A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Sport Z Magazine has received the following press release from Nissan North America regarding a front-end alignment warranty extension for '03 and '04 350Zs. Owners will receive a letter from NNA detailing tire reimbursement (including prorated costs, an FAQ, and a printable form required for compensation), which you can download now as a pdf at: www.sportzmagazine.com
FRONT-END ALIGNMENT WARRANTY EXTENDED ON 2003 AND 2004 NISSAN 350Z MODELS
LOS ANGELES, CA. (August 8, 2005) – Evoking emotion, passion, and excitement are key principles behind every Nissan product. For more than 30 years, the Z has been a testament to this philosophy. And thanks to many Z owners around the world, they have carried on its rich tradition and legacy and have made the Z one of the finest performance cars on the road today.
As part of its commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, Nissan North America (NNA) has announced plans to extend the warranty relating to the front-end alignment on all 2003 and 2004 350Z models.
In late April of 2004, owners of 2003 350Z vehicles were notified regarding the Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension. The Warranty Extension was in response to customer concerns about an irregular wear pattern which was occurring on the inner edge of the front tires. The wear pattern caused a noise described as "tire roar" or "tire growl". Customers with 2004 350Z cars were not included under the Warranty Extension at that time as any vehicles which exhibited similar issues would be covered under the vehicle’s original New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Nissan closely monitored this situation and investigated customer comments received via letters, emails and the internet, in addition to the company’s own research. Based on this information, Nissan recognized that while the incidence of this noise was significantly reduced, for some customers the situation was not fully resolved, and that some 2004 350Z owners were also experiencing the same situation. After a thorough assessment, Nissan identified that, in addition to correcting the front-end alignment, a new tire with a slightly modified tread pattern, more resistant to “heel-toe” wear together with correct alignment, virtually eliminated the incident. Vehicles equipped with these tires have experienced virtually no incidents of tire noise.
To demonstrate its commitment to customer satisfaction, Nissan is extending the warranty for front-end alignment due to tire noise until 36 months from the in-service date or October 31, 2005 (whichever is later) and unlimited mileage for 2003 350Z models, and to 36 months and unlimited mileage on 2004 350Z models. The warranty extension ensures all owners will receive an effective repair, including in some circumstances replacement of their front tires with the new tire design, if they experience tire noise during the extended warranty period. Customer notifications will be sent out beginning today.
“Z owners are very loyal owners and they love their cars,” said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing, NNA. “We listened to what our Z owners had to say and looked into the matter. Extending the warranty not only demonstrates our confidence in the 350Z, but also our commitment to customer satisfaction.”
Sport Z Magazine will follow this issue and release updates if/when they are available.
Dave Bexfield
Editor, Sport Z Magazine
www.sportzmagazine.com
A:
whooo hooo, free tires for 3 years!!! Then what?
NNA runs this site!!!
A:
"whooo hooo, free tires for 3 years!!! Then what?"
Then you trade it in for the new 2009 Z
78 280z Black Pearl 132K miles? could be 232k miles? who knows...
"Datsun: We Are Driven"
A:
At least they are admitting a problem. Thats a bit more than before.
04.- P.WHITE-TOURING-AT.
1953 MGTD
BROWN FENDERS/CREAM BODY.
W/BROOKLAND RACING SCREENS.
Dixieland
A:
You get what you pay for. This car's problems are a direct attribute of Carlos Ghosn's cost-cutting, get the neatest-looking car in production in the shortest time possible. I remember attending a pre-production showing conducting by Nissan in April 2002 where a Nissan territory representative bragged about how Nissan brought the 2003 350Z into production in quicker time in history. I sold my 2003 350 (a sopued up Atlima) with no regrets. and I will wait until a I can afford a thourabred sports car that is not overweight, under powered, does not have a rear end that looks like a fat ass, and sans ridcicouls problems like window streaking (aka Porsche Cayman). I bought this car based on the postive experienec of owning Nissans in the pre-Ghosn era. In the meantime, I will be content to drive my my Ford F-150 pickup (whose panit job, interior materials, and overall quality are far superier to my 350Z) until I can afford to pay the price for quality. Speaking of quality and performance, my buddy's Honda S2200 far exceeds the 350Z in quality, excitemet, and bang for a simlilar price. granted, it does not have the fat-looking butt of the 350Z, but it it is a throughbred sports catr that DOES NOT SHARE A PLATRFORM with anoither car. Dont't get sucked up in hype of this cheap pregnant-gubby looking car. Bide your time, save your money,and pay more more the real thing or look for another more cost-effective alternative, moe exhilitaring alternative (2206 Acura RRX Tyoe S or 2006 Honda Civic CSI), befor biting on Nissan's hype. Take it from me for all that's worth, been there done that, HASTA LUEGA NISSAN!
Post Edited (Aug 8, 4:29pm)
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ngm, glad to hear it so why are you still on this board all I have to say to you is "Good day".
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
It's interesting that they admit there is a problem on the later 2004s AND to admit that the alignment is not necessarily fixing it for all people (gee!). For a long time they claimed there was no issue.
What are the steps of addiction recovery? Denial, Rejection, Anger, Acceptance and Forgiveness? Something like that? I'm guessing Nissan is past the Anger and heading into Acceptance now.
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Sport Z Editor...I appreciate the up-date.
ngm...
My SB ZR still feels like HEAVEN....what a wild ride!
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Just an fyi ngm, your new Ford (F-150) just happens to be the biggest profit maker for Ford. They make more money on each truck sold then any other car in there fleet. My brother-in-law is an engineer for Ford and I bought a F 150 a few years back on the "A" Plan and was blown away by how cheap it was for me to get. I was told that Ford makes a living selling F 150's for a lot more then it cost them because people are willing to pay the price. No questions asked. Good going on your score.
73 240Z - Nissan Sport project car
A:
Big deal. They are giving 2003 owners 36 months or until October 31, 2005 whichever comes later. For most 2003 owners, this is not that much extra time. What happens when the "extended warranty" expires and the problems still persists. The bottom line is that Nissan does not have a permanent fix, only a band-aid approach. This is an inherent design problem that 350Z owners are either going to have to live with or seek some other remedy whatever that may be.
A:
Nissan is still in denial:
Lets play a game and fast forward one year......
In late April of 2006, owners of 2005 350Z vehicles were notified regarding the Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension. The Warranty Extension was in response to customer concerns about an irregular wear pattern which was occurring on the inner edge of the front tires. The wear pattern caused a noise described as "tire roar" or "tire growl". Customers with 2005 350Z cars were not included under the Warranty Extension at that time as any vehicles which exhibited similar issues ..
Get it ? Got it? Good..
How bout another year?
In late April of 2007 owners of 2006 350Z vehicles were notified regarding the Front Wheel Alignment Warranty Extension. The Warranty Extension was in response to customer concerns about an irregular wear pattern which was occurring on the inner edge of the front tires. The wear pattern caused a noise described as "tire roar" or "tire growl". Customers with 2006 350Z cars were not included under the Warranty Extension at that time as any vehicles which exhibited similar issues
Nissan acted like i was the problem and said it was the alignment in 04.
Now they say it was ALSO the tires, sorry.
Next they'll discontinue the car in 07
NNA runs this site!!!
Post Edited (Aug 9, 3:07pm)
A:
My 'in service date' is Nov 02 which means Nov 05 it falls out of the 'extended warranty'.
I just rolled over 36,000 miles so this gives me a free month or so of tire warranty...big deal I must say.
Guess I best go see about one last set of free tires.
2003 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast Coupe (Fast)
2003 Mercury Marauder (Faster)
1996 Ford Ranger (Don't ask!)
A:
I was needing new tires anyway, and I'm grateful to get another set of fronts from Nissan.
I'll make sure the alignment is done properly this time, and do more to periodically check it. Perhaps that's what this sports car requires.
Thanks, Nissan. There'll be no pouting or whining from this 2003 owner.
A:
Whatever. Some of you are obviously thin-skinned over your frusttrations at at bitiing on Carlos Ghosn's gimmick renitroduction of the "Inevreable Z."
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ngm, ill ask again why are you here? If you hate the Z so much why bother being here and posting?
Currently parting out 1990 300zx TT.
A:
ngm,
I'm glad you sold yours. You sound very happy about it. Also, try spell checking your posts. Regarding the Honda, if you're anywhere near 6 ft tall you can't even fit in that car.
Good luck with your savings plan to purchase a quality car.
A:
2003 performance z...7000 miles, i had the front tire problems...went to the dealer, had the alignment and the new designed bridgestone tires put on, no questions asked...22,500 miles on now and still no sign of any problems... turner nissan sacramento, ca.
Sportscar = 03 Z SS Performance Pure Stock
A:
I am wondering about the status of the class action lawsuit. Does anyone
know?
A:
got my letter today!
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:
I got my pre-order 03 in late September, only put about 300 miles on it, and put it away for the winter. TSB came out with new alignment specs, I took it to the dealer for an alignment check - reset. With only 400 miles he told me to say noise when braking so they could set the new alignment under warranty. I am now at 18,437 miles on the original crappy S04's with no noise and no feathering, and decent amount of tread left. I think getting a good alignment, and a good alignment machine does the trick for some. My dealer had a brand new high tech machine which he mounted targets on poles that were hexagonal like mirrors on my wheels, and a laser sensing beam aimed at each and the readings taken. Very unreal looking machine, but it sure seems to have set the proper alignment. Plus I have no other problem ecept the grease streak. My windows are still working, the gas tank always fills full with ease. I am just holding my breath on my 6MT, but it to seems fine still. Got lucky I guess, especially with a very low serial # preorder, under 300.
A:
What a bunch of blah blah. I own a Z. I know differently, Nissan could care less. These magazine guys are always so positive when it's not their money...