Qashqai Clutch Problem ?

[NissanFaults]

Apologies for posting in AIBU but looking for traffic in a sone infix issue

Have name changed as situation is outing.

Basically bought a Nissan Qashqai in mid June 2024 - brand new - petrol manual, mild hybrid .

On Day 1 having driven away from dealership we were concerned that we could smell burning - we have driven approx 35 miles by this point- burning smell only got worse - it didn't go away. End result we took car back to dealership . They told us it was the clutch and as it was new needed to "bed in" but they would check it over.

We were given the car back the next day after they had found no problems.

Roll forward and tbh it's always been a bit grating on lower gear changes but smell went away. In early December it completely failed with no gear change possible and had burning smell - it has dove around 9k miles. It is just over 6 months old.

We have a 5 year warranty however the Dealership and Nissan are saying the fault is not covered as the clutch is damaged by wear and tear. As a result we would need to pay approx £3k for it to be fixed.

My argument is that a clutch should last more than 9k miles. I do not think we have driven it badly (never had this issue with any other car).

Anyone else had a similar issue specifically with a petrol Qashqai and did you get anywhere with Nissan ?

Thank you if you got this far

Would it be worth paying for an independent assessor to look at it?

My experience of Nissan garages is not positive, which is one reason why we no longer have one.

I can’t see how they can argue wear and tear on a six month old car, although if you’ve done 9k miles in that time, your annual mileage is high.

Look out your previous report where they said it needed bedding in. You reported the fault, they misdiagnosed it. Up to them to fix it.

They can't possibly claim wear and tear on a clutch after six months and 9k! Talk to them again, if they refuse again escalate to Nissan UK or where ever you are. Then start threatening solicitors if necessary. It shouldn't go that far because they will know already they don't have a leg to stand on, they're just hoping you will go away.

Thank you. When pressed for report from Day 1 they are saying no formal report as they checked it visually and it drove ok with no burning smell on the short test trip they did ......

I appreciate 9k miles seems a lot to some in 6 months but in other period we do a lot less. Our last car. Had 100,000 in just under 6 years on it which is why we wanted a new car - we have all regular services etc

We have escalated to Nissan Uk under warranty aspect but are awaiting to hear

One thing is we are not getting a Nissan again !

I guess my next thread will be on more reliable SUV type cars

Isnt there a law that says if a car is 6monthd old, it's considered new and has to be repaired?

Did they email you that bit of information where a visual check took place? You just need one piece of correspondence you can prove that you considered a fault to exist when you got it.

Nissan reliability is terrible these days as you’re discovering. You can wear a clutch out through misuse in a matter of minutes which is why they’re not normally a warranty item BUT if it’s a manufacturing defect then it should be covered. I’d imagine the dealer would be amenable to having it examined by Nissan once it’s been replaced and a refund due if it turns out to be faulty. Of course, it might be a fault elsewhere that’s caused the premature failure.

To answer a question unfortunately we are 6 days over 6 month period

There should be some record of you returning the vehicle very early on though, shouldn’t there? That would show that you felt there was a fault from purchase.