#Nissan? Never Again! Part II

[mccarthm]

1. Nissan? Never Again!

Do the motoring journalists who review cars only ever test them when they’re brand new? I ask because I bought my spanking new Nissan Qashqai just sixteen months ago largely on the recommendation of such reviews. One year and four months later I really wish I hadn’t bothered. Here’s why...


Sudden failure

Stranded for more than three and a half hours in a car park in November I had time to reflect on that important purchase last year. It had seemed like the perfect car for me. It was not to be. My Qashqai had suffered sudden clutch failure accompanied by a smoking engine but what kept my spirits up was that I had a three year warranty with roadside assistance. Annoyingly the ‘assistance’ (provided through the RAC) proved slow and nowhere near as efficient as the AA. But worse was to come. Much worse.

Dangerous

Over a period of forty years I have driven Vauxhalls, Audis, Volvos, Fords and Volkswagens. I have never been stranded by clutch failure. In fact I’ve NEVER experienced clutch failure. Luckily the normally busy dual carriageway where the Qashqai engine started to smoke was relatively quiet at the time. With a sudden reduction in acceleration it could have been far more dangerous.

Expensive failure

And as if that wasn’t bad enough Nissan are now charging me £1,800 to repair the car. “No Mr. McCarthy,” the Nissan dealer explained, “the warranty doesn’t cover your clutch.

‘It’s not component failure. It’s the way the car has been driven,” he continued.

It seems to me now that those words were to lead into the long, dark, laborious one-way tunnel that is the Nissan complaints department. I won’t inflict on you dear reader the depressing details of the apparently endless phone calls.

Needless to say, my forty year long driving record with experience of numerous makes and models was clearly not enough for Nissan. The fact that my Qashqai had been serviced by Nissan just a few months before the catastrophic clutch failure was not enough for Nissan. The fact that I had a three year warranty was not enough for Nissan. The manufacturer accepted no responsibility and instead put the blame on me. I, rather than the clutch, was the problem.

Nissan? Never Again!

[Butter Face]

So you burnt out the clutch?

[Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah]

Ignoring if it's a failure due to quality, or poorly driven, £1800 for a clutch on a family wagon?

[mccarthm]

Yes that’s right. I’ve been trying to do the same with all the other makes I’ve driven over the past forty years but strangely enough I only managed it with the Nissan.

[CoolHands]

I like th sub headings, it’s like a local newspaper

[carlpea]

Mileage?

[Butter Face]

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Ignoring if it's a failure due to quality, or poorly driven, £1800 for a clutch on a family wagon?

Probably replacement of the dual mass flywheel at the same time.

[cuprabob]

Surely a candidate for this thread...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[mccarthm]

Mileage is 25,000

[GrumpyTwig]

Butter Face said:

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Ignoring if it's a failure due to quality, or poorly driven, £1800 for a clutch on a family wagon?

Probably replacement of the dual mass flywheel at the same time.

Even doing that, that's quite a big chunk. DMFs are done on an exchange basis, I'd have guessed all in about £1100-1200 ish with the DMF and 800-900 without based on work I had done.

OP presumably they've had it apart to make the determination it was not faulty?

[Butter Face]

GrumpyTwig said:

Butter Face said:

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Ignoring if it's a failure due to quality, or poorly driven, £1800 for a clutch on a family wagon?

Probably replacement of the dual mass flywheel at the same time.

Even doing that, that's quite a big chunk. DMFs are done on an exchange basis, I'd have guessed all in about £1100-1200 ish with the DMF and 800-900 without based on work I had done.

OP presumably they've had it apart to make the determination it was not faulty?

We’ve just replaced a clutch and DMF on a Megane with (what I presume) is the same engine as the OP and the cost was circa £1800.

That was down to user error also.

[GrumpyTwig]

Butter Face said:

GrumpyTwig said:

Butter Face said:

Fermit The Krog and Sexy Sarah said:

Ignoring if it's a failure due to quality, or poorly driven, £1800 for a clutch on a family wagon?

Probably replacement of the dual mass flywheel at the same time.

Even doing that, that's quite a big chunk. DMFs are done on an exchange basis, I'd have guessed all in about £1100-1200 ish with the DMF and 800-900 without based on work I had done.

OP presumably they've had it apart to make the determination it was not faulty?

We’ve just replaced a clutch and DMF on a Megane with (what I presume) is the same engine as the OP and the cost was circa £1800.

That was down to user error also.

Christ... I paid less on a 250. In fact I paid about that for the clutch/slave DMF and the belts done, at a dealers too mind you.

[Sheepshanks]

Isn't early clutch failure a common issue on Qashqai?

[Silenoz]

Sheepshanks said:

Isn't early clutch failure a common issue on Qashqai?

One of many according to What Car?

[techguyone]

Nissans quality rating is appalling at the moment, I was going to buy a new x-Trail but I backed the hell away, I only hope the kuga won't be the same, although Fords ratings are quite a bit higher.


Is nissan a low/mid tier on Japanese motors?

I've had several hondas with very few issues from them.

[IanCress]

I've seen many stories over the past few years regarding the lack of reliability of modern Nissan's. Enough to make me never consider buying one.

[Composite Guru]

What engine is this? If its a 1.5DCi then its a Renault engine and gearbox from what I'm aware.

That's probably the issue.

[techguyone]

Don't Renault have a big stake in Nissan now?

[andrewparker]

CoolHands said:

I like th sub headings, it’s like a local newspaper

All we need now is a picture of the owner standing in front of said Nissan looking royally pissed off, and it will be perfect.

[HustleRussell]

Colleague has had problems with his Quashqai which really shouldn't occur on such a new car.

Best selling car in the U.K. recently?

Nissan are also making pickup trucks which corrode until they snap in half. Gone downhill.