NHTSA Complaint #10082910 — 2003 NISSAN 350Z

I OWN A 2003 NISSAN 350Z WHICH I PURCHASED NEW. THE CARS TIRES BEGAN TO MAKE A LOUD NOISE, WHICH I NOTICED AROUND 2500-3000 MILES. THE NOISE WAS GRADUALLY INCREASING IN VOLUME AS I ADDED MILES TO THE CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AT APPROXIMATELY 6500 MILES WHEN THE NOISE BECAME UNBEARABLE. THE DEALER RE-ALIGNED THE FRONT WHEELS AND REPLACED THE TIRES TO ADDRESS A "KNOWN PROBLEM" WITH ALIGNMENT FOR WHICH NISSAN HAD ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN. I NOW HAVE JUST UNDER 14,000 MILES ON THE CAR AND HAVE JUST DELIVERED THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM ONCE AGAIN AS THE ISSUE WAS NOT RESOLVED BY THE ALIGNMENT AND TIRE REPLACEMENT. THE DEALER WAS UNWILLING TO ALIGN OR REPLACE THE TIRES AND CLAIMED THE WARRANTY FIX WAS A ONE TIME FIX. I CONTACTED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS, AND NOW I WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN ALIGNMENT AND NEW SET OF FRONT TIRES UNDER AN EXTENDED COVERAGE NISSAN IS CALLING "2003 350Z FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT WARRANTY EXTENSION". THIS WARRANTY EXTENSION IS ADDRESSING THE SAME PROBLEM THAT I ALREADY ASKED THEM TO FIX UNDER WARRANTEE LAST YEAR. THE PROBLEM SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY BECAUSE IT FIRST APPEARED DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND WAS NOT FIXED BY THE ACTION TAKEN BY THE DEALER. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH MANY OF THE 2003 350ZS. NISSAN IS ADDRESSING THE SYMPTOMS RATHER THAN FIXING THE PROBLEM IN ORDER TO BUY TIME. THE PROBLEM IS MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN A SIMPLE ALIGNMENT AND TIRE REPLACEMENT. THEY ARE USING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES TO SKIRT AROUND THE PROBLEM IN ORDER TO AVOID DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A TRUE FIX FOR THE ISSUE. UNDER THE "2003 350Z FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT WARRANTY EXTENSION" MY EXTENDED WARRANTY EXPIRES TWO YEARS FROM THE IN-SERVICE DATE OF MY VEHICLE. THAT IS OCTOBER 2004 FOR ME. AT THAT POINT I WILL BE STUCK WITH A DEFECTIVE CAR THAT WEARS OUT VERY EXPENSIVE TIRES IN A FRACTION OF THE NORMAL TIRE LIFE WITH NO MEANS OF RECOURSE. *AK