Broken diff- no warranty

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JASON-D40

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Was out having a little play today and followed a standard prado up a small hill climb, tought I would be fine seems as though I have a lift and better tyres, was I wrong. Nearing the top I started to loose traction (as did the prado) so applied a little extra of the right pedal. I was still moving forward and the wheels had just started to loose traction when I heard this loud, snap, clunk, rattle, bang. Shut the car down and got out to find broken diff housing and oil on the track.

Called the local Nissan dealership and was told that the front diff would not be covered under warranty as the vehicle was being used in an off road scenario and as such falls under the same category as driver abuse/ miss use.
So basically no warranty when 4wding.

Nav is 10 months old, got 25,000km,s on the clock and has been off road 3 times. Once at Stradbroke Island, another at Glass House, a quick easy run to test suspension upgrade and this is the third time at a camp ground. I also had the clutch replaced under warranty at 20,00km's.

Had to have the car towed home, $220. I removed the front diff tonight to find the cause of the problem was the pinion gears have shattered causing them to jam in the crown wheel and then being ejected through the diff housing via a newly formed aftermarket drain hole.

New diff is going to cost just under $3000. I am going to take the old diff to Nissan tomorrow to see what they say as I feel there may have been an alignment issue with the gearing from day one. either that or the D40 gears are extremely weak.

So a word of warning to other Nav owners, no warranty off road and the diffs are weak, so expect a costly repair bill. I am lucky enough to be mechanically minded and can absorb the labour content.
It seems nearly every aspect of the Navara needs upgrading just so that it can perform simple tasks.
suspension lift because they are to low, rear springs are to weak and need upgrading if you plan on carrying a suitcase, clutch is to weak if you are planning to tow etc etc.

seriously thinking of a new dual cab cruiser, have to see what the accountant says.

here's some pics just to keep the story entertaining. enjoy

photo_zpsb57fbed3.jpg
 
Hi mate, as far as I know the nissan warranty covers your drive line components unless aftermarket items have been installed that are deemed to be the cause of the failure. Ask them to put it in writing, surely we can't be paying for warranty on a four wheel drive that isn't covered fourwheel driving?
 
nissan doesnt do warranty. they told me my rear springs that had sagged 35mm were not a warranty issue because i had put a canvas canopy and a rearbar on it and it is probably overloaded. argued the point and they said if i put it over a certified weigh bridge and its not overloaded they will fix it but will not pay for the weigh bridge even if its not over weight. I immediately left to avoid having to appear in court for gbh.
 
All car manufactures are !@#$wits with this stuff.

Next ute I buy will probably be a Dmax. I dont mind them, sure still IFS and torsion bar but heaps more comfy then the D22.
 
Nissan strikes again, these are the reasons i only use my Nav for light off road work with the family, you think warranty keeps you safe but i've heard so many horror stories about Nissans 'customer service' that it's put me off putting it to good use.
will keep my trusty gq for the rough stuff and eventually upgrade to a td42 Gu to setup for proper touring and off roading.
I love the Nav, it's big and comfortable and nice to drive, good on the beach etc, but yeah rock climbs etc are off the ledger for me.
 
thing is I wasn't doing a rock climb or lifting wheels off the ground. It was a moderate climb on some loose dirt. If the Nav wasn't so doughy down low or prone to clutch issues then it would have been doable in 2wd
 
sent some photos to Nissan this morning and received a response.

From the photos and the techs decision they are putting it down to shock load and have declined any warranty for it and have made a note for an future driveline warranty concerns.

I was told I was welcome to have a diff shop offer a second opinion, but even if the diff shop favours me it would be at Nissan's discretion on wether or not they would cover it.

I thanked him for nothing and expressed how grateful I was at the Navara's ability to need so many upgrades to make it perform the simplest tasks despite be advertised as Australia's toughest tradie. I gave him some suggestions for a new brochure and avert, for Australia's most needed to be upgraded shopping ute.

Sorry to say I think the Navara owning days are over, I have never needed to throw so much money at a vehicle before to get it to do what its advertised to do. New diff will be fitted the I think its down to my local Toyota dealership to look at a new hilux, or maybe even a dual cab cruiser if the accountant gives me the go ahead.

Sorry for the brand bashing, but as you can imagine I am very disappointed in the durability of the Navara and Nissan customer nocare.
 
^ Lesson for next time -- tell'em it was on gazetted road.

And I'd have to agree that the dual cab cruisers look pretty good.
 
I wish KAAZ made LSD's to suit Navaras. Closest thing to unbreakable. The proper way to run those in is to do figure 8's and doughnuts etc. If you can do that in a Nav, good luck lol.
 
some good deals going on the hilux's at the moment to with the whole 2012 runout thing if your so inclined to buy one.
 
Jason D40 Have you enquired how much would cost to take it further (court case)?
I believe they are just trying to scare you off, they can't sell a 4wd not cover by warranty if 4wd! Do you have anything in writing?
Every commercial and tv ad it shows the car in 4wd environment but the car is not supposed to 4wd? False advertising then!
 
The SR/workmates run 205 r16 bridgestones or something, if you pay $1500 for the VSC pack though you get flares, some kind of TC system, VSC system and wider tyres 265/65/R17 from memory.
 
I wouldn't put a Nissan replacement diff in. Talk to Harrop Engineering and put in the diff that SHOULD have been in there in the first place - an e-locker.

The problem is caused by having an under-strength open diff up front. Lose traction on one of the front wheels with any power applied and it will spin happily - and all the energy when the wheel finally gets grip again gets transferred into the driveline and can break anything from CVs to diff housings.

The e-locker (or any locker) resolves the problem by not letting one of the wheels spin at all - no excess energy = no danger.

Nissan should have fitted these vehicles with lockers front and rear.

Are Nissan liable for the repair of this? I'd suggest that they do market the vehicle as a 4WD and that does mean taking the vehicle off gazetted roads, therefore it SHOULD be capable of performing the advertised function. It isn't designed to do what they advertise (because of the weak unlocked front diff). There is a chance that taking this to the ACCC would prove fruitful - but to get your car on the road again, I'd look at an e-locker rather than replacing it with the weak-as-piss thing Nissan ship the car with.
 
It would work out cheaper to go with an E-LOCKER and a second hand housing, well thats what i would be looking at anyway.

As for Nissan i can sort of understand there point of view, dont get me wrong i dont thinks it good in anyway........BUT i have seen some people brake all sorts of diffs from Toyota to Landrover and in most cases it been from people doing stupid shit above the vehicles capability, Again im NOT saying Jason was or is in the wrong and from the sounds of it he was doing nothing wrong at all..... BUT if every one who was doing wrong just had to say "I WAS JUST GOING ALONG A DIRT TRACK AND BOOM!!" and then the dealer just covered it imagine how the cars would be treated and how many more idiots would just trash them and expect Nissan or any other manufacture to just foot the bill.

As i said im not saying Jason is in anyway in that category, but unless the whole thing was on video then i dont think Nissan will believe any story customers come up with.
 
yeah i would be taking this further, been in contact with nissan aust yet??

yeah been contact with Nissan head office. They have declined the claim and also made a note of the failure for future reference for an driveline related claim. I put forward my case until I was blue in the face. They claim it was shock loading the diff by wheel spin, something which is not covered by warranty.

No genuine diffs in stock at my local dealers so I had to resort to a low km's s/h unit. This is my work car so I needed it on the road ASAP. With the money and reliability of my Nav I am wondering if I was better off with a Great Wall That way I would feel better when I here I told you so. I am coping shit left, right and centre as my family, my father and mother in law, both sets of sister and brother in laws and there parents are all dead set toyota through and through. I bought the Nav to be different, dont I feel outcast now.

On my way home from God Coast 4x4 parts I stopped at the Mazda dealership, the new BT-50 has really got my interest. We'll see what the future holds.

I was about to through some more coin at the Nav with a chip, exhaust, aftermarket UCA'S, and hopefully an air locker before the Cape Trip. So gotta work out if I continue with the Nav or spend my penny's elsewhere.

moral of the story at the end of the day is- you play, you pay. Not gonna let it spoil my fun, Nav is alive again and I am heading back out camping in the morning. Nothing like a camp fire and a few JD's to relax a stressfull last few days.
 

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