Nissan Patrol 2004 News

A number of potentially hazardous faults have been identified in vehicles sold in Australia, prompting a wide range of recalls.

HALF a day of driving through sand dunes stands between Craig Lowndes and victory in his first off-road race.  The V8 Supercars driver extended his lead to about an hour in the penultimate leg of the Australasian Safari in Western Australia yesterday."We had a great day," he said.  "That is how I expected to the Safari to be; open and fast roads through forestry."Today, Lowndes and co-driver Kees Weel of the Gold Coast tackle two tough stages in the coastal sand dunes near Esperance with their Holden Colorado.  "There's only one more day to go, but apart from the first bit which is rocky, it's all sand," Lowndes said."There are three small stints and we have to navigate right and keep our momentum.  The bikes set off first and will set a rough course and I think we will be the first car off, so navigation will be the ultimate component tomorrow."We've been lost and found our way back before. Kees is pretty experienced at this; it's his 13th Safari."  Lowndes said he wasn't thinking about how they would celebrate if they won tomorrow."We'll celebrate by getting back on the plane and thinking about Bathurst," he said.  Lowndes and Weel were followed by Victorians Darren Green and Wayne Smith in their Nissan Patrol and Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki in their Isuzu D-Max, the first diesel-powered vehicle.The order changed in the bike section yesterday when third-placed rider Rod Faggotter of Longreach pulled out after the first leg suffering with a broken thumb from a fall the previous day.That leaves a trifecta of KTM riders at the front lead by Bathurst rider Ben Grabham heading for his third victory.  He is followed by Todd Smith of Condobolin, NSW, and Matthew Fish of Kyneton, Victoria.RESULTSPos Veh Crew Vehicle Cat/ SS15 SS16 SS17 SS18 Pen Total No Class1 100 LOWNDES - WEEL 2003 Holden Colorado A5.2 25:00 03:06 02:57 24:38 30:54:592 122 GREEN - SMITH 1999 nissan Patrol A2.2 30:12 03:31 03:18 27:47 32:11:383 102 GARLAND - SUZUKI 2010 Isuzu DMAX A5.4 23:36 02:55 02:58 23:33 32:42:424 105 TURLEY - TILLETT 1996 Nissan Patrol A5.3 25:16 04:48 02:58 25:46 33:41:135 101 FLOOD - VAN KANN 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.1 27:07 05:35 03:53 30:24 34:35:466 177 DI LALLO - MASI 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution A1.1 30:11 03:43 03:18 31:48 38:18:387 106 MULDREW - EARLE 2004 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.2 31:47 03:40 03:32 36:31 39:02:378 112 MUIR - WALKER 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 39:44 03:42 03:17 31:26 41:52:179 110 KNOWLES - VILLANOVA 2008 Hummer H2 SUT A5.2 25:11 03:55 03:01 29:30 43:30:59 10 109 WALKDEN - LONG 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A2.1 28:13 03:18 03:17 27:21 43:35:3111 137 YUAN DE - TAIGUANG 2005 Quang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T2.1 47:15 03:42 03:39 34:37 45:09:3912 103 TWADDLE - TWADDLE 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero A0.2 01:01:44 05:00 04:54 MCf 01:30:00 45:44:5113 115 OWEN - CAIRNS 2004 NISSAN GU PATROL A5.3 27:39 03:03 03:03 26:05 47:35:0214 127 YOUNG - MCBEAN 2002 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.5 52:14 03:48 03:31 32:41 47:41:3315 136 WEI YU - MIN 2005 Guang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T1.2 44:46 03:25 03:19 25:54 47:59:11104 HARRINGTON - HARRINGTON 2007 Nissan Patrol A5.3 24:45 03:01 03:03 DNF DNF107 DENHAM - DENHAM 2003 Mitsubishi Triton A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF108 OLHOLM - DOBLE 2004 Mitsubishi NM Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF111 DUNN - DUNN 1998 Nissan GU A5.3 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF113 WATMAN - WATMAN 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF129 QUINN - FEAVER 1995 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF142 HOFFMANN, Glenn 2010 Dirt-Buggies Superlite A4.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 150 PINSON - DENBRINKER 2002 Ford ba rtv A3.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF155 MONKHOUSE - MONKHOUSE 2006 suzuki vitara A5.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNFMCx2 - Missed Start and Finish Controls, MCf - Missed Finish Control, - Time recorded but Out of Late Time Date 9/25/2010 22:10:50.145 Form No:205 Page 1 

The heavyweight off-roader is already a sell-out in the Middle East, with an Infiniti luxury model also on the way, but right-hand drive production does not even have a start-up date.Nissan Australia is bringing a Patrol to Australia later this month for a number of events, including the Australian International Motor Show, but cannot confirm when it will be followed by production models."We don't know yet when it's coming. The Arabs are soaking up everything that is being built," says Nissan Australia spokesman, Jeff Fisher.  "It's going to be more than 12 months. It's still between 12 and 24 months.  It will get here. It's in the slot, but it's a matter of waiting."Fisher says the problem is the low demand for right-hand drive Patrols.  "South Africa has said no, England is not interested, so it's just Australia."  The demonstration Patrol is coming fully loaded for the show and a range of driving demonstrations including a press preview in Queensland. "It's packed with technology. It's got a type of active suspension with hydraulics, tyre pressure monitoring and a lot more. It's a big story," Fisher says.  "We're bringing it here to showcase the technology and get some feedback."The special Patrol is also being used to celebrate the 50 anniversary of the model in Australia.  "The Patrol is 50 years old in Australia. And this is the first all- new model since the GU in the 1990s, so there is a lot to talk about," Fisher says.

Designers changed every body panel, except for the roof, and shaped the interior to give the off-roader a fresh look.While the mechanicals remain largely unchanged, the 3.0-litre engine has been slightly updated.Nissan marketing manager Philip Brook says style is important, even for a workhorse like the Patrol."Styling is the main reason people buy cars," he says.The Patrol's interior now features a dashboard with a more up-to-date centre console, seats with more support and new leather and alcantara (suede-feel) trims.Nissan is also aiming to please city slickers with a satellite navigation system in its Ti model.The locally-developed system has been configured more for main roads and cities, but it does include a "breadcrumb" function to help lost drivers find their way home.The centre screen is also linked to a rear bumper-mounted camera, which helps with reverse parking.A well equipped ST-S model has been added to the range, which starts with the DX and moves to the ST, ST-L and caps it off with the Ti.DX and ST models are available with either the 3.0-litre or 4.2-litre turbo-diesel engine.The new manual 3.0-litre DX costs $3000 more than the current model. But the price tag of $49,540 has airconditioning as standard.The ST-S and ST-L have the added option of a six-cylinder 4.8-litre petrol engine (185kW and 420Nm).The Ti model, which has seen its price increase by $3500 to $77,490 due to extra standard gear, is available only with a petrol engine.While prices have increased slightly for all 3.0-litre diesel-equipped vehicles, many of the 11 models cost the same or slightly less than the current models.But impending emission regulations could see the end of the 4.2-litre turbo-diesel engine, which is only exported to Australia, Nissan says.FIRST DRIVETHE pile of black feathers should have given it away.Something had eaten something else on the bank of a large pond on a cattle station 460km from Katherine in the Northern Territory.We park the car for photos and blithely assume a large yellow-spotted monitor (goanna) licking the air nearby is the culprit.Passing the spot 10 minutes later, we see a 2.5m crocodile sunning itself where I had been standing.Welcome to the tough country of the NT, the perfect place in which to give the updated Nissan Patrol a hard workout.We are based at Bullo River cattle station, more than 200,000ha of harsh, hot, dry country.This is the station Sara Henderson and her daughters worked and made profitable, a story studied closely by producers of TV show McLeod's Daughters.One daughter, Marlee, now runs the station with her husband, Franz Ranacher.Neighbours don't pop in for a chat here. The driveway alone is 76km.The station is big enough to give the Patrols a full day of tough off-road work.Making it across a creek isn't just a matter of pride out here. Get stuck and you are a long way from help. And you'd have trouble convincing your mates to jump into the water to push.Parks and Wildlife officers recently counted 19 crocs larger than 2m in just 2km of the Bullo River.Stockman Evan Houston says the team at Bullo is hunting a 7m saltwater croc. About 200 cattle are taken every year.Houston warns that even though a creek or billabong is shallow and inviting, it's not a good idea to go in: "If it's nice enough to swim in, it's unlikely you'd be alone in there."Four-wheel-drive legend Ron Moon tells us how to escape a crocodile."You don't have to run that fast, just faster than your mate."ON THE TRACKWE SET out early to travel to the point where the Bullo River joins the larger Victoria River on the edge of the property.For much of the journey there is no track and we run through long grass and over small trees that spring back up.One Patrol runs over the stump of a star picket, puncturing two tyres.Most of the brahman-cross cattle we pass are shy and wary of the big Nissans rumbling over their turf.Given they will all be rounded up and shipped off to woks in South East Asia and to the Middle East, I can understand they are touchy.The changes to the Patrol are mostly cosmetic apart from a tweaking of the 3.0-litre diesel engine, but Nissan didn't need to mess much with the truck.It is made for this type of work and will eat up creek crossings and treacherous hills.One reporter on the trip manages to ground a Patrol and damage the sump, but reversing it over large sharp rocks for a photo is not going to happen often in real life.We carefully negotiate a mass of red-dirt termite castles. I don't want to upset any by crushing their homes.The frugal two diesels (3.0-litre and 4.2-litre) are the best-suited engines and are willing enough for city work as well.The 4.8-litre petrol engine delivers smooth power, but the fuel consumption is more painful than a croc bite and can push past 20 litres per 100km/h when worked.Eventually we pass a boab tree and reach the large salt flat that borders the Victoria River. It is 37C and the sun roasts a gnarled tree that is holding out for the wet season and the water that will rush on to the plain.Nissan has introduced some new, lighter interior trims that are appreciated in places as hot as this. The new Patrol's interior is more stylish than the last model's, but is still as functional.We do several runs over the vast flat for the photographers in the chasing Bell helicopter, the chopper used to round up cattle.The Victoria River, which empties on the western coast of the Northern Territory 40km away, looks impressive from the air. Guide Greg Sherlock says it brims with barramundi in the wet season."You probably wouldn't want to swim in there?" I ask."No way," Sherlock says. "Sharks come in this far and if they don't get you, the salties (crocodiles) will."