3 Month Owner, used 2011 370z Highly Disappointed with car

Zyphron · 06-23-2016, 04:33 PM

First and foremost. I bought this car for My Wife as I Owned a 2003 3.5 Altima and put 351k on the OD before it was sold and It was Without a Doubt the best car I ever owned but I was Promoted 2 years ago and just couldn't afford the Downtime the Altima required.. I Commute also so for my DD I downsized to a Hyundai 2013 Elantra. (yeah I know right!?!?) so far that car has been pretty nice.

onto the reason I got this Hunk of s***

my wife always Loved the 350z in Le mans Sunset Orange. she mentioned to me on Multiple Occasions that it was her "dream car" Her DD was a 2000 Civic and it was starting to show its Age at 16 years. personally Ive Owned 2 Nissans, my sister Owns a 2010 sentra and 3 Friends Own an 2009 and 2010 Altima. I do all the Maintenance on them, Nothing more then wear parts need to be Fixed replaced. Suffice to Say I did some research before Purchasing the 370z but perhaps not enough......

the Car was SPOTLESS it had 1 scratch on the front bumper. A clear bra was installed so the Paint was kept Pristine no chips, no nothing. Windows Tinted to %5, Fully loaded, Sport/Touring/magic Dust Packages you name it, it was on the car Short of the Nismo badging this thing had it all. Inside had some Scuffing on the door handle and the floor mats were trashed (no big deal going weather tech anyways) Carpet was in great shape though.

there was an issue with the Fuel gauge not reading when I test drove it. but the dealer claimed it was a quick fix and that they will take care of it before purchase. They did and everything else seemed great. so I purchased the car. Here's where the S***show starts

I drive it for a Few days park it in the Driveway and the next day it wont start. Fuel good, Battery good. ect. nothing. no codes... no way to get the damn thing to start. turns over but wont start I managed to fix that by replacing the Crank and 2 cam sensors. Next problem: the wife is Driving it from work and the fuel starts Dropping. scared she is leaking fuel so she parks it at a Lowes and sits on one of their patio recliners far away from the car till I arrive. from there I assess that its a level sensor and that its driveable no Plans to Fix it myself as the dealer can handle this one.

sometime about a Month ago. the Cruise control Light starts flashing and it will no longer engage. not sure how this happened. (ASCD-is what Nissan calls it) no codes on this since its not tied into the ECU and I cant seem to figure out whats wrong. I figure out Ill put some more research into it till I can locate what it could be. No sense in taking apart the steering wheel or brake petal if I cant fix it.

Next the steering lock dies. leaving my wife stranded at work while i'm down in LA with no way to get her picked up. Lucky my parents were in town and drove her the 40 Miles home. I arrive that evening and go to see if I can fix it. I knew about the steering lock issue and figured I could do it. (F*** NISSAN SECURITY BOLTS) NOPE it needed to be towed after I put dents into the Metal Lock case trying to get it to release.

at this point. I was pretty much put in the doghouse by the wife and this flaming hunk of junk now Just became My car to drive.....

the last two days have been Murder. the car keeps entering limp mode because the engine oil is overheating in traffic (I live in the CA desert and we are hitting 111F temps in the afternoon)

that's not the End of it. it Drives Like Garbage now. as in the engine is not Developing power and the Transmission is Lugging into gear, as if its falling out then slides back in and the engine torque Lurches you forward. Or it slams into gear like i'm on a short throw with a 17 year old working the stick. (its a 7AT FYI) Today on the way to Work i'm getting the Transmission light but still NO SES CODES!?!?!?

so to recap:

replaced CPS sensor and 2 Cam sensors
Locked out the SWL so car will start
needs Oil cooler to Drive car in summer
Needs new Fuel sending units to Know how much fuel I have?
Needs contacts replaced or sensors adjusted for cruise control fix?
Needs Transmission Oil change? or ECU flash/Replacement? perhaps Cats dead/Clogged?

Anywho, im going to spend most of my time Lurking to see if I can dig up fixes. so sorry for the wall of text, Hello. and if you have some answers to some of my problems... please, share.
TLDR: I think car is a LEMON and falling apart. Bought car for Wife, Wife now hates me.

cv129 · 06-23-2016, 04:51 PM

How much did you pay and how many miles on the car when you bought it?

Limp mode...how high did your oil temp go while in stop & go traffic?

Steering lock...yea first thing should've been done was to pull that fuse, disabling it once and for all. I don't blame you for not knowing, it's Nissan's fault.

Zyphron · 06-23-2016, 05:06 PM

19k After taxes (why does this matter?), 80K Miles its out of Warranty. my Local dealer already told me the "sorry about your luck"
275-280 Right in that range. was NOT driving hard. keep in Mind the Air was around 109+
well I didn't know what I was looking for. and didn't Know that 'rerrrwwwweww' noise was the lock engaging. I also read the 2011's had a "Fixed" lock.

cv129 · 06-23-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zyphron

19k After taxes (why does this matter?), 80K Miles its out of Warranty. my Local dealer already told me the "sorry about your luck"
275-280 Right in that range. was NOT driving hard. keep in Mind the Air was around 109+
well I didn't know what I was looking for. and didn't Know that 'rerrrwwwweww' noise was the lock engaging. I also read the 2011's had a "Fixed" lock.

Just wondering if it was priced like a lemon. Sorry for your bad luck.

275-280F just for sit & go traffic seems unusually high. I don't think that's normal even considering your high outside temperature.

Zyphron · 06-23-2016, 05:25 PM

it Happens. there were some Salvage Titles that I looked at but most were sold by repair shops and without taking them apart to look at the repairs id not have felt safe getting them. This car was Priced about $3k lower then ALL other cars of the same year that we looked at and had full documentation on all Maintenance. and the record was flawless. i've told myself time and time again that there is no way I could have Known. The Wife does not like Manuals, so looking for Autos Narrowed our results Down quite a bit. it also seems the Autos demand a lower price then Manuals. not sure why.....

well on a cooler day when we took it on PCH (CA Us highway 1) it was running a Solid 230 throughout the Drive.

generally anything above 220 is not good for the Oil/engine and anything under 212 is not good either since the oil cant Boil off water that gets in the crank case.

Zyphron · 06-23-2016, 08:22 PM

20.5 Miles, 30MPH average. nothing above 5k rpms after my drive Home today.....

jchammond · 06-23-2016, 08:45 PM

engine & transmission oil cooler's are a must @ those temp's
Also-more than likely;Tranny fluid has never been changed-Flush & fill,so you get all old fluid from converter.....an old school transfer machine would work good/even though i do mine myself.
Highest oil temp i've seen mine go is 240 & that's after pleasure driving hard & sitting in a tad of traffic,,,,i haven't added cooler's yet/but they are on the list.
I haven't had any problems w/steering lock or fuel gauge.
mine has 70k & i'm completely satisfied,,,Heat is most probably the biggest problem you have w/your ~Z~ & Fuel sending unit should have been replaced with the dealer (quick-fix)

madeinjapan · 06-24-2016, 07:13 AM

at 80k sh*t happens

JARblue · 06-24-2016, 08:32 AM

Sounds like the previous owner did not care about it

I've got a 2011 with 80K miles on it bought new. ESCL and CSC issues addressed long ago. Zero issues even without oil cooler. I drive it all over Texas. She does get pretty hot at times, but I just back off and make sure to change the oil frequently if temps are high. Absolutely love it

JARblue · 06-24-2016, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zyphron

20.5 Miles, 30MPH average. nothing above 5k rpms after my drive Home today.....

( Click to show/hide )

FWIW, that's what my gauge looks like on highway drives pretty much all summer. Stop and go traffic in hot temps will do the same thing after a period of time.

But 280F and limp mode in stop and go traffic is definitely excessive. If that photo was from a 30 mph average cruise without traffic, there is definitely something wrong. If you keep it, find a competent Z mechanic to diagnose it and do the work - dealers are fuckin idiots.

Ghostvette · 06-24-2016, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

FWIW, that's what my gauge looks like on highway drives pretty much all summer. Stop and go traffic in hot temps will do the same thing after a period of time.

But 280F and limp mode in stop and go traffic is definitely excessive. If that photo was from a 30 mph average cruise without traffic, there is definitely something wrong. If you keep it, find a competent Z mechanic to diagnose it and do the work - dealers are fuckin idiots.

Specialty Z might be the place to take it to figure out the issues you've got.

as for the wife hating you... three options: chocolate, dinner, jewelry....

Hotrodz · 06-24-2016, 12:07 PM

I live in AZ and I don't see temps that high ever and I'm tt and have driven in stop and go traffic when the temperature was 124. As stated, change all your fuids and get quality oils and fluids. I running Liqui Molly 0-40 and Motul transmission fluid.

And SpecialtyZ ftw!!!

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

cv129 · 06-24-2016, 05:03 PM

I wonder if the dealership put the wrong fluids in the engine and tranny

axmea? · 06-24-2016, 11:47 PM

That's a long list of ugliness. Previous owner f@kt it up. Did some home made diy mods and put it back to stock and then dumped it.

wickster · 06-25-2016, 10:11 AM

I live in Phoenix and even hitting the really high temps we had this last week (120+), mine never got above 220 in traffic. That temps seems really high. Not sure if Nissan worked out all these other bugs between 2011 and 2016, but I have had no issues with my 2016 and I drive A LOT. I have had the car for barely 3 months and have already put 7400 miles on it. I do notice when the temp gets hot it looses power, but hell so does every car.

06-23-2016, 04:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zyphron Base Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Oak Hills Posts: 9 Drives: 2003 3.5 Altima SE Rep Power: 9	3 Month Owner, used 2011 370z Highly Disappointed with car First and foremost. I bought this car for My Wife as I Owned a 2003 3.5 Altima and put 351k on the OD before it was sold and It was Without a Doubt the best car I ever owned but I was Promoted 2 years ago and just couldn't afford the Downtime the Altima required.. I Commute also so for my DD I downsized to a Hyundai 2013 Elantra. (yeah I know right!?!?) so far that car has been pretty nice. onto the reason I got this Hunk of s* my wife always Loved the 350z in Le mans Sunset Orange. she mentioned to me on Multiple Occasions that it was her "dream car" Her DD was a 2000 Civic and it was starting to show its Age at 16 years. personally Ive Owned 2 Nissans, my sister Owns a 2010 sentra and 3 Friends Own an 2009 and 2010 Altima. I do all the Maintenance on them, Nothing more then wear parts need to be Fixed replaced. Suffice to Say I did some research before Purchasing the 370z but perhaps not enough...... the Car was SPOTLESS it had 1 scratch on the front bumper. A clear bra was installed so the Paint was kept Pristine no chips, no nothing. Windows Tinted to %5, Fully loaded, Sport/Touring/magic Dust Packages you name it, it was on the car Short of the Nismo badging this thing had it all. Inside had some Scuffing on the door handle and the floor mats were trashed (no big deal going weather tech anyways) Carpet was in great shape though. there was an issue with the Fuel gauge not reading when I test drove it. but the dealer claimed it was a quick fix and that they will take care of it before purchase. They did and everything else seemed great. so I purchased the car. Here's where the Sshow starts I drive it for a Few days park it in the Driveway and the next day it wont start. Fuel good, Battery good. ect. nothing. no codes... no way to get the damn thing to start. turns over but wont start I managed to fix that by replacing the Crank and 2 cam sensors. Next problem: the wife is Driving it from work and the fuel starts Dropping. scared she is leaking fuel so she parks it at a Lowes and sits on one of their patio recliners far away from the car till I arrive. from there I assess that its a level sensor and that its driveable no Plans to Fix it myself as the dealer can handle this one. sometime about a Month ago. the Cruise control Light starts flashing and it will no longer engage. not sure how this happened. (ASCD-is what Nissan calls it) no codes on this since its not tied into the ECU and I cant seem to figure out whats wrong. I figure out Ill put some more research into it till I can locate what it could be. No sense in taking apart the steering wheel or brake petal if I cant fix it. Next the steering lock dies. leaving my wife stranded at work while i'm down in LA with no way to get her picked up. Lucky my parents were in town and drove her the 40 Miles home. I arrive that evening and go to see if I can fix it. I knew about the steering lock issue and figured I could do it. (F** NISSAN SECURITY BOLTS) NOPE it needed to be towed after I put dents into the Metal Lock case trying to get it to release. at this point. I was pretty much put in the doghouse by the wife and this flaming hunk of junk now Just became My car to drive..... the last two days have been Murder. the car keeps entering limp mode because the engine oil is overheating in traffic (I live in the CA desert and we are hitting 111F temps in the afternoon) that's not the End of it. it Drives Like Garbage now. as in the engine is not Developing power and the Transmission is Lugging into gear, as if its falling out then slides back in and the engine torque Lurches you forward. Or it slams into gear like i'm on a short throw with a 17 year old working the stick. (its a 7AT FYI) Today on the way to Work i'm getting the Transmission light but still NO SES CODES!?!?!? so to recap: replaced CPS sensor and 2 Cam sensors Locked out the SWL so car will start needs Oil cooler to Drive car in summer Needs new Fuel sending units to Know how much fuel I have? Needs contacts replaced or sensors adjusted for cruise control fix? Needs Transmission Oil change? or ECU flash/Replacement? perhaps Cats dead/Clogged? Anywho, im going to spend most of my time Lurking to see if I can dig up fixes. so sorry for the wall of text, Hello. and if you have some answers to some of my problems... please, share. TLDR: I think car is a LEMON and falling apart. Bought car for Wife, Wife now hates me. Last edited by Zyphron; 06-23-2016 at 08:04 PM.

06-23-2016, 04:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,192 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 159827	How much did you pay and how many miles on the car when you bought it? Limp mode...how high did your oil temp go while in stop & go traffic? Steering lock...yea first thing should've been done was to pull that fuse, disabling it once and for all. I don't blame you for not knowing, it's Nissan's fault. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

06-23-2016, 05:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
Zyphron Base Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Oak Hills Posts: 9 Drives: 2003 3.5 Altima SE Rep Power: 9	it Happens. there were some Salvage Titles that I looked at but most were sold by repair shops and without taking them apart to look at the repairs id not have felt safe getting them. This car was Priced about $3k lower then ALL other cars of the same year that we looked at and had full documentation on all Maintenance. and the record was flawless. i've told myself time and time again that there is no way I could have Known. The Wife does not like Manuals, so looking for Autos Narrowed our results Down quite a bit. it also seems the Autos demand a lower price then Manuals. not sure why..... well on a cooler day when we took it on PCH (CA Us highway 1) it was running a Solid 230 throughout the Drive. generally anything above 220 is not good for the Oil/engine and anything under 212 is not good either since the oil cant Boil off water that gets in the crank case. Last edited by Zyphron; 06-23-2016 at 05:30 PM.

06-23-2016, 08:45 PM	#7 (permalink)
jchammond A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Carolina Age: 57 Posts: 15,204 Drives: 13’ 370Z TS 7A/T Rep Power: 2684394	engine & transmission oil cooler's are a must @ those temp's Also-more than likely;Tranny fluid has never been changed-Flush & fill,so you get all old fluid from converter.....an old school transfer machine would work good/even though i do mine myself. Highest oil temp i've seen mine go is 240 & that's after pleasure driving hard & sitting in a tad of traffic,,,,i haven't added cooler's yet/but they are on the list. I haven't had any problems w/steering lock or fuel gauge. mine has 70k & i'm completely satisfied,,,Heat is most probably the biggest problem you have w/your ~Z~ & Fuel sending unit should have been replaced with the dealer (quick-fix) Strife likes this. __________________ MazWorx built long block \| FI-TT-100 Stage 2.75 \| IPT built 7A/T http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...s-musings.html

06-24-2016, 08:32 AM	#9 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,449 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	Sounds like the previous owner did not care about it I've got a 2011 with 80K miles on it bought new. ESCL and CSC issues addressed long ago. Zero issues even without oil cooler. I drive it all over Texas. She does get pretty hot at times, but I just back off and make sure to change the oil frequently if temps are high. Absolutely love it __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

06-23-2016, 05:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
Zyphron Base Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Oak Hills Posts: 9 Drives: 2003 3.5 Altima SE Rep Power: 9	19k After taxes (why does this matter?), 80K Miles its out of Warranty. my Local dealer already told me the "sorry about your luck" 275-280 Right in that range. was NOT driving hard. keep in Mind the Air was around 109+ well I didn't know what I was looking for. and didn't Know that 'rerrrwwwweww' noise was the lock engaging. I also read the 2011's had a "Fixed" lock.

06-23-2016, 08:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
Zyphron Base Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Oak Hills Posts: 9 Drives: 2003 3.5 Altima SE Rep Power: 9	20.5 Miles, 30MPH average. nothing above 5k rpms after my drive Home today.....

06-24-2016, 07:13 AM	#8 (permalink)
madeinjapan Banned Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: pistolvania Posts: 1,387 Drives: 2013 g37x 2014 370z Rep Power: 0	at 80k sh*t happens

06-24-2016, 12:07 PM	#12 (permalink)
Hotrodz Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684384	I live in AZ and I don't see temps that high ever and I'm tt and have driven in stop and go traffic when the temperature was 124. As stated, change all your fuids and get quality oils and fluids. I running Liqui Molly 0-40 and Motul transmission fluid. And SpecialtyZ ftw!!! Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk solo413 likes this. __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

06-24-2016, 05:03 PM	#13 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,192 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 159827	I wonder if the dealership put the wrong fluids in the engine and tranny solo413 likes this. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

06-24-2016, 11:47 PM	#14 (permalink)
axmea? A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,233 Drives: WELL ZED PW 6MT Rep Power: 53241	That's a long list of ugliness. Previous owner f@kt it up. Did some home made diy mods and put it back to stock and then dumped it. solo413 likes this. __________________ >MyZ's Album< NISMO Convert/ECUTEK/Takeda CAI/F.I. HFC NR CB Carbon/F.I. 34 Row Oil Cooler/4.08 Final Drive /Powertrix+Swifts/Hotchkis/SPL/Whiteline/TWM/Zoom Engineering/EVO-R/AeroJacket Vented CF Fenders + CF Spoiler/Avant Garde-WORK/NST/Morimoto Halo/STi Clear Lenses/Carbon Signal Automotive/RJM Performance/ZSpeed Clutch Flywheel CSC delete

06-25-2016, 10:11 AM	#15 (permalink)
wickster Base Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10 Drives: 2016 Nissan 370z 6MT Rep Power: 9	I live in Phoenix and even hitting the really high temps we had this last week (120+), mine never got above 220 in traffic. That temps seems really high. Not sure if Nissan worked out all these other bugs between 2011 and 2016, but I have had no issues with my 2016 and I drive A LOT. I have had the car for barely 3 months and have already put 7400 miles on it. I do notice when the temp gets hot it looses power, but hell so does every car. solo413 likes this.

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