My car is under 3 years old but out of warranty due to 87,000 miles. Last week I learnt the head gasket has gone (after a M25 breakdown!) but because this will be its 3rd replacement (last one 20,000 miles ago)Nissan say they will only guarantee the work if I have a new cylinder head as well! The car has been garaged several times due to overheating problems and thousands of pounds spent trying to correct whatever it is going wrong. Nissan insist they are not liable and will not even offer a discount to do this work. Any advice?
ps: The car is still driveable on very short journeys (kids to school etc)and seems to behave itself temperature wise, but am I risking an engine seizure?
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Hi,
Sorry to hear of your problems. I am sure someone with more engeneering knowledge than me will be along soon to reply to you. Just wondered is this is the 'new' style Primera with the sat nav etc?
I have a 2.2 DCISVE and being Nissan throught they were very reliable but I myself have had one breakdown which required RAC assistance. (An electrical conection broke down which caused limp home mode to acivate)
May be they are becomming a little less reliable?
Kind Regards
Jlo
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Thanks for the reply. Yes it is the new style with sat nav etc. I think the Primera's are generally reliable but mine just seems to be unreliable.
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I would strongly urge you not to accept this situation. Clearly there is something very wrong here.
The SR20DE engine used in your car is very tough. There have been versions turbo'd and tuned to 300+BHP and even then it is rare to get reliability problems. Its probably one of the toughest 2000cc engines in the world. Provided dirty oil doesn't block the cam oil feeds then they go to 250K+ miles without a problem (apart from a bit of timing chain rattle at start-up on some engines).
If, as I suspect, your problems started when the car was under warranty I think you have a good case against Nissan and the dealer (the Nissan 3-year warranty is manufacturer-back, not an 'insurance policy').
I would gather together all of your details (i.e. date purchase, dates of problems/repairs, nature of problem, action by Nissan etc.) and post it all on here. People here may then be able to advise more fully.
Remember that your warranty is *in addition* to your consumer rights and I think you could resonably argue that your car was not 'fit for purpose' and the subsequent repairs were not correctly carried out. Going to small claims court is what you need to do - if the facts are fairly straightforward then I would think you have an excellent chance of winning.
Don't let the dealer bully you. To have this kind of problem with this vehicle there must have been a major defect from new.
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Thank you Aprilia. I will forward copies of work done etc.
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It's actually a QR20DE, on the P12. Think it's similar to the excellent SR20DE.
Wouldn't put up with lame excuses - you've had a problem for some time that's major, all works should be guaranteed for 12 months.
My 1.8 SVE (QG18DE) has been fine appart from a minor oil leak from the drive shaft seal, and a couple of minor electrical issues. My only gripe is that dealers don't always act upon what you tell them is wrong. They ordered parts for the seal on request, but not for a new heated mirror glass ? - Which one is the more tricky to replace ?
Try visiting nissanprimera.net !
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Yes, QR20DE is a development of the SR20DE - its got balancer shafts and a ladder bearing cap structure to make it even stiffer - also VVT is standard I believe.
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Yes, all models are VVT now ! Fairly quick for a heavy car !
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