2003 Nissan 350Z problems
Owners have filed 349 complaints about the 2003 Nissan 350Z with NHTSA. Suspension accounts for 31.8% of them — the clear leader, ahead of tires at 20.3%.
Complaints349
Crashes7
Fires1
Injuries3
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Suspension 31.8% · 111
Tires 20.3% · 71
Power train 10.0% · 35
Engine and engine cooling 10.0% · 35
Engine 7.7% · 27
Electrical system 3.4% · 12
Visibility 2.6% · 9
Air bags 2.0% · 7
Severity
Of those complaints, 7 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 3 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 3 model years of the Nissan 350Z in this data, 2003 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings have fallen off, 6 in the last three years against 10 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 13,000 miles.
In owners' own words
2003 Nissan 350Z brought in to showcase Nissan in bourne, ma with oil light on and no oil pressure. Technician put car on lift and drained "less than a pint of oil" from vehical. Inside of tail pipes were oily and black. Milage at the time was 14,100. Nissan's solution was to do consumption tests at 500 mile intervals which resulted in oil usage of 1/4 to 1/2 quart per 500 miles which Nissan claims is "normal". Suspension · reported at 12,000 miles
Suspension design flaw creates uneven tire wear in the front tires. Tires will 'cup' or 'feather' within the first 10,000 miles of driving. My car in particlar ran out of tread on the inside patch at 13000 miles. Changing tires is not a cure for this issue as it reoccurs due to the suspension. This is a potentially dangerous flaw as it might cause vehicles to lose traction in wet/slippery conditions. Suspension · reported at 13,000 miles
The car has terrible feathering on the inside edges of the front tires. Problem started after 7,500 miles. Contact patches on the inside tire tread are wearing unevenly. I had the car aligned by Nissan on 2-21-03 and the problem has gotten worse. This really scares me and could lead to unsafe driving due to poor design and uneven tread on the tires. The car is a Nissan 350Z. Received in august 2002. Suspension · reported at 8,696 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…