Nissan Qashqai owners driven to distraction by engine failures

[aaur4man]

Some buyers of the 1.2 litre turbo models allege that the vehicles are being forced off the road by mechanical and oil problems

 

Ana Keogh bought a car from a main Nissan dealer and has since needed three engines. She was fearful about driving a newborn baby in a faulty car. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

 

hen Ana Keogh spent £28,000 on a brand new Nissan Qashqai in 2015, the last thing she expected was to have the engine rebuilt three times in 18 months with her car off the road for weeks on end. But she is just one of a number of buyers of the Qashqai’s 1.2 litre petrol turbo models who say they are suffering serious problems that left them without their cars for weeks at a time.

The Qashqai is one of the UK’s best selling cars, but Nissan has been accused by owners of not admitting to serious problems with models that contain the Renault-supplied 1.2-litre DIG-T petrol engines, introduced in 2014.

Keogh, who works as a nanny and is almost nine months pregnant, says she has been without her Qashqai for several months in total, while her local Nissan dealer, Glyn Hopkin, has tried to sort out the repeated problems. She says she has got to the point that she no longer has any trust in the car – and fears having to drive her new baby in it.

Keogh’s problems started 10 months after she picked up the vehicle, when a strange noise starting coming from the engine. Under warranty, Nissan replaced the timing chain – a vital piece on the engine that should last a car’s lifetime, but will damage most engines if it fails.

Thinking she’d just been unlucky, she was dismayed when the noise resurfaced a couple of months later. This time Nissan staff diagnosed that the Qashqai needed a whole new engine, meaning her car was off the road for almost a month while one was sourced and fitted. It was finally returned, only for the problem to re-emerge just weeks later.

Just before Christmas Keogh had to take the car back to the dealer again, and says she was left in tears after being informed that it would require another engine rebuild – just three weeks before she was due to give birth.

She says: “I think we have been more than patient, but Nissan and the dealer don’t appear to know what they are doing. How can a car have so many engine rebuilds in such a short period? No explanation is ever offered, and I’m just expected to put up with it, like it’s normal. We spent a lot of money on this car. I’m about to have a baby, I just want a car that works.”

She and her husband say they are at the end of their tether and have asked Nissan to buy back the car. But they say all they’ve been offered through Glyn Hopkin is a trade-in of £14,500 for a car they believe is worth more than £19,000 – and only if they buy another Nissan.

The Keoghs are by no means alone. Gavin Connolly from Bridgend in south Wales has just had the engine replaced on his 15-month-old 1.2 Qashqai because it was burning too much oil. Connolly, who works in the motor trade but not for Nissan, says the dealer’s staff told him there was a problem with the pistons on a batch of engines.

“I took my car in for a service only to be told it was almost empty of oil. It was refilled and I was told to bring it back after 3,000 miles, and it was the same story,” he says. “The dealer’s been great but Nissan’s been woeful. I am aware of other owners with the same problem, including one guy whose car was only driveable for six weeks out of the seven months he owned it. In the end he got so fed up he traded it in at a huge loss, just to get rid of it,” he says.

A thread on Qashqaiforums.co.uk suggests the oil consumption problem goes back as far as 2015. Other owners report having their engines replaced as recently as last month. It is the top topic in the “engine” section of the website.

For the Keoghs, at least, there is a resolution to the situation. A spokesman for Nissan says: “While there have been issues with their car, we have ensured they have remained mobile at all times with the loan of a vehicle. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products and the service we deliver. Clearly the circumstances of this case fall below our usual high standards, and as such we have offered to replace their car with a brand new vehicle. We are confident this will resolve the matter.”

Know your rights
When dealing with car dealers it can feel like they hold all the cards. But you do have rights: the Consumer Rights Act means you can reject goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund up to 30 days from purchase.

After 30 days and up to six months the dealer has one chance to fix the problem. If an attempt at repair or replacement fails you have the right to reject the goods for a full refund or price reduction (if you wish to keep the car). No deduction can be made from a refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful repair or replacement, although many dealers will simply deny this right exists.

After six months it is trickier. The act gives you protection for up to six years from purchase, but the burden is on you to prove the car was faulty at the time of delivery, meaning you may require an expert report. The Motor Ombudsman will arbitrate disputes for free.

Buyers should bring claims against the dealer, not the manufacturer. This is who the contract is with.

 

Source

Edited January 29, 2019 by aaur4man