Guys, don't skimp out on the oil cooler....a few hundred dollars can very easily turn into several thousand, and I mean several thousand.

Let me reinforce the point... I'm on my second motor on this car... Not going to go into details, but I had a marginal quality oil cooler kit with cheap lines that blew out... cost about $9K installed for a new motor... DO NOT USE CHEAP OIL COOLER KITS OR CHEAP LINES... spend the extra couple hundred... there is no reason not to go with the kits available from Stillen and GTM

What's the difference in Stillen and a cheaper one? Besides the lines/hoses and hook ups! (No sarcasm intended!)

That would leave the core, the filter adapter and mount.

Think quality control and one from a bad batch with poor quality getting on your car. Design, how much is the psi delta across the cooler, what's the thermal capacity? You can find that information for every Setrab made.

Filter plate - Same quality procedures. I wouldn't want a plate that was cast in someones barn with no QC. Think porous casting which cracks down the road.

Mounting kit - What do you get with the cheap kit?

Assembly - If a line blows off a fitting you are screwed. If you look at a line with the fittings installed you probably won't know if it was installed correctly or not. It goes back to the supplier/vendor doing it right. In my opinion you need to buy this type of item from someone with a history of making good parts and standing behind them.

Sometimes the least expensive route is going the more expensive route the first time.

Just some food for thought.

:owned:guy's!!this is a very good topic and nissan should be aware of whats going on.and yes!i purchased my 370z last feb and yes ive seen this temp goes up almost to 250 and this worries me a lot.in the past whenever there's a new car coming out i usualy wait the next two year to make a purchase just like what happened to the 350z(camber problems),they corrected this problem after so many that purchased this car and made complaints .but when 370z came out i couldnt resist it and didnt wait so here i go with this problem.i hope this situation will be solve and nissan should do something bout this and treat this as a recall,its okay to make mistakes just do the right thing and correct it!!simple as that!! rather than consumer's like us that spent our hard earned money to purchased this remarkable creation swing the other way and buy maybe german car's..american made car's?hmmm that's a long shot..jk all im saying is we dont have to spend money to correct their mistakes.nissan has to be liable and thats the bottom line..

Unfortunately tho....it seems like people are moving on and getting oil cooler kits.....and i was waiting for a fix on this before i made the purchase. Seems like it's not happening. Arggg.

FYI at PIR today, running very good times and NO LIMP MODE ! hottest I've seen is in 20 min sessions is 255F... THANK YOU STILLEN!

That's great news! Thanks Travis.

I know Socal370 has been in talks with Nissan about this, he says that he will post something up when there is more solid information. If you would like to PM him I'm sure he would share some info.

Has anyone else spoken with Nissan and verified this?

I just got off the phone with my Midwest regional consumer affairs specialist. I thought I was never going to have a high-heat issue, but it just happened to me this past Sunday, May 3rd while at a fundraiser for the Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee. The car actually started to smell in the cabin, and my oil temp spiked to 275-285 within 4 minutes of light-spirited driving. It was 70 degrees out and I just had an oil change with the expensive Nissan Ester Oil. It actually took about 40 minutes of light driving along Lake Michigan where the temperature was 56 degrees to cool the thing back down to 200, where it normally is. Man, that's not good at all.

So anyway, she was not aware of this problem, but I guided her to this site! She looked and sounded concerned and appreciated the information. She was going to talk to her engineering department and find out more. The word's getting out. I told her that a lot of us don't want to put on aftermarket kits to fix this because of the warranty. (Those of you who are going to blast me saying that those won't affect the warranty, keep that to yourselves.) We bought the cars not knowing that overheating was going to be an issue. I've owned a lot of brand new Nissan/Infinitis, (my daily driver is an '09 Infiniti FX35.) No overheating on that one. I just said to her, "If you are coming out with this kit, can you please just make it cheaper for those of us who already have bought the car? We had a budget for what we wanted to spend on the vehicle, and didn't plan on spending extra money on a engineering mistake that we weren't aware of." We should all know that cars are not perfect, and there will be some flubs on occasion. I also said, "I can understand if I have a bad power window, or a lock switch that breaks. If my dash lights burn out, I have to have it fixed. No big deal. An overheating engine with light driving is a serious flaw that needs to be fixed ASAP." She was really nice and said she will call me back as soon as she gets any new details on the situation. I'm not happy if we have to pay for this cooler, but if we do, I asked her to tell corporate to make it as cheap as possible. I'm sure they don't want to have to deal with Lemon Law issues. They were very nice though. I hope something's done soon with the warmer temperatures.

Oh, one more thing... I mentioned the 370's TV ad to her. I said, "Do you know the ad? The guy out spinning around and having fun in the car? That's what we bought ours for. To have fun with. To find out the car can't even drive up a steep grade in warm conditions is completely the opposite of what was told to us. We love our cars, but just wish we didn't have this major problem. Please help us." She couldn't have been nicer.

Thoughts?

I just left a message for Jennifer, at the extension listed above. I mentioned that I live in Arizona, and am regularly experiencing the temp issues now. I also referenced the case number which she had opened up (#6479687) and asked her to call me back with any updated information. I will be sure and ask her supervisor's name/extension so that I can verify anything that she tells me.

I will post anything that I find out....

what part of arizona? i experianced 220 average cruising up the I17 in phoenix

I live in the northern part of the state, but spend LOTS of time in Phoenix. I was stuck in traffic on Frank Loyd Wright on Saturday... watched it climb past 240. :shakes head:

AZ guys... if you don't want to DIY an oil cooler kit, suggest you use my mechanic, Robert at Redline Motorsports in Tempe... he's already got mine under his belt and I'm sure can do the next ones in a snap

Thanks. That's actually great to know. If Nissan doesn't own up to this and correct the problem soon, I will likely be giving Robert a call.

Good Stuff

Just a few updates and trends that I've noticed.

First, I too put a call in to Jennifer and she never returned it. Don't expect too much from her, but do keep calling. Hopefully she'll move the word up her chain of command.

With regards to temperatures, I've noticed that my car does quite well until the ambient temperature is above 75-80. Even in those temps, driving conservatively above 30mph doesn't result in overheating. The problems I've had occur when I have a spirited acceleration through the gears followed by rather abrupt idling or crawling in traffic. (Think jumping on the highway, getting to 80mph with revviing to 5k in each gear, and then immediately getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic). The car just has zero ability to dissipate heat that it has generated. Once I get the temps climbing after the previously mentioned scenario, there is no turning back from oil temps in the 240+ range until I turn the car off and let it sit. Conversely, I've never had a temp about 250 yet (knock on wood).

I'm about to buy an oil cooler from Stillen but my dealer just implored me to NOT do that. The service manager insisted that he has seen Nissan deny warranty claims based solely on the premise that "the part is connected to the part that failed". Thus, if I had a piston, valve, etc problem, it would be a battle to get the problem covered under warranty with the oil cooler installed. The manager actually said "Nissan has a whole new group of lawyers for the GT-R issues....don't mess with them now." That being said, he did strongly emphasize that Nissan is very good about making changes when there are problems. He believes we'll see a Nismo oil cooler option with full factory warranty, installed by Nissan, and priced very cheaply in the very near future.

I finally asked him what is an acceptable oil temp and what is not. The car's manual implies that temps over 280 are problematic but mentions nothing about an ideal operating range. The service manager, after consulting a number of other guys in the dealership, finally said that "220 is fine, 240 is absolutely not".

Take it for what you will.

"The problems I've had occur when I have a spirited acceleration through the gears followed by rather abrupt idling or crawling in traffic"

Same situation here. I was driving home in 80 plus degree heat, spirited driving but not over 5000 RPM as I just finished break-in. Came upon the usual bumper to bumper rush hour crawl section I experience going home everyday, and I hit 250 and stayed there ................... not good. Nissan says 280, I would be concerned with continual 240 to 260, and it "ain't" even hot here yet. We experience 95 degrees and 95% humidity often in the summer months.

John

I'd like to recommend that you do not turn the car off and let it sit when you are overheating... please... instead drop to lowest possible RPMs and let the engine oil continue to circulate until it cools down

Yeah, i actually don't turn it off at 250F...that line wasn't entirely accurate. However, it takes a good 20-30 min for the car to cool to below 230F. I've only had the car in the 240+ range once and it had dropped below 240 before I shut her down.

Spearfish, In the near feature doesn't mean anything, Nissan consumer affairs doesn't have the answers. I've been there done that...
If you want an oil cooler, feel that you need it, do it. In the event you have an engine issue, which most likely you will not it is very easy to remove and put back to stock. Stillen's kit is cheap and effective. My car is usually around a comfortable 180 degrees. Except when I'm driving the wheels off of it at the track.

When you are driving the wheels off :icon17: what are your max temps?

Look what came in the mail today!
 

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...r-satisfac.jpgJD Power & Associates asked me to do a FULL 8 pages long thorough review of the 09 Nissan 370z. They have pages asking questions concerning from seats to paddle shifters to driveability to cooling issues etc. On top of that, they are giving me $1 to do the survey! :icon17:

So, what's this oil temp issues you guys are talking about? ;) haha.. I'll let them know about everything that's going on with the 370Z.
http://www.the370z.com/images/370zforums/jd-power.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/images/370zforums/jd2.jpg

I can't wait to do the survey tomorrow. :excited:

I have noticed my oil temps above 240 during normal driving. This is fustrating. This car Needs a cooler!

Glad I decided to check out this thread... I figured it was a "track-only" problem until this thread got so long. Wanted to say thanks to all the guys chasing down this issue. I'm currently shopping and as yet, the 370 is the only car that has made me say "Wow, thats really cool" when I saw it. However since I'd probably be putting 15k / year on it and would want to keep it a long time, the oil temps getting that high during normal driving is somewhat troublesome.

Around 250, no limp mode.

Crap, there was a dollar bill in that envelope? I tossed it out with all my other junk mail lol.

Yeah I did mine a month ago. Now whenever I get one of these surveys, I check to see if there's money in the envelope before I toss the rest of it. I submitted the JD Power one, but I'm not doing any more. One is enough. I got hit with like 5 more after JD Power.

Anyone driving the 370Z in Texas?? I assume the hot weather will push the temperature up.

I sent e-mail to Nissan regarding this issue and told them I'm considering the car, but the high oil temp is A HUGE CONCERN to me. I will see what they say.

There are a few at least, the worst I have seen is 220 in traffic but I am still breaking my car in. This week in Houston it is suppose to break into the lower 90s, so we will see how even tamed driving does.

Yeah--I grew up in Houston and just recently moved to Austin. It's 90 here today. I'm hovering right above 230 driving 10 miles to/from work running the rpm's up around 5.5K. I filled out my JD Power survey last week and unloaded about the oil temp issue as well.

I think Semtex or Wstar noted the engine temps seem to settle down slightly as the engine breaks in. Lately I've found the car sits at a happy 210-215 during most driving in 60-70F weather. Unfortunately, it's not enough to solve the temp problem with more aggressive driving in hot weather.

That was my theory, but I'm at 4K now and I'm starting to think break-in isn't going to change much.

My general mood on the oil temp issue changes from day to day. Every day is a new learning experience about our oil temp issues. This evening was particularly hot and muggy compared to recent times. On my evening drive the ambient air temp sensor on the car was reading 86F at about 7:45pm, and the car pretty quickly got up to 220 just cruising around very lightly. Got it up to about 235 by pushing the revs a little on the highway, but I didn't bother really going after the temp testing this evening. Took it quite a while, perhaps 7-8 minutes or so, to cool back down to 200 idling at a gas station with the hood popped before I shut it down (not that that's really necessary at 235-ish, I was just seeing how easily it came back down).

I suspect in the next few days I'm finally going to get to see how my oil temps do in some much hotter conditions when driving aggressively.

Nissan Commonsense
 

Engine Overheating Resolution

It is important in prompting Nissan to properly act on this issue—especially with the advent of summer fast upon us—that we up the ante on how to make our efforts count.

The Distinction:

Clearly this is an issue of life/safety as premature engine failure bought about through engine overheating is potentially a dire situation should we have an engine seize. Not to mention all the ramifications and shortfalls of Nissan's own warranty as it defaults to Nissan's own engineering miscalculation. Again, the distinction that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be reviewing and placing under consideration is the safety aspect.

Others have mentioned that Nissan did not act on an emissions, and tire wear issues. Why? Neither qualified as a life/safety issue. One was an environmental issue, and the other Nissan easily avoided as tire wear can be related to many aspects; this was not a matter of immediate tire blowout, but accelerated tire wear. Life/safety issues are pressing, and viewed seriously by the government (just when you thought the government wasn't worth a damn). The NHTSA has the power to require Nissan to issue a national recall versus a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB). A recall should be the goal as a TSB is at the discretion of the Service Department. All this can change if Nissan voluntarily does the right act and willingly rectifies this issue.

Life/Safety, and When It Matters:

Not all situations will bring about a recall as Nissan has intentionally implemented safeguards through Limp Mode when engine temperatures reach a certain point. Fine, if you are in slow moving traffic or have the opportunity to pullover. Disastrous in given situations such as climbing a grade in hot weather on a two-lane trucking route with no shoulder on the fast lane, and vehicles following tightly in the fast lane trying pass slow-moving vehicles in the slow lane—engagement of the Limp Mode could mean being rear-ended. My wife chose not to travel with our Z as we encounter this exact scenario on the way to visit her parents; even worse on the return route home. Nissan does not want nor need a headline reading, "Nissan Sports Car Causes Multiple Car Pile-Up on Interstate." This will not bode well with sales, forbid someone become seriously or fatally injured. Very bad press all around for Nissan if the resultant is because a 370Z suddenly decided to lower its speed causing the accident.

Specify to each brand oil and it composition is the temperature point that its lubricating properties breakdown. Oil from this point forth no longer lubricates the engine efficiently and necessitates an oil change. Failing to do so prematurely shortens the life of your engine. Period. Engine failure is not out of the question when something is left-out of the equation in keeping your engine running properly. Engine failure does not send you a convenient appointment reminder when it will occur and has the propensity of happening at the worst possible time. Driving on the road at highway speeds is not a good time for an engine failure when other drivers are also traveling at similar speeds. Engine failure means the loss of control of the vehicle as steering systems, braking systems, and the actual movement of the vehicle are seriously compromised. Life/safety issue? Uh, yes!

People Ask Questions, Rolling Billboards, Those PITA Surveys

Face it, driving around a 370Z with it just being released prompts questions from other interested parties and the last thing Nissan wants is an owner talking to a potential owner about the issues with the 370Z—specifically engine related problems. Driving a shiny, well-maintained 370Z is a rolling billboard for Nissan marketing, and they know it. Plus, it's free for Nissan! Keeping the enthusiast happy promotes repeat buyers, and additional free advertisement.

For those who have purchased a 370Z you know how quickly the surveys arrived in the mail…a bit too quickly for any meaningful statistical data. These surveys do not care about Nissan, other than the subscription Nissan might have with them, and these surveyors do not care about you the owner (or they would send more than a lousy buck to fill-out material they make money on selling). I feel that they are detrimental to resale values, and play on the euphoria of buying a new vehicle. A survey coming in the mail six months from the purchase makes better sense if you are trying to gather meaningful data. I am holding off filling-out any survey until the final resolution of this matter have been achieved.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me…

In the Japanese culture "losing face" is a serious matter; in the Japanese corporate world it is almost a sure means to being branded a "window watcher" where you are assigned menial tasks, and mostly spend you days reading the newspaper as everyone knows your new position. This situation might not lead to such a position for a Japanese Nissan employee(s), but it's pretty close. It is important that we take measures of saving face for Nissan to move this forward. Unfortunately, and I have personal experience with these matters, Japan's US branch of business relies heavily on US legal counsel, and to me, this is where our problem reside. The Japanese want to do the correct measure, the US legal advice, is well…I don't even have the time to delve into this abyss. The bright spot is that the Japanese, back in Japan, have the final say, lawyer or no lawyer. The US Customer Service person you speak with does not have a final say, the dealership's Service Department personal does not have a final say—Nissan corporate has the final say. Respect in dealing with the parties in this situation will move matters better.

Document, Document, Document:

Two things need to be accomplished: 1) Calling or emailing Nissan with your legitimate issue(s) and 2) filing a legitimate complaint with the NHTSA. Please, under no circumstance file any complaint that is misleading, albeit ever so slightly, is unacceptable.

Another helpful call will be to the Sales Manger of the Nissan dealership where you purchased your 370Z to telling them that you are concerned with your purchase owed to overheating issues. This way sales will know about it. If you take your 370Z in for servicing, and you are having, or very close to having, an overheating issue, get in on record when they write-up your service order. This measure is important regarding your rights as consumer and enacting the Lemon Law. To review your State's Lemon Law simply do a web search and find your State's actual law (typical the link with end a ".gov"). There are many websites that have all the States listed, but this is no guarantee they have current laws so do an individual search. An example: California Motor Vehicle Warranty and Lemon Law

When you file a concern with Nissan they give you a file number, the name, and telephone number of the person you are speaking with. Be prepared to tell them the mileage on your 370Z. Log all the dates, times, and contacts you speak with at Nissan Customer Service.

The Scheme of Things:

Speaking with Customer Service is merely recording your issue as the Customer Service representative has no authority other than to collect information and guide you within the intentional rote constraints. Escalating your compliant to a Customer Service Manager will yield the same results.

Results will come from either writing Nissan Japan directly, where it be noticed, and a report started internally; a NHTSA filing. Data from the States will eventually make its way to Japan, but writing Japan directly will cause corporate to ask questions of its US operations. There's no stopping the ball when that happens.

What to Expect When Nissan Corrects the Situation:

This is the proverbial PITA as it will mean a service department removing the front bumper fascia, along with other parts, and then installing the oil cooler. This can also mean missing fasteners, paint scratches, missing parts, or (in the best case scenario) a perfect retrofit. Either way I will probably be removing the front end after the retrofit and going over everything in detail to see it all has been performed correctly. All is contingent upon Nissan doing the right thing in this matter's resolution.

Closing Note (for now):

It is unimportant whether you use your 370Z for track and have added aftermarket parts as a national recall requires Nissan to remedy the issue. Besides, although Nissan will never say it publicly (remember that US legal counsel I mentioned above) but enthusiasts are the bread and butter of the Z sales.

If works both ways here…Nissan manufactures an automobile we are interested in, and we support Nissan for its decision through purchasing this automobile. Keeping a strong relationship versus an adversarial relationship is better for both parties.

My apologies for a lengthy post.

Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
17-1, Ginza 6-chome, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104-8023, Japan

United States Nissan Customer Affairs:
email: nnaconsumeraffairs@nissan-usa.com
telephone: (800) 647-7261

Nissan Motor Company Global Website

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Also, and must be specific to your State (example given): Motor Vehicle Warranty and Lemon Law

Great post SoCal370 :tup: Now where is the address to Japan? :icon17:

from SoCal370's post:
 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me…

"In the Japanese culture "losing face" is a serious matter; in the Japanese corporate world it is almost a sure means to being branded a "window watcher" where you are assigned menial tasks, and mostly spend you days reading the newspaper as everyone knows your new position. This situation might not lead to such a position for a Japanese Nissan employee(s), but it's pretty close. It is important that we take measures of saving face for Nissan to move this forward. Unfortunately, and I have personal experience with these matters, Japan's US branch of business relies heavily on US legal counsel, and to me, this is where our problem reside. The Japanese want to do the correct measure, the US legal advice, is well…I don't even have the time to delve into this abyss. The bright spot is that the Japanese, back in Japan, have the final say, lawyer or no lawyer. The US Customer Service person you speak with does not have a final say, the dealership's Service Department personal does not have a final say—Nissan corporate has the final say. Respect in dealing with the parties in this situation will move matters better."

Is Goshn Japanese? ;)

John

I would think it is the address at the bottom of the post;

Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
17-1, Ginza 6-chome, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104-8023, Japan

Socal370Z,
That was a very well written post. Excellent work! Thank you.

Received a unsolicited call from Gara Pum, Nissan Customer Affairs, extension 41536, wanting to know if I had additional issues "Nissan" needed to know about as more messages, both voice and email, to Jennifer Irwin had been received using the file number I had opened last week - #6479687. I told him that I had placed the information on "The 370 Forum" and many 370Z owners as well as potential owners were disturbed by the design and safety flaw associated with very high engine oil temperatures especially with summer months still ahead of us. He said Nissan is aware of the problem and that an oil cooler kit, a Nissan Motorsports one, would be available in a few weeks. I asked if the cooler would be a recall item with full warrenty maintained - he wasn't sure, just that it would be available. He then mentioned they (Nissan) was "occasionally" monitoring the forum. I said great and then Nissan must have an idea of the scope of the problem and suggestions for a class action suit and letters to the NTSB were being considered if Nissan did not correctly resolve this serious issue. He asked that direct calls to Jennifer (x41622) not be made as she was terribly busy, but to use 1.800.647.7261. Whatever.

I hope they read SoCal's letter.

Keep those calls and emails coming.....:stirthepot:

Honestly, (and remember most of this post is conjecture based on what I've seen in my car, and what others have posted here)...

I think even in the warmer parts of the US, for your average commuter that doesn't push the car too hard, they can probably live without the cooler. The temps may jump from time to time to 240 or maybe 250, but probably not enough to hit limp mode by far, and the engine will live plenty long to meet the warranty obligations.

The issue is going to be the enthusiast driver that pushes the car a little harder in hot conditions, or the track driver anywhere. But seeing as this car is very enthusiast/track-marketed, that's a valid concern (whereas it wouldn't be on, say, a Toyota Corolla).

I really don't mind if the oil cooler is an option we have to purchase with our own $$, I don't think a recall or Nissan footing the bill is really necessary. A Nissan (or Nismo or Nissan Motorsports) oil cooler option, available at launch, at a remotely reasonable price that is fully warrantied and offered through all the dealers as an option at purchase time would have been good enough.

However, they did not make one available at launch, and there are open questions about whether the coming Nissan Motorsports part is factory warrantied (not to mention the proprosed price is a bit high).

What would make me happy at this point would be for Nissan to publicly make a statement to the effect that they understand that the car will need additional oil cooling under some ambient/driving conditions (they can say that 'regular consumers' aren't affected if they want), and that for drivers experiencing unacceptable oil temperatures, they recommend installation of the Nissan Motorsports part or a quality aftermarket equivalent (which were released much more timely and have been the only option to date), with at least some kind of implicit understanding that 'recommend' means they're not going to try to deny warranty claims just because people are trying to protect the engine with aftermarket coolers.