Unpopular Post (no doubt but...)

billydsz

First of all, there is no requirement to own a 370z to even join this forum.

THE QUESTIONS to ask yourself:
1. How do you know if a person posting even drives a Z?
2. How do you know if a person posting negative comments doesn't have an ulterior motive? (Works for a competitor, dislikes Nissan, disgruntled former employee, etc.)
3. How do you know if a person posting negative comments isn't simply a troll looking for attention?

You need to look at the people posting, at their "body of work" and judge their comments accordingly. The oil temperature issue is completely overblown, for example. It occurs on the race track, or when driving illegally. You cannot expect Nissan to sell track cars to retail consumers, or be expected to meet that level of performance for $30-40k. The hatch issue is minor, and takes a few minutes to fix. The paint issue is suspect (see above) and rare. The high pitched sound is there, but not loud (I have it). If you turn on the radio to normal levels, you won't hear it. Nissan will fix this, I have no doubt about it. Oil burning or oil leaking are either troll posts, or posted by people that beat the crap out of their car and didn't break it in properly. Somewhere on here there was a guy who had this problem, turned out he was driving the car literally at the top end speed (in excess of 150 mph) with less than 10 miles on the car. Who's fault is that? What kind of person does this?

You will always hear complaints about cars from people, because mechanical devices will never be perfect. The 370z is the best performing vehicle for the money in the world. Is it perfect? No such thing.

Trips

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ConchZ2

[QUOTE=billydsz;292611]First of all, there is no requirement to own a 370z to even join this forum.

THE QUESTIONS to ask yourself:
1. How do you know if a person posting even drives a Z?
2. How do you know if a person posting negative comments doesn't have an ulterior motive? (Works for a competitor, dislikes Nissan, disgruntled former employee, etc.)
3. How do you know if a person posting negative comments isn't simply a troll looking for attention?




4. How do you know if a person posting negative comments (E.g. audio equipment) isn’t simply a troll looking to make money?

kannibul

Well, here's the facts relating to my Z.

1) No hatch issue, except when I use the rollout attachable cover, even then, it's only a matter of hitting the button twice. It's happened twice in the 6 months I've had the car. Non-issue.

2) ECU noise - some days I hear it VERY faintly, some days I don't hear it at all. I listen to my CD's loudly, and I have a louder exhaust than stock, so, non-issue.

3) Oil Temp - I've never gotten my car into limp-mode, and I tried. Even had a few days where it was 110F or higher outside this past summer, and I drove it hard enough to earn some tickets, but still didn't hit limp-mode. Should it have an oil cooler - sure, does it need it, no.

4) Paint issues - it does have more orange peel than I'd like, but, that's the case with all newer cars with thin paint...even a Ferrari F430 has orange peel. That said, the car is low to the ground, and has thin paint. It'll chip easily and often, and the more you tailgate the problem will become more of an issue. Same with if you drive roads where construction/off road vehicles typically travel - but this would be the case for ALL vehicles, not just the Z...

5) Oil leaks - I've not heard of any of our Z's leaking oil. I've heard of some eating oil, but mine doesn't have this issue - that said, I should check my oil again to be sure. 2400 miles on it, with 1200 miles on current fill. I really should write it (the level of the oil) down so I can remember where exactly it is each time...

6) Shifting problems - I have a 7AT. It did do a funny "slip" shift once...something I plan on keeping tabs on. Since I don't remember what it was that I was doing at the time or what the transmission was doing at the time, I couldn't replicate it. I'd guess that it was in the middle of upshifting and I got on the gas too hard, so it downshifted, and it just turned into a slip-up/down-shifting-mess. If it does it again, I'll be concerned then. Once is a fluke, Twice is a trend. Being able to replicate the issue would be key to getting the issue (if it exists) fixed anyway. The only other thing I've noticed with the rear diff, is that it chattered once. Best I can explain it...but, it was also wet pavement, and I had LSD on. Felt (and sounded) mostly like ABS was going AWOL on the rear wheels, so now that I think about it, that could have been the issue anyway.

ConchZ2

This is how many problems I’ve had with my 370Z……………………………….0 (zero)

Modshack

Same...

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Steal my car! (SOLD)...Now Porsche Cayman S
Oil Cooler DIY: Here!

Pushing_Tin

I have an early build Z, Nov 2008. And aside from a constant rattle from the rear somewhere I haven't had a single issue. No stuck hatch, no ECU noise, no overheating and no paint problems. I do have a clunky 1-2 shift, but nothing terrible. Overall I am very pleased with the car.

As was already pointed out these message boards are a blessing and a curse, what can be a large problem with very few cars gets talked about, A LOT and it can appear that the problems are more widespread than they really are. The few people that have had legitimate issues seem to have been taken care of by Nissan under the warranty that we all get.

6MT

Had mine since mid-July. Just over 5000kms on it. ZERO issues.

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Andrew

2009 370Z Sport/Touring 6MT sold
2013 Honda Civic Si coupe D/D

vipor

Hatch Springs - Replaced under warranty
ECU Noise - very slight. any radio noise covers it.
Clutch/Throwout Bearing Noise - really a non-issue.

I'd buy her again if I knew about these issues in advance with no hesitation.

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2009 NISMO # 0193 | QAB | Albums! | 05.04.10 (Dynojet) 291.94hp/248.28tq
Oil Cooler (DIY) | Custom Headlights | GTSPEC Braces | F.I. Long Tube Headers

Pushing_Tin

I was also considering a Camaro initially, but I'm really glad I did not get one due to the myriad of problems that they are having.

VCuomo

This from a guy who owns a Fiat X19?







Sorry, I couldn't resist!

BTW, I've owned my 370Z for over 6 months now and have about 4K miles on it - zero problems.

ConchZ2

No…………….a Honda 4 cylinder!

Slynky

The engine in my RSX is a version of the same engine in this car (in the Atom 1, 2, and 3):

Welcome to Ariel Atom

(check under Featured).

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Slynky

(FIXED)

You know, at the time, there weren't many mid-engine sports cars available in a good price range. The car had a lot of spunk, and even in those days, it average about 35 MPG--something car manufacturers brag about these days as if they have managed to break some sort of MPG barrier.

I owned it for about 4 years and I never had a single problem with it. Someone messed up the removable top trying to steal it in Germany but that's not Fiat's fault.

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Mergnthwirker

If these issues were rampant, you might be right to worry. Frankly, however, you are making a mountain out of a molehill. These are great cars, and most people have few, if any problems.

My own experience: I've never had any of the problems you list.
* No hatch issues
* oil temps were higher before break-in, took it autocrossing and never broke 260; did have a bit of fuel starvation in right-hand turns until I filled the tank. Never had any oil temp issues all summer on hottest days, stop & go driving, nada
* no paint defects
* no ECU noise. Not even very noisy on trips, except on badly surfaced roads. But it is remarkably civilized for a sports car (vs. GT, like the Infiniti G37)
* no shifting problems. I originally disabled the rev-matching feature, but came to love it at the autocross when I was focused on my line & braking points, having the perfect rev-match really helped my times.
* no other problems

But it is not very exciting to post, "well, no problems again today!" Not surprising that you see only problems on the boards. But if you look at some of the third party services that track repair frequency & costs, you'll see that our cars rank among the very best. I think you are getting the wrong impression by reading the boards. Not a bad thing to do, when checking out a potential major purchase. But you need to think about frequency & magnitude of issues as well.

And if you look at the magnitude of the problems, where's the beef? I remember the first year of the Porsche Boxster, where the CEL light was referred to as the "Change Engine Light" Here, we are obsessing about barely visible paint chips at the edges of the bumper... High oil temps that almost no one observes after break-in, especially in everyday driving (unless you track your car). Huge difference in size/pain of issues! This is all minor crap, except for the terminally obsessed.

These cars perform exceptionally well, especially at this price point. They seem to be screwed together well. They maximize driver involvement and rewards. And they seem to be durable and reliable. What else is this quality that you are looking to buy?