2009 Nissan 370Z: Coming Apart at the Sills

^^^ 65,000 miles on my 2004 Jetta and no loose trim pieces. Just for the record.

Then again, Edmunds seems to be about as gentle with their test cars as Michael Vick was with his dogs, so this might not be Nissan's problem ;)

That sucks. Can't you just pop it back in place? Or is it the principle that parts are popping off at 6,000 miles?

"Or is it the principle that parts are popping off at 6,000 miles?"

Bingo! Just like with the cupholder on the 7-series.

My G20 did the same thing. Get it together Nissan.

I have a 2003 350Z and it hasn't happened yet.

Doesn't it just snap on?

Wow, you mean there are quality problems with the holy Z? Oh well, brush it under the rug and say it's still a fast car around the corners. That's all that matters, right???

For some reason I cannot help but think we would all be a bit angrier if this happened in an American car for some reason.

It did happen in an American car... http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2009/02/2008-cadillac-cts-shortcuts-that-try-my-patience.html#more.

The Caddy got filleted over that. Of course there were a couple other niggling issues as well but hey that's just American right??

Dang crappy quality Japanese cars! Note, my last car, a 153K BMW E46 didn't have a single loose, rattling, or broken trim piece. Then again, I don't abuse the interiors of cars I own.

I can easily see that happening. I've seen it happen on my grandma's SL600, a Cadillac XLR, an Infiniti G35, a BMW 3-series, and an Acura CL. Hit most of those panels the right way and they'll become lose sooner or later.

I had to remove that piece on the passenger side of my 1991 RX-7 Convertible to get to remove the kick panel to get to the engine computer (needed to unplug main wiring harness to pull the powertrain). It took me about 15 minutes of unscrewing and pulling and prying and cursing up a storm to get that trim panel off, and I had to remove the weatherstripping first.

Nice VW/Audi jab. That was a real zinger.

I honestly believe that all the VW/Audi bashers have never actually owned a VW/Audi product.

My family's owned VWs. The interior bits stay put, it's only the electrics that go bad... some of them being necessary for the car to start...

I've owned Nissans too and the interiors were never very solidly put together. I'm not all that surprised by this.

Well, good thing this wasn't an American car. This would have happened thousands of miles ago if it was. This is just a single incident. An anomaly. Now if this were an American car, I'm sure it would be widespread and indicative of the entire company. In fact, I think this demonstrates how good Japanese cars are at being user serviceable. Look how easy it is to access areas normally hidden by that beautifully designed, durable, reliable piece. This just shows why Japanese cars are one bazillion times better than Dumbestic crap. The Detroit 3 should go bankrupt.

@Stov001: To be fair, the American cars I've owned have had far worse trim problems (and mechanical problems.) This is a snap on piece that the clips unclipped (likely from being kicked numerous times.) I'll take this over the buttons falling into the dash/door panels I've had in the two GM products I've owned, the peeling trim and sagging upholstery in the VDub products I've owned, and the cracking dash on the Chrysler products I've owned.

Ed, looks like you found the perfect stash for your "vitamins".

I've never had any problems with the trim in my car(domestic). I think that if you take good care of your car you won't have to worry about things like that.

pengwin-
I agree with you. As much as I say, and honestly believe, that I will never own another Audi again because the quality of the electronics (and mechancial bits for that matter) are so abysmal, they are extremely well put together. As many problems as my A6 had, the interior was still tight as a drum and rattle-free after 4 years and 62,000 miles.

And on to the issue at hand: I find this to be really dissapointing and kind of inexcusable. Quality lapses like this just shouldn't happen, high abuse parts are supposed to be designed to withstand higher levels of stress and fatigue.

wow, what a shame. i know it happens but still, shame on you Nissan

what year A6?

the m5 jetta/golf/rabbit platform are doing very good as far as electrics go.

back to the original topic. i just sold my 1994 maxima, after 16 years and a lot of city driving my door sills never broke...actually none of the interior was falling apart, few electric problems and a slipping transmission but as far as build quality it was as good as a lexus.

Yeah the 370s interior is such a huge step up from the 350s...I knew Ghosn's cheapskate Renault BS would slowly sink Nissan..its now a race to see whether the cheap interiors or ugly looks will turn buyers off quicker.

you guys do know that the panel will be fixed under warranty right? its not supposed to break that early.

I've owned two Nissans, and their interiors have stood up better than any of the GM cars my parents have owned. My previous Altima went to 175k without regular squeaks and no panels coming loose. My current Altima has no squeaks, one panel mis-alignment, and a clicking ventilation fan.

Maybe I should go downstairs and start kicking my car to see what falls off? (Is that really regular wear and tear?)

That being said, IL seems to have a bad track record with Nissans. The Versa has the passenger airbag cover pop off.

@altimadude00 : their long-term Altima had a plastic boot come off around the shifter. Clearly, the car was a piece of crap.

@mikeolan: The Altima was not a domestic car, so the plastic boot coming off around the shifter was clearly a brilliant design feature, aiding access to that part of the car's interior. If only the dumbestic manufacturers had thought of something that clever they'd be doing just fine today.

"Well, good thing this wasn't an American car. This would have happened thousands of miles ago if it was."

Please, the paranoid victim mentality is getting quite old.

mikeolan--"Clearly, the car was a piece of crap."
If this comment was made in jest, stop reading.

So all cars that have interior panels come off are clearly pieces of crap? Lets see....off the top of my head, the Saturn Aura and Cadillac CTS also fall under that category of "automatic pieces of crap." The Audi A4 should be a piece of crap too because it won't give back the ignition key. The 2005 Jetta too because they have to keep replacing the fuel filter.

The Chevy Silverado is ok though...the transmission failed, but all the interior bits were still together.

But I digress. Usually, there is a gasket that lines the panel that prevents this from happening (i.e. the exposed edge that caught Ed's shoe). Whether it was improperly installed or was of bad design, I can't say.

Resigning to writing off the car or the company over a single isolated incident is just dumb.

the 05 jetta needed a new fuel filter because it was running on biodiesel.

@Stov001: You can get away with that rationale when your car has a working fuel gauge, turn signals/brake lamps, hasn't had two A/C compressor clutch replacements, a power steering system replacement, two new wheel bearings, and three A/C headunit replacements (ask me about my GM products) But holy crap a Nissan had a plastic cover doohicky come loose and it's just as bad.

@AltimaDude00 It was made in jest. I like how people surmise a clip-on trim piece that has been knocked loose suddenly means Japanese quality is a myth.

"The Detroit 3 should go bankrupt."

Yeah they should.

Can we some real news about quality issues.

"Doesn't it just snap on?"

In most cars they do. In this case however, they will take it to the dealership and then bitch about it for a couple more posts.

I'm drowning in the cynicism of most of these responses...

Regardless, I think the point of Ed's post was to simply indicate that this shouldn't happen unprovoked in ANY modern automobile - domestic or import - after such a short period of driving.

I'm a little bit lenient with small things like this for the car's first model year, whether the car's Japanese or domestic or whatever. Just sayin...

altima:

What components of the Aura came off during the test? Refresh my memory. The one trim piece that came loose in the CTS was at least attached to a moving part- the power seat.

Mikeolan:

What years were the cars you mentioned having problems with? In 6 years with my previous car (domestic) no weatherstripping or trim pieces detached themselves. Are you talking about cars from the 70s?

"@AltimaDude00 It was made in jest. I like how people surmise a clip-on trim piece that has been knocked loose suddenly means Japanese quality is a myth. "

The busted reverse gear on the Fit kind of damaged that myth. As did the Pilot that left someone stranded in the desert a few years back. And the GTR leaking fuel. You get the picture. Dont dish it out if you cant take it. You would be quick to jump into generalizations if this was the CTS or Grand Caravan but when its a Nissan (built in Japan no less) you are passionately explaining how this should be viewed as an isolated case.

I found what Altimadude was talking about. Here is the quote from Walton about the steering column shroud:

"Not a huge deal, as inserting tabs A and B into slots C and D was like a snap-together model, but this ain't the kind of quality or workmanship that our domestic makers can provide as a means for meeting the challenges in the market place where first impressions not only influence the experience of one driver, but also linger in his mind and may affect future buying decisions."

Good thing the Z's trim coming off doesn't leave any lingering concerns about quality.

1487: the plastic steering column cover.

Got it now stephen. Naturally it was a big deal even though it was popped back into place. Why exactly is the trim on the Z coming apart when there really isn't any sort of friction that should dislodge the trim?

The evidence is there that there is no major difference in build quality or reliability today but some people are going to need more convincing.

As mentioned by other posters, the trim damage/failure on the Z is likely due to it being knocked on entry to the vehicle. Its pretty easy to scrape a shoe/boot along the bottom of the door sill and across the weatherstripping...I do it all the time, even though I don't mean to. Still, no excuse. This is a location that is known to take a lot of impacts and as such the trim should be attached more securely.

@1487: Oldsmobile Intrigue from 2002. Last domestic product I've owned (though to be fair, my sister's Ford Escape from 2002 has been good), and there's a noticeable and obvious quality difference in owning my past two cars (both Japanese)

And hey, I was (and still am) to some extent a GM fan, but yeah, it's really not even close.

I'm familiar with the Intrigue, a 1998 model that was in the family. Had no problems with trim pieces coming loose. No major issues (tires, wear and tear, starter) until year 7 or 8 and they were related to the infamous dexcool situation. On that car nor my old car did buttons ever collpase into the dash or armrests. I did have a suburu in which the window controls eventually detached from the armrest and begain to sink. Eventually a screw was inserted to realign the switches with the top of the armrest. THere was also a persistent wind noise leak that I could never source or rectify. Then of course there was the intermitent starting problem in which I had to turn the key 10+ times to get the starter to engage. The Intrigue was designed in the mid 90s- about 15 years ago. You wont find any noticeable difference in build quality or interior durability in today's cars. If anything the latest offerings from Honda and Toyota seem cheaper than their predecessors.

That would be pretty annoying. I guess no car is perfect - the 370Z is just almost perfect. :) It does sound like a 1st model year problem.

We have a 2005 Subaru Legacy (1st model year) that had a weird scuffing issue with the glove box that happened in the first couple thousand miles and an exhaust thing that had to be fixed (both were taken care of in one visit to the dealership in one afternoon). After that we've had no problems at all.

Hopefully there aren't too many more issues like this with your 370Z. At least it's cheap to fix unlike the cronic failing power window motors with the 2003 350Z ($$$).

"I honestly believe that all the VW/Audi bashers have never actually owned a VW/Audi product."

1993 Corrado (Electrical problems, overheating problems, trim problems for days)
2002 GTi 1.8T (Coil Packs melt after 12k miles, rubber coated surfaces peeling off after 18 months)

2006 Passat (More trim problems, eletrical gremlins and beloved coil pack issue)

The last car was so bad (Passat) I traded it in for a 2007 Spec-B Legacy. Aside from the crappy radio, not one problem to speak of. Not one. The interior is still as new as day one. Nothing has fallen off, or peeled away.

No more VW/Audi for me. Not even to lease. Pity, they're such nice cars when they're new, but they have the shelf life of bananas.

I always knew Nissan makes junk cars.
That's why I drink Nestea Raspberry Iced Tea.
When you are having a bad day, drink Nestea Raspberry Iced Tea.

I already know why this is happening. Please call the dealership where this 370Z came from and inquire whether they installed the illuminated kick plates, and that this 370Z was not ordered this way from the factory? These illuminated kick plates are optional and either factory installed if you special order your 370Z or installed at the dealer if you did not. I bet the dealer installed them, and this is why you are seeing them come ajar—they were not installed carefully and properly. I have installed these and in doing so studied all their workings, and you must be careful in removing the covers or you will compromise the holding grip of the cover's tabs. Once compromised they do not hold well any longer. Had the installer simply taken their time versus (and I'll bet this is what they did) yank the bloody covers off as quickly as possible this would have never happened. If I were there I take a look at this and tell you whether the wiring was routed corrected and how the pieces were both taken off and refitted.

I looked at the larger photograph of the problem, and by seeing the black wire—the dealer installed your kick plates.

^^

Uh oh, if this was due to shoddy work at the dealer then you guys all owe the Z an apology.

"The Chevy Silverado is ok though...the transmission failed, but all the interior bits were still together."

Didn't the Silverado's seat seams come apart? Also, I remember the silver paint on the steering wheel trim wearing off, exposing the black plastic underneath.

"The one trim piece that came loose in the CTS was at least attached to a moving part- the power seat."

A plastic cover in front of the CTS's rearview mirror housing also fell off and had to be replaced at the dealer.