My 370 is Starting to Falter

dinfire

A big thanks to everyone who took the time to give me thoughtful answers to my questions. The bogging down doesn't happen all the time, just when I make right-hand turns at a good clip. It's not driver error. I've been driving stick for 30 years. The revs are plenty high enough. The horsepower just drops out. It also doesn't matter whether it's warmed up or not. It does the same thing.

If the key fob battery is dead that's pretty disappointing to be honest. Same with the mats. Both should last longer than they have. I actually took the car into the dealer before the warranty expired to get the gas gauge and mats looked at. They said they'd need to take the dash apart to fix the gas gauge and would need to order a part. I said OK, and they never got back to me. Big surprise there. They also said that they would not replace the mat under warranty. I complained and then they said that their service manager would have to call me. Of course he never did. A month later, Santa Monica Nissan went out of business. I had also just given them $100 for three oil changes and I've only redeemed one. Have no idea if another dealer will honor that special.

The clicking seatbelt drives me crazy. I've tried lubricating it, but it seems to be the mechanism that attaches to the body of the car. If you move it by hand you'll hear the clicking I'm talking about. For some reason my car has developed the problem over time. It didn't click when I first got the car.

Again, I still love the car, but as the first vehicle I've bought that cost (a lot) more than $25,000 I expected better build/endurance for some things. I think maybe I should have listened to the old addage of you get what you pay for.

Pharmacist

Are you pretty low on gas when that happens? It could be fuel starvation.

Um, Nissan doesn't even make the battery. They just buy it off the shelf of a supermarket just like you do. It's not their fault whether the battery dies prematurely or not. Batteries run out of power and die, that's a fact of life. Something to do with that pesky law of conservation of energy or something. It's only a few bucks anyway. The battery in my remote lasted over 2.5 years and still had juice when my car was totalled in an accident. Maybe yours was a bad batch of batteries or something. Not Nissan's fault. And definitely nothing to make a fuss about. Again, wear and tear item. A floor mat is nothing more than a cheap rag to protect the underlying carpet. Yes, they wear out over time. No big deal. Throw it out and get another one. They're pretty cheap. And be grateful you even got a floor mat. Porsche would charge you twice the Z's price for a Cayman S and floor mats are still an extra cost option. Wear and tear items. There is no predicted life expectancy for them. Either way, these are just minor things that cost peanuts. Seriously, you make it seem like the sky is falling just cuz your floor mat is a bit worn out or your keyfob battery needs replacement

They're probably wrong. The problem seems to be caused by the fuel sending units in the gas tank and not the fuel gauge in the dash. Crappy dealers are everywhere. Doesn't mean Nissan is a bad company or the Z is a bad car.
I'm not sure what you're doing, but it's supposed to click once if you move it all the way up so that it locks into place, and if you push it down it clicks once as it unlocks and falls down again. If it's clicking or squeaking more than once, or if it doesn't stay up by itself maybe it needs replacing.

Sounds like you got an excellent car for your money. Go pay 2-3 times the money on a porsche, watch as your engine self destructs due to known engineering defects, and if you're out of warranty watch as Porsche gives you the proverbial middle finger as you're on the hook for the cost of an engine replacement.

Seriously, your tone makes it seem like the engine blew up, the gearbox seized, the wheel fell off on the highway, the brakes failed, the diff self destructed, the frame cracked, and the body rusted right through itself. Yet all your problems are a dead keyfob battery, a worn out floor mat, a slightly inaccurate fuel gauge, and possibly a squeaking seatbelt arm. Hardly anything to lose sleep over it.

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dinfire

Apparently I should have added in the OP that I'm not an idiot. You act like you're talking to a 15-year-old. I'm almost 40 and was raised with cars. Nissan doesn't make the batteries? Really??? Good lord.

Pharmacist

Well you're making it out like a 370z has a serious reliability issue because of a dead keyfob battery.

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Augustus

Speaking of the key fob battery... The Z is the first car I've owned that has keyless ignition. Would it be expected that the keyfobs will chew through batteries faster than a keyed system? Isn't the keyfob always using some small amount of power trying to connect to the car? Or is that not how it works?

Could be the reason why the OP is upset about the battery life.

Vince

I would definitely expect this to be the case. There is much more communication going on between the fob and the car now. I'm also betting it's frequent bi-directional communication instead of just transmitting when you press a button.

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onzedge

It's true. Nissan does not make the fob battery. I am glad to help.

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BlackZeda

My NISMO does bog down as well when the outside temp is above 83F (oil temp approaching 230F). This happens when attempting to accelerate from a stop. In fact it is so bad I sometimes feel that the engine dies. I did speak to the service manager at my dealership about it and he said to bring it in on a hot day to so they can try to and figure out what is happening. Planning on doing this I was going to hold off on getting an oil cooler until they have a chance to look at it.

It is pretty frustrating though.

wilsonp

I'm going to have to go with I'm not so sure any more...

Put in a new battery, then you can complain. Get new mats. Stop sweating the small stuff - you'll be dead before it matters to anyone else at this rate.

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birdmanx1

Spark plugs? ... maybe?

Don't have that issue. I mean it would be expected for some parts to get a little loose, for instance my license plate screws got a little loose and the exhaust vibration amplified the noise. Tightened up the screws a little and VOILA. I would think the same principle applies to your seatbelt unit.

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Spikuh

If you are low on gas, this will probably be fuel starvation. There are a few threads around discussing this issue, just hit up that search button.


As I have already mentioned on the floor mats, the mileage on them is irrelevant. It is more about how often you do things on them, i.e. getting in and out of your vehicle. Think of it this way. If you and I both do nothing else in our cars but drive them to and from work then we have two times a day where we each put the most wear and tear on our floor mats. Let's assume you have to drive 2 miles round trip and I have to drive 20 miles round trip. That means the amount of wear and tear you put on your mats in 500 miles (2 miles x 50 work weeks x 5 days a week), I put on in 5,000 miles. That does not mean my mats are better quality, it means I drive farther.

On the battery, its a battery. A small one at that so it probably costs like $2.00 to replace. If that battery lasts you for another 3 years, that is the equivalent of you loosing $0.00182 a day. And who knows, maybe its $10 to replace the battery. That would be the equivalent of you loosing $0.009132 a day, or less that a penny.

These two issues are minor inconveniences that you shouldn't be splitting hairs over. The headaches are not worth it and choosing an appropriate shampoo is more important. At least for someone like me, because I hate dandruff.

Bad dealers are bad dealers. That does not mean the product is bad.

Don't know what to tell you on this one outside of get it replaced if it really causes you that much of a headache, I know it would me. Would I be miffed about having to replace it, you bet, but more because that is money going out than coming in. That said, the cost of replacement would probably still be negligable and not worth getting frustrated over compared to having to deal with the noise everyday.


This seems to be where the disconnect between you and a lot of others seems to be so let me try to reframe a bit. For the same costs, if Nissan was able to give you a battery that was incapable of running out of power, invulnerable floor mats and a perfectly silent seat beat system in every way, what would you be willing to give up in return? Working headlights? Functioning engine? Airbags or other safety features?

The point is there are trade offs and we can't get around them. For most, a good quality vehicle is going to be reliable and free from mechanical issues. For some, an eternal fob, invincible floor mats, and noise free cabin determine quality.

Personally, I am more of the former, and would rather go eat a burger than worry much about the latter. To me, it is what it is. I replace them, and move on.

[EDIT]I am not to sure how my tone is going to come off in this, but I want you to understand I am not trying to be negative towards you at all, just trying to clearly express my thoughts in a neutral manner. Hopefully I didn't fail to hard.