I've grown accustomed to most of the complaints I have about the Z. The one that still bothers me a lot is the quality of the paint finish. The entire car has bad orange peel. Not just the metal, but the bumpers, too. Surely they didn't spray them at the same time and place, did they? How could the WHOLE CAR have an orange peel problem?

I get it too, exactly as you describe. It sounds like something is going to break and you can actually feel the clutch disengaging which lightly thumps the car. Although it doesn't sound great, I think it is normal and due to the following:

When the car is going at a very low speed with the clutch fully engaged, like a car about to stall, it jerks a little bit. By disengaging the clutch suddenly when you step on the clutch pedal, you release the engine from the transmission causing the thump. It also happens at lower speeds because the car bogs a little bit . At higher speeds, there is no/minimal bogging.

I used to work at a dealership and a car shop in high school and noticed that this thumping or clunking when depressing the clutch is more noticeable in cars that are RWD where the clutch / tranny is located closer to the driver's seat. Its definitely not isolated to the 370Z. Hope this helps but let me know if the dealer tells you otherwise or has a quick fix.

I love the car and wouldn't want any other car on the market right now for the same price, but there are a few things I would fix. I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible.

1. There is no trunk privacy cover so everyone can see what is inside your trunk looking through the rear window. This is a feature that even much cheaper cars have and doesn't add much weight or additional cost to the car. The one on my 00 Celica GTS only weighs like 3lbs.

2. Only 90% of the side mirrors painted body color- can see some black plastic trim when looking from inside the car on the side. They should just paint the whole thing.

3. Armrest storage is too small.

4. Glovebox is too small to hold the manuals with the case.

5. Of the three dashboard circular monitors, the use of two of the three appears silly. One is for a digital clock and another is for the battery voltage. I would much rather not see the battery voltage and see the oil pressure and something else to go along with the oil temp.

6. The rearview mirror barely covers the span of the rear window.

7. Bluetooth phone connection should be standard and not optional.

8. All the painted silver parts of the interior and also the exterior door handle looks like it could fade over time which may show the black.

9. You cannot run the fan on recycled air without having the A/C turn on. If you turn on the recycle button, the AC turns on and if you turn off the AC, it automatically goes back to fresh mode. What if its not hot but something just smells outside?

10. The fuel gauge with the dotted lights instead of a gauge looks like a bad attempt to make the car look futuristic. In 5 - 6 years, it will look outdated. They should have used 1/8 inch lines. Also they should cover the fuel / coolant gauge with a clear plastic cover as is done with the tach and speedometer.

11. For those with 19 inch wheels, the average tire that fits as per tirerack.com is about $250 - $400 a piece which doesn't even include install/balance/shipping cost. Don't go crazy burning out, or you will spend $2000 a year on tires.

12. The front lip spoiler is easy to grind on the floor even if you haven't lowered the car. Fortunately its black plastic and is not painted.

13. There are too many bolts on the underside of the car to take off the plastic cover just to change your oil. I haven't done it yet, but looking at the photos others posted...

14. The clutch rides a little bit high and the pedal depresses very far down. During quick shifts, this will make it easier to scrape the gears due to the chance of not fully disengaging. Not a huge problem but just need to watch for in case your previous car had a "short clutch."

15. Some tranny noise in 1st gear when depressing clutch at low speeds. Normal but annoying and a bit more pronounced than other cars.

16. The rear fog lamp looks a little funny- big red square in the center of the rear bumper.

17. Seat sits a little low so sometimes getting out of the car
is a little stretch.

18. Blind spot - drivers side more problematic. Just turn your head more.

19. Seat makes clicking and on some others cars actually moves when turning hard. There are some DIY repairs for the clicking. Not sure about those whose seats actually slide during turns.

If I think of anything else, I'll add on later.

MY COMPLAINT IS THAT i DON'T HAVE ONE!

Its very strange that you hit 9K RPM with the auto transmission. Its not like on a manual transmission where if you misshift, lets say from 3rd to 2nd instead of 3rd to 4th going fast that you can overrev the engine that far. If your car really hit 9K RPM, you could have floated the valves on the car and damaged the engine. Does the engine sound fine?

There is a lot of ppl complaining about orange peel on the paint. I have yet to see a car that isn't hand painted that doesn't have orange peel.... what factory paint job doesn't have orange peel?

WAIT THE STEERING WHEEL DOESNT MOVE AT ALL? I DONT HAVE MINE YET AND IM 6'4", hope i fit like my 350

bump

It tilts, gauge cluster moves with it too. Does not telescope, though.

I don't have the 370 yet (I will) but I do have an 07 Mits Spyder GT with the same blind-spot issues, if not worse. Check out the almost total lack of rear-view, let alone blind-sides... It was very intimidating when i first bought it because I couldn't see squat beside or behind me (the rear window in the convertible is very tiny & high, like a little slit), but I bought some small nicely trimmed convex mirrors and stuck them on at the outer corners of my mirrors. Perfect solution. They even match the stock mirror trim, so they don't look out of place at all. I use them almost exclusively, and now feel like I can see almost everything; including backing into a parking spot and being able to see the lines without craning my head - convex mirrors only!
I'm surprised nobody else has suggested this...
Pic makes the mirror look small, but you can see it there. Believe it or not - it's VERY useful!

1. Rear trunk cover is standard on the Touring.

4. Glovebox has been dramtically grown in size, compared to the previous generation. I put my manuals in the box behind the passenger seat, might be only std on the Touring.

Regarding number 9 about the fresh air fan. I assume you can just turn it off so that no fresh air can come in right? In case something does smell nasty outside. I hope so.

I agree with you. We need a nissan person from the corporate level to read some of this.:tup:

orange peel in factory paint
 

previous cars without orange peel:
Miata (early model without clear coat)
PORSCHE

In the mornings before the motor is warm, I get a high pitch when the clutch is pressed all the way down. Especially when I put it in revers to back out from the garage.

Anyone know what that might be????
Other than that, I think its overall much better than my 350z 2008 I traded for the 370Z, just miss the awesome sound form the exhaust though.

Don't know if anyone else has this issue, but I use my hatch a lot. I've gotten annoyed with having to press the open button twice whenever I want to open the hatch. One press is used to unlock and unhook the hatch, but it's as if the hydraulic lifts aren't fast enough to clear the hook, so it catches again, leaving the hatch hanging onto the latch. Press number two unhooks again and then I can open the hatch fully.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

It is available on the standard 370Z and I put my manual there as well.

Orange peel isn't bad UNLESS YOU CAN FEEL IT all cars have that appearance get over it.

Yada yada yada. you bought the wrong car if you're serious about all this nit-picking stuff..... Unbelievable.

Try again......

Wow, I thought I was the only one with that problem!

I am still very new in ownership, but I do not like that I cannot close the hatch without touching a painted surface. I hate (HATE) the finger marks left by closing the hatch. All I want to a handle on the underside so I can pull it down without touching the outside. Maybe it is there and I cannot see it.

And I dislike the HUGE import tax here in PR.

Technically it is a $30,000 vehicle.

what? you mean i paid 40k for a 30k car? i dont think so. YOU might have bought a 30k 370z, but not all of us. i except the quality to follow the price of the car.


let me guess, a lancer evo is really just a 14,000 vehicle lol:icon17:

Performance is the same on the Z no matter if you paid 30 or 40. My point is that you get alot of car for not much money.

BMW is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in that direction. :gtfo2:

:stirthepot:


LMAO.

I guess that makes three of us.

Really? It's kind of strange, my sticker says $41,415. I bought it in January. So while you may "technically" have a $30k vehicle, I in fact do have a $40k vehicle. :hello:

I agree with this as well, this is a big problem when you have a black car and live in a dusty environment.

Strange- I actually only have to press it once. If the car is locked, as long as your key is nearby you just press the right button once. I never use the first lock/unlock button on the left.

It is a $30K Vehicle (MSRP), You just paid for $11,415 worth of "stuff"...

So if I paid $50k for a platinum Ford F150, it's still just a $25k vehicle because that's what I can get a bare bones base V8 for? Sorry that math doesn't add up. MSRP is MSRP.

Ok guys we get it, back on topic please. Your resident mediator :tiphat:

I dont have one yet, but my point is you can get the base model with sport package which is really what this car is all about IMHO for a little over 30. I would never call this a $40,000 vehicle no matter how much I paid. It just isnt worth that IMHO. To each his own I guess.

This is how I see it, but I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and hey its their money to do what they want.

I got my base with sport package for right at $32,000 ........... I will add a very nice aftermarket stereo for about $3,000 and be way ahead of the game. To each his own though, some prefer "turnkey" out the door :tiphat:

John

One thing that I do like about the Z is that the lower level models do perform the same (although the sports package may enhance some performance). This car isn't like a Mustang or Camaro, where you can get an underpowered "look alike". I remember when I was in high school and a friend of mine bought an 89 Mustang that only had a 4 cylinder. You could actually walk around under the hood of that thing.

yea me too. i never push the left side one. i always push the right side one. i push and hold for about a second or two and it opens.

I don't think that is what he is talking about. From what I gather the right button is only pressed once but the hatch struts have become weak and do not pop the hatch fast enough to clear the latch. The hatch is now cracked open and not free from the latch. So, the right button has to be pressed again to free and open the hatch.

I have the same problem plus the condensation in the tail light and a rattle after warmup coming from under the car. It sounds like the heat shields rattling or something.

These are all minor problems and will be fixed under warrantee.

Rudi.

Passenger side?

Can't say for certain. I'll check it after I get back from work tonight.

Rudi.