350Z Death

[mmulhern]

My son died in a car accident March 13, 2005. He had just bought his 350Z in December. He was only 20 years old. He lived at home, worked full time, and went to college at night. He saved and worked 2 jobs to buy this car. He loved cars!

I am his mom and know nothing about cars.

Witnesses state they heard a lound sound "like he hit a stick or something in the road", and then the car made an abrupt 45 degree angle off the road. The police did not find anything in the road.

Do any of you hard core 350Z owners, mechanics, or anyone know of any one else who has had this problem, or know or have any sugestions what this loud sound might have been, and what caused the car to go off the road. The accident occured at while crossing an intersection.

The investigation is still open.

Thank you,

[Bdetore]

Originally Posted by mmulhern

My son died in a car accident March 13, 2005. He had just bought his 350Z in December. He was only 20 years old. He lived at home, worked full time, and went to college at night. He saved and worked 2 jobs to buy this car. He loved cars!

I am his mom and know nothing about cars.

Witnesses state they heard a lound sound "like he hit a stick or something in the road", and then the car made an abrupt 45 degree angle off the road. The police did not find anything in the road.

Do any of you hard core 350Z owners, mechanics, or anyone know of any one else who has had this problem, or know or have any sugestions what this loud sound might have been, and what caused the car to go off the road. The accident occured at while crossing an intersection.

The investigation is still open.

Thank you,

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Unfortunately it sounds like the car must have been pretty well mangled to distinguish between and accident and damage that may have occured before the accident. I'm not an expert, but I have done my fair share of work with cars, and the first thing I would look at are suspension pieces and steering linkages. If the snapping sound was involved, something may have broken causing a wheel to go somewhere it shouldn't have. Pieces like tie rods, rack and pinions, and other such steering parts could cause a wheel to go the wrong way if snapped. I would take some time reading up on a Chiltens guide to the car itself. There will be detailed pictures and drawings of these systems. If you do some studying, I'm sure you can learn alot, but with the condition of a car after a fatal accident it may be hard to prove anything before versus after. The other unfortunate thing is that by nature of industry, sometimes some parts just have problems that can't be detected. It's kind of a chaos theory. It's why some parts go out in the first 10k miles, and some from the same mold last 200k. It may be a 1 in a million thing. I know this is of no comfort, and I hope that someday you can ascertain what really happened. If it does come down to manufacturer defect it may help alot of people. Good luck with your future. I don't know what else to say to help.

[Zgringo]

I truly hope you don't take this wrong, but you owe it to your son's memory to get that car into the hands of a expert to determine the cause of the accident. I'm sure he wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else.
In the past I use to do aircraft accident investigation work and in the right hands the cause of your son's accident can be determined.
My heart goes out to you and your family.

[mmulhern]

Originally Posted by Zgringo

I truly hope you don't take this wrong, but you owe it to your son's memory to get that car into the hands of a expert to determine the cause of the accident. I'm sure he wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else.
In the past I use to do aircraft accident investigation work and in the right hands the cause of your son's accident can be determined.
My heart goes out to you and your family.

Thank you both for your kind words. Ryan, my son, was (is)very special.
The insurance company has hired an expert in accident reconstruction. The reason I posted this was to find that one hard core Z owner that knows everything about the old and new cars. That 1 person in a million that can tell you what's wrong just by hearing the sound the car makes. That one that knows that if a Z car makes this sound, these are your options.

I know that the investigator will do his/her best. I just don't want anything missed or overlooked. It is the last thing I can do for my son.

Thank you,

[Zgringo]

I've raced Nissan's and other cars for years and what you said about the pop could be many things.
If you would be as so kind as to eMail me at:
[email protected] I'll try and help you as much as possible. It would help to know everything involved in this case.
In your eMail I would like your phone number.
I have the means and ability to perform non-distructive testing and Maybe can shed some light on this matter.

[<SSR>David]

I am really sorry to hear about your loss. What Bdetore said is right. The suspension and steering parts could have been damaged and may have cause that sharp turn. Im sorry I can't be more of a help.

[mmulhern]

Originally Posted by Zgringo

I've raced Nissan's and other cars for years and what you said about the pop could be many things.
If you would be as so kind as to eMail me at:
[email protected] I'll try and help you as much as possible. It would help to know everything involved in this case.
In your eMail I would like your phone number.
I have the means and ability to perform non-distructive testing and Maybe can shed some light on this matter.

Hello,

I have sent you two e-mails. I am almost sure you didn't receive them because I sent them to myself and I did not get them. Please let me know if you have received them.

Thank you,

[mmulhern]

Originally Posted by <SSR>David

I am really sorry to hear about your loss. What Bdetore said is right. The suspension and steering parts could have been damaged and may have cause that sharp turn. Im sorry I can't be more of a help.

Thank you for considering what might be the cause.

[Zgringo]

Originally Posted by mmulhern

Hello,

I have sent you two e-mails. I am almost sure you didn't receive them because I sent them to myself and I did not get them. Please let me know if you have received them.

Thank you,

No, I haven't recieved anything. It's [email protected]

[Bdetore]

If I've learned anything from these forums, it's that Zgringo is kinda like the wise old Z-owl of the forest, although I don't know how old he really is. IF anyone here can help you it's him. Good luck to the both of you. The answer is there somewhere.

[mmulhern]

Originally Posted by Zgringo

No, I haven't recieved anything. It's [email protected]

Hello,

I have sent two more e-mails.

Let me know if you receive them.

Thank you,

[Toyota_Guy]

There is a case pending against Nissan North America, thats not exactly about accident, but thats about defects with Nissan 350Z.It might help.

http://www.sheller.com/Practice.asp?PracticeID=145

[<SSR>David]

Quoted : "The complaint contains allegations that these vehicles suffer from suspension and alignment defects that result in premature wear, feathering, and cupping of the front tires." Says a lot. Now this really got me scared. I did not feel anything of this sort. I could be because I bought some aftermarket suspension from Tein, but thats just coils springs and ect. I mean, this is a very seriouse problem for me. Thanks Toyota-Guy for sharing this information with us, very helpful for me. I should probably go to a auto shop and get my suspension and steering components checked out. This is got me really worried for some reason.

[mmulhern]

Originally Posted by <SSR>David

Quoted : "The complaint contains allegations that these vehicles suffer from suspension and alignment defects that result in premature wear, feathering, and cupping of the front tires." Says a lot. Now this really got me scared. I did not feel anything of this sort. I could be because I bought some aftermarket suspension from Tein, but thats just coils springs and ect. I mean, this is a very seriouse problem for me. Thanks Toyota-Guy for sharing this information with us, very helpful for me. I should probably go to a auto shop and get my suspension and steering components checked out. This is got me really worried for some reason.

We are aware of the tire suit. But the 05's don't have enough history yet. Nissan web site touts the "safety " of these cars, and that the earlier problems have been corrected. The site goes on to say that the 04's and 05's are structurely the same. How can that be? he 04's have the tire and suspension problems too. We are still digging, and something, somewhere, from somebody, we will prove this car to be un-safe, and maybe my son can get some justice.

Dad

[b-28L280zx]

It could possibally mean they have the same settings but different types of parts involved. Automotive terms can get very confusing at times. Did you check to see if the car had any tune up? suspension change? or last people to work on it? Maybe it was a loose bolt or wrong bolt replaced in ? Trust me these happen alot me and my neighbor find defects (that werent there before) everytime it comes back from a shop so we just work on our own cars now after being screwed over 1000$ engine rebuild on his toyota and getting into a fight with the security and me slaming his head into a table and giving him a cuncussion and being in jail for a week for assalt charges but thats different he was a jerk