Nissan 350Z 2003 and 2004 Model Warranty Extended
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Source: Nissan Corporation
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.
Tire Replacement Issue October/2003 to September/2006 September 19/06
1. Dec 27/03 15 500 km (approx. 10 000 miles) on new tires – front tires replaced (this wasn’t easy to convince them they just wanted to follow the TSB) and front-end alignment. Reason given for tire feathering/cupping: vehicle came out of the factory misaligned.
2. October 13/04 14 200 km on second set of tires – front tires replaced and front-end alignment. Reason given for tire feathering/cupping: Alignment problem, but I was told Nissan had come up with new alignment specifications, which would correct the problem.
3. September 09/06 Mileage to date on third set Bridgestone tires approximately 13 100 km.
The tires are already as bad as the first two sets. Reason given for tire wear: none given. Warranty has expired and the service manager doubts if there is anything he can do for me. He says he doesn’t even know what is causing the problem so he couldn’t fix it if he I even he could.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Nissan appears to be completely ignoring their customers and to say I’m frustrated is completely understating the issue.
Thank-you for your time. Dave Matt
Just wondering, have you found a resolution for the problem yet? Or a possible course of action to fix your particular model? I am concerned because I am thinking about purchasing a 03 or 04 350z and would rather buy the new ones if the cause is inherent in the design at the time. I hope that everything can be made well on the earlier ones. I haven’t heard anything bad with the newer ones.
I have the same problem. Did Nissan ever accept responsibility?
interesting stuff.