# NEW SENTRA DISSAPOINTS....



## skippop (Feb 12, 2008)

I purchased a 2007 Sentra SL in May of '07.Since I drove the car for work trips, I had 20K miles on it in 8 months. Around 19K miles I noticed a 'buzzing' or roaring noise coming from the rear of the car, similiar to a snow tire sound. When I jacked up the rear of the car to investigate, I found that both rear tires had extreme wear on them (Extreme wear: down to the wear bars, and choppy wear marks across the tread). The front tires (which usually wear out twice as fast as the rear), have more than half of the tread left and are worn evenly. Having previous experience both in tire sales and wheel alignment, it was obvious that the rear wheels were out of alignment. To make a long story short, there are no wheel alignment adjustments that can be made on the rear of this car, so something is out of whack. After two wheel alignment checks by two different dealers (both of which indicated that the wheels were not aligned), Nissan denied there is a problem, and refused to correct it.

Have any other owners of this model of Sentra had a similiar problem? I would like to hear about it.


----------



## gtirl (Jan 14, 2008)

05 sentra and my tires are wearing wrong too. 33k on the clock, but ive noticed the wearing for quite some time now. 
the dealer said i need 3 new tires and an alignment. they said they would do the alignment for free if i bought 4 new tires at 150 each


----------



## skippop (Feb 12, 2008)

Definitely have your car checked by an independent garage that specializes in wheel alignment. I got a similar spiel from the dealer: the tires he would "give me a deal" on were $120 each, and I already priced them (exact same tire) elsewhere for $80. Strangely, the service manager at the dealer told me he would take care of the problem, but then admitted it couldn't be fixed.

Is your car still under warranty?


----------



## Specvi (Feb 2, 2008)

I'm not sure what adjustment your rear tires may need but I saw an interesting part on ebay (Item # 260210919151) that supposedly makes camber adjustments possible. I'd love to know if anyone has had any luck with this type of tool.
-Specvi-


----------



## Jeff (Oct 17, 2002)

Have you checked with NissanCorp yet regarding the problem? Or just going through the service dealers and asking them to take responsibility?


----------



## skippop (Feb 12, 2008)

I am currently in arbitration with the BBB and Nissan.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 17, 2002)

Good job....


----------



## gtirl (Jan 14, 2008)

skippop said:


> Definitely have your car checked by an independent garage that specializes in wheel alignment. I got a similar spiel from the dealer: the tires he would "give me a deal" on were $120 each, and I already priced them (exact same tire) elsewhere for $80. Strangely, the service manager at the dealer told me he would take care of the problem, but then admitted it couldn't be fixed.
> 
> Is your car still under warranty?


we didnt get the tires from the dealer and yes the car is still under warranty. but i dont expect them to fix anything under the warranty. i have a really bad problem with the tranny and they refuse to fix it.











Specvi said:


> I'm not sure what adjustment your rear tires may need but I saw an interesting part on ebay (Item # 260210919151) that supposedly makes camber adjustments possible. I'd love to know if anyone has had any luck with this type of tool.
> -Specvi-


camber kits are generally only needed on modified vehicles...a stock car should have the correct camber from the factory.


----------



## Superbaldguy (Oct 30, 2005)

Many new cars have rather cheap tires with soft rubber for good first impressions and a nice ride, what brand are these?


----------



## skippop (Feb 12, 2008)

They are Bridgestone Turanza,s. The front tires are wearing very well; 21,000 miles and more than half tread left. The problem is all in the rear........


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

skippop said:


> They are Bridgestone Turanza,s. The front tires are wearing very well; 21,000 miles and more than half tread left. The problem is all in the rear........


Please post the Spec and the actual measurements. I thinking of getting a new Sentra, replacing my 97, and would like to know.
Thanks


----------



## molten_ser_v (Mar 11, 2008)

I see this stuff daily since I work for a dealer. I have no idea what you people are doing to these cars but,

If you are still under warranty and are doing the proper, and I do mean proper rotations the tire cost is prorated by the manufacturer and can be replaced through the dealer. All nissans have this problem from what I have noticed but it is totally avoidable. Go back 20 years and the problem was still there it happens with mostly solid rear end cars and is engineered into the irs rear drive products to make them track better. As a side note, Bridgestone and Continental have always had issues with cupping. The need to rotate them is greater and should be done closer to 5k than 7500 like Nissan says. At any rate if the chassis is found to be true your beef is with the tire manufacturer not Nissan. I have been in the industry and around dealers for almost 18 years and I do think they get a bad rap most of the time. I have always driven moified vehicles and only get work done by the dealer, go figure. And being in the tire industry if you put 20k on tires with no rotation you would have sent your customers right out of the door if they wanted something for free. If you need more info I am not afraid to field calls. 513.410.6499 

Shawn J


----------



## bossfn (Feb 11, 2007)

As far as I'm concerned, if the dealer/Nissan is the one who gave me the rubbish Bridgestone Touranza tires (which they did), then they can fix that mistake.

I don't have any noise coming from them (yet), but they're wearing quickly and have been fairly terrible ever since 5000kms or so, especially bad in rain, don't even think about snow. I'll be getting better ones this summer.


----------



## davetuel (Jun 18, 2007)

Here is the end of my Sentra tire story......
After four months, Nissan officially telling me that they could not fix the car, going to arbitration with the BBB, having two attempts at replacing the rear axle assembly (none were any good), and a cash settlement from Nissan, which I will use to get a professional repair on the rear axle, I have come to a few conclusions:
1. Never again will I buy a Nissan product. I was told by the dealer and district representatives that it was my fault, I should have rotated the tires (which would have hidden the problem until the warranty was up). I have never spoken to so many "professional mechanics" that knew little or nothing about the subject (I was a front end and alignment specialist). If they cannot come up with a correctly manufactured part for a simple rear axle, how reliable will their air bags be? Or the anti-lock brakes? Or the steering assembly?
2. Never take for granted that the car is correctly aligned from the factory. Immediately after purchase, take it to an independent alignment specialist for confirmation.
3. Never expect people in management positions to be competent, or have common sense.

Nissan's poor response to this issue is costing them to lose 3 customers for sure.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Will you please share the spec and the actual measurement from your car please.
I would like to know so if I run across this I will have more information.
thanks Ian.


----------



## davetuel (Jun 18, 2007)

First of all, IanH, I will get back to you about those alignment numbers.

Secondly, Molten_ser_v:
It’s too bad that you spent so many years around the dealerships, because you missed out on becoming a real mechanic.

It seems that you are suggesting that I should blame the symptom instead of the source. If the wheels are aligned correctly, the tires will wear evenly, front and rear, except for the normally expected shoulder wear on the steering tires. Finding that the front tires (which normally wear out much faster than the rear tires on front wheel drive vehicles) have twice as much tread than the rear, and evenly worn, indicates that something is drastically wrong. A tire that is not tracking correctly will not only wear out the tire prematurely, it also adversely affects gas mileage. Also, stating that this problem has been around for twenty years doesn’t mean that all cars with the solid rear axle will have problems; just the ones with improperly manufactured axles. And if you would come into any reputable tire dealer with tires worn like these, they would politely send you back to the car dealer for repairs. 

Understand, please, that my beef is not that the car I purchased isn’t perfect; having repairs done on a new car is what the warranty is all about. The real problem was the dialogue between me and the service manager on the very first visit:
ME: I have an unusual tire wear problem on the rear of my car.
SM: Did you rotate the tires?
ME: No, I didn’t.
SM: Then that’s the problem. 

I got almost the exact same reply from a different Nissan dealer, then he handed me the alignment check printout and added, “however, your rear axle is definitely out of alignment”. (The big brass ones he must have to say that with a straight face.) I further was stonewalled by the district service manager and Nissan Customer Assurance (HA!). If not for the intervention of the BBB, the matter was over.

As to giving the dealer service departments a ‘bad rap’, it is obvious from this experience that the ‘rap’ or ‘rep’ the dealers have is of their own doing. If someone with no mechanical experience had asked about this problem, they would have left the dealer feeling ashamed that they had ‘neglected’ their car; with two new tires that cost them double the going rate; and a misaligned car.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Thanks I would appreciate that.
SO let contrast the Nissan response to one from Toyota, admittedly years ago. BTW I also had other issues with Toyota so they are NOT in my good books despite this positive incident.
I had a problem with a new 1987 Toyota Tercel I purchased in the last days of 1 yr 12,000 warranty's.
The front tires wore out in 7,000 miles !!
The dealership did an alignment and rotated the tires.
at 14,000 mile the tires were shot again and the car need 4 new tires. remember this had a 12,000 warranty.
The dealer called Toyota and got permission to work on the car.
They did the following
1) checked the alignment. Only thing adjustable was the toe, it was OK.
2) called Toyota and got the OK to send the car out to a frame shop in the Audi dealership ( strange I thought)
3) they couldn't find anything wrong, so they shipped another new car over for comparison.
In the end they concluded the frame was fine, the rear axle and placement was fine,
Replace the front drivers side spring.
4) the alignment tech at the dealer replaced the spring and reassembled the car and used in their words "a large hammer to align everything up" ( I was thinking sledge hammer)

So at this point I go else where and buy the cheapest tires I could find at discount tire because I am expecting to be replacing them again soon.

So imagine my surprise when these tires lasted 80,000 miles !!!! even with teenage daughter driving it.

So would Toyota be as responsive today ???


----------



## LucinoSR20 (Aug 30, 2005)

hey dave- or TOOL- its funny that Molten chimed in to try and give advice and help, yet you heckel him with your jab and usless response. Perhaps your busted ass car is might have come from a little bad karma. What comes around goes around is what i always say... Sounds like you need to be a honda owner anyway. I have a b16 spec v and its a ball, with no wierd tire wear issues. Maybe you should have forked the extra 3 or 4 grand and got a way better sentra. I also have a 94 se-r and a 94 G20 that have similar problems but nothing BAD. You want to make your tires last, keep up with your maint. and rotate your damn tires and stop crying.


----------



## sunnysentra (Jul 24, 2002)

The cupping of the tires is usually from alignment or bad shocks. Those solid rear axel cars like my 2003 SE-R have no way to align the thing. Maybe there is a way to get the toe with some kind of Kit. 

Chris


----------



## LucinoSR20 (Aug 30, 2005)

frame bending? hehe


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Actually i think there are shops that can bend the axle to get the toe and camber right.


----------



## LucinoSR20 (Aug 30, 2005)

axle bent? I dont think that would help. It would prolly hurt. Ive heard of bending frames on the classics and 200sx's... Seems to work well.


----------



## LucinoSR20 (Aug 30, 2005)

on sencond read, it seems like we're both talking about the same thing (for the rear)


----------



## skippop (Feb 12, 2008)

Lucinosr20,
It sounds like you must work at a car dealership also. They all seem to have the same problem with finding qualified, honest people to fix cars. Oh, and also the ability to think outside the box.

It you read my post again, you will find that 99% of it deals with the fact that the car does not meet NISSAN'S own specs, and they refuse to handle the problem. I have dealt with 'experts' that looked at tires that appeared to have been run through a meat grinder, and said they didn't see anything wrong. MY intention in making this post is to inform Sentra buyers without mechanical experience to be on the watch, and to not let the dealership try to bamboozle you. I can repair this car myself, in my own (home) garage. Others may not be so fortunate.


----------



## davetuel (Jun 18, 2007)

IanH said:


> Will you please share the spec and the actual measurement from your car please.
> I would like to know so if I run across this I will have more information.
> thanks Ian.


Ian, 
I have had my alignment corrected by a professional alignment shop. The rear toe-in was 3/8" total before adjustment, and is now 1/32" total, which is within the Nissan spec. I am looking forward to seeing the difference in gas mileage and tire wear on my next long distance trip (I was previously getting 34-35 mpg highway).

The fix was not complicated, just a matter of shimming the spindles to the correct angle. The Nissan dealerships are obviously not equipped with what it takes to do the job correctly. If you need this kind of service, seek out a shop that specializes in alignment and suspension repair, and has been in business for several years.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Thanks for the information.
I am pleasently suprised they can shim the spindles.


----------



## Dan9 (Sep 18, 2004)

the disappointment was to be expected.
sorry. I just had to.


----------



## c3o5nnect (Sep 9, 2008)

That's unfortunate that you're having problems so soon, hopefully it's something that can be fixed by a shop.


----------



## wilchappell (Sep 19, 2008)

Look at my post on alignment in this forum. It would appear that most Sentras are misaligned from the factory because of a rear axle design problem.
Th fix is an easy installation of shims between the bearing box and the axle.


----------



## merlia joseph (Nov 11, 2008)

yeah it looks good ,but it will be more nice when you share about the spec.

__________________________
Car DVD Systems


----------



## wilchappell (Sep 19, 2008)

*2007, 2008 Alignment Specs*

Below are the basic alignment specs for the 2007, 2008 Sentra Alignment. The 1st axle has an overall rear toe of 1.2 degrees. The 2nd axle had an overall rear toe of 0.76 degrees after the dealer repair. When you correct the rear toe, the front alignment will be way off.

2008 Nissan Sentra Alignment Specs in degrees
Front	Caster	L	5.7, 4.2
R	4.2, 5.7
Camber	L	0.9, -0.9
R	-0.9, 0.9
Toe	L	-0.04, 0.04
R	0.04, -0.04
Rear	Camber	L	-1, -2
R	-1, -2
Toe	L	-0.12, 0.2
R	.2, -0.12
Total Toe	-0.24, 0.39


----------



## jcasetnl (May 31, 2007)

davetuel said:


> First of all, IanH, I will get back to you about those alignment numbers.
> 
> Secondly, Molten_ser_v:
> It’s too bad that you spent so many years around the dealerships, because you missed out on becoming a real mechanic.
> ...


I avoid the stealership when ever possible. I used to have a dodge neon, for example, and it was dying in idle situations (stoplights or very low speeds).

I explained to them that I had an O2 sensor go out while driving across the country about a month earlier, but was told by a stealership that it was okay to drive on a bad sensor "for awhile" (they were out of sensors). This was somewhere in east texas and my next "stop" was in phoenix. He said it should be okay. I got the O2 sensor replaced in phoenix. 

Back to the idle problem, they didn't know what the problem was and they wanted $1200 to troubleshoot. I think that was more than the car was worth at that point. So I posted to neons.org and someone explained that going several hundred miles on a bad O2 sensor likely caused buildup in the IAC motor. Cleaned that out and ran a can of combustion chamber cleaner. (The dealership wanted $150 to do this). Problem solved. Demanded and received my $125 "inspection fee" back from the stealership.


----------



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

honestly, they're right. if you just ordered the base tire package, they're shitty tires. on top of the fact that you didn't rotate the tires, of course they wore extremely fast. you MUST rotate tires to achieve even wear. any REAL mechanic will tell you that. and as for the rears wearing faster, if nissan engineered the IRS system to track better, with some extra tire wear, thats the way the car was made. you have a better handling car, that unfortunately wears tires faster.

thats the truth of it too. the better handling your car is with relation to stearing angles, the faster your tires wear out. plain and simple. people like to put lots of negative camber on the rear to increase handling, but it wears tires bloody fast.


----------



## wilchappell (Sep 19, 2008)

*Nissan Sentra Tires*

Thank you Mrs Nissan Sentra for your reply.
Once I had the rear wheel alignment corrected by a capable shop, not Nissan dealership, I put 2 new cheap tires on the rear of my 2008 Nissan Sentra and moved the rear to the front. After 40,000 miles the terrible original tires are still doing fine on the front and the rear are not showing unusual wear after 20.,000 miles.
Unfortunately Nissan feels that meeting Nissan specs is the customers problem and Nissan can hide the problem until the warranty expires by making sure that the tires are rotated.
BTW Nissan sent me a check for having the real wheels aligned after I went to the BBB. The tires aren't bad but Nissan is.


----------



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

you totally missed my point.

you went to them trying to claim warranty. warranty is a two part agreement. the manufacturer agrees to warranty repairs on the vehicle for X number of years provided that YOU the customer follow the maintenance guidelines as per the owners manual. by failing to do so, you void warranty on such items. same deal as if after 50 000 miles, your engine dies and you want to claim warranty on it, but you've never had the car in for an oil change. sorry, no warranty. stop passing the blame.

you would have most likely received the same treatment at honda, toyota, chrysler, GM, Ford, etc. no shop is going to do a repair for FREE due to the fault of the customer. its just not good business. and don't give me that customer is always right bull. that motto has long since gone out the window with the increassingly larger number of cheats, hags and just plain stupid people.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

But there is / was a real problem here, the cars were not in Nissan's alignment spec !!
The tires were wearing prematurely.
Also the rotate the tire issue is bull.
Goodyear showed years ago that the tread wear increases just after you rotate, and to do this often is inherently bad.
But we know if you have a wear problem its better to rotate often as it hides the problem. 
Also there was a comment that Nissan has loosened their own spec because of the issue.


----------



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

my argument is that regardless of there being a problem or not, dealerships do not have to warranty repairs when the instructions in the owners manual aren't followed. its part of the contract. if he had rotated the tires, he probably wouldn't have had a problem with them.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

several people have had this problem not just one.
And rotating or not rotating didnt mess up the alignment, unlike your example of not changing the Oil.
If engine failure results from not changing the Oil then you have a point.
Nissan is the one who should decide this not the dealer, and in this case they clearly failed to address and fix the problem.
Fortunately we have people who worked through this and have a cost effective answer.


----------



## sonicgundam (Aug 15, 2007)

again, missing the point.

he wanted warranty work due to irregular tire wear. because he didn't rotate the tires, he can't make a warranty claim due to tire wear. also, alignments are not warrantied. not in the slightest. if you so much as bump the curb while trying to park, or if you drive the car hard, and enjoy aggressive turning, you throw the alignment out.

shops don't warranty alignments because there are so many scenarios that can throw it out, and its completely out of their control. it is 100% up to the driver. 

heres an example: we did a proper, four wheel, laser alignment on a corrolla after replacing the suspension on all four corners. it needed a tie rod end so that was replaced also. after all the repairs and the alignment was dead on spec (we don't do within allowable limits, we do to spec), the foreman checked the alignment, the car was road tested, and it tracked perfectly.

next day, the customer came back, complaining of serious wander. tested the car, she was right. threw it on the alignment rack, and the specs were WAY out. only thing possible was that on her way home, or her driving around that afternoon, she did something that threw the alignment out. more than likely rubbing the curb when parking.

if there was faulty alignment from the factory, then theres a claim. but this guy has put 20 000 miles on the car in 1 year. 20 000 miles is a lot. a helluvalot. more than likely the cause for the alignment issue was something else. and this could have happened withing the first 100 miles of him driving the car. 

being Canadian we deal in KM, and 20 000miles is 32 000km to me. with out of spec alignment, tires can be worn in under 10 000km. the point here is that this guy could have knocked his allignment out just about anywhere in there and worn his tires out.

he wanted warranty on the tires for irregular wear, but he didn't rotate the tires.

he wanted warranty work on the allignment, but there's no such thing as allignment warranty. 

he didn't do regular maintenance to the vehicle it seems, aside from maybe oil changes. he has no warranty claims...

like i said, shops don't do work for free that they don't have to.

i'm not condoning the fact that they said the allignment was withing spec. that was wrong. what they should have said was, "the rear is out of allignment, and as such it wore your tires prematurely. however, because you failed to rotate the tires as per the agreement of the warranty, we can't give you warranty on the tires. warranty isn't offered on allignments as there is no way to warranty it, and having put such a high mileage on the car since buying it, we cant say it was a factory error."


----------



## michaelahess (Apr 22, 2008)

*Got money from Nissan!*

I had this alignment issue. Took a year to solve. I finally took the car in to get my own allignment at 20k miles. Cost $80. Dealership agreed there was an issue, finally. They finally decided to fix it, put in a shim kit and brought it back in alignment.

The dealership said Nissan wouldn't pay for it. They had already bought me two new tires, the shim kit and labor ($115 or so) and an alignment at $80. I had paid the $80 alignment and two new tires at $232.

I filed a report with the nhtsa as the out of alignment issue caused the car to swerve severly on ice and snow (I'm in Wyoming.) Then I sent a letter to Nissan. Spoke with a nice lady about them coving my expenses, after a few weeks she said the amount was too great for her to authorize so she'd talk to her supervisor. Got a call back a week or so later saying I'd get a check.

It finally showed up but it was only for the tires. I'm torn as to whether I should continue going after it, or be glad I got anything else back. I didn't have the car for almost 4 days, and my gas milage has increased by 2-3mpg average so this was certainly more of a financial loss than just the tires and alignment.

I will certainly never buy another Nissan, they are terrible about admitting mistakes and resolving them. I never had this issue with Toyota or Chrysler.

Maybe this will help anyone with this issue. Make sure to file the nhtsa report!!!!


----------



## thevicca13 (Jan 17, 2009)

*Response to Tech*

I can appreciate the logic that alignment can not be warrantied due to operator control. A lot happens to a car that travels 20,000 miles, or 32,000 miles in my case. I bought my Sentra to keep beyond the years of my payments and I drive it with care. I have driven lot of other cars a lot more miles and have NEVER had to have the rear wheels aligned. The fact that Nissan is trying to cover up this issue with "new specs" means that there is an issue to cover up. Not one person hitting a pot hole. 

I had to have new tires put on while I deal with my issue because my car was unsafe with the old tires. A shop showed me the uneven wear on my top rated tires after only 3,000 miles! I am installing the shims myself to correct this issue and will continue to haggle with Nissan. Keep in mind there is no adjustment on the rear axle so it won't come out of alignment like the sensitive front suspension which is designed to easily correct for this.

Thanks for your opinion, but Nissan has an issue they should deal with out in the open.


----------



## davetuel (Jun 18, 2007)

*Follow Up Report*

As the the original poster of this issue, I thought I should give an update: The car now has near 40k miles on it, and has been trouble free. I get a pretty steady 41 mpg at 65 mph (before fixing the problem it was never above 34 mpg), and the new tires that were installed when the alignment was corrected still look like new. (The original front tires are still on, never rotated, and have nearly half tread left.) I would like to reply to 'sonicgundam' personally, as he wrote so much, and that probably was a stretch for him. Here goes:
1. I never tried to get free tires, I just wanted my car to fixed to THEIR specs. Nissans' two attempts at replacing the rear axle yielded a car that was FURTHER out of alignment than the original. 
2. "Rubbed a curb when parking" threw the alignment out? Somebody forgot to tighten the bolts at the conclusion of the alignment. 
3. 20,000 miles in one year: Several trips from Ohio to Iowa on I-80 (almost a dead straight line) 65 mph with the cruise on, tires at 40 PSI. Scenerio for maximum gas mileage and mimimum tire wear. (hardly "aggressive cornering"). 
4. Anyone having a problem with dealer "service": Never give up: if it looks, smells, and sounds like B.S., it probably is.


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

michaelahess said:


> I will certainly never buy another Nissan, they are terrible about admitting mistakes and resolving them. I never had this issue with Toyota or Chrysler.
> 
> Maybe this will help anyone with this issue. Make sure to file the nhtsa report!!!!


Well you are lucky !!
I brought 3 new Toyota's, A Tercel, a 4wd truck and a V6 Camry.
the list of repairs is too long to go into, but they badly mishandled the Camry gearbox problem
I complained almost from day one, their excuses ... its stiff, give it time to loosen up, its you ( I have driven stick shifts since I started driving including a Moss box) etc etc.
When it was out of warranty I had had enough and was going to take it down and fix it myself. I innocently asked the parts dept when I was in there for something else if they had the seals, syncro cones and springs in stock.
The answer was....
*"Sorry you have to buy all new internals as there was a design problem !!!!"*
I have not brought a Toyota since and doubt after three lemons in a row that I will, but never say never.
I sold the car the next month !!


----------



## GelBand (Sep 24, 2009)

Nissan Sentra 2007 64,500 kilos third set of tires.
Redading this forum has been excellent source of information. I don't want to make this super long winded but, i have encountered the same issues with tire wear and unbearable road noise.
We bought the car new, at 28,000 Kilo's (18,000 miles) the factory tires on the back were completly bald. I took the car in for replacements at a large tire firm. They showed me the tires and were amazed at the premature wear. I called to lodge a complaint with Nissan at which time I was given a maze of run arounds. The end result, I was accused of driving like a teenager skidding the back wheels causing them to go bald. This news I was not happy with especially being accused of driving like a a maniac. I explained how my other three vehicles all have a lot more miles and the tires show no signs of this type or wear and would be happy to bring them all by the dealer to prove it. I was still treated like a child so I finally just hung up the phone because I was making no progress other than raising my blood pressure.
Since day one, we bought the car in winter, I mentioned to my wife that this car always seemed to wander on the rear end on slippery roads. Now as I go through this wonderful experience, I inderstand this is going to be a different car.
I recently brought the car back to the Tire Shop because of the noise I could not longer sit in this car. John looked at the tires and said they would replace them under warranty. While the car was on the hoist I was talking with the lead technician. Three sets of tires appears to be more than a bad set of tires. The tire shop asked if I would be interested in a wheel alignment at which time I agreed. The specs showed that every measurement on every wheel was out of whack but, the front was not as bad as the rear. The left rear wheel was toed out to the left 1/2 inch and the right rear was 1/2 inch toed out to the right.
I made an appointment with the dealership for a 4 wheel alignment. I took the car in at 6am and requested the 4 wheel alignment knowing what I learned from the alignment as well as what I read on this forum. I arrived to pick up my wifes car at 3:50pm, at this time, the car had not even been touched yet. I had a discussion with the service individuals explaining I understood the appointment was to have the car ready for end of day yet it had not been touched yet. They promptly moved the car into the bay, did the alignment and 20 minutes later brought it out for pickup and for me to pay the bill. I asked for an explanation on the work, the response was "We did a 4 wheel alignment" I knew this was not possible so I asked to explain the work they did. Once I challenged the work and asked for a full explanation I was then told they only did the alignment on the front and that the rear was not possible to do. They also accused me of why the rear was out was we were hitting things; we had a long winded discussion at which I was very prepared for and had some knowledge to work with thanks to finding this forum. The dealer then told me I need to take the car to a frame place to get fixed because they cannot fix it. I don't understand that another business has to fix their supported product. I am now ($350.00 for replacing the rear tires out of warranty because of the poor alignment), the dealer charged me $117.00 for a front end alignment. Now, I found a frame place that was more than happy to resolve this issue once I explained and now I am ($350.00) for a full repair and alignment. Three alignments in less than 8 days but my problems are resolved and yet the design flaw seems to be my problem. I am not looking for huge restatution but I was looking for ownership of the problem and even if they said we will help with the cost or not charge me for the front wheel alignment but I got no support from them at all. My wife loves her Sentra and I am trying to keep a cooler head as I have been a Nissan (new vehicle) owner for the lat 15 years. This is the first thing we have ever experienced and as to what I see for service I do not expect to darken that dealership again. 
Summary of this is, they are not willing to stand behind their product. They remove themselves of a known issue and turn it back to the customer. What about the person that thought they had a 4 wheel alignment, had I not challenged this, I would have thought like others they did the job I requested or was in dire need. Whether this is under warranty or 4k over, it is irrelavent, this is a known issue and they deny its existance. Thanks for the info in this web site.
My go forward plan, Nissan Canada has not even begun to hear from me yet. I am gathering all of this evidence building a case and I am going to not only file a claim with BBB (Better Business Bureau), I am filing a small claims case against the dealer and Nissan Canada. I will also ensure the media is well aware and every institution is adverse of this known issue and the support to expect. My wife wants to dump the car and go to something else but she has assured me it will no longer be a Nissan. 
Time will tell and let the games begin. I do find this very disappointing but, money does funny things and leaves to wierd behaviour.


----------



## JOHNYSLEEPERB15 (Aug 28, 2009)

GelBand Good luck.. to rest of the nissan owners.. sorry to hear.. i myself is doughting Nissan to..

is Nissan the only or few car makers that make cars with issue.. cus i be glad to be a honda owner.. fuck its a expensive purchase and to come with issues when you should be enjoying it.. 

thanks for all the info on this and other forum sites..something are best handle ur self and if you can;t fuck go back to the source(stealer ship)


----------



## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

I have had Major issues with 3 Toyota's as discussed above, friends have had issues lots of the brands out there.
It depends on luck, first year models, the service dept and the manufacturer.

Now the manufacturers are under the gun losing money, so I am not surprised they are being tight. 

Personally the USA Nissan's, two 97 Nissans and the 2003, I have have had very little trouble, and no manufacturer issues that were not resolved. I used the Lemon law to get my A/C on my 97 Sentra fixed. Other than that as I said no issues.
My 2001 was an N16 in Singapore and that had an Alternator and idler under warranty. Only had this just over 2 yrs.

Did any of you guys try filing Lemon law claims ?


----------



## JOHNYSLEEPERB15 (Aug 28, 2009)

i live in Canada toronto..the Lemon Law claims does not apply to Canadians.. but ihave call the Nissan Recall and check vin# on my vehical.. nothing they can do.. 

i guess it is luck and ware and tear over time.. 

i feel a lil better now....but the precat and butterfly and gasket is still bull shit..


----------



## michaelahess (Apr 22, 2008)

If you guys aren't filing the NHSTA reports and TELLING Nissan you are doing it, you won't get anywhere. It's a safety hazard and that's how you have to complain to them. It's taken much more seriously than "my tires are wearing prematuraly."


----------



## lsknissan (Nov 11, 2009)

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have a 2007 Sentra 2.0S and have symptoms consistent with the common rear alignment problem. I was just wondering if anyone could recommend an alignment shop in the GTA Toronto or Southern Ontario area that was able to correct this problem for you. Thanks. I just want to get this corrected before putting on some new winter tires.


----------

