Another Nissan bites the dust

[big guy]

I have often refrred to my mates Nissan and how he typifies the nissan driver and so on.
He always gave me crap for driving a Landy and has done so for 20 years, well the day of has come where his beloved Patrool has bitten the dust.
Its 2 months out of warranty, Nissan does not want to know about it.

It is well documented that the 3L Patrols are a time bomb and he has always had issues with it from day 1.
He called every Nissan dealer, his mate who is a mechanic had a client who even wrote, e-mailed and phoned the CEO of nissan Australia and they are flat out denying any issues and he is on his own.
Quotes so far for a new motor is $15k.

Does anyone on here have any help on links or factual information that could help him get over the line via a Statutory warranty claim.
His car has done 50k km's and apart from a few outings has been well looked after.

!st thing he said to me was that he will never pay me out about my choice of vehicle again. Oh well, I always liked the banter we had going.:p

[trobbo]

sorry I'm of no help but I thought they had resolved that problem with the later model engines

[c.h.i.e.f]

I like nissan patrol's not as much as landrovers but I have yet to hear a good report about a 3L I can't see how they are still allowed to be produced ? I have a mate with a 4.2td patrol and a 3l he says the 3l has more power and better to drive but he then said but if I had the choice its the 4.2 all the way because the 3l has already had a new head after completely stuffing the original one.

[p38arover]

I won't rubbish Nissan over their engine - I've heard of many problems (and experienced them myself) with the Rover 4.6 V8 slipped liners.

[LandyAndy]

Nissan has been covering out of warranty repairs as long as the vehicle has had full dealer service.
Slipped liners,Ron I can tell you of a more expensive liner problem;);););).
Andrew

[justinc]

$15K??? I hope that is fitted....LAst one we did using a genuine Nissan ZD30 long engine, from Nssan, was less than $12K. Drive in, drive out. And that was at $102/hr. AND freight from mainland dealer.

JC

[Gooseneck]

My best efforts, hope it's of some assistance.

1. STOP using the telephone.

2. Go to the relevant state website for consumer affairs.

3. WRITE to the Nissan dealer (not NISSAN) stating,
a. the very SIMPLE facts,
b. what he wants done, (new/fixed motor), and
c. give them a date that you expect a written response. (2 weeks is usually enough). (and don't put your phone number on the letter)

Consumer affairs usually have a sample letter.

4. If they don't respond in writing (doesn't matter what they promise on the phone), lodge a complaint through consumer affairs. This will get the ball rolling. Remember that it is the dealer who is responsible. They sold the vehicle and it must work. (of course they will get compensation from Nissan but that is their problem.) Don't let them fob you off to Nissan.

What you are trying to achieve is to get consumer affairs involved by showing consumer affairs that you have tried to resolve the problem but the dealer has not responded correctly or promptly.

Once CA are involved you will get a fair response.

Don't get angry. Do not be rude. Do not use the phone. Do not believe any promises on the phone unless it is backed up in writing.

[DeanoH]

Nissan ultimately bought out a rebuild kit for the ZD30 as the failure rate started to get out of hand. The cost of a new engine was somewhere around the $8-10K range. The kit, which from memory, was a bare block and pistons allowed a complete re-build using the good bits from the old engine. The kit was around the $2K mark. The only problem was you still had a ZD30 at the end of it, but at least it ran. I don't know if these kits are still available.
I would never buy a Nissan because of the way Nissan treated its customers during this period. Admit nothing, deny any claim. Refuse to admit any resonsibility or liability for a dud engine and take months to bring out a re-build kit, instead give owners a choice of a $10K plus new engine or walk. Nissan treated its customers with utter contempt during this period, wouldn't have one on a free ticket.

Deano:)

[stig0000]

but its out of warranty,, id like to no were the line stops for warranty???

wether its looked after or not, its still out of warranty,

i no for a fact that land rover dosent want to no you if your asking for a new motor, but a 50/50 and they will talk to you, volvo has done it for yrs and it keeps customers happy, and LR have done it aswell, ;);)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I have often refrred to my mates Nissan and how he typifies the nissan driver and so on.
He always gave me crap for driving a Landy and has done so for 20 years, well the day of has come where his beloved Patrool has bitten the dust.
Its 2 months out of warranty, Nissan does not want to know about it.

It is well documented that the 3L Patrols are a time bomb and he has always had issues with it from day 1.
He called every Nissan dealer, his mate who is a mechanic had a client who even wrote, e-mailed and phoned the CEO of nissan Australia and they are flat out denying any issues and he is on his own.
Quotes so far for a new motor is $15k.

Does anyone on here have any help on links or factual information that could help him get over the line via a Statutory warranty claim.
His car has done 50k km's and apart from a few outings has been well looked after.

!st thing he said to me was that he will never pay me out about my choice of vehicle again. Oh well, I always liked the banter we had going.:p

Is this the latest Common Rail model?

seriously.

[Ace]

I have heard in the past that Nissan has come to the party with parts if the owner pays the labour. But from what I heard in those cases it was the well documented issues that apparently were restricted to 2000-2003 models. Nissan claim that from 2003 they fixed the problem. have not heard of Nissan helping owners of models newer than 03.

Matt

[StephenF10]

...
I would never buy a Nissan because of the way Nissan treated its customers during this period. Admit nothing, deny any claim. Refuse to admit any resonsibility or liability for a dud engine and take months to bring out a re-build kit, instead give owners a choice of a $10K plus new engine or walk. Nissan treated its customers with utter contempt during this period, wouldn't have one on a free ticket.

Deano:)

A bit like LR with the TD5 oil pump bolt problem.

Stephen.

[pistolpete]

I'd go to a current affair

[El Duderino]

There is a legal loop-hole of "Good Will" which can be exploited if you behave yourself with the dealership and contacts at Head Office, and explain your case clearly. Pump in some emotion towards the brand, explain your intention of upgrading if the result is satisfactory, and go from there.

I had a nasty situation with Jeep 1yr after I'd bought mine, and the dealership wasn't listening to my complaints. Yes I ripped into the bastards for unexplained Maccy D wrappers on the rear floor, a CD missing, my lock-nuts missing, half a tank of fuel had disappeared for no reason, etc, but there were a few other things which I went freakin' ballistic at...

The tappetts were obviously making a racket (a noted issue from other Jeep owners), and this was dismissed as a "normal thing once the engine is run in". Having the steering wheel straightened (it was at 45 angle) due to a turd-effort at pre-delivery, was also ignored. The oil wasn't changed, brakes weren't checked, wheels not rotated, etc, I went off-tits when I got a bill for $560. Even worse was having to pay for fuel for a courtesy vehicle and put diesel in it, only to have a call an hour later asking for it back cos it was sold, and pick up another courtesy vehicle which I had to fill up for the 2 days I'd have to endure.

Unfortunately for these asswipes, I'm a fully factory trained BMW tech (didn't have the time to do the servicing myself), n omg did I let them have my full wrath! They treated me like ****, and weren't willing to budge on the price. I brought my step-mum along when it came time to pick the Jeep up. She's a corporate Lawyer, n after a few harsh words, the bill went to a 3rd of what it was.

Lesson is grille for the "Good Will" policy...unless you know, you'll always get reamed!

[Benny_IIA]

+Not much of a help...... but still funny :D
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs108.ash2/38744_454953736538_688526538_6583846_5890140_n.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5853998&id=688526538)

[DeanoH]

A bit like LR with the TD5 oil pump bolt problem.

Stephen.

True. The difference being that there are good TD5 engines.

Deano:)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

there are good nissan engines too,,

has anyone heard of a common rail version expiring?

[Utemad]

So long as we're talking exploding jap motors, there is a 200 Series Cruiser in the Dalby Toyota workshop without an engine in it. Don't know the story but I can make one up if anyone likes :)

[dullbird]

So long as we're talking exploding jap motors, there is a 200 Series Cruiser in the Dalby Toyota workshop without an engine in it. Don't know the story but I can make one up if anyone likes :)

probably just in for a service and an air filter change:D

[Disco_owner]

I have often refrred to my mates Nissan and how he typifies the nissan driver and so on.
He always gave me crap for driving a Landy and has done so for 20 years, well the day of has come where his beloved Patrool has bitten the dust.
Its 2 months out of warranty, Nissan does not want to know about it.

It is well documented that the 3L Patrols are a time bomb and he has always had issues with it from day 1.
He called every Nissan dealer, his mate who is a mechanic had a client who even wrote, e-mailed and phoned the CEO of nissan Australia and they are flat out denying any issues and he is on his own.
Quotes so far for a new motor is $15k.

Does anyone on here have any help on links or factual information that could help him get over the line via a Statutory warranty claim.
His car has done 50k km's and apart from a few outings has been well looked after.

!st thing he said to me was that he will never pay me out about my choice of vehicle again. Oh well, I always liked the banter we had going.:p

I have no information to offer you other than a similar story.I used to cop all that stuff about landrovers being crap and Nissan being the "king of the Road" banter from a Nissan mate. The funny story is years ago we went for a trip together to "cape york" and along came another mate in his Toyota Hilux 3.0 D with an aftermarket Turbo. Since day 1 I copped nothing but cherries from both my toyota mate and Nissan mate about Landrovers being unreliable and breaking down and never making it back from the Bush , bal bla bla... Mind you the trip was an sawesome and I thouroughly enjoyed it... one day he came to work and says to me that I have had the "last LAUGH" , I "says" what do you mean , he says well. my Nissan Grenaded on Anzac Bridge and he is up for $12k worth of repaires, so he never talked porkies about landrovers again,on the other hand mate with a Toyota had a rear Blown Diff ( not sure the exact details of it I wasn't there) and had to find a replacement gear box on the way back down because he was carrying a lot of load and was driving it like it was stolen the whole time to prove that Toyotas are unbreakeable...


Edit: one thing I did forget to metion is that Nissan didnot come to party with this warranty claim even though he researched and researched other forum and found out facts about the zd30 motor and their being notoriuos to blowing a hole on top of Number 1 and / or number 4 Piston etc

[Ace]

I have been on so many 4wd trips with non Land Rover 4wd's and only on two occasions has mine needed any mechanical attention. Once the diff blew, so Scouse towed me out of Mt Airlie and I drove home on the road. (Thanks Scouse :D), second time the starter motor gave up the ghost after to many dips in the mud. If I hadnt stopped to air up it would have not started at home and not on the trip.

On each and every trip my mates with their so called full on reliable Jap 4wd's have broken down, busted something or needed some sort of bush mechanical work on them.

I understand any vehicle can break down, bust something or have niggling electrical issues or any number of things on a trip, but these one eyed nissan and toyota drivers should wake up and see that their vehicles arent perfect. I can handle the ribbing that I get from them Re land rovers, but quite often all they can come up with is a joke about oil leaks. If thats the only problem land rovers have, I'll stick with them.


The TD5 cannot be compared to the Nissan 3.0l engine, no land rover engine can. Whilst yes the oil pump bolt did lead to premature failure in some engines, its an easy fix and one that Land Rover addressed. Nissan never seemed to be able to work out and fix the problem that led to all those engine failures. To this day I still dont think they know what causes it.

[big guy]

I have no updates so far on the 3.0L Patrool.
When I do will try and even get some pics.
I do know he is selling it now as he does not trust it anymore.
He paid $55k for it, another $12K at ARB and now after all this probably another $15k.
He could have boughta D3 at the time and forever laughed.
He is a good bloke and sure as hell did not need this issue.

Keep you posted.
Jarred Nissan is doing the work and I will look into doing a current affair story on it, I see how I go.

[Sharkee]

Same deal I knew of someone with an 05ish model with 130k always serviced/maintained. 15k for new motor and the best nissan came up with was we'll contribute 2k towards it. Pretty ordinary I reckon!!!. I also knew of a fella that was that peived off with his trol sold his 07 model with blown motor for $3500,Unfortunately I found this out after he'd sold it. How can Nissan not recognise this????

[big guy]

The head is off and a hole in no 3 piston has been found.
My mate is sending me a picture.

They are writing and emailing Nissan as I type.
Jarred Nissan the only Nissan dealer in SA that would touch it does not have much hope for any contribution or warranty claim though.

He is looking into joining a group of people mainly grey nomads who bought them as their last vehicle to tow their mobile coffins(Caravans) around who are putting together a class action.
He has finally worked out that if he puts 3L nissan in Google search very little good comes of it.
What is really funny is that he is now asking me for info on my Disco and what they are really like.

Its taken me 20 years to get him to see the light.
Fingers crossed he will get his fixed, sold and I get him into something with soul, charactor and the ability to do more than 50k km's before melt down.;)

[jakeslouw]

The ZD30 motor is known for this.

Just to clarify: IT ISN'T THE MOTOR'S FAULT.

It's caused by a combination of MAF, ECU, over-fuelling and turbo boost.

Take ANY turbo diesel with an ECU, make the MAF think it's flowing more air than is actually moving, add a turbo boost increase to the mix and maybe a slight ECU tweak, and you have a disaster.

Most, if not ALL, of the ZD30 grenade sessions are due to too much diesel being injected, a high boost condition, and excessive EGTs. The result is holes in pistons.

I've heard the same thing about Toyota KZ-TE motors, D4-Ds, you name it.

Your mate will do well by fitting an Exhaust Gas Temp probe and gauge, but actually preferably an EMS unit of some type, that measures various sensors and temps around the motor.

I've seen Nissan Patrols with the ZD30TTi motor do an entire Africa trip with just regular servicing: BECAUSE THE ENGINE WAS IN STOCK TUNE and there was a monitoring system that checked and alarmed.

Where the manufacturers are negligent, is that such a unit isn't fitted as standard, maybe as part of the on-board computer system.


By the way.....
Ask the Jeep Grand Cherokee guys how long the 3.1 diesel motor lasts......

[Ace]

The head is off and a hole in no 3 piston has been found.
My mate is sending me a picture.

They are writing and emailing Nissan as I type.
Jarred Nissan the only Nissan dealer in SA that would touch it does not have much hope for any contribution or warranty claim though.

He is looking into joining a group of people mainly grey nomads who bought them as their last vehicle to tow their mobile coffins(Caravans) around who are putting together a class action.
He has finally worked out that if he puts 3L nissan in Google search very little good comes of it.
What is really funny is that he is now asking me for info on my Disco and what they are really like.

Its taken me 20 years to get him to see the light.
Fingers crossed he will get his fixed, sold and I get him into something with soul, charactor and the ability to do more than 50k km's before melt down.;)

I think there's quite a few people who would get in on that class action and I bet Nissan will wish they had done something at the time.

[justinc]

The ZD30 motor is known for this.

Just to clarify: IT ISN'T THE MOTOR'S FAULT.

It's caused by a combination of MAF, ECU, over-fuelling and turbo boost.

Take ANY turbo diesel with an ECU, make the MAF think it's flowing more air than is actually moving, add a turbo boost increase to the mix and maybe a slight ECU tweak, and you have a disaster.

Most, if not ALL, of the ZD30 grenade sessions are due to too much diesel being injected, a high boost condition, and excessive EGTs. The result is holes in pistons.

I've heard the same thing about Toyota KZ-TE motors, D4-Ds, you name it.

Your mate will do well by fitting an Exhaust Gas Temp probe and gauge, but actually preferably an EMS unit of some type, that measures various sensors and temps around the motor.

I've seen Nissan Patrols with the ZD30TTi motor do an entire Africa trip with just regular servicing: BECAUSE THE ENGINE WAS IN STOCK TUNE and there was a monitoring system that checked and alarmed.

Where the manufacturers are negligent, is that such a unit isn't fitted as standard, maybe as part of the on-board computer system.


By the way.....
Ask the Jeep Grand Cherokee guys how long the 3.1 diesel motor lasts......

Correct. The engine is actually a nice bit of design, it is the excessive EGT's etc that kill it. I have seen 800C+ (upstream) under medium load conditions in one of these vehicles, goodness knows how hot it'll get towing a 25ft van at 90km/h:eek:

Incorrect fuel and boost management is the issue here, I guess IF they had released these engines with sensible fuelling etc, they wouldn't have had anywhere near the pwer etc that they have, IE they wouldn't have sold too many:eek:


JC

[Ace]

Correct. The engine is actually a nice bit of design, it is the excessive EGT's etc that kill it. I have seen 800C+ (upstream) under medium load conditions in one of these vehicles, goodness knows how hot it'll get towing a 25ft van at 90km/h:eek:

Incorrect fuel and boost management is the issue here, I guess IF they had released these engines with sensible fuelling etc, they wouldn't have had anywhere near the pwer etc that they have, IE they wouldn't have sold too many:eek:


JC

So would the diesel chips that the aftermarket suppliers make it better or worse because I know people who have those fitted to make them go harder.

[justinc]

So would the diesel chips that the aftermarket suppliers make it better or worse because I know people who have those fitted to make them go harder.

Almost definately make matters worse Matt. Unless they fit a bigger Intercooler and exhaust etc it is a pretty big bet the EGT's will be higher:eek:, believe me from what I have seen with a standard vehicle, 1000C isn't unachievable with a chip when towing/ working hard, and you KNOW what that does to turbine mettalurgy and aluminium components?????:o:o:o

ALL these vehicles should have a pyro fitted, standard OR modded. You'd be horrified to see how hot they can get.

JC

[jakeslouw]

I agree with Juctin: most of the cases I've heard of have been Dastek or similar chip upgrades.

The rest are guys playing with things they anyways have no idea about.....

I suspect that we will soon see a LOT of TDCi engine failures across the manufacturers: The VW Amarok is the next in line.

Over-stressed low-capacity common-rail turbo diesels = BOOM!

I hope the Ford 2.4 Puma engine hasn't been tweaked too much by LR?
91kW seems OK. But I'd advize against any "tweakers" on this forum from going much over the design max of around 100kW.

[jakeslouw]

Just to follow up on my comments:

Nissan will almost certainly fit the TDV6 Renault motor to the Patrol as soon as they've ironed the issues out in/on the Navara platform.

I reckon the ZD30 could possibly then fall away or only be available in the entry level Patrol models.

I strongly suggest Tata look at the same concept for the Defender: there are several independents now offering TDV6 (and I suspect soon TDV8) upgrades to the Defender. There IS a strong demand, so why not provide a solution out of the factory?

But I don't know if Tata listens any better than the previous owners......

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I very much doubt that LR/Tata would increase the power in the Defender,,

as sold its pretty much perfect for its INTENDED purpose,,:cool:

[jakeslouw]

Maybe, but wouldn't a detuned TDV6 offer so much more scope than a completely stressed inline 4?

Land Rover offered the 3.5V8 for EXACTLY the same reason: the public wanted a bit more power than the 2.25, but not that much that it would become silly.
So the Stage 1 with the detuned Rover V8 was conceived. This lead to the One Ten V8, the RRC, etc etc and the rest is history.

I believe that the Peugeot/Ford TDV6 in 2.7, detuned to say 130kW and 380N-m would be just bloody perfect. Fuel economy, power, torque, and a completely unstressed engine: what a pleasure.

[ezyrama]

One large Nissan dealer in Brisbane had some engines for $6000 as they know it is a problem. I had one blow the motor in front of me a week ago on the way home.

[Dougal]

Almost definately make matters worse Matt. Unless they fit a bigger Intercooler and exhaust etc it is a pretty big bet the EGT's will be higher:eek:, believe me from what I have seen with a standard vehicle, 1000C isn't unachievable with a chip when towing/ working hard, and you KNOW what that does to turbine mettalurgy and aluminium components?????:o:o:o

ALL these vehicles should have a pyro fitted, standard OR modded. You'd be horrified to see how hot they can get.

JC

There's something strange with the ZD30's and it's not the power levels. There are plenty of other engines (including nissans) putting out far better power/litre.
Nissans YD25 (the 2.5 litre in the current Navaras) doesn't blow it's top and it's got more power than the Zd30 combined with less displacement.

But, while we're putting the boot in, my YD25 (not commonrail) just popped it's head-gasket.:angel:

[big guy]

Just had word and Nissan is covering all of it. Full rebuild kit and even paying the new oils etc.
Number 3 piston has a hole and is cracked all the way through.

My mate is happy as he is not out of pocket but will go on the market same day he gets it back.

I will post a pick of piston as soon as he manages to send it to me.

[Gooseneck]

Just had word and Nissan is covering all of it.

Great news. Must be a massive relief for him. :)

[sashadidi]

Just to follow up on my comments:

Nissan will almost certainly fit the TDV6 Renault motor to the Patrol as soon as they've ironed the issues out in/on the Navara platform.

I reckon the ZD30 could possibly then fall away or only be available in the entry level Patrol models.

I strongly suggest Tata look at the same concept for the Defender: there are several independents now offering TDV6 (and I suspect soon TDV8) upgrades to the Defender. There IS a strong demand, so why not provide a solution out of the factory?

But I don't know if Tata listens any better than the previous owners......

possible problem in Europe at least is that engines get taxed on their CC rating as well? not sure if this is still valid but a 3 litre would be taxed more and therefore be more costly on the forecourt?