Nissan Navara 2006 News

Nissan is recalling 40,400 (out of as many as 90,000 4x4 models it sold in the time period) of its Navara D40 series, manufactured in Spain between July 2005 and January 2010, for an inspection. A redesigned Nissan replacement towbar (with additional mounting points) and welded repairs to any chassis cracks - some as wide as 2.5mm according to owners - will be completed for those with faulty genuine Nissan towbars. But Navara owners who opted for an aftermarket set-up with cracks in the chassis rails could face repair bills of $1000 or more. The company said the problem relates to faulty towbar designs specific to the Spanish-built D40 ST-X and RX model Navara and while 40,400 vehicles were being recalled for inspection under this campaign, around 9800 were fitted with the affected Nissan genuine towbars. The D40 Navara starts from around $35,000 and was launched here in late 2005 - all bar one 4x2 model is listed with a towing capacity of 3000kg when towing a trailer fitted with its own brakes, which has made the vehicle popular with tradesman and drivers towing heavy recreational vehicles. The Pathfinder SUV - also built on a ladder-frame chassis and rated to a braked towing capacity of three tonnes - was not impacted by the recall, according to Nissan. Spokesman Peter Fadeyev said the attachment points on the Navara's genuine towbars could cause excessive stress upon the chassis frame rails over time. ``As a result, cracks can occur at the ends of the chassis rails,'' he said. ``In extreme cases, sections of the chassis rails around the towbar may bend when a heavy tow load is applied,'' he said. Mr Fadeyev said the vehicle's towing capacity was not being altered. ``The vehicle can still tow exactly what was identified in the owner's manual - that's the specification of the repair, the vehicle can still tow exactly what is identified as its capability in its manual from the start,'' he said. The company has agreed to inspect customer vehicles fitted with a non-genuine towbar at no charge to the customer, but any chassis repair or replacement to a new revised-design genuine Nissan towbar will be at cost to the customer, Mr Fadeyev said. The company said the inspection takes under 20 minutes to complete or the worst-case-scenario of inspection, repair and towbar replacement would be completed in under two hours. Navara owners looking for more information are being asked to contact their local Nissan dealer or call the Nissan Customer Assistance Centre on 1800 035 035. Nissan said it began recall proceedings following legislated procedures earlier this month, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) product recalls website as yet has no mention of the safety campaign. Nissan Navara 4WD utility annual sales: 2005 -    9,627 2006 - 14,362 2007 - 18,245 2008 - 16,192 2009 - 16,455 2010 - 19,424 Total - 94,305  

Key among the changes is the addition of the V6 turbodiesel to more models in the D40 Navara line-up, given a few more customers access to the 170kW/550Nm powerplant from a lower price point. Safety has been improved, with the Japanese brand adding stability control - it's Vehicle Dynamic Control in Nissan-speak - and lap-sash belts for all five occupants, helping to get it a four-star NCAP crash-test rating. The 2012 ST-X dual-cab 4WD will be offered with the torquey three-litre V6 turbodiesel and a seven-speed automatic from $56,990, which Nissan says is about $4000 cheaper than the 2011 ST-X 550. Also on the features list for the ST-X is a SUB port for the sound system, fog lights and an alloy sports roll-bar. The 550 flagship has not gone unchanged, with the flagship "workhorse" getting a hard-drive-equipped satnav, leather trim, seat heaters, a satin-black sports roll-bar, a Bose sound system and a reversing camera, but the price has dropped by $2000 to $62,990 - Nissan says that's as a result of increased supply, but price cuts and new models from its primary competition might also have something to do with it. The volume seller of the range - the ST dual-cab 4WD has been endowed with the more powerful 140kW/450Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder (previously there was 128kW and 403Nm on offer), gets a six-speed manual or five-speed auto, Utili Track load restraint system, dual-zone air conditioning, six airbags and sits standard on 17in alloy wheels. Both the turbodiesel V6 and 2.5-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder models have a braked towing capacity of 3000kg. Even the entry-level RX single-cab model has had the once-over, upgrading from a bench to bucket seats and adding carpet floor covering and rubber mats. Nissan Australia managing director and CEO (until the end of March) Dan Thompson said the revisions to the Navara range further strengthened Navara's aim to wrest leadership from Toyota in the highly competitive market. "Navara is one of Nissan Australia's cornerstone products aimed at giving us No.1 importer status," he says. "Despite the recent arrival of several newcomers in this highly competitive segment, Navara has comfortably maintained its popularity and market position. "With the new Navara ST-X V6 turbo-diesel, the enhanced D40 Dual Cab 4X4 and keener pricing, we have new and sharper tools to maintain this momentum," he says. Nissan Australia has confirmed the appointment of William Peffer as incoming CEO and managing director from April onwards, when Dan Thompson takes up his new role as Vice President (Finance) for Nissan Europe, based in Switzerland. Mr Peffer, currently marketing, communications and media director at Nissan North America, holds a Bachelors Degree in Advertising Communications from Michigan State University and a Masters Degree in International Finance from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.  

... including some 29,000 of the D40 ST-X dual cab models on Australian roads. The issue is with cracks appearing in wheels in some isolated incidents, first noticed in Europe and with a handful of cases reported to dealers here. Nissan says no accident or incidents have been reported but, in rare cases, the alloy's spoke may crack if the vehicle is used under full-load conditions and cornered at high lateral acceleration. Owners are asked to take their Navaras to dealers for checks; if cracks are found the wheels will be replaced immediately. All wheels on the June, 2005 to July, 2008 models affected will be replaced at a later date as supply become available.

Both, if confirmed for the 10-day show at Brisbane's Convention Centre, are expected to be dual cabs and neither are far from the production lines. For the motoring world has discovered, rediscovered in some cases, the versatility of the four-door ute with either two- or four-wheel-drive. The big differences in the 21st century interpretations of the dual cab (aka crew cab or double cab) are the attention to a family's comforts plus a little more performance for the weekend jollies. The first dual cabs, back into the days of Nissan's Bluebird utes, were basic affairs and more for the local mob of railway fettlers than mum and the kids. These were hose-out machines, plenty of vinyl and painted steel panels inside. They were neither fast nor furious machines, but pluggers with some torque for lugging loads. Engine noise and differential howls determined top speeds. Today there is a growing band of stylish, more comfortable dual cabs which manage to retain a work ethic. These are two- and four-wheel-drive utes, Japanese-designed and often Thai-built. There's the ageing Ford Courier, Mazda Bravo and Mitsubishi Triton. There is the middle-aged Holden Rodeo plus the newer Toyota HiLux and Nissan Navara. All now arrive with a petrol V6 engine option. In the case of the Holden, around since 2003, there is now a new V6 — the 3.6 litre Alloytec engine as found in the Commodore. The move adds some fresh appeal to the Rodeo mob. Here it is tailored for commercial applications, delivering 157kW at 5300rpm (10kW more than the old 3.5 litre V6) and 313Nm at 2800rpm. There is flatter torque curve than in the passenger cars, plus the option of an upgraded four-speed automatic or new five-speed manual transmission.. Top of the heap is the LT crew cab machine, driven here with new V6 and four-speed automatic. In black, the Holden Rodeo is certainly a handsome machine, even if it is not quite as radical in styling as some rivals which have arrived since 2003; setting off the paintwork here is a new alloy wheel design. It is a nice, flexible ute with good road manners and a modern, comfortable interior with six-stack CD player bonus. There remains some rear end bounce without a load and sometimes the Holden feels a little narrow-tracked but it holds itself well among the current crop. There are indications fuel consumption should be better than the outgoing engine, and the Alloytec V6 is never found wanting in day-to-day conditions. The automatic transmission is smooth but there are some questions about the indistinct gate on the shift lever; reverse was sometimes hard to place and, moving off, this driver often grabbed third rather than drive. But for $36,490 this is a stylish and useful machine, even while there remains that workhorse rear end.