Yay. But it came with a host of problems, and I'm hoping to get advice on how to best handle the issues:
1) Tire roar - it makes loud noise on braking. I plan to have an alignment shop do the alignment to stop it.
2) Rear hatch won't open - when you push the button at the rear, it pops but doesn't open unless you hold the button and yank up. Annoying. Is this common?
3) Gas Hatch release button - I pushed this to fill the car and the BUTTON PUSHED THROUGH into the dash! What the heck? I can't be the only one.
4) The dashboard cubby won't open - the button doesn't do anything. I can open it by pushing on the top of the cubby door and holding the button, but otherwise it is shut. Any ideas?

Congrats. Any pictures of the car?

About the problems though, I got no experience there... Sorry for the lack of help.

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1985 300ZX n/a

See my Z project

Where did you buy the car? Dealer? Go back and complain!!

sounds like you got one of the Zs with EVERY common problem the early 350Zs had.


1) you shouldn't have bought a 350z with the tire feathering problem.
2) yes, it's common. the hatch struts just aren't strong enough. you have to click the open button and pull up or change out the struts for stronger ones.
3) i've heard of this happening too. not sure what the fix is though.
4) does it have the nav? if so, the door automatically opens when you turn the car on, but the door motors are known to go bad. costs $700 to replace. if you don't have the nav then i'm clueless on this one.

Pretty soon you'll need to change out the window motors.

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Currently Zless
Z's I've owned:

'71 240Z White
'73 240Z Orange
'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
[www.henryism.com]

I would bring that car back right away and hand them that list of problems.
Even if you bought that Z at a tiny used car lot they have to give you 30 days.
That is just not good business and don't think for one second someone didn't know about these problems. Also, I would have checked everything first before they got a dime from me.
1. If you don't have the nav the cubby is useless.
2. Be glad that the hatch doesn't come down the other way on your head.
3. Tire feathering...I am guessing an 03 early 04 Z.
4. Fuel door falling in is crazy.

Good luck!

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'04.5 350Z Touring, Liquid Aluminum

Hehe, some negativity here! Sorry - I should clarify, this is an early model used Z, and I cut a very good deal, so a sticky cubby isn't the end of the world.

>>1) you shouldn't have bought a 350z with the tire feathering problem.

I believe it can be mitigated - from what I have read, the problem can be minimized by taking it to a proper alignment shop and telling them to set it up based on car stance and without excess toe, ignoring Nissan's recommendations, and by buying certain brands of tires (again, ignoring Nissan's claims). I could also replace the arms with something adjustable and fix it completely.

>>2) yes, it's common. the hatch struts just aren't strong enough. you have to click the open button and pull up or change out the struts for stronger ones.

Any part numbers for this? Will 2007 350z struts fix it?

>>3) i've heard of this happening too. not sure what the fix is though.

Heh, I was pretty irked when it happened. I suppose I can crazy-glue the button into the holder so it can't be removed.

>>4) does it have the nav?

No nav. The door just doesn't seem to have the pop-up action that the door is supposed to have. You can manually lift it and make it go through the right motions.

Unless I missed it, you don't say what year of Z you bought which would be relevant to getting more qualified answers pertaining to your questions. Every year model from 03-08 had one or more problems with TSB's explaining the fix. For the best answers to your questions/comments, find the TSB's issued for the model year in question and that should give you all the answers. As for the gas hatch release, I think there was a TSB on that for the 03-04. Mine popped out on my 03, and the service tech popped it back in and I never had trouble with it again.

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'06 Silver Alloy 350Z Touring

how much did you pay? you can get a hell of a deal on a 350z now. i sold my '05 for $13k. it was in great shape, but that was the going rate.

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Currently Zless
Z's I've owned:

'71 240Z White
'73 240Z Orange
'05 350Z Chrome Silver Touring
[www.henryism.com]

The hatch problem is not the gas struts. The hatch springs on both sides of the hatch frame need to have pennies added to them. Take them off,add pennies and try the release again. Worked for Me and many others. Takes 5 minutes. Lasts for ever. If the hatch wont stay up, the struts are too weak. You can replace them or use a brace, whic h I chose to do.

@rampage: do the pennies go inside the bottom of the plastic covers to add space? How many pennies did you use?

Thanks for the great tips. We need to compile all these fixes into a set of tech pages.

Update: the pennies helped (pops faster), but the gas struts need to be stronger - the hatch, when halfway down, will fall almost like there are no struts at all.