First Problem With my 370Z

ImportConvert

I won't jump unless its something I want, but a good company improves every year, and I don't mean a new shade of gray or slightly different rims and a black gauge cluster.

Chuck33079

It wasn't anything that minor. They beefed up the transmission slightly in 03, and the 05 sti had better hubs and bearings, which failed regularly in 04. The stock tune detonated noticeably in 04 as well. And the 05 came with a radio, which was a nice thing to have. Mine had a blank plate.

These days, if you buy a turbo Subaru you need to be prepared to get a tune ASAP. The stock tune has issues and leads to ring land failure.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

ImportConvert

My former roommate just picked up a new BRZ Limited. I drove it last night. The car is everything the 370Z should have been for me. It's nimble, the suspension is FAR MORE competent in weight transfer, rebound control, feed-back, etc. The brakes feel amazingly well modulated (even when my 370Z's worked for **** it was never this nice, although you have to press a lot harder on the BRZ, I like it. It's easy to modulate).

The exhaust note inside the cabin is very nice stock, very unlike my Altima. Errr...370Z was.

Steering was great. A bit numb on-center, but that's fine by me. Helps on highway driving.

The acceleration was amazing down low for a 4-banger. Sure, nothing to write home about, but it was plenty for daily driving and having fun. Speed isn't what the car is about, but it should be fine.

Sound system destroyed mine.

Road-noise was similar, with more wind-noise.

Paint was equal quality.

Interior is more spartan, but just as well, if not better made, and the seats are literally the best seats I have sat in. They hold you like a race seat and are comfortable enough you could fall asleep sitting up in a driving position in a parking-lot. Amazing seats. In EVER WAY!

Chassis feels great. Maybe not as rigid as the 370Z, but as or more rigid than my C6 Z06. The dynamics felt in the middle between my 370Z and Z06, with it having the rebound control and competence of my Z06, and not the jittery atomic pogo-stick feel of my 370Z Sport/Touring.


I'm obviously obnoxiously upside down ($6-7K?) in my 370Z, but no way am I keeping it when a car like the BRZ is out there. I'm holding out until about 33-34K miles on my odometer and then paying cash to make up the trade difference between the two. By then, the 2014 BRZ's should be out and we will know if they are doing an STI any time soon or not. If they are not, I honestly feel that rims/tires/pads/intake/exhaust will make the BRZ an insanely awesome car, even if the STI package never drops.

Just my take on it after some stick time with it. It's a MUCH more competent car than my 370Z.

As to my 370Z, I left it overnight at the dealer. I hope they drop it off the rack and total that POS. But in reality, the shop foreman drove it with me, and was apologizing profusely by the time the test-ride was over, saying that it was an embarrassment to Nissan, commenting on my rotors and everything looking like I barely drove the car, etc. The dealer is disgusted with all the problems I am having, and has vowed to do whatever it takes to make it right. I hope so. Trading in a fubar'ed car is difficult, lol

Chuck33079

Words I have never heard spoken about a BRZ If the dealer is that embarrased, any chance for a buyback?

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

ImportConvert

I told them they had 3 options:

-Fix it. Show me how. Figure out WHAT IS WRONG and ELIMINATE THE ISSUE.
-Turn the rotors and shave the pads every thousand miles or whenever they warp until 34K when I trade it in, and I will write in white shoe-polish as much as I can about the car and still see through the windows...
-Buy the car back.

They want to fix it. I want them to fix it. I have little faith. They are starting with the calipers, seeing if one of the pistons has an issue. I think that's a good place to start at this point.

We will see.

What I meant about the BRZ, is that it doesn't feel dead in daily sub 4K rpm driving like most 4-bangers do. It has a little snap for what it is, down low. Far more impressive than my SR20DE was, which is known for decent torque for a 4-banger.

Chuck33079

Good deal. Hopefully they eat this one and take the car off your hands.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

ImportConvert

I hope so, but I honestly do not feel that it is realistic. I don't expect them to, it would be a very nice surprise. I hate the car. It has not lived up to the expectations Nissan sold me the car with, or that it is advertised with, or that others seem to have for it, regarding the brakes, which happen to be part of the $$$ Sport Package I purchased specifically for the brakes, in part.

Chuck33079

You just got a bad one. It sucks, and I feel for you. It happens to every car manufacturer.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

ImportConvert

But it doesn't happen to every car customer, and I'm butthurt over it.

Anyway, whatever the case, I think the local dealer is going to handle it. Regardless of what's done, I'm out of it next year. Hopefully the STI model or "S" model comes out here, if not, the BRZ Limited is still exactly what I'm looking for + rims/tires/I/E. About $2500 and it will be sick.

Chuck33079

I/E/Tune on one gets you around 215-225whp from the little reading I've done. Some sways and real tires and you've got a very entertaining little car.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

sig11

Lemon laws exist for a reason. How many times have they fixed the brake issue again?

ImportConvert

Four now, but lemon laws don't even come close. I checked. 90 days down time required, I believe.

ImportConvert

After roughly 750-ish (I filled up a couple of times, roughly. 1-3, I don't remember, but it has been since my last oil-change, and I have 1,000 miles to go until the next 3K mile oil-change interval (I run synthetic and usually go 4500) or something miles, the dealership says my Z1 rotors are trashed. They did a run-out dial indicator on them and they are horrible. The vibration shakes the whole car from stops as slow as 30mph.

They could not find any tq spec that was wrong, the entire front-end was taken down/re-tq'ed, what could affect the brakes. Nothing was out of spec.

They agree that neither the pads, nor the rotors show signs of hard use other than being severely warped (no blue spots on the rotors, no excessive brake dust, etc.).

The calipers were all checked and function fine.

Nissan Corporate is getting involved.

I'm going to ask that either they show me what is causing this issue (produce the defective part for me to see, or educate me to the tq-spec, whatever, that is off, if any can be found), or give me pay-off and take their POS and let me go on my way.

I can see no other resolution other than them turning or replacing my rotors every 500-1K miles. I drive the car 26 miles a day to work and home, 3-4 days a week. The other 3-4 days, it goes 20 miles a day just to the gym. Plus road-trips. Now that it is vibrating so horribly, I am aware each and every time I am on the brakes. I use them less than I thought even before. This is horrible performance for a car which has a whole page in the product literature devoted to the Sport brakes, and which features multiple pictures taken on what is obviously a track of some sort.

I have not heard back from Corporate, so thus far, all of my dealings are positive. The Nissan dealer says there simply is nothing at all they can do except replace the rotors/pads for me, and that's obviously not the issue.

Here are the rotors I trashed in a month of home/work/gym in the flatlands of NW Louisiana:
Akebono 370Z/G37 Sport Package Performance Rotors
Slotted only.

I was running these pads:
370Z StopTech Brake Pads (Sport Model)

Chuck33079

That's probably the way to go.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

ImportConvert

That's the only way to go.

-Fix it and SHOW ME HOW. Because there is SOMETHING WRONG, and it's tangible. Show it to me.

-Acknowledge that you CANNOT show me what is wrong. Accept that this product is not performing as advertised and nothing you can do (since you cannot find a flaw to correct) will fix it. Buy it back for pay-off. I used the car for the amount and interest already paid, and I'm cool with that. It has since developed irreconcilable issues and is no-longer the product advertised. I want pay-off.

-Treat me poorly, force the dealer into a situation where they have me in there ever 500-1K miles to replace or turn the affected parts. Accept that there will be backlash from me, as well.

Those are the only 3 courses of action that I think could be taken, and I strongly hope and suspect the first or second one is what Nissan will opt for.

I just DO NOT drive this car hard enough for this to be an issue. If you can get 5 minutes of lap-time out of it on a track, it can take MUCH MORE than I put it through. I'm thoroughly disgusted. This is the 4th time in 22K miles.