Nissan Problems

The X-Trail of that era has an unbraked towing limit of 750kg and a braked limit of 2000kg. On that basis, the short answer is yes, you need to have brakes on your caravan.

But the detail is a little more involved. While you do need a braked trailer (caravan in your case) for the Nissan to handle 960kg safely, those brakes don't necessarily need to be the electric variety. A simpler mechanical braking system would also be acceptable and should work fine on a relatively light van such as the one you've described.

Mechanical brakes are preferred by some users who like the fact that the trailer in question can be used on any car with the required towing limit. In the case of electric brakes, a control unit has to be fitted to the tow-vehicle. That gets a bit complicated and is an extra cost. Larger caravan (over 2000kg GTM) need electric brakes, but mechanical brakes are fine for smaller, lighter vans.

Honestly, this problem could be caused by anything from a transmission that is worn out to one that is simply low on fluid. It could even be caused by a bad earth somewhere on the car or something as simple as a blown fuse.

You need to take the vehicle to a workshop that can electronically scan the vehicle and hopefully turn up a fault code that will pin-point the problem. Without doing this, you're simply guessing at what the problem might be and will end up replacing parts you didn't need to.

This issue will always come down to the documented service history that each car comes with. A switched-on previous owner will not only have serviced the vehicle by the book, but will also have kept the relevant receipts as proof of this crucial work being done. We'd always choose the vehicle with a big wad of service receipts over a similar car with no (or less) evidence of scheduled maintenance.

Beyond that, the Nissan clearly has almost 50,000 fewer kilometres on its odometer, so all things being equal it probably nudges ahead at that point. In either case, the CVT transmission fitted to these cars is likely to be the major source of mechanical grief down the track. Both brands' CVT transmissions have been known to give trouble. If that bothers you, then perhaps the one to buy is the Outlander AWD with the turbo-diesel engine option. In that guise, the vehicle has a conventional automatic transmission rather than a CVT.

There are many reasons, some mechanical, some electrical, why a vehicle won't select four-wheel-drive when the driver requests it. But the first thing we'd check would be the electrical connections from the rotary dial on the dashboard and the mechanical components that dial controls.

In the old days, four-wheel-drive was selected by mechanical levers that moved the internal bits of the transfer case to the correct position to engage the front driveshaft and, in turn, the front differential and axles. But in your Pathfinder (and many other makes and models) manufactures started using electrical switches instead of actual levers. The idea was that by electrically controlling this function, there was less effort required from the driver. The reality is that these dials are as susceptible to electrical gremlins as any other part of the car.

Check the fuses that protect the selection dial and if that's not the problem, have the rotary dial itself checked for faults.

There are plenty of brands around in the aftermarket that claim to offer better performance and durability. Stick with a known brand and perhaps contact your local four-wheel-drive club or off-road specialist for specific brand advice. Somebody in the club is bound to have a Navara with an upgraded clutch.

The good news is that there are local manufacturers that can provide a heavy-duty clutch for your vehicle, so staying local is probably a good idea if there are any issues or questions down the track. Even better news is that for the NP300 Navara, Nissan switched from a dual-mass to a single-mass flywheel. This means you can fit a heavy-duty clutch kit without having to replace the flywheel itself, saving money. Don't forget to closely check the condition of the flywheel, however, as it may require machining for the new clutch to work properly.

Towing and off-roading place immense loads on a clutch, and this is a common upgrade for those who use their vehicles in this way.

The Murano is typical of modern Nissans by being a pretty reliable thing by all accounts. The V6 engine, in particular, has a good reputation for trouble-free performance and is widely regarded as a tough unit capable of plenty of kilometres before needing major work.

However, in reality, the Murano has an on-demand all-wheel-drive system, meaning that for the majority of the time, it operates as a front-wheel-drive vehicle. The rear axle only engages when the vehicle detects wheel-slip or the engine is producing enough torque for the rear wheels to join in. That may or may not suit your needs, and it will all depend on what you expect from all-wheel-drive.

The major concerns for some buyers would revolve around the fairly complex driveline used in the Murano. That on-demand all-wheel-drive system used a coupling that engaged the rear axle when the conditions required it. That rear coupling can give problems, beginning with a clunking noise under load. The other concern is more of a general wariness of constantly variable transmissions (CVT) which have been known to have shorter lifespans than conventional gearboxes. That said, the Nissan's isn't a know hot spot for trouble, but it definitely needs to be inspected before money changes hands.

Perhaps the most important thing – as it is with any second-hand car – is the service record. If you can't find solid evidence of the correct preventative maintenance being carried out, the car could easily be a can of worms, regardless of make or model.

Running over a piece of old fencing wire is not uncommon on farms and regional areas and, as you’ve discovered, it can do a lot of damage if it gets wrapped around a moving part. It sounds as though the inner CV joint is badly damaged and that’s allowing the axle to `float’ in and out of its proper position.

If you’re lucky, a replacement CV joint might be all that’s required. But a word of caution: Don’t attempt to drive the vehicle as it is. If the axle jumps ship from the differential completely, it can flail about under the vehicle, causing all sorts of expensive damage.

The default purchase for somebody looking for a mid-sized hybrid SUV is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. But if that’s too big, there’s the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid, C-HR Hybrid and even the Corolla Cross Hybrid which sounds like the marketplace is getting crowded but is really just a reflection of the appetite right now for cars like these. And that’s the catch; the waiting times for a brand-new example of some of these cars is out to many months and even years. So your plan to shop second-hand makes plenty of sense, but don’t expect any bargains in a market currently being dominated by lots of demand and less supply.

Beyond the Toyota brand (which has been doing hybrids longer than just about anybody else) there’s also the Mazda CX-30, Subaru XV Hybrid, Haval Jolion Hybrid, Kia Niro, Subaru Forester Hybrid, Nissan Qashqai e-Power, MG HS, Honda HR-V e and more. For something a bit bigger, try the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe hybrids. There are others out there, too, that are probably bigger or more expensive than you need, but it's very much a growing scene in the Australian marketplace.

Clutch life in most cars is determined by the type of driving you do and the type of driver you are. Cars that do a lot of urban running or towing will almost always have a shorter clutch life. Those used for highway journeys where the gears aren’t being changed as frequently tend to have longer clutch life.

But it’s also true that a driver who is gentle with the clutch and gearshift (as opposed to one who makes fast, hard changes) will also stretch the clutch’s lifespan.

I don’t think 100,000km out of a clutch is any reason to complain and suggests that you’re one of the gentle drivers out there. But before you commit to replacing the clutch, make sure that the slipping is not from poor clutch adjustment or oil on the clutch from a leaking engine seal, rather than a truly worn-out clutch. Of course, even if it is a worn oil seal (the rear-main seal is the most likely culprit) the gearbox and clutch must be removed to fix it, so a new clutch at 100,000km would be a good idea anyway to avoid having to remove all those components later for a clutch change.

The engines in the 2014 X-Trail were tuned by Nissan to run perfectly on 91 RON unleaded petrol. That means that if you use the more expensive Premium ULP available (95 or 98 RON) you’ll basically be wasting money. That’s because an engine that isn’t tuned for the Premium brew won’t run any better or use less fuel on PULP.

The other bit of good news is that your vehicle is also compatible with ethanol-blended petrol. That means, you can fill up from the E5 or E10 pump at the service-station and maybe save a few cents per litre in the process.