10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 6,814 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
I own a new Nissan 350Z, purchased in April/May 2003. The car came in misaligned and was aligned at 1700 miles. Now at 9400 miles, the alignment is out again and the tires are feathering. Dealership will replace tires under warranty, but admits the problem is wide spread with the 350 and there is no fix. Something within the suspension/front end is faulty. The dealer has been very helpful.
- Marietta, GA, USA
Extreme irregular front tire wear (cupping) causing loud noise and vibration especially during braking. Vehicle had approximately 4000 miles on it when first noticed. Tires were replaced at 5000 miles and front end alignment checked (alignment was good). Vehicle now has 9000 miles and the front tires are showing irregular wear again. Manufacturer has no fix for the problem.
- Taylors, SC, USA
A defect exist in the 2003 Nissan 350Z which causes excessive 'cupping' or 'feathering' to occur to the tires of the vehicle.
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2003 Nissan 350Z has a defective suspension that causes the tires to wear unevenly (tire feathering) and also causes the vehicle to pull to the right which also causes the tires to wear unevenly. Nissan dealership has had the vehicle in 6 times with no success. Hundreds of other 350Z owners have this same trouble, but may not know how to deal with it.
- Orlando, FL, USA
My 350Z had a terrible growl noise and vibrations coming from the front when braking. Tires were very feathered on the inside of the front two tires. Filed a complaint with nna and they had the dealer take the tires off the rims and swap the front tires. I don't think they fixed the issue just delayed the inevitable.
- Santa Clara, CA, USA
Tread on front tires was forming a feathered wear pattern at 6000 miles. Dealer realigned but didn't produce a printout of results because "the printer was broken". they refused to replace the worn tires. At 16,000 miles all tread on the inside of the front tires was gone while the tread on the outer edge was normal. The dealer said that the factory rep would not repair car. This is an obvious design flaw because they did not allow for caster adjustment. I now hate Nissan more than I love my car and will pursue a refund per lemon law.
- San Antonio, TX, USA
I purchased a Nissan 350Z on 12/30/2002. I started complaining to the dealer about loud growling noise from the front end at about 5000 miles. The dealer stated that it was because of improper front end alignment. At 6000 miles the dealer performed a tsb which stated that the front end needed alignment an the front tires rotated (swapped from side to side). At that time they provided me with print outs of the vehicle alignment reports which shows that the vehicle was out of alignment and remains out of the Nissan specifications in regard to the front caster which is causing the dangerous, abnormal and premature wear of the front tires. The dealer states that there is no way to correct this out-of-spec condition. The front tires are now wearing unevenly on the inside again so the re-alignment has not corrected the problem and the dealer says they can not do anything about it.
- Davie, FL, USA
Front tires feathering. Return to dealer. Dealer rotated tires and redid alignment. Was told to go to a frame shop. They say it is so far out of alingment they cant fix. Caused by pot hole? other Z owners have the same problem of feathering.
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Vehicle was taken to dealer for the first 3000 miles regular inspection. Technician stated that fronts tires needed to be replaced and front alignment done.
- Leesburg, FL, USA
Purchased 2003 Nissan 350Z January 2003. Vehicle suffers from a chronic tire cupping problem. Tires were replaced by Nissan at ~5,000 miles. This was only done at my insistence. Nissan's published (see their tsb) approach is to dismount tires and rotate side to side. Now at ~6,000 miles and new tires are cupping. Vehicle also suffers from a severe purposing (bounce) problem that particularly manifests itself on concrete roadways. At highway speed it is so severe that the car feels as though it is becoming airborne. Nissan has not, of yet, addressed either of these problems with a permanent fix.
- Tarpon Springs, FL, USA
Front tire "feathering." There is a common front end suspension problem with many of the first year Nissan 350Z's released that causes the front tires to wear unevenly and prematurely fail. It can first become noticeable at several thousand miles. The front tires make excessive noise under braking at speeds below 40 mph. I have contacted Nissan North America on several occasions and had my vehicle in for service at the dealership, but to the best of my knowledge, a fix is not currently available. I replaced the original tires at 4000 miles because of the noise, then discovered at a chat room that many other 350Z owners were having similar problems. Once removed, an inspection showed uneven wear on the inside edge of the tire that I was previously unaware of. Nissan has agreed to reimburse the cost of one replacement set of tires, but my concern is that the vehicle will continue to cause premature tire wear problems unless fixed. I don't know if this is a safety issue, but am convinced that a mechanical defect exists, Nissan is aware of it and a majority of early issue cars are effected.
- Farmington Hills, MI, USA
My new Nissan 2003 350Z was delivered out of alignment. This has caused my tire to be severely worn on the in side edge of tire (both front tires). Nissan's solution is to rotate front tires so that the worn/cupped portion of the tire is on the outside edge of tire. What kind of solution is this? the life expectancy of my tire has been greatly reduced and has jeopardized my safety!
- Houston, TX, USA
Front tires on my vehicle are feathering due to suspension problems. Manufacturer will not fix the mechanical problem. It is a Nissan 350Z 2003 under warranty with 6000 miles. Have had 3 tire inspections by different tire manufacturer's, all point toward suspension defect. Traction is way less then 100%.
- Greer, SC, USA
Front tires on my vehicle are feathering due to suspension problems. Manufacturer will not fix the mechanical problem. It is a Nissan 350Z 2003 under warranty with 8000 miles. Have had 3 tire inspections by different tire manufacturer's, all point toward suspension defect. Traction is less then 100%
- Arkansas City, KS, USA
The car has terrible feathering on the inside edges of the front tires. Problem started after 7,500 miles. Contact patches on the inside tire tread are wearing unevenly. I had the car aligned by Nissan on 2-21-03 and the problem has gotten worse. This really scares me and could lead to unsafe driving due to poor design and uneven tread on the tires. The car is a Nissan 350Z. Received in August 2002.
- Frisco, TX, USA
- Edinburg, TX, USA