Nissan X-TRAIL Pricing and Specs

This sounds more like a control problem that one with the actual compressor. The body computer is often at fault in cases like this. Part of the body computer’s job is to control things like central locking, power windows and the climate control gear. The fact that the system is cycling between fresh air and recycled air makes us suspect the computer as the culprit. Has this been checked?

Hopefully, you first raised this issue with Nissan all those years ago when the vehicle was still under warranty. If so, then you have what is called a pre-existing condition and even though the car is now out of warranty, Nissan is still obliged to fix it as if the warranty still applied.

There's often a disparity between what a car is insured for and what it might be worth on the second-hand market. In any case, with a worn out engine, its market value would be next to nothing anyway. And with 290,000km on its odometer, you might have trouble finding a buyer willing to take a punt.

That said, even if you put a low-kilometre second-hand engine in it, the fact remains that everything else from the transmission to the wheel bearings, brakes and suspension have also done 290,000km and can be pretty much guaranteed to be fairly worn themselves. You could then find yourself shelling out more money every year to keep the car running on the basis that you'd already spent $10,0000 on a replacement engine. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and buy something newer.

This model X-Trail is fitted with active lane-keeping assistance which is sort of a helping hand when the driver isn’t keeping the car in the centre of its lane. It could be that this system is what’s causing the car to feel like it wants to pull you into the next lane.

You need to have this checked under warranty as soon as possible, since it’s an obvious safety issue. This isn’t just a Nissan thing, either. Many brands have had complaints about these systems, and in some cases, cars fitted with collision-avoidance systems have been known to slam on the brakes when the car’s camera 'sees' something like a wheelie-bin on the footpath and mistakes it for a truck entering the road. Speaking of which, your lane-keeping assistance is controlled by a camera at the front of the car. Have a quick check to make sure there’s not a huge dead bug confusing the camera.