[Amey]

I am posting this on behalf of a good friend from Bangalore who unfortunately is not a member yet,

I had purchased my Nissan Xtrail in the year 2007 from Shahwar Nissan. Never had the joy of owning a Xtrail all thanks to Shahwar Nissan and their pathetic service .My problems with the car started from day one. When I had gone for a test drive of the vehicle the clutch was smooth but when I took the delivery it was a different story altogether. The clutch was quite hard compared to other Xtrails. Immediately Gave a complaint and the SA said that it will get smooth after first service .Another problem I noticed was that the AC was too noisy even at the lowest setting again same answer from SA that it will be fixed in the first service. Left my vehicle for first service on 30/05/07 and gave the complaint of AC being too noisy and clutch being hard .SA acknowledged the issue and promised that it will be fixed .When I went to take the vehicle the clutch was indeed smooth and the AC noise had gone away. Exactly after 600kms the problem returned and I immediately called Shahwar and reported the problem they said, sir we will fix it in the second service but again it was the same issue even after 3 services .I had a heated argument with the Manager at the Service Station in the year 2009 regarding this problem .Manager said it has been fixed this time and it will never crop up again. He never acknowledged what was the problem which was causing the issues.



I left the country in 2009 for my higher studies, my car taken away to Hyderabad by my first cousin who complained me that the clutch is indeed hard and AC is noisy .I asked him to take it to Lakshmi Nissan in Hyderabad and the same ordeal continued there as well for 2 years. I came back to India in October 2011 and got my car back to Bangalore , to my shock the issue was still persisting but this time it was intolerable I just couldn't turn on the AC as it used to make a weird noise and clutch was damn hard after driving for about 50kms I used to get knee ache and it was virtually impossible to drive the car for more than 40kms per day.



I gave the car for service in December 2011 and reported same issues again the answer was same Sir it has been fixed but the issue came back in January 2012 where I called and blasted them was told to drop the car at the service station so that they will have a look at it .To my shock I was told that the clutch plates and AC motor have gone bad and they need to be replaced. Cost to replace them is close to 1.5 Lakhs! . Hemanth, the Service Manger of Nissan said that the clutch plates have to be changed for every 50,000Kms which I am able to agree and more over the issue of clutch being hard was there from day one. My car has done just 65,000kms in the last 5 years and it has been given to regular services.



I was highly irritated and wrote mails to Shahwar Nissan but no reply from them .The Service Manager Hemanth acknowledged that the issues were there in the car from day one and requested me to give him 2 days time so that he can talk to Nissan and get them replaced for free but I never got a call back from Hemanth .Every time I call him he gives a standard answer “Sir I will get back to you by end of day” this is being going on from past 2 days. I have written mails to the corporate office in Chennai and sales office in Mumbai but never heard back from them. Can some one provide me with the emails ID’s of higher ups in Nissan India ? I am asking this because Shahwar Nissan is a pathetic service center in India and its high time Nissan realizes it and removes them ( which I really doubt coz there is just one service center in Karnataka)

My questions to Nissan are

1) Why did Shahwar Nissan / Lakshmi Nissan not take corrective steps to fix the issues when they popped up on day one?

2) Why does one have to change plates at just 50,000Kms??

Although I have mentioned above, let me clarify once more, this is NOT my car.
The reason I am posting this is to help my friend since he cannot post here.

I hope that's ok.

[Amey]

50k Kms is too short a life for clutch for almost all modern day cars.Infact if I remember correctly, My Octy clutch was never replaced in its entire life of 5 years and 180k kms that it was with me.
The clutch had started showing signs of ageing but nothing serious to a make a change inevitable.
Quite strange why a Nissan Xtrail needs a change in 50k kms. I know driving style hugely determines how long the clutch would last but then I don't think the owner is such a bad driver.

[reignofchaos]

Clutch popping after 50k km is not uncommon considering bangalore traffic. I had my cedia's clutch replaced after 55k since it had become hard.

However coming to this car, I know the person concerned and have driven this vehicle. The clutch was in pretty bad shape from a very long time so maybe there was a manufacturing defect.

However AC compressor dying is a bit insane and 1.5 lacs to replace a clutch and a compressor is just plain crazy. I don't think even merc/bmw parts cost that much.

[coloneljasi]

Sounds like a familiar story. A close friend of mine owns a 07 X-Trail (T30) and that car has had a hard clutch from day one.

The only solution provided by the various dealers that the car happened to visit over the years is to replace the clutch assy, naturally on paid basis!

Now we're all used to the hard clutch and the Nissan is running as it is.

[GTO]

At the moment, and as a new entrant, Nissan should be focused on building the brand. Keeping their 25 lakh rupee customers happy ought to be topmost on the priority list.

As the same issues were recurring, it's obvious that the service station has indulged in "quick fixes". I'm surprised though that the owner / his family drove the car for 4.xx years with the same issues BTW.

A clutch going at 50K is not uncommon if the driver has been "riding the clutch" pedal. While a well-driven car can see 1.0 lakh kms on the stock clutch, some poorly driven examples require a replacement even at 25,000 clicks.

I think, at this stage, what is required more than ever is an expert diagnosis. I don't think the Nissan dealership is capable of the same. Would suggest getting an opinion from a good independent garage or a knowledgeable mechanic to nail down on the real problem.

Also, bring this to Nissan India's notice. If the air-con problem was there from the time of the warranty period, they should & must replace the defective parts free of cost to the owner.

[Amey]

A friend of mine, a fellow BHPian and owner of a reputed private garage in Pune, Tune Up Plus was telling me about a similar problem with a Xtrail that had come to the garage.
When this Bangalore friend called me and told me about this issue, I faintly remembered about this Xtrail that had come to TUP.
Therefore I called Abhijit ( TUP owner) and asked him about this issue. He told me that Xtrail does have a slightly harder clutch compared to other cars but not hard enough to cause knee ache.
The clutch being a bit hard can be explained by the huge torque this car has.
Anyway he told me that they cleaned the shifter linkages near the gearbox as they had become dirty and there is some sort of a rubber boot which acts as a dust cover which might tear off,allowing dust to accumulate causing restriction for optimal operation.
For this, it was pressure washed to remove any sticky dust/mud particles. Then A spray similar to WD40 was used along with oiling and surprisingly the clutch operation smoothened quite a bit. It should be noted that this exercise did not change the inherent hardness of the clutch.
All this was tried as a quick fix solution since the owner wanted the car quickly as it was supposed to go for some OTR event the next day.
It was an attempt but it worked,therefore on closer inspection it was observed that maybe this mechanism,although not flawed by design,didn't seem to suit Indian conditions.
This same solution was tried on the same car for couple of time later on and every time it worked and finally the clutch gave way after approx. 1-1.25L Kms which I feel is exceptional life.
This shows that the clutch provided by Nissan is not mediocre and has good durability.
Interesting fact to note is that the owner of this car has couple of other 'Good' cars so he is not dependent on this vehicle and he did mention that he is used to the long delays he has to face whenever the car goes to the A.S.S since they don't seem to have anything in stock. Parts are ordered when the car comes in. Therefore whenever the car went to the A.S.S, it returned only after minimum of 15-20 days.

[Amey]

Originally Posted by GTO

At the moment, and as a new entrant, Nissan should be focused on building the brand. Keeping their 25 lakh rupee customers happy ought to be topmost on the priority list.

As the same issues were recurring, it's obvious that the service station has indulged in "quick fixes". I'm surprised though that the owner / his family drove the car for 4.xx years with the same issues BTW.

A clutch going at 50K is not uncommon if the driver has been "riding the clutch" pedal. While a well-driven car can see 1.0 lakh kms on the stock clutch, some poorly driven examples require a replacement even at 25,000 clicks.

I think, at this stage, what is required more than ever is an expert diagnosis. I don't think the Nissan dealership is capable of the same. Would suggest getting an opinion from a good independent garage or a knowledgeable mechanic to nail down on the real problem.

Also, bring this to Nissan India's notice. If the air-con problem was there from the time of the warranty period, they should & must replace the defective parts free of cost to the owner.

I think, at this stage, what is required more than ever is an expert diagnosis. I don't think the Nissan dealership is capable of the same. Would suggest getting an opinion from a good independent garage or a knowledgeable mechanic to nail down on the real problem. ---> When I talked with him, I told him, just remove the Clutch,Pressure plate,release bearing,flywheel and send it to me, I will get it checked from Abhijit as well as 'Kwik Kut'

A brief info about 'Kwik Kut' - This is a machining shop started by a guy who is a pilot by profession but machining is his hobby. Has imported brilliant machines like Van Norman, Rottler from the US which as far as I know no one has in Pune or for that matter even in Mumbai.
This shop specializes in brake disc skimming/cutting (both surfaces simultaneously unlike individual surfaces on lathes) Flywheel facing, Valve grinding,Head facing,Valve seat cutting,refitting,guide replacement and so on.
They have recently acquired a engine boring machine so that they can undertake boring/honing jobs and plans are to start turbo refurbishing.
This venture started as a hobby but it is safe to say that now it literally dominates the scene in Pune. Almost all dealerships send heads here. I have regularly seen heads from Chevy,Skoda,Maruti,Marine engines,Mercedes,Hyundai and some times even engines from vintage cars like Rolls Royce, Triumph bikes and what not.
The owner has now become a very good acquaintance and I can vouch for their work because I have seen myself and they have worked on my Lancer's head too.

Please note: I am not marketing for Kwik Kut, I am merely trying to inform fellow members about such a facility being available. I am NOT commercially linked to them. Therefore the above mentioned info should not be mistaken as marketing ploy.

Therefore the idea was to get these parts here and inspect them and figure out whether they could be repaired (Read: Flywheel facing would work or replacement is imminent) and huge expenditure could be averted.
This would involve a cost of few thousands for shipping and machining if possible but it would be still worth it because the dealership told him that not only would the clutch,pressure plate and release bearing would have to be changed but it would require flywheel replacement too.
After inquiring with the local dealership in Pune, we got a quote of 85k odd for the flywheel, 25-30k for clutch set and 5-6k labour.
Inquiring in the open market (from regular trusted suppliers) we found out that the entire set including flywheel would cost 75k.
When he asked the dealership to remove the parts and hand it over to him, they told him labour charges would be 15-20k!

I informed him about all the findings and options but he seemed reluctant and said why should I if the dealership is reluctant to fix it, had it been my fault, I would have taken all these efforts but why should I in this case.

[supercars]

I was told to stay away from Nissan products as they were still new in India.

I well advise people who do not own Mercedes stay away as sometimes the Bills are Astronomical.

[Durango Dude]

I feel its the mistake of the owner for not persisting with the complaint and accepting whats get's dished out at the service outlet. At least if the complaints have been properly documented and filed there is a recourse to some legal action, but without anything crying foul after 65k kms and 5 years will be of no use. In India we get taken for a ride due to the 'chalega' attitude and every complaint if not set right has to be documented and every SMS, E Mail and Service Bill must be saved for future reference. With Nissan which has half a dealer/no dealer in a few cities it's better to be careful and take it up through emails to Nissan India, than take the Service Advisors word for it. Persistence pays and better not be lazy about it. For getting my Aquasure RO system serviced I had to use my phone, Email and finally Facebook a/c to wake them up from their stupor and finally got it serviced after a good 15 days after submitting a complaint. Better shout to make your self heard or your voice would get drowned by those of others.

[SirAlec]

Premature Clutch wear is subjective to:
1. manufacturing defect
2. abnormal usage.

But i have seen Xtrail running problem free for as much as 1.5 lac kms. There are always a chance of one bad apples among so many that churns out of assembly line. Its even saddening if someone unfortunate gets delivery of such one off vehicle.

[amit_mechengg]

A very similar incident has happened with a person who stays 3 floors above me. Their new Xtrail which is always in Shirdi had AC issues right from first day.

They had to travel to Pune from Shirdi to get this rectified many times. Nissan was trying to play smart on them, but then this person proved out to be a political top brass.

They have now changed many parts and the car is doing fine.

[soarer]

Hi Amey,

I have read about Nissan's excess fuel consumption, Clutch wear and 4WD system failure on Cars Guide (Australia). They have some design issue with the dual mass flywheel which are thin and won't last in extreme conditions. (Such as Bangalore traffic). The cost here to replace clutch is around $4000 in Australia. I guess the price you got is approximately same. If you want to keep the car, best option would be to take it to a Nissan dealer who doesn't know your car or yourself and get the clutch replaced.

Regards
Prem G

[narry]

hi
4000 australian dollars is even more expensive than usd dollar
some mistake here
normal i buy performace clutch from this website
Sachs Performance Kupplung - Verstärkte Kupplung - Sportkupplung - Sachs-Performance
even bmw and mercedes complete clutch set does cost more than 600 euros
how the cost me 4000 dollars
something wrong here
you can visit this website and contact them by email
ML 230 (163.136) (110 kW ; 02/1998 - 06/2005) - Sachs-Performance
even ml class cost less than 600 euro complete set
this clutch is performance cluth have 20% extra power
this is really shocking
even order online shipping would be much cheaper
narry

[Raosaheb Desai]

I did extensive search before buying X Trail. Previous gen model (T 30) had issues with early turbo failure.
In this case I think car was having issues from day one. It is surprising to know that owner lived with the problem for so long.
Instead waiting for such long he should have dumped the car at dealership and complain directly to Nissan.
X Trail is not a bad product as many of them stating here.
Dealer might have given him demo car. Did proper PDI done?

I agree to the fact that even T 31 clutch action is bit different, still failure at 50 k is not acceptable.

[Amey]

Originally Posted by Raosaheb Desai

I did extensive search before buying X Trail. Previous gen model (T 30) had issues with early turbo failure.
In this case I think car was having issues from day one. It is surprising to know that owner lived with the problem for so long.
Instead waiting for such long he should have dumped the car at dealership and complain directly to Nissan.
X Trail is not a bad product as many of them stating here.
Dealer might have given him demo car. Did proper PDI done?

I agree to the fact that even T 31 clutch action is bit different, still failure at 50 k is not acceptable.

Apart from the issues reported here, the owner himself loves the Xtrail quite a lot. Says its a brilliant car.
He is irritated because the same problems keep cropping up and unfortunately till date, they haven't been fixed properly.