AIBU to complain to Nissan??

[NoisingUpNissan]

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???

@NoisingUpNissan you're right that a good 20-30 minute blat on a fast road, should clear the DPF..

The problem is that sometimes it does, but as @YesQueen said, you need to be running it for a while to get it hot enough.

The government of the 00's really did this country a disservice by promoting diesel as the cost effective, sensible option, because thousands of motorists are using it when it really might not fit their lifestyle.

It's much better to be commuting 50+ miles a day, where you're guaranteed a sustained period of time on a motorway, and the fuel savings are clear.

Your usage however sounds like hopping around local towns etc, to a shop - all fair of course but I think that's where the DPF isn't getting cleared.

We were told by our main dealership that, even when you drive long distances, the dpf will still get clogged. You need to run it at high revs so effectively do a motorway run in the wrong gear.

Garages really have to rev to ridiculously high-levels to burn the carbon off the filter.

Nissan cars are shit.

What a completely ridiculous sweeping statement! I’ve got a Nissan, the dh has a matching one, zero complaints in 10 years.

Nissan are shit

My friend had a Micra that she bought used and she ran it into the ground. The thing was a tank and lasted for years with no issues.

"Nissan cars are shit."
Over the years we've had a Nissan Micra, Sunny and a Bluebird. They were all good cars. They were all petrol cars.

We had a Mazda 6 petrol and that was a great car. High spec for the money.

The only car we've ever had a problem with is our current Mazda 6 which is a diesel. A stunning looking car, high spec, all the whistles and bells but 3 years and 11 weeks old and needs £5.5k spent on it. In a garage being repaired atm. Mazda don't seem to be making diesel engines anymore - thank goodness.

Lots of makes of cars which were reputable in their petrol versions have problems with their diesel engines.

@Idontwanttotalk

Agreed, and I think the problem comes from the fact that tax-friendly diesels became so popular (but the emissions laws continued apace) that you ended up with the situation of car manufacturers grafting on filters and all sorts to keep these engines clean, causing crazy amounts of complexity and more things to fail.

The crazy situation where you have diesel SUVs and large saloons costing £20/£30 to tax, and promising "60mpg" etc - therefore becoming attractive to private buyers

Yet these same private buyers are doing

Certain New nissans do have some gearbox and engine issues that are causing huge engines and gearbox issues (e.g gearbox replacement at 17k miles) and refusal to do it under warranty even though it’s a known fault. There’s also the Navara chassis issues that makes them down right dangerous.
They are not what they were in the bluebird and micra generation. Their alliance with Renault did not do them many favours.

However, that doesn’t mean they are all shit. You just have to pick the right model etc. Like most manufacturers.

The dpf issue, you need to be doing your motorway regeneration run at around 2500-3000 revs, so lower gear (trickier in an auto) at 50/60 mph. It’s very unnerving!

"But diesel = sensible cost saving" is always the reply I get, so I give up now.

Only if you do 18k miles upwards a year. That’s the emissions issue now the wrong people were /are in diesels.

Exactly @SaveKevin yet I know a couple in a 3 years old diesel SUV who do around 3000 miles a year, mainly short trips locally.

They bought it because they liked the model and if you go on Autotrader, 80% of them are diesels...

It's a vicious cycle - until new cleaner petrols filter into the used market, a lot of "desirable" models are still diesel and people will buy them for the badge, then pay at the garage later with the breakdowns etc

Yes your completely right. There’s a certain age of car 05- probably 16/17 where if you want a petrol model you struggle and pay a bit of a premium . Unless your going for the super dooper sports one your left with mostly diesel cars. Again putting the wrong drivers into diesel. I’m not convinced scrapping them is the answer to environmental issues. But it’s a right fuck up.

I turned down a so called cost effective diesel in favour of my petrol because I live in a village and do about 15 miles a day tops then 2 x 60 mile trips a week. Still had people pushing diesels on me.

@NoisingUpNissan my in-fixable part was the ECU and was posted for repair on the Monday and being fitted back into the car on the Wednesday. I can understand Vauxhall saying they don't repair them but they told us it was impossible and those parts absolutely cannot be fixed. The part is a few hundred quid to buy new and the £700+ would be labour and recoding the keys (2 mins by computer)

Your story doesn't surprise me at all OP. I had an appalling experience with Nissan that I took to head office, and got nowhere.

I wouldn't touch one again with a bargepole. It's not so much that the car went so drastically wrong at 50,000 miles, it was that Nissan refused to honour the warranty, lied, and just didn't give a shit about their customers.

@drsausage
Your not the only one, I’ve heard of cars gearboxes going within warranty at 17k, 22k and 6k all not covered by warranty. It’s an inherent problem they refuse to acknowledge.

The ECU fault, that’s terrible of Vauxhall’s to say they won’t repair it. Ok say “it’s not something we get involved with, I can’t recommend anyone but some people do have them repaired”
But don’t down right lie

I've generally had a very decent time with Nissan cars - not in terms of them being fun to drive (I had a bubble Micra that I loathed and joked I needed to tie a sparkler to the aerial as it was like driving a dodgem) - but in terms of them being fecking indestructible so I could never justify getting rid of the fucking dodgem.

Was quite disappointed when I went to move on from my Note which I've really hammered the mileage on and was a blooming decent little car and wanted something a bit bigger so had my eye on the Juke and the interior space just wasn't working for the combination of sizes and heights in our family because the former Sunderland girl does like to support them.

As for Vauxhall - DH I think is onto about the fifth recall letter over his damned Zafira now for various different issues.

Re the gearboxes, family member had huge issues with the first generation Qashqai.

13 plate, 22,000 miles, fully stamped by Nissan, and the gearbox completely packs in.

Turns out the CVT automatic gearbox has a huge inherent design flaw - the little ball bearing that works with the belt, is designed all wrong and is too small for the assembly. They went to Nissan head office, denial and no contribution as out of warranty.

Luckily they had a third party warranty from the dealer which actually paid out 70% of the costs (parts, not labour) due to it being not wear and tear, but truly a mechanical issue.

But the cost of repair? £4000.

Nissan refuse to acknowledge this because to do so would surely involve a national recall on a hugely popular halo model.

But it is a real thing, forums are teeming with info about it.

Sorry op I know this has gone off track! The only manufacturer I’ve seen actually deal with issues and recalls properly (collect and wash your car, bottle of champagne to apologise) is Toyota. Head office Customer service is great and they seem to not quibble on warranty’s.

Had dpf issue on a oicssso. Tried new bladder but ultimately the car didn't last long.

My mechanic has since suggested a regular drive of around 2 miles in 3rd gear but driving at 60mph. We had the perfect road until traffic lights were out in a little while ago.
It is disconcerting doing that speed in 3rd but given it does what needs doing to clear the dpf out, it's worth it.

Nissan are indeed shit. WE had an automatic, top of the range Juke from brand new. The gearbox was never right so we kept taking it back to told "that's what they do!" After almost getting crushed under an HGV we went to another Nissan garage who said that the whole gearbox needed stripping and probably replacing. It was a year old with 6k on the clock. As it was leased we handed it back.

I've had Nissans many years ago and they were great, but nowadays they're a bag of shit

DPFs can be deleted, I.e removed or refurbished. Although you can generally only clean them once.

Get it deleted then your problem is gone, you just need to find an MOT tester that uses their discretion.

Same with EGR valves, the bain of everyone's lives, remove them and a multitude of problems disappear!

In the meantime give your car a bit of welly or drive in fourth at 50-60mph on the motorway. It's a well known mechanic trick for clearing the filters

NO...you can't remove filters, that is so illegal! And they'd find out when you fail your emissions test!

at the declaring all Nissan cars are shit .

You don't have a Nissan issue , you have a dealer issue .

I'm onto my 4th Nissan .
I did have issues with an automatic gearbox and was told by the main dealer garage It's your gearbox , it;ll be £5000 to fix no softening the blow just Do you want it booked in
Fuck No !!

YY to smaller independant garage with recommendations

(Also Main Dealer could never get my car booked in for under 10 days , did their fleet servicing over a weekend .. I work too y;know , weekends are the only time I'm off )

We have a 2017 qashqai that we've had for a few years it's a diesel. The way way I drive is totally unsuited to a diesel car but dh revs the shit out of it and drives it longer distances.
We've had no problem except with the battery which was an inherent fault with the qashqais apparently.
It was changed under warranty with no problems and has been fine since but a new battery is probably not that much money I wonder if it needed a whole new gearbox would they be so accommodating!

‘Mechanics’ at main dealerships are taught and instructed to replace major parts and systems rather than diagnose and fix major parts and systems. They’ll never give you the most cost effective solution because where would that get the business? The majority of mechanics employed by main dealerships simply don’t have the skills and/or knowledge to diagnose and fix, and even if they do they don’t get to use them because that’s not how main dealerships work.

Use an independent garage, make sure they use genuine parts if that’s what any warranty deems acceptable, other than that check that they use good quality non-genuine parts. They might fix part of it, ask you to take and try it, to see if small changes make a difference but ultimately you’ll pay less and get a proper fix rather than replacing expensive parts for no reason. You’ll find that usually, mechanics at independent garages have far more experience and expertise.

Complain to Nissan, they probably won’t do much but it’s better that they’re made aware.

@toffecakes I do think it's unethical, lazy, wasteful and greedy. Who ever has 5k lying around? But I'm really angry at the emotional stress I was put under frankly. Mortified at sobbing down the phone to my mum like a baby. I really need my car. My kids school is 8 miles away and we live rurally.

I hope people don't take their word for it often.