Another Warning to Patrol Owners

[Paul_Tingay]

My Patrol has also given up the ghost. I paid 34,500 dollars for a 2001 Nissan Patrol 12 months ago. After I noticed a whine in the turbo and a lack of power at 2200rpm I decided to take the vehicle back, on three seperate occasions the dealer (in Penrith) told me that nothing was wrong with the car and it was all in my head. 6 months later the turbo failed costing 700 dollars to fix. Shortly after that my engine failed hole in piston 1 and severe piston slap in 2,3,4. The head is also cracked. After speaking to Nissan they have told me that they are not interested in fixing the vehicle as it must be a fuel problem.
I understand that fuel can be a problem with the performance of a vehicle but why are Patrols the only one's having real problems. My Mother's Landcruiser 100 series has had nil problem's and is an excellent car. If you ask me I would never buy another Partol and the dealership that i bought the car off will never have my business again due to there lack knowledge. Any advise would be helpfull.
Thanks Paul

[Big_Kev]

Did you not get a 3year 175000k warranty when you got it?

[Volvo]

Here i was thinkin of getting rid of the 80 series for a Patrol...

[Paul_Tingay]

Unfortunally I don't have the warranty because I am a mechanic I decided that I could service the vehicle myself since I serviced cars for 5 years. A little bit of an update with the dealership. The dealer principle is being kind enough to offer me some support, he has not told me what yet but any assistance is greatly appricated. As for getting rid of the 80 series for a Patrol don't even think about it. Buy a Landcruiser or keep the one you have!!!!!!
Thanks guys

[Big_Kev]

The dealer you speak of, is this a Nissan Dealer?

[Richo1]

Was it the 3.0L engine? Can't fault my 96 Patrol!

[Big_unit]

Id rather be a Frenchman than a Patrol owner. :-X :-X

[Kerry]

One thing I don't mind are those that have a real beef and stick with that beef but when some have to weigh THEIR ISSUE against the opposition then it can starts to smell [smiley=thumbsdown.gif].

My suggestion stick with your beef and leave the comparisons out of it as trust me Toyota's aren't perfect either.

Cheers, Kerry.

[basserman]

well all my toyotashave been perfect
never missed a beat no matter what i have tossed at them
but yeh ever brand of car ahs their friday make
i once owned a lancer for a few mounths but when everything possabile was going wrong (they did however fix them just that there was alot of thems) sold it after only 6 mounths
much prfure to be a toyota man than a landiy man :P

[kleiny]

well i have heard of similar problem in a nissan 3 litre turbo diesel but the blame was on the nissan mechanics as my friend ended up with the job of fixing there f##ck up (he is a diesel specialist)when they said they didn't know what was wrong. i don't trust any car dealer mechanics, heard to many stories luckily i have friends who are specialists in there field 8) cheap to ;D

[banshee]

There has been volumes writen on both the pre '94 Toyota turbo diesel 4.2 and the Nissan turbo diesel 3 litre,they were/are lemons,I feel for the people taken by dealers but a bit of research into what you are about to buy can save a lot of heart ache in the end.

[Daintreeboy]

With a bit of psh, you should get this covered (if it's the 3 litre). Apparently Nissan are fixing the early model ones out of warranty rather than recalling them but are also keeping it a bit quiet.
As Kerry said, other vehicles have their problems, just check out the IFS debacle on the 'mighty' 100 series, makes me smile though
Cheers, happy Patrol owner ;)

[Paul_Tingay]

Thanku to all of you who have taken the time to write to me about this problem. Unfortunally I cannot tell you which dealership it was. I can tell you that I will be fixing the vehicle with a reco engine and when that engine runs out of warrenty the vehicle will be sold for a Toyota.
Regards Paul T

[ANT_MUDDE]

I recently bought a GU 3.0l t/d 2002 model. Have done some trips including towing and love it. loads of grunt GO THE MIGHTY NISSANS!!!!

[thisbig]

guy at my work has a MISSION (nissan)2001 3LTD and has not been happy with it either .has fixed water pump, rear and front main seals, front shocks,all four springs,washer motor.heaps of belts.it is a daily driver(110km/day)but he drives like a nanna.dealer doesnt want to know about it because he also did his own services. >:( >:(IF YOU WANT A HOBBIE BUY A NISSAN. ;D ;Dhappy toyota owner.

[SURF_SNIPER]

much prfure to be a toyota man than a landiy man :P


someones always got to pick on the landrover owners hey ::) ;D

[maztez]

hi all thought i would add my 2 bobs worth...over the past 40 years or so i have owned
62 landy 4cyl ute
65 tojo swb
68 landy lwb
74 landy lwb
84 suzuki seirra
84 mq patrol
85 hilux twin cab diesal
78 gq patrol
90 landcruiserlwb
81 mq patrol (shared project with son brett ...brejen)
of all these the one that stood out was the hilux followed a close second by the 84 mq patrol..all these had one problem or another however were used to do what they were built for ...4 wheel driving aus wide mainly the nt and fraser etc .
cheers terry (maztez)

[Whitey81]

Have had 2 cruiser utes and a hilux, Just changed over to a new Patrol ute, cant fault the quality of this car or the comfort of coils, I dont think ill be jumping back in a truck like toyota for a while. My only problem is that a Ni**an dealer didnt tighten the wheel nuts up after a service, needless to say it fell off and done some damage.

[GBC]

Ditto the wheel nuts thang with a Toyota Dealer, so none of us are safe from apprentices on a Friday arvo....

[reefraider_II]

I checked out most of the nissan forums and the problems with the 3 litre have been great.I spoke to a dealer and he will not buy or trade a 3 ltr t/d patrol with less that 100,000km and prefers to take one with 150000km or more cos the bugs had been ironed out....My 2 cents worth

[dicko1980]

I recently purchased a 4.2L Nissan Patrol and reseached quite a while before purchasing my vehicle. If you read all the magazines and articles from the major publishers they all praise the new 3L motor. I came to the conclusion after reading the forums in exploroz.comand outerlimits4x4.com that the early 3L's are unreliable. There is no substitute for cubic inches, the larger the motor the less harder it has to be worked. IMHO the 3L's are just to small. The TD42 is one of the most reliable engines ever built. They are simple to work on and there are no complicated and expensive electronic fuel pumps to worry about. Technology is a good thing, but some basic mechanical principles never change.

Cheers Dicko1980 8-)

[ShaneJ]

The pre 2002 3TD Patrols had a problem with the oil pickup which was causing oil starvation problems. Theres an easy fix for the problem but theres no way of knowing if the fix has been applied until the sump is removed.
If you can help it I would stay away from the 3L. The older 2.8TD and the 4.2 turbo or non turbo is a much better option. I'm actually looking at buying an ex Telstra 4.2 non turbo Patrol with a service body on the back,the perfect setup for camping ;) I would rather a 4.2 turbo but I guess you cant have everything ::) Plus theres nothing stopping me bolting on a turbo and water to air intercooler later on :D

[dicko1980]

I bought a GQ TD42 that was stock as a rock. It took me a while to find one that was in really good condition. I bought it with the intention to aftermarket turbo the motor. I finally decided on the MTQ, and haven't looked back. I now go up the Cardwell Range north of Ingham in top gear, before it was labouring in third.

Cheers
/me