#Nissan? Never Again! Part II
Discussion
- 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!
Jonah35. It’s a free country and you are entitled to your views as am I. I’m not a serial complainer. I’m just stating facts. I can honestly say that I never had such problems or poor service from Vauxhaall, Audi, Ford, Wolkswagen etc. Just Nissan. I take no pleasure in “tarnishing” the brand (as you describe it). Nissan have brought this on themselves and they should hang their heads in shame.
- Nissan? Never Again! ( Part II)
I promised to post further updates after the Nissan managing director’s office contacted me following my earlier post.
Given the treatment I have endured at the hands of Nissan it did not surprise me to hear that Nissan had contacted the Nissan mechanic who repaired my clutch at a cost of £1800 (yes that’s £1,800!) and had reached the conclusion...that it was not Nissan’s fault!
My three year warranty amounted to nothing. The fact that Nissan had serviced the car just two months earlier amounted to nothing. Even though the car was only 16 months old - it was “all due to wear and tear” (at least that’s what they told me.)
They still haven’t/can’t given me an explanation as to why, despite forty years of driving Audi’s, Fords, Volkswagens etc, etc I have NEVER before experienced clutch problems. Or how, with no sign of clutch slippage, the component can suddenly give up on you potentially putting you at considerable risk.
The one point Nissan did concede in their latest email, contrary to what their customer complaints department and the Nissan mechanic had previously insisted, was this: “When we say “wear and tear” we are not always referring to the way in which a vehicle is driven, there are lots of external factors that can cause a clutch to fail not just the driving style.” Trolls who have taken the time to contact me accusing me of “clutch misuse” or an age-related driving style - please take note.
I was beginning to think that when we are all moving around in driverless cars that Nissan would still be blaming their customers for “the way the car was being driven!”
I’m £1,800 poorer but £1,800 wiser. Once bitten and all that. Nissan? Never Again!
- nissanneveragain
I have recovered the old components. I have spoken to an independent mechanic who tells me it Is nigh on impossible to prove that it was driver error OR that it was a component fault. But as the burden is on the consumer to prove their case you take a potentially costly risk by pursuing the case. And of course - the manufacturers know this.
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