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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to complain to Nissan??

49 replies

NoisingUpNissan · 29/08/2019 21:57

My car went in for a diagnostic test as it kept losing power including once on a dual carriageway.

Nissan told me I needed a new DPF filter as my filter was 100% blocked, which would cost 5k (ie the value of the car) to replace. I asked them if it would make sense to just scrap it, and they agreed.

Anyway I went away and wept. I'd only had the car a year and had paid about 5k and definitely cannot afford another car. Its a 10 years old but in great condition and lovely spec, and I was heartbroken. (kind of. In a car way)

As a last resort stuck some additives in the tank.

IT WORKED. £25. I took it to somebody for a second opinion and he confirmed that my filter was now completely clear. My car is totally fine now.

So, I'm pretty mad that I came so close to being ripped off by a major dealer. At the very least I want a refund and an apology. I spent a week looking for a new car and feeling really depressed, because I trusted them and assumed they knew what they were doing. I even applied for a loan to get a new car...

But my husband thinks I shouldn't bother to make a fuss. I don't want anything out of Nissan but a refund and he thinks I'm being unreasonable!

A I B U???

OP posts:
MyNeighboursAreWeird · 29/08/2019 22:08

Nissan cars are shit. And if your DPF is clogging up I’m sorry but if it gets too clogged then it will require replacing. A garage aren’t going to recommend you use some shitty additive are they? YABUUUU.

And start using your diesel car for what it’s actually meant for. Long journeys, and the DPF won’t clog.

Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 29/08/2019 22:20

Yes, the point is, it's clear now. I went to another garage and it's fine. It's not blocked at all. Mechanic said it couldn't have been v. Blocked at all in the first place or else that stuff wouldn't have made any difference.

Limp mode was something else, a tube that needed replaced. 80quid or so.

I've had diesel cars for years, I know how to drive them, that isn't the issue.

I could have binned a perfectly good car if I'd just blindly followed their advice.

OP posts:
TinchyP · 29/08/2019 22:21

What an unhelpful post.

I'd definitely let them know what has happened, perhaps with a written report from your second opinion, and see what they say. The diagnostic test was correct but the advice was wrong, but always worth asking for a refund.

MarySibleysFamiliar · 29/08/2019 22:21

I think you should make a complaint Tbh.

We took our Zafira to Vauxhall and they told us it was over £1000 for them to replace a broken part that could not be repaired. The labour would be extensive.

We took it home with a view to scrapping the car and a mechanic friend came over, pulled the part out in under two minutes and we sent it to some repairers. A few days later it came back fully repaired, friend popped it back in in just a few minutes and the car worked fine for years and the whole thing cos about £250.

Vauxhall we're talking shite that those particular parts cannot be repaired. They can and often are.

BEDinhalfanhour · 29/08/2019 22:23

What year is the car?

MonsterChopz · 29/08/2019 22:33

Sounds similar to an issue we had with our nissan. They initially said dpf and told me I wasn't driving it correctly (I was, I do 1 hr plus motorway drives at least 4 times per week). Turns out it was actually a blocked fuel filter - £99 later all fixed and no reoccurrence.

Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 30/08/2019 06:14

Did you guys complain?
I'm so annoyed, bet there's been loads of cars scrapped because they didn't bother to do their job properly. It's so lazy to just condemn cars like that. What do they gain? Repeat custom? Another Nissan off the road?

Marysibley.... What part was it?

OP posts:
PumpkinPie2016 · 30/08/2019 07:43

I would write to their head office and give them the details.

I would steer clear of main dealer though - find a local reliable garage to use. Main dealers have form for ripping people off.

slashlover · 30/08/2019 08:37

It could be possible that Nissan don't authorise the use of third party additives so the mechanics had no choice? Like how they have a few approved dealers for parts but your local garage is free to use any?

LongtimeLurker29 · 30/08/2019 08:48

Just out of interest, what did you use? I have a Nissan that is dying on me so willing to try it haha

T0getherindreams · 30/08/2019 09:44

A blocked DPF would trigger the dpf warning light on your dash.

We had the same on our old car, they can be taken off and cleaned, cost us 300 pounds and the car ran fine for the next two years until the dpf again became blocked. The mechanic said that a blocked dpf is a symptom of another problem which is dumping crap into the dpf, in our case it was because the car was burning excessive oil I think he said.

You could complain, the diagnostic would literally tell the mechanic where the problem was.

Ours said something like "bank 2 reduced flow", can't remember the words exactly.

Nissan would charge you the full whack, dealer price for the job.

Never ever ever take a car that is out of warranty to a main dealer.

whattodowith · 30/08/2019 09:52

You should always get a second opinion from a mechanic anyway before scrapping a basically brand new car...

SaveKevin · 30/08/2019 10:03

DPFs have been so mis sold over the years, all the manufacturers did it and it’s pretty disgusting behaviour.

Most independent garages and mot stations will be able to recommend decent cleaning stuff. Mine has some software that sort of forces the car to regenerate it as well as all the cleaning stuff.

Juells · 30/08/2019 10:16

I used to take a Toyota to a main dealer, always. It was a few years old, but in perfect condition, I'd bought it from a friend who had it from new. I reversed into a low bollard, which bumped the undercarriage where it swooped low to hold spare wheel (I'm boring myself with this tale 🥱 ). A rubber thingy popped out, and it failed the NCT (MOT equivalent). Toyota dealer quoted thousands to repair it, as 'the integrity of the body was compromised'. Took it round the corner to a small body shop that charged €40 to push the little bump back out and replace the rubber thingy. Would never go to a dealer again with an older car.

Ijustwanttoretire · 30/08/2019 10:21

You should always get a second opinion from a mechanic anyway before scrapping a basically brand new car...

Do posters actually ever read the OP?? She said the car was 10 years old FFS, in no way is that 'basically a brand new car'

amusedbush · 30/08/2019 10:44

I wouldn't bother complaining, just be glad it's cleared out and make sure you tear the arse out of it along the motorway to keep it clear from now on (my mechanic brother recommends once a week if you can).

Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 30/08/2019 10:51

I took it to the dealer because the garage around the corner said Nissan don't allow their error codes to be fully interpretable... I'm not sure how accurate that is but thought 94 quid for investigation would be reasonable. Went to a different garage for the second opinion.....

OP posts:
Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 30/08/2019 10:54

@longtimelurker29

Can't remember what it was called, bought it off a mechanic
But he did recommend sticking in something called JML extreme deep Clean every 6 months. It's on amazon, £44

OP posts:
AdobeWanKenobi · 30/08/2019 11:08

Sounds like a diesel car isn't the right car for you. A car with a DPF needs a few good runs a week to keep it clear and running well. If you do lots of short journeys your DPF will clog and ultimately fail.

You might have cleared it for now but unless you are about to drastically change your driving habits its going to happen again.
I'd suggest you trade it in whilst it's running and go for a petrol engine.

GinDaddy · 30/08/2019 11:36

@NoisingUpNissan

Could I ask a couple of random questions -

How many miles do you do a year?

What's your weekly driving like in terms of distances?

Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 30/08/2019 11:47

Summer holidays - my cars had minimal use as we've not been doing school which is 32 miles a day in total. Think that was fundamentally the problem. I don't imagine it will happen again any time soon, but will prob start shopping at a further aldi just to give it a decent weekly run

OP posts:
Original poster
NoisingUpNissan · 30/08/2019 11:49

At least 150 miles a week.

You have to do half an hour a week on a motorway, am I right?

OP posts:
PutyourtoponTrevor · 30/08/2019 11:52

Nissan are shit, we handed back our 17 plate, top spec Qashqai which we were leasing as things just kept going wrong. Swapped the lease to a 19 plate top spec Qashqai and this one has software issues. Would never have another and Nissan have been worse than useless

YesQueen · 30/08/2019 11:58

@NoisingUpNissan yeah you need to be running 50/60mph for 20-30 mins really to get it hot enough

AdobeWanKenobi · 30/08/2019 11:59

It shouldn't clog up to that extent just by not using it for the school run. I don't think you're doing the right journeys for this diesel, even with your half hour motorway run.