My tires are cupping/feathering, where the outer tread blocks are curled up on their front edge. From these forums, I thought this happened to everyone and wrote it off as normal. However, I saw a friend's coupe and his tires looked brand new after 9000 miles, so I decided to call the dealer to get it checked out. I called right at the 1 year mark and he said the tire/alignment warranty is 12 months/12k miles. I had ~6300 miles on the car.

I made an appointment but this was after 12 months now. He will not check the alignment for free under warranty. He will charge me $130 for it, even if the alignment is out of spec, unless he finds a bent or broken component. This is BS, and I told him I would save $50 by getting the alignment checked at an independent shop and have them inspect for damaged components.

He claims that Infiniti is inflexible on their warranty and cannot perform the work.

Abnormal tire wear is a mileage based problem and I am well under the 12k mark, but the imposed 12 month period is biting me in the a$$. I learned my lesson the hard way. Everyone, get your car checked out well before the warranty period expires!!

 

If you take corners fast thats normal tire wear. I you dont then you have something wrong. Like you, my tires have more wear at the edges than center.

 

I have done some autocrossing on these tires, but the feathering happened long before I ever did that. I also noticed uneven wear on the tires. As I rolled the tire around, there were some spots that were more worn than others.

 

Its just Diddy now, get with the program!

 

No way, I'm the OG P Diddy, before Puff Daddy/Sean Combs changed his name to P Diddy.

 

I have 15,700 on my original tarz...no cupping or unusual wear at all. Michelin Pilot Sports.

 

I say you call Infiniti customer service and harp on them. What do you have to lose?

 

I had the cupping of the inside tread blocks, at about 10000 miles. I had an alignment done, had the tires (the original Pilot Sports) broken off the wheels and remounted swapped left-to-right. In another 10,000 miles I had cupping again on the "new" inside tread blocks.

I had to pay the dealer too, but it does seem to me you are being charged an awful lot for an alignment. Are there other Infiniti dealers in your area you might try? Or do you have a Nissan dealer near you who might be cheaper? On the Nissan dealer, they have a LOT more problems with cupping on the 350Z than we have on our G35s. I'm thinking they might have a bit more experience aligning these cars, and a better understanding of the importance and sensitivity of these cars to the correct alignment setting. As soon as I can find a minute, I was gonna take my Coupe to the local Nissan dealer and aske them to do the alignment. Just a thought.

Steve

 

I called Infiniti Consumer Affairs and complained. They documented it but kept repeating that the dealership has descretion over warranty work. Basically, they ain't gonna do $hit about it because the warranty period is over, no exceptions, case closed.

I will call the Service Manager at Frontier Inf and then try Oakland Infiniti since someone mentioned they are more friendly.

SLZ, good idea about taking it to a Nissan dealer. I may do that, or take it to a local alignment shop.

 

True Story: Take all tire defects and or problems to the tire company itself. Call the manufacturer direct, they will find you a authorized dealer in your area, get it inspected, they will not cover or replace 100% but will usually cover atleast 70%. My co-worker has a lexus es330 2004, tire was really bad at 9,000 miles. Called toyo direct (got number from lexus dealer) and did exactly what I mentioned before. Toyo replaced the tires with a better brand and payed 77%. Total bill came out to $150.00 (you still will have to get an alignment though. Let me now if this helps and get back...

 

thats why my next car is going to be a lexus or bimmer.. or even a honda but NEVER EVER an infiniti >=(

 

sorry quick question:
how long does our warranty last for?

 

IF the front end was properly aligned from the factory then your tires would not of worn the way they have done so. A car driven for one year with 10K mi on it should not have that sort of wear. If they are a stand up dealer they should replace your tires and re-align your front end for free. That's what most good dealers would do especially when you buy a near $40k car. The fact alone that other 350Z and some G are prone to this should leave the dealer to help you out. I Would Speak directly with the service manager and tell them that you understand his point, but that your issue was caused by the alignment not being done right from the factory & an issue like this would most likly take 10k mi spot tire wear of that nature. ALSO explain that you heard that some other G suffer from this and many 350z on the same platform. If he still does nothing "thank him". and tell him that you are going to speak with Infiniti and do more research online to find others who have the same issue.


Good Luck

 

I mentioned that the 350Z actually had a national recall to my service consultant, and he said he knew nothing about that! I have called both Infiniti Consumer Affairs & the dealership's service manager and the Serv. Mgr said he would talk to ICA and possibly work something out. I'm not going to hold my breath though. I only have 6800 miles on the car, not 10k!