen to some of these people. they have no information or facts on the extent or problem with the 05's feathering.NONE! absolutely positevely NO FACTS. They are just bitter 03 owners who had a bad experience. I personally have an 03 with some moderate feathering but it really hasnt been a big issue. besides that the other problems with my 03 have been fixed on the newer models. Also instead of telling you that nissan has changed some of the suspension specs and have put on redesigned REO40's(which they have) they would rather just tell everyone not to buy the car because they had a bad experience. Now im not denying that the Z may have a suspension problem that causes the tires to feather but it doesnt effect the handling of the car(I also dont deny that Nissan handled the situation very badly) Even if there is feathering on the 05's it should be very much minimized because of the changes and will not show up after 5k,10K miles like people experienced with the 03's. please do yourself a favor and buy the car if its really what you want, you will not be dissapointed.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
Post Edited (Mar 25, 6:40pm)
A:
drivenZ wrote:
> oh god please,do not listen to some of these people. they have
> no information or facts on the extent or problem with the 05's
> feathering.NONE! absolutely positevely NO FACTS. They are just
> bitter 03 owners who had a bad experience. I personally have
> an 03 with some moderate feathering but it really hasnt been a
> big issue. besides that the other problems with my 03 have
> been fixed on the newer models. Also instead of telling you
> that nissan has changed some of the suspension specs and have
> put on redesigned REO40's(which they have) they would rather
> just tell everyone not to buy the car because they had a bad
> experience. Now im not denying that the Z may have a
> suspension problem that causes the tires to feather but it
> doesnt effect the handling of the car(I also dont deny that
> Nissan handled the situation very badly) Even if there is
> feathering on the 05's it should be very much minimized because
> of the changes and will not show up after 5k,10K miles like
> people experienced with the 03's. please do yourself a favor
> and buy the car if its really what you want, you will not be
> dissapointed.
>
>
> Post Edited (Mar 25, 6:40pm)
Thanks, I am really wanting to in hopefully 6-8mnths, I just found the exact one I want in Killeen too :-\ If I could I would have bought it yesterday when I drove it. lol
A:
buy one, u will love it, we just have too many whining bitches on this site
A:
I don't fault the car I fault Nissan for not doing right by the people that had faith in them and bought the car site unseen. Thanks God I leased it and don't own this car!
For you 05 owners that don't think you have a feathering problem - you do! As fo the whining comment above, I would happily buy tires if I was actually wearing them out by carving canyons or doing donuts but normal driving doesn't make me a happy camper.
I dropped my deposit off on the new GT500 Stang today so I'll kiss this Nissan terd goodbye when it comes in! Not doing right when bandaids didn't work is BS.
A:
justaz wrote:
> I don't fault the car I fault Nissan for not doing right by the
> people that had faith in them and bought the car site unseen.
> Thanks God I leased it and don't own this car!
>
> For you 05 owners that don't think you have a feathering
> problem - you do! As fo the whining comment above, I would
> happily buy tires if I was actually wearing them out by carving
> canyons or doing donuts but normal driving doesn't make me a
> happy camper.
>
> I dropped my deposit off on the new GT500 Stang today so I'll
> kiss this Nissan terd goodbye when it comes in! Not doing right
> when bandaids didn't work is BS.
And you know this how?? I have not seen any documentation or posts anywhere about it. What is the Price of the GT500 if you don't mind me asking.
A:
Because they haven't changed the car is how I know feathering is inevitable. 04 owners thought they were exempt too and some even boasted about it. What happened? Feathering happened. Since Nissan hasn't changed the suspension and only put off feathering by using tires with a different tread pattern. This doesn't fix feathering but does get Nissan out of having to replace tires under warranty.
$40K for the Mustang.
A:
Do you have facts on 04 vs. 04.5 feathering....by the time the majority of feathering victims complained on the 03's the 04's were already being produced. I believe many 04.5 owners havent had quite so many feathering problems. Again, you dont have any facts on the 05's so to say that feathering will still be a problem is just speculation on your part.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
Post Edited (Mar 26, 9:03pm)
A:
i bought a 03 in 04 and had no prior research except specs and options... does that count?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chrome Silver '03 Touring -MT-
C.F. Nismo Wing
Shorty Antenna (Stolen!!! Thanks alot!)
Kicker Solo Baric L7 1200w
I don't think, I know...
Well, I don't think you know either
A:
zlion,
when the stang comes in I'll roast the **** out of the tires on the Z and never look back. when I'm tooling around with 450 bhp stock I'll show every Z the back of my stang's ass.
I would bet that Ford backs their stang a helluva lot better than nissan has the Z!
A:
wow, u can go fast. too bad u will look ugly doing it. i cant beleive ure goin nissan to ford. classy to trashy. a ford mustang lol, so have u started growing ure mullet yet?
A:
i just don't like the interior of the new stangs... its too damn plain... and doesn't have that "driver oriented" essence...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chrome Silver '03 Touring -MT-
C.F. Nismo Wing
Shorty Antenna (Stolen!!! Thanks alot!)
Kicker Solo Baric L7 1200w
I don't think, I know...
Well, I don't think you know either
A:
That survey has been discussed.. like all statistics you have to look deeper if you are a smart consumer. Note how high jaguar is. Jaguar's problems are usually complicated and very disrupting electrical failures, which result in 1 car having 1 problem. Grease streaks on a 350z also is considered 1 car having 1 problem. Blown ford transmission counts as 1 car having 1 problem, understand? That being said, if you can't life with the possibility of replacing tires that are supposed to last 45k+ at 25-30k miles, you may not want to purchase the car. That being said, most people spend that difference on adding a wing to their car without thinking twice.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT
A:
Again, you're missing the point I'm trying to make. Nissan is choosing not to honor their warranty on the car by denying replacement tires even when the problem is definitely in the suspension. This tells me that they've sold us all a warranty on the Z and then back out of it so why should anyone buy a Nissan knowing that this is their SOP? That's standard operating procedure for those less mentally inclined.
Also, If the stock tires lasted 25K miles I wouldn't care as much but we're talking less than 10K miles for the tread and less than 5K miles for the noise increase.
If they're going to screw us on tires how about the engine, tranny or electrical system?
A:
"less than 10K miles for the tread"
theres definitly different degrees of the problem, not everyone has it so bad. My 03 the feathering started noticeably around 10-12k and i got the tires changed out at 16k but the tread was still fine to drive on the noise was just there, and of course i knew i could get new tires so i went to have them changed. But the tread would have lasted til 20k easy. My rears only lasted 20k and there of course wasnt any feathering on those.
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
Stock tires are not designed to last 45k+, hency why I specifically said 'replacing tires that are supposed to last 45k+ at 25-30k miles', focusing more towards higher tread-wear rating tires like Pilot Sports. I'm not missing any point, I've read as many threads relating to this subject matter as probably any other member on this board, although I do not post in each one with 'witty' remarks as some here are infamous for. The reality is the problem exists, and the problem's outcomes/penalties are not very complicated. You have to buy tires significantly sooner than you 'should' based on what the tire manufacturers claim [as i'm sure others do as well], espeically if the noise is more bothersome to you.
If this car will be a daily driver in which you put significant miles on it annually, the tire cost will be more significant. If, like i'm going to assume, this car is a weekend/pleasure driver for the majority of the people on here, the added expense of the tires for the 'short' term [5 years+/-] is probably less than a cat-back exhaust for 1200 dollars [based on the most simplistic {2 front tires cost over 5 years *2} for tires getting 1/2 of what they are expected to].
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT
A:
I'm w/u.........I've test drove two different models & it was love in first gear. But then I visited this web site & several other "Z"' owners & I was shocked @ how they have been treated & continue to be treated by Nissan. I sent & e-mail to Nissan North America (NNA) re: the tire feathering problem & their lack of customer support to date. They responded by saying "that their have been no open recalls or campaigns for 04 / 05 350Z's. There was a warranty extension on the 03 / 350Z as a customer satisfaction initiative". But at the same time they have also authorized an extented warranty for 04 Z owners who keep bugging their respective dealership & until NNA gives them a one time authorization What that says to me is that NNA knows they have problem w/ the 350Z models & thet are trying to minimaze their financial liability & screw the new 350Z owner twice by first not admitting to the problem before the purchase. then leaving it up to owner to handle the financial burden of two new tires every 8K to 10K plus a new alignment evey oil change.
My advise to you don't buy w/ your eyes close or your head in the ground
in hopes that this issue will go away or your'e be one of those lucky guys
that brought one that doesn't the problem.
A:
Please let me know when u get to the 10k to 12k miles mark.