Nissan Patrol Problems

It could be a number of things, sensor, speedo head etc. I would have it looked at by an auto electrician, who should be able to sort it out for you.

Things are about to change after a major price cut of more than $20,000 for the all-new V8 Patrol, which was hugely overpriced when it first hit Australia.

Towing in overdrive really loads up the transmission, so you have to think about how you use it. Generally it is ok to engage overdrive on flat terrain, where the load is not as high, but it's important to disengage it when facing hills. The key is to always be in the correct gear for the situation, rather than leave it in overdrive and forget about it.

There are changes to the latest Patrols including repositioning of the gearlever but the basics are still the same. The biggest problem is that resale will be based on the build year, not compliance. Even Nissan insiders admit you should push for a bigger discount than the recent cut from $93,390 to $69,990 for the 2015 Patrol.

It's a difficult one and you have to decide how much time and energy you want to put into resolving this issue. To start with the car is nine years old and well out of warranty from Nissan, second it would be hard to argue that the normal consumer laws that relate to defective products would apply because the fault is a cosmetic one relating to the appearance of the car and not the function. You could try to negotiate with Nissan on the basis of goodwill and what they have done in the past for other owners with the same problem. If you were successful I would expect Nissan to cover part of the cost of the repair. The other course of action you could take is to take them court as suggested and in my view you would face the strong possibility of losing.

Nissan spokesman, Peter Fadeyev, replies: "Nissan replaced the diff-lock solenoid and diff-lock actuator on Mr Antoney's vehicle under its New Vehicle Warranty. More than 18 months later the customer sought a replacement differential but the problem was not due to a manufacturing fault so it was not repaired or replaced by Nissan. As the original differential problem was not repairable under the terms of his car's warranty, and the replacement differential was a second-hand unit and not replaced by an authorised Nissan workshop, Nissan is unable to reimburse Mr Antoney for its cost".

Early 3.0-litre turbo-diesel Patrols were trouble, but the engines of the later years are not giving any trouble to speak of. It's important to check for a service record, changing the oil regularly is critical to a long engine life. Also check the diff bushes. It's recommended that you have your chosen car checked by a mechanic with knowledge of Patrols.

Carmakers, and it appears Nissan in particular, choose to hide behind their warranties, which exclude wear and tear items. But I believe you could argue that the extremely short clutch life that many people are experiencing with vehicles fitted with dual-mass flywheels makes them unfit for purpose under our consumer laws. Something needs to be done. Perhaps you could get other owners to join you in an approach to Nissan on the problem.

It's frustrating when a dealer misdiagnoses a problem, and then charges you for the work they've done, even though it hasn't fixed the so-called problem. In this case, from what you have told us, there really isn't a problem. You say you are able to start the car first time, every time, by simply waiting a second or so longer, it was only the dealer that claimed it was hard to start. I wouldn't trust the dealer and would take the car to someone else if you feel you need to have it checked further, in this case one who specialises in diesels.

If it's fuel-injected pumping it won't make any difference, in fact it could confuse the computer and make it more difficult to start. Check the fuel pressure and depending on the result of that check the fuel pump.