Originally Posted by Red__Zed
(Post 1383303)
Purchased the car in July of 2010. Installed clearbra, etc. 72 miles on the clock, already on it's second transmission due to 5th gear synchro issues.
Two months into ownership, back to dealer to repaint due to orange peel. Passenger quarter panel is completely redone, as is driver fender. Whole car needed it, but Nissan refused.
One week after getting the car back, brake master cylinder failed on the highway. Lost pedal pressure, etc. Coasted to a stop. Dropped at dealer, was replaced. NNA rep test drove my after my previous issues (they care about life-threatening problems), and complained about the trans. Got me on the list for (another) replacement. Showed him the paint issues, he got me in for a full body repaint as well, with NNA covering the new clear bra.
Dropped the car off, got everything addressed. Nissan had the clearbra installed before the paint cured, which required (another) front end repaint. Minor mistake, no biggie. While in the shop for this, clutch master failed. Replaced under warranty. Brake master was replaced (again) due to developing a "clicking" sound, similar to the last time it failed. I never saw either issue, and really hadn't driven the car, only the Nissan guys had even driven the new master cylinder.
About this time, the headliner rattle was enough that they couldn't stand it, so they pulled the car/dash apart looking for it and the other rattles. Never got it fixed.
Also got them to look at the underside of the car, had quite a few parts replaced.
Spent a lot of time talking to the NNA rep, who basically told me to get rid of the car. NNA policy allowed for 1.4999QTs/ 2k miles with no replacement option (I did not have oil consumption). The policy on the synchro issue was to deny. The policy on the whine in 1-4 was to deny. The policy for the "marbles" was to deny. Policy on orange peel was to deny. He told me that the underbody rust was a known issue, but the parts were good for the warranty period, so they didn't really care This was honestly one of my biggest concerns...the suspension components that hold the car together are incredibly prone to rust. I had my new parts delivered to me before install, where I coated them myself to ensure no problems for me.
Went ahead and bought the subaru to have a reliable car in case the Z went out again (Nissan would not provide me with a rental since I was not 25). Put the Z away, and put it up for sale...obviously had difficulty moving it. Carmax offered me 22k on a 39k MSRP vehicle I had bought 3 months before, explaining that the known transmission issues with the car had tanked it's resale value.
After not driving it for most of the winter, I decided to give the car another go. I bolted on some more parts, and was relatively happy with the car. The headliner rattle was the only things that was really killing it for me, but next to my s2k's rattles I didn't even care. Started getting the trans issues again, with 5th gear locking out and refusing to go in. Decided to tough it out and keep going. Dealt with (another) brake failure, this time almost hitting the car in front of me. Put the car up for sale again, again no bites.
Moved down to alabama, and thought things would be pretty solid since the trans acted better in warm weather. Left the subie in va, and brought the Z down to bama. On the cruise down, I was pretty settled that I would keep the Z, drop in a real diff and some brakes, and enjoy the car....unfortunately, Nissan had other things in mind. Orange peel cropped up on the only part of the car the apparently hadn't repainted (the hood). Nissan refused to cover the repaint and blamed it on the dealer in VA, even though they hadn't painted it. Sent in trans and diff samples to blackstone, who basically confirmed my suspicion that the diff was overheating in daily driving and would likely grenade itself before long. Showed the issue to NNA-- rep agreed the temps were a problem, Nissan changed the diff fluid.
No dice.
Changed the diff fluid again. No help.
NNA provided me with a pumpkin from an SP car, which, aside from showing off what garbage the VLSD is, did not help.
Nissan finally offered to extend my warranty on the diff out to 100k, which I accepted and moved on. The problem was noted as a "known potential issue", but since only a small percentage of driver had experienced failure, there was no need to issue a fix. I had previously confirmed the broadness of the problem by checking diff temps when we ran the dragon....not a single person had a diff within an acceptable range at the end of a run... and I don't mean 5C out of acceptable.
When my brake master started clicking again, I decided to get rid of the car, because that's a terrifying issue once. It's a lot less fun again.
I know my experience was not typical, but it is still what I dealt with. I experienced the car as an absolute POS from a reliability standpoint, and from a construction standpoint. Throughout this, I think the CPS was replaced twice, and I experienced the throttle tip-in issues despite getting reflashed quite a few times.
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