It's a good thing that Doug at Nissan of Santa Monica is a nice guy and that he's one of the most attentive and knowledgeable service advisors I've run across. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of him in the next year with our GT-R.
We had two reasons for bringing in our Nissan this time. The first was pretty benign, the 6,000-mile service was at hand. The second issue was more serious; during our performance testing our GT-R was leaking fuel. Leaking may not be a strong enough word here. Trails of fuel raced from the fuel-door and the smell was overwhelming. There were no warning lights and no noticeable loss of performance. Nothing really except a bunch of gas being ejected from the car. The testing was thankfully finished when the fuel-purge began so we parked it, ate lunch, and then drove it home. On the way home, and for the next few days, the issue did not repeat. That doesn't mean that it never happened, though.
The car is at the Nissan dealership now, we'll let you know when we have an estimated time of delivery. One of the problems with buying cars this new and driving them with the frequency we do is that we're often the first people to encounter problems (we were the first GT-R to be serviced in Santa Monica -- they didn't even have a price in their computer yet for the service when we went for our belated 1,500 mile) and the diagnosis is a learning experience for all involved.
Stay tuned.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,990 miles.
stovt001 says:
11:07 PM, 09/ 2/08
So maybe the MSRP is low for the performance, but once this thing is out of warranty it sounds like its maintenance bill will eclipse the Ferrari. Ouch. Gotta love those reliable Japanese cars.
cx7lover says:
11:51 PM, 09/ 2/08
I HATE Nissans, Nissan is a shady company. It's obvious where they cut corners, long term engineering.
banhugh says:
04:58 AM, 09/ 3/08
check the system that liquefies vapors from the gas tank and directs them to the engine.
opfreak says:
05:13 AM, 09/ 3/08
come on now, its a gt-r, aren't there imporant things to complain about, like plastic functioning buttons?
jsmilesrmhs says:
05:50 AM, 09/ 3/08
Umm, looks like Toyota4life, and cx-7lover will be in overtime today. lmao.
This has to be the worst problems any car on Edmundss longterm fleet has faced. WORST! Fuel leaking. This is the damm shame.
dougtheeng says:
05:51 AM, 09/ 3/08
Yikes, this one sounds like it could be tricky to find a fix for. Not a good sign.
1487 says:
06:56 AM, 09/ 3/08
I thought one of the points of affordable sports cars was that they arent tempermental and unreliable like low volume exotics. I guess the GTR comes with a mass production price but low production dependability and maintenance requirements.
tmanz says:
07:18 AM, 09/ 3/08
and it is even more shocking because buying one of the first cars of a brand new model is so widely known as the best way to get a trouble free car.
louiswei says:
07:53 AM, 09/ 3/08
This incident has further solidified my belief that I'll take the Z06 over GT-R on any given day... Thanks IL.
jaeger1 says:
08:17 AM, 09/ 3/08
Leaking fuel??? Holy moly - that 'aint good.
cjasis says:
08:49 AM, 09/ 3/08
You have to be joking.
I know this is the first year of production but honestly... cars haven't leaked gas in 25 years. I'm really anxious to see if:
(a) they can repeat the problem and if so
(b) what the repair is.
BTW - when I finally sold it last year, my 1998 Acura NSX had one unscheduled repair... the rear bank O2 sensor went bad in 2004. That was 6 years of use later. I think the original Japanese exotic remains the best.
1487 says:
08:56 AM, 09/ 3/08
"and it is even more shocking because buying one of the first cars of a brand new model is so widely known as the best way to get a trouble free car."
after all the years of anticipation you honestly think sports car fans should wait a year or more before buying the GTR just because Nissan needs time to work out QC issues?
phinneas519 says:
09:08 AM, 09/ 3/08
So much for the halo effect.
tmanz says:
09:17 AM, 09/ 3/08
"after all the years of anticipation you honestly think sports car fans should wait a year or more before buying the GTR just because Nissan needs time to work out QC issues?"
No, but don't be surprised when things pop up.
jederino says:
09:19 AM, 09/ 3/08
This photo made me double-take because I thought it was a Ford Focus.
bloodyr says:
09:24 AM, 09/ 3/08
Is it possible you guys got a lemon? I don't recall any problems at all with the GT-R that went on the long road trip awhile back.
karjunkie says:
10:21 AM, 09/ 3/08
I'm curious to know how a new car leaking gas can continue to function with the EVAP system unable (obviously) to pressurize the fuel system. You should at a minimum have all kinds of CEL stuff going on in your display! Verrrrrrrrrrry strange!
sumimasen says:
11:26 AM, 09/ 3/08
Seems like there's a very good chance this is related to the evap vent control valve problem reported earlier (might be one and the same?).
corollasman says:
11:39 AM, 09/ 3/08
"after all the years of anticipation you honestly think sports car fans should wait a year or more before buying the GTR just because Nissan needs time to work out QC issues?"
I actually do. Don't run out to buy the car because you want to be one of the "first" drivers to have it. Wait a while until the issues are taken care of, do some research, then buy it. That's just my opinion.
jahfakin says:
12:31 PM, 09/ 3/08
karjunkie, you are absolutely correct. The CEL light should have been on.
1487 says:
12:48 PM, 09/ 3/08
"I actually do. Don't run out to buy the car because you want to be one of the "first" drivers to have it. Wait a while until the issues are taken care of, do some research, then buy it. That's just my opinion. "
for a regular car that may fly but I'm pretty sure many folks have been waiting a LONG time for this car to come out and it's unrealistic to expect them to sit back while Nissan figures out how to deliver a reliable GTR. Maybe the experiences here will convince people to wait.
tinyelvis says:
12:49 PM, 09/ 3/08
How about a little filler flash next time? This could have been an awesome pic.
billt9 says:
03:32 PM, 09/ 3/08
You go car number 7!
At least it hasn't burst into flames yet like the Ferrari F430s when they came out.
Still more reliable than an exotic!
stingray454 says:
01:13 PM, 09/ 4/08
This fuel leak must be related to the EVAP system check engine light that this car has been experiencing. Probably a fault fuel filler neck (bad weld or a crack). Nissan has had problems with gas tank fuel filler necks in the past - there was a recall for the Infiniti G35 coupe for this a few years ago.
adavis2493 says:
08:05 PM, 09/ 5/08
I was on my way back from New York last week and I saw one of these on the side of the road after getting clipped by a Dodge GC. The Nissan seemed only to be scratched on the rear fender. But the Dodge on the other hand was destroyed! It's remains were scattered all over the NJ Turnpike. Too bad.
Anyway, I thought the advantage of building a $75,000+ Sports Car in a factory where cars were not hand built was to make it last longer and have better reliability. I guess the GTR is an exception.
e34bmwlover says:
09:18 AM, 09/ 8/08
That GTR should've had an Infiniti badge since nissan service sucks a lot. It should have been called a INFINITI GTR even though it may not sound nice. Seriously, Nissan dealership is not a place to sell & service GTR and most people who would go there to buy nissan wouldn't care what a GTR is anyway.