Sounds like corporate is holding the dealer's feet to the fire for recommending aftermarket stuff and trying to warranty claim it. I'm unfortunately not too surprised he developed amnesia. At this point you might want to find some legal representation. You'd be surprised how much you can accomplish with a sternly worded letter on legal letterhead sent to the dealer and manufacturer.

I'm not going to be spending another dime on this (after buying Z1 rotors, Stoptech pads...and NOW, OEM Sport rotors and pads to replace those...). However, I don't think they want to cross wires with me. I'm going to wait and see how Nissan Corporate deals with this after I finally get a chance to speak with the regional representative.

Yeah yeah, I like to learn the hard way, but I've learned my lesson now. First and last Nissan I will EVER buy. After reading threads like this, if you still want a Nissan, well, buy mine, you're probably even dumb enough to give me pay-off.

Dude, I get that you're livid about this. I would be too. You have every right to be. You've gotten a crappy deal, and we all feel for you. As a community we've all been trying to help with what little we can for you. Calling us idiots is kinda uncalled for.

Sorry bro, I'm pissed at this situation and cannot believe any rational human being would choose to be in the same spot, potentially.

What I meant to convey, is, knowing this...who the hell would actually buy a Nissan after seeing where it can land you when things don't go right? It's a machine. It has the potential to **** the bed.

That being said, I have not yet gotten to speak with the area manager. I am hoping that he can fix all of this and that it's just one big misunderstanding. I'm trying to remain somewhat calm, and want to exhaust all possibilities of resolving this in a somewhat relaxed manner.

I still don't get how it's Nissan's fault that you keep messing up your rotors? :)

Would I buy another Nissan? Sure. I've had no problems. Neither has anyone I know. You did. It really sucks. We feel bad for you, and have been willing to help with whatever we can. But what you've experienced is not what the vast majority of us have experienced, and implying we're stupid for not sharing your feelings about Nissan is not cool. I know you're just venting, and I'm not taking it too personally, but I just wanted to point out that the same people you're calling dumb for wanting/liking Nissan vehicles are the exact same people who've been trying to help you.

Was typing while you were editing- your revision made it come across better than the first draft of your post. ;)

It's cool. The internet is a fun place when all you have in front of you is a screen and a keyboard.

The dealbreaker (in my opinion) is the lack of support if you run into issues.

Yeah, because I did not convey what I meant to convey the first go.

Exactly. It's a car. It has thousands of moving parts. You think each one will be perfect? No. That's why you have a warranty and a reputation backing the product. Or rather, you HOPE you do...

Yeah, it is.

Anyway, ceramic and metallic/organic mix pads will always deposit if your driving style happens to be such that you stand on the brakes while they're hot on a regular basis. 'Hot' just means "not cold".

I would get some sintered metal pads and call it a day, that's the only way around it in my opinion. Never had any issues with my Z and the rotors last forever. (nearly)

This is the only car I have ever owned that warps the rotors every several hundred to several thousand miles like clockwork.

2011 C6 Z06
1993 Crown Vic
2002 G20
2001 WS.6
1995 Trans AM
1988 Mustang GT

You telling me the 370Z with sport package is the most fragile of these in the braking department? Half of the damn product manual shows it on a literal racetrack, and one full page is devoted to the craptastic brakes.

Personally, I think it's time to stop being quite so relaxed. I'm not necessarily saying lawyer up, but if you have a friend or acquaintance who is an attorney? Sometimes all you need is the letter.

I don't see anything on that list that can really be compared?

I'll go through the list so you can know what I mean:

2011 C6 Z06
- Laaaarge swept area 4 pot caliper, peak heat per square inch not as high as the Z, not using super compressible organic/ceramic pad to reach "artificially high" peak coefficient of friction like the Z's stock pads.
1993 Crown Vic
- large shitty single pot caliper, peak heat much lower because the coefficient of friction isn't even in the same universe
2002 G20
- small shitty single pot caliper, see above
2001 WS.6
- large shitty two pot, see above
1995 Trans AM
- large shitty single pot (maybe two pot) caliper, see above
1988 Mustang GT
- large shitty single pot, see above

You're right. Physical violence would make me feel great, and there isn't a person there I couldn't walk through, but that is not the answer and the results would be counter productive to every other aspect of my life.

So really, the only true force I can bring to bear that will get results and not cost me more than it gets me is legal force. Dealerships are sleazy enough to know this, and that I am smart enough to realize it, too, regardless of how nasty I may feel.

I know several excellent lawyers and may give one a call after speaking with Nissan's area rep. I want to speak with him before I go further down that road.

So what you are saying is that 2-3 minutes on a track (actually, the first set I fried instantly with a panic slow from 75 to 40 on the freeway when someone moved over into my lane, so maybe Turn 1?) is enough to fry Nissan's Sport brakes, but yet they are better than all of these other systems because...why?

Learning a lot about why you're not having much luck dealing with people on this issue. :rolleyes:

Yes that is really enough on the stock pads.

They're not better than all of those, but most of them, yes.

Get REAL pads, the problem goes away. Or, don't abuse the stock pads and be happy.

I think you should read the rest of the post. I don't think there is a person alive who hasn't wanted to put their fist through someone's face, but instead has politely reasoned with them because that is the smarter, better way. I said what I felt like doing, not what I planned, threatened, or otherwise postured to do. :tiphat:

Have you put together a file on all of this? Invoices, dates of work, date and times of calls to the dealer and corporate, other notes? These will come in handy, especially if you end up in a situation that requires a lawyer.

As good as it would feel to smack somebody in the head over this, their bruises would eventually heal. A good legal raping will leave their anus bruised forever.

Like the Stoptech pads I had? That lasted a couple hundred miles on Z1 slotted rotors. Or do you mean I need to install $300 race pads just to drive to work?

I have some records. I presume that a good lawyer could subpoena them. Probably wrong to have assumed on my part.

HPS, Carbotech anything, or yes, $300 "race" pads.

Or you can just not abuse the stock ones... There is no other reason you would go through a set of pads in normal driving, seriously. After that emergency deceleration, did you give the brakes several minutes to come back down in temp before you stopped the car? If you didn't, you probably stuck the pads to the rotors and then a few days later you started getting the bumpy pedal. This is why I hate hate hate ceramic/organic pads.

The ONLY ones that I haven't had go bumpy on me is HPS, I have those on my DD and dislike how they destroy rotors faster than I think they should, but have to live with it so I don't get the bumps.

Anyway, good luck!

I'd start writing everything down, and tracking down every single bit of paper you have that's related. If a lawyer has to find it, he'll bill somebody for the time spent finding it. Small claims court against the dealer could also be an option depending on your state's law.

Answers in red. There is more going on here. I had ceramic pads on my G20 and I got them WAY! hotter than on my 370Z. I've never smelled or seen smoke on my 370'z pads. The G20? Got them popping and smoking when I first put them on. I broke the one's on my G20 in driving hard in the Arkansas mountains, never an issue in the 30K miles I owned it after that.

Small Claims would cover the pads/rotors.

Still, this is putting the cart before the horse until I speak with the Nissan area rep. I have left several succinct messages.

The consumer protection people at the local news can usually help move thinks along with the magic of bad publicity. Especially if you phrase it like "omg unsafe brakes!" when you're talking to them. I wouldn't do that until you get a concrete "no" from corporate, since the bridge will be burnt at that point.

I'm not going to hurt any profits or reputations in any way until Nissan completely shuts me out, which I hope won't happen. At that point, it will be vengeance for having to trade out of a '12 car, which will cost me. Hopefully though it will all get worked out. Trying to stay positive even though I am pissed.

This strategy is aimed at the dealer, not Nissan. One way or the other, one of them need to take care of you.

dealer won't do anything that Nissan isn't reimbursing them for.

Exactly. they are maxxed. It's up to Corporate, now.

2 days ago, I traded with my service manager for an Altima loaner car. It happened after hours and he took my 370Z home, and then to work the next day for work/evaluation.

I stopped by today to see how things were going. They had ordered the rear instead of front pads.

I asked him how he liked driving the car. He flipped out. He said that it was rediculous and that if he applied the brakes in a corner without both hands on the wheel it could have easily caused a loss of control, and that "the brakes are scary". He said that he had no idea what I was complaining about and that it was so severe, and that if the area rep were to ride in the car "he would have flipped out".

Now...we are getting somewhere. I'm not whining about a little shimmy. I'm whining about what feels to my hand like a mag dump from my Glock 19 every time I apply the brakes on an exit-ramp.

Sounds like you might be making some forward progress.

I feel like I am. Nissan cannot completely ignore a service manager when he claims there is a safety issue with a braking system. That's bad juju.

Also, sorry for being pissed earlier. I was stuck without a car, relying on my father, friends, and dealership personnel to drop me off at random locations every time my car was in the shop, and it was SERIOUSLY pissing me off. Now I have a loaner with a 5-day tag and I'm not so pissed.

Apparently the dealership ordered rear pads instead of front pads. The wait continues. I am enjoying my Altima loaner car. It's very nice in comparison to the atomic sybian that was my 370Z. Anyway, I made this video shortly before swapping it for my Altima. Here is what I've been bitching about...

053 - YouTube
(About 3000 or so street miles on Z1 slotted rotors and StopTech pads. This is what the Nissan stuff did at 10K miles. It didn't get this bad at 17K because we fixed it early, and it was about this bad again at 21 or so K when we went to Z1/Stoptech)

That video seriously looks about as bad as my stock front brakes after 35K miles. It felt very unsafe. However, new EBC slotted rotors in front paired with Hawk Performance Ceramic pads solved my problems completely (except there is still a little squealing during light braking at very low speeds). I had it on a track less than a week after doing the replacement myself, and it performed wonderfully.

Seeing as you are one of the few people on the forum having constant and/or recurring problems with the Z, I certainly hope Nissan steps up and actually helps solve your problems. FWIW, I do not purchase dealer warranties anymore (Honda is the only one I will consider and only because I had a very positive experience with some ridiculous electrical problems in my previous Accord). The third-party warranty may cost me a bit more in the long run (varying deductibles and such), but I'd rather not have to rely on a dealer.

I have never tracked my car, gotten engine temp above 225, or smelled the brakes, even. It should NOT do this!

OK, that was hilarious and erotic. :yum: