Nissan Primera Radiator damage

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Sat 6 Nov 2004 19:13
Nissan Primera Radiator damage - pmh
A friend with a 3 week old Primera found it losing coolant in a big way from the radiator. They are not car literate and were initially fobbed off by dealer with the line of, "stone damage, not covered by warranty....... happens regularly!"

Well if it happens regularly it can only be a design fault, therefore should they go after dealer on 'fit for purpose'? Have other people come across this with the latest Primera?

Whilst the dealer still has the car, I have suggested they threaten to get an independent expert inspection on the grounds that dealer may then become more co-operative.

Next question is if it had suffered major coolant loss and lost a head gasket as a consequential event, ( ie VERY expensive) does this constitute accidental damage under an insurance policy?

The owner is just a normal commuter driver, no off road or track day use.

Any comments please? As next meeting with garage is early next week.




pmh (was peter)
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Sat 6 Nov 2004 20:36
Nissan Primera Radiator damage - Aprilia
I assume this is a new P12 Primera? If so then I think you will find that the air-con condenser is in front of the radiator. This means the the rad is effectively 'protected' from stones and so stone damage would be unlikely.

Stone damage can occassionally occur, but it is very easy to identify (i.e. an inward puncture to one of the rad tubes). If a new radiator were to fail because of a manufacuting defect then I would expect some problem where the 'tanks' are crimped to the core, where the tubes go into the end plates, or perhaps the top/bottom hose stubs fracturing (this used to be a problem on Mercs).
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Sun 7 Nov 2004 13:14
Nissan Primera Radiator damage - Crinkly Dave
You are in a bind.
You could try and get legal over this, but you are likely to be having more trouble than the cost of replacement as well as losing goodwill. Going down the route of having an external specialist examine it will cost, but may be worth it. As Aprilia says, not always possible to say definitely if it is a manufacturing defect.
Suggest you approach Nissan UK with the service manager's comments, and hope for a goodwill payment.
Not wishing to sound unsympathetic, but if it isn't your car and you get involved you may finish up losing a friendship.
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