Disappointed with New D40

[craighaty7]

I've just bought a new Navara:
Nissan Navara D40 MY10 2.5 TD ST Dual 4x4 6sp
Took delivery of it in March '11 and have just reached 25,000km - I do about 1,200k a week, all on country roads.
I point this out because I went with the Navara as it's advertised, and presumed by me, as a tougher work ute. The close 2nd choice was the Isuzu DMax at just $1500 cheaper.
I packed it with $6500 of extras - canopy, full canopy and cabin racks, steel bullbar, towbar, lights etc
I've been quite disappointed with it and wanted to post it here to see what suggestions the Navara-lovers have to help me love mine more. I would like to give it a go and hope to keep it for a few years, then give it to my wife and buy a new one.
First thing I noticed was the fuel economy. I do all my driving on country roads (all tar), so it's into top gear and go ... I'm getting an average 10.8lt/100k (no air con, not pushing it). One doesn't expect to get the advertised 9.5l/100k, but if I can't do better than that, no one else can in any other driving conditions.
The next was the squeaks started - it's supposed to be a serious 4WD and the plastic cab has rattles, but the worst is there's a bad squeak between the ute and cab that I just can't find (even at low 50kph speeds).
The worst thing about it is it's lack to carry a load. I carry about 600kg in the ute, and total a GVM of about 2500kg (checked on a weighbridge) and the back end sags, so much as it attracts comments from others like "what are you carrying" or "have you done a spring". The advertised payload is in excess of 800kg. Just is thumpy on bumps and looks ugly.
Another disappointment is the power - advertised as "The most powerful tradie", laden it works hard to take off from a standing start - and I'm not a lead-foot.
I noticed that the speedo is 5% positive. Which makes the fuel economy worse, and frustrating that when you think ur doing 100kph, you're actually doing 95, and being taken over heaps.
I have taken these issues up with the service centre from where I bought the car but have been so unimpressed with their support, I have decided to not take my car back to them again. All their answers were "it's within the manufacturers specifications". One issue I had with the brakes I had to correct them with 3 times. I proposed the front disc brake was not working, as the disk was rusted, and each time they spoke to me about it they replied "the brakes are not squeaking" (I know they are not).
So, sounds like a sour rant, but I want to like this car. I like the layout, the colour and look. I'm sorry for the long post. I hope there are some others out there who really know Navaras and have some tips.
(I'm about to see a local mechanic to have my rear suspension looked at to lift it a bit - I was warned by the supplier service men that my warranty will be void if I put on third-party suspension).
Thanks.

 

[Leprechaun]

Geez your being a bit picky, your fuel economy is awesome. There are guys on here who can barely crack 14's and they aren't carrying all the extra's you are.


As for everything else, are you for real?, bloody hell its a commercial vehicle not a Limousine, throw some heavy duty springs and turn up the radio.

 

[Eug]

i isolated my low speed squeaks to two rubber stops under the bonnet, which keeps keep it up off the guard panels. they are a twist type and slowly work their way lose, bit of sikaflex sorted that out.

i would think 10.8 is about right i would think considering the extra weight you've got on. also depends on the speed you are doing in top gear, another thing to consider is wind direction, my best has been ~9.3L/100km on highway with a bit of tail wind.

rotors will always have a bit of surface rust when there's been a bit of rain or left overnight, etc. that's normal??

diesel navs are a bit of a pig off the line. you do need to give it a bit of stick and ride the clutch a bit when towing the boat, but easily sorted with a bit of clutch control.

 

[Pete22]

I've just bought a new Navara:
Nissan Navara D40 MY10 2.5 TD ST Dual 4x4 6sp
Took delivery of it in March '11 and have just reached 25,000km - I do about 1,200k a week, all on country roads.
I point this out because I went with the Navara as it's advertised, and presumed by me, as a tougher work ute. The close 2nd choice was the Isuzu DMax at just $1500 cheaper.
I packed it with $6500 of extras - canopy, full canopy and cabin racks, steel bullbar, towbar, lights etc
I've been quite disappointed with it and wanted to post it here to see what suggestions the Navara-lovers have to help me love mine more. I would like to give it a go and hope to keep it for a few years, then give it to my wife and buy a new one.
First thing I noticed was the fuel economy. I do all my driving on country roads (all tar), so it's into top gear and go ... I'm getting an average 10.8lt/100k (no air con, not pushing it). One doesn't expect to get the advertised 9.5l/100k, but if I can't do better than that, no one else can in any other driving conditions.
The next was the squeaks started - it's supposed to be a serious 4WD and the plastic cab has rattles, but the worst is there's a bad squeak between the ute and cab that I just can't find (even at low 50kph speeds).
The worst thing about it is it's lack to carry a load. I carry about 600kg in the ute, and total a GVM of about 2500kg (checked on a weighbridge) and the back end sags, so much as it attracts comments from others like "what are you carrying" or "have you done a spring". The advertised payload is in excess of 800kg. Just is thumpy on bumps and looks ugly.
Another disappointment is the power - advertised as "The most powerful tradie", laden it works hard to take off from a standing start - and I'm not a lead-foot.
I noticed that the speedo is 5% positive. Which makes the fuel economy worse, and frustrating that when you think ur doing 100kph, you're actually doing 95, and being taken over heaps.
I have taken these issues up with the service centre from where I bought the car but have been so unimpressed with their support, I have decided to not take my car back to them again. All their answers were "it's within the manufacturers specifications". One issue I had with the brakes I had to correct them with 3 times. I proposed the front disc brake was not working, as the disk was rusted, and each time they spoke to me about it they replied "the brakes are not squeaking" (I know they are not).
So, sounds like a sour rant, but I want to like this car. I like the layout, the colour and look. I'm sorry for the long post. I hope there are some others out there who really know Navaras and have some tips.
(I'm about to see a local mechanic to have my rear suspension looked at to lift it a bit - I was warned by the supplier service men that my warranty will be void if I put on third-party suspension).
Thanks.

Let me say at the outset....I too think you are being picky at the least and really showing some lack of engineering understanding as well. Let me try to address some of your "issues":
1. Re the fuel consumption...that is absolutely excellent especially with the load you are carrying. I too have a lot of extras on my D40 (see the list in my signature) and coupled with my auto gearbox I get an average 14.5 ltrs/100km.
2. I dare you to find any new vehicle that has an accurate speedometer - this is not just a Nissan thing and you will find that your Odometer will most likely be absolutely spot on. Why? The digital speedo signal is accurate but when it is converted to an analogue readout (ie the dial type indicator on your dash) some of the accuracy is lost...but only in the readout. You milage is near enough to spot on....don't believe me then check it against a GPS for a few hundred kilometres.
3. The brake squeak is something you will get over soon enough as your brakes (front rotors) are likely to wear out around 40000km and you will need to replace them and when you do go for aftermarket one. This quite rapid wear rate is a facet of Euro 5 build standards and happens even in Mercedes, BMW, VW etc. Pedal is a little on the soft side but braking capacity I've found to be pretty damn good. Like someone else pointed out the rust on the disks will happen (to any disk rotor) almost overnight if there is moisture about. This is really light surface rust only and will wear off with the first application of brakes when next you use the vehicle.
4. Suspension - like all of these utes they have a saggy arse when loaded. I tossed the original suspension within a day of buying the car....and would have done this regardless of the vehicle.....as I wanted a 50mm lift because I use mine off road. You could also simply fit a set of air bags and run 5-10psi in them - don't go any higher as it puts too much load and additional turning moment on point of the chassis.
5. Squeaks - can't comment as I've never had any and my car has spent about 30000km off the beaten track on some of the most horrific corrugations in the country (see attached photo of the corrugations on the Gunbarrel Highway).
6. Power - all small and not so small CRDI turbo diesel a slugs when off the turbo and you turbo will not spool up before the 1700-2000rpm range. You can improve this with a Chipit or other chip though. Do a search and you will find lots of discussion on here. Alternatively you could do something like this: Project: 300 (diesel hp...) nearly done! - Nissan Frontier / Navara Forum and I'm sure you will leave black tracks at the lights.
7. Suspension - void your warranty....bullshit. I've even had a torque convertor changed under warranty with the 3rd party suspension fitted. They will need to demonstrate that the modifications you have done have caused the fault....and there is no way anyone can link a quality aftermarket suspension to a blown turbo or other engine fault. Might try to argue for something like to a driveline fault if the lift is too radical....say 4-5 inch Calmini etc. but for the most part there won't be a problem. As you will see I've also tossed the OEM fuel tank and fitted a 160ltr aftermarket job and I have an air locker in the rear diff - nary a worry when I've had a warranty issue. Mind you I've not had too many of those.

Hope this helps.

 

[nathand22]

i agree with what every one has said.
if you carry 600kg in the back and have a canopy with racks i would say you have 800kg over the rear end, there for at the load capacity.
your fuel economy is good and like mentioned above allot better then allot of others are getting inc myself and i have the exact same ute, but i have a heavy foot so i dont expect to get 9.5Lp/100km.
the speedo is out by 5km, im sure you can sit on 105 on the speedo and a smart guy like you can figure out what speed you are doing, then you wont be "over taken all the time"
as for your warranty being void, that is bs. my dealer told me when my was done from new, that obviously i would have no warranty on the suspension but it would not effect anything else what so ever.
i would suggest that you do the suspension and get the dealer to sort out your squeaks. then you might be a little more happy with your nav. but you might have to also remember that it is a work ute and not a bmw.
all the best. nath

 

[KraftyPg]

As others have said you're getting better than average just about everywhere so it's not really worth complaining. The only thing I don't agree with most people on is the brakes, most say 40K Max for factory tyres and brakes but neither of mine will be half gone by 40K. I don't use mine for hard core off roading but it's in the dirt, mud and low 4 on the farm pretty much every weekend.

I've got a few squeaks, of which I think I might of introduced at least one of in the dash but I don't think I've ever had a car that didn't have a factory fitted squeak or develop one eventually.

I know it's hard to please everyone all the time but as Lep said it is a commercial vehicle you can't expect it to be a limo as well.

 

[Old.Tony]

I agree with everyone above.

The rear suspension is soft, designed to take about 150kg and once you put a canopy and tow hitch on the back, you're already getting close. Your rear suspension is just going to have to change, but be aware that once you strengthen the rear suspension to carry that sort of load, the ride will be really harsh when the vehicle is unloaded.

10.anything for a heavy 2.5L is awesome. Do the EGR mod to reduce that a little further.

Sluggish - as said above, the D40 doesn't have a lot of power below boost range but comes on strong at 1800+ rpm. Installing a chip will improve the bottom end to some degree and might make you think 'wow'.

As Pete points out, your speedo is the inaccurate component. The ECU actually knows quite accurately how fast you are going and how far you have travelled (on standard 255/70R16 tyres). While you retain standard tyres, you can safely rely on the odometer and tripmeter readings, but I'd use a GPS to safely monitor your speed, most GPS units are accurate to within 1%.

I hope we've helped a bit - but we can't make you 'love it' more. Once the taste starts to turn sour, it's hard to make it better. Even going for a ride in a competitor's ute that isn't anywhere near as good doesn't sweeten it much - you still feel a little 'let down' and may feel that way until your next vehicle.

 

[merchant]

I'll swap you fuel economy's if you aren't happy with yours? I'm up around the 13-14lt/100 on a good day. give me a head wind and i can go as high as 18's.

Chip it, new aftermarket suspension, and do the EGR mod and your opinion will change.

Good luck.

 

[barna]

Mate my brother got an 07 hilux and its suspention was crap like any new ute these days. His speedo was out , it was just doing 95ks when siting on 100. The worst part was he paid nearly 36 grand for it and it is a single cab and did'nt come with a bullbar, tray, flares, mags, fat tyres. Yet my 06 d22 str dualcab come with the lot for 33 grand. And his fuel econemy is crap. It is supposed to get 8.6lt /100kms i think and he gets around 10 - 11lts/100kms.Sorry mate but I think your being a bit picky.

 

[allycat]

I agree with everyone above.

I am currently at Port Douglas, returning from a trip to Cape York. I have towed a Jayco Hawk off road camper trailer, fully loaded! about 1.5 ton. 120 lts water, 2x 9kg gas bottles, 2x 20lt water jerrys, 1x20lt diesel jerry can, boat loader racks, fishing rods, gas BQ, TV/DVD, The wife and kids clothes.

I have over 600 kg of gear in the back of my dual cab. Tools,spare-parts,recovery gear, fridge/freezer,food and other accessories.

My D40 is fitted with an ARB bull bar with warn winch,driving lights and GME aerial, side-steps,rear bar with spare wheel carrier and jerry can holder, an ARB steel roof-rack with ARB awning and 2x driving lights. Safari snorkel, 2.75inch Beaudesert exhaust. 2inch Old man emu suspension and shocks with airboss helper air bags.

The interior looks like the inside of NASA's space shuttle!

My fuel economy has been fantastic! With all the weight the Navara has been carrying, i have been averaging 550 to 580 per tank, traveling between 80 to 100ks per hour on the peninsula development road, on the Telegraph track, i was traveling between 20 and 40ks per hour, and i was still averaging 450 to 500 per tank in low range!


Wait till i get back to Coffs Harbour, so i can up-load photo's to show you what the D40 achieved!

Regards,

RLI, yeehaw baby!

 

[craighaty7]

Thanks for your replies guys and I much appreciate it.
I think some didn't get my gist where I'm saying I think the vehicle is not rugged enough, I was expecting a tougher workhorse.
I am going to do the rear suspension but not with the dealer - gave them the flick. Like the dealer, some of you missed the point that the problem with the front brake was NOT squeaking, but the rust - but as some others have said, it could be overnight surface rust and I have not noticed any performance related braking issues; ie, pull to the right.
I totally intend to make this vehicle work - just spending $46,000 I was expecting more. I want a work ute, not a soft holden ute.
Yeah, I'm being picky, but I'm trying to get the most out of my money.
Thanks for your replies. Went caving with a couple weeks ago and met a guy there who put me onto this site, It's great.

 

[craighaty7]

One more thing - what specific suggestions do you guys have to improve the suspension.
One suggested air bags.
What else - any brands or numbers I can give my mechanic to quote on?
thanks.

 

[tony]

Geez your being a bit picky, your fuel economy is awesome. There are guys on here who can barely crack 14's and they aren't carrying all the extra's you are.


As for everything else, are you for real?, bloody hell its a commercial vehicle not a Limousine, throw some heavy duty springs and turn up the radio.

you should put some muddies on that would overcome all the other noises

 

[tony]

One more thing - what specific suggestions do you guys have to improve the suspension.
One suggested air bags.
What else - any brands or numbers I can give my mechanic to quote on?
thanks.

tough dog

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Hi mate,

its a shame when things aren't as you intended when bought from new.
I'm afraid to say that calling them a tough workhorse ute is far from the truth, they are soft, and there isn't much you can do about it, if you need a dual cab that is tough, you need a landrover defender (which I am kicking myself about not buying, although I needed automatic for the missus).
For what its worth, I think my Thai built King Cab was a tougher vehicle than my spanish built STX 550, the 550 is a beautiful car, but thats it, i'm more than a bit nervous about having to pay it off for the next 5+ years now.
As for the suspension, forget the dealer, the standard stuff is crap all around, put a kit on with uprated leaves and shocks, do the front at the same time, you'll be amazed at the difference that makes. I had a Tough Dog kit on my king cab, and will put it on the 550, it has adjustable shocks you can change to suit the type of tracks you drive (tar/corrugated dirt etc) or stiffen them up when you carry load, I rate it very highly, give my mate Matt a shout if you need more info- [email protected]
As for the brake disk, it has to be rust formed over night, even if that brake wasn't working at all, there isn't enough clearance for the pads not to scrub it off as soon as you drive anywhere if that makes sense.
My King Cab was returning 17-18l/100km until I did the EGR mod, brought it down to about 15, I recommend this, helped me with low down power too.
As for squeeks, just keep looking for them, might be something as daft as the jack not being stowed right (I had that drama, my fault!)

Rich

 

[MAD D40]

Your fuel economy is pretty good the 2.5 cracks about 20psi of boost to make up for the lack
of cubes it really needs. 3 tonnes of truck and 3 tonne trailer for 2.5Lt??!? wad of bullshit if you ask me mine stalls taking off up a 15deg hill and thats riding the clutch at 2200 on its own weight but thats just the Navara for ya!!!
Just ride the shit out of the clutch thats all you can do.
A snorkel to suit the spanish model will improve take off heaps as it will bypass the air baffle in the airbox. Same as the EGR mod which was mentioned previously.
A set of 265/75R16 tyres will bring your speedo spot on as thats the stock size for the Yanks (where it was designed)
Suspension yep its shit its designed to compensate for ride quality or some crap. I think its just to be cheap. Mine was inverted the day I picked it up.Dont cheap out get a lift kit with heavy duty springs the ride will stay the same or improve as you will not hit the bumpstops and bust ya kidneys on every little bump in the road.

As Pete points out, your speedo is the inaccurate component. The ECU actually knows quite accurately how fast you are going and how far you have travelled (on standard 255/70R16 tyres). While you retain standard tyres, you can safely rely on the odometer and tripmeter readings, but I'd use a GPS to safely monitor your speed, most GPS units are accurate to within 1%.

Tony how does the ECU get this info to be reliant if the speedo is out?
For it to gather the correct info required wouldnt It would need a gps or something independant of the speedo??
After I fitted my 32s my speedo "trued itself" and my k's per tank went down a lot (1100 down to 950) but I figured it was just an accurate distance readout as opposed to the extra amount of K's it read with the stock tyres.
Fuel usage with 32s over the stock 31s is definately less 150km per tank.

 

[MAD D40]

oh and as for the squeaks grease ya shackle bushes thats a big contender on a few trucks I know of.
If I hear a noise I turn the volume up its an easy fix!!

 

[Pete22]

Tony how does the ECU get this info to be reliant if the speedo is out?
For it to gather the correct info required wouldnt It would need a gps or something independant of the speedo??
After I fitted my 32s my speedo "trued itself" and my k's per tank went down a lot (1100 down to 950) but I figured it was just an accurate distance readout as opposed to the extra amount of K's it read with the stock tyres.
Fuel usage with 32s over the stock 31s is definately less 150km per tank.

Not trying to answer for Tony here but my understanding is that the speedo readout - ie the clock-like dial on your dash is the final component in the system and it is this FINAL component that is the fault. The digital signal is being converted to an analogue dial...and this simply doesn't work. Fitting bigger tyres will fix the reading on your speedo but it is going to throw you odo out.....the only real fix for this is to cover up your speedo and fit a digital readout but frankly it is not something that bothers me at all.

 

[Old.Tony]

Tony how does the ECU get this info to be reliant if the speedo is out?
For it to gather the correct info required wouldnt It would need a gps or something independant of the speedo??
After I fitted my 32s my speedo "trued itself" and my k's per tank went down a lot (1100 down to 950) but I figured it was just an accurate distance readout as opposed to the extra amount of K's it read with the stock tyres.
Fuel usage with 32s over the stock 31s is definately less 150km per tank.

Peter has the right answer.

The ECU takes the aggregate information from the ABS sensors - generally a "best of 3 averaged" to provide distance travelled, and an internal clock allows it to calculate the time needed to travel that distance therefore provide a speed. There is a rotational sensor on the gearbox output, but I think that's only used as a checksum - kind of like an arbitrator, if two wheels are saying you're doing 10km/h and 2 wheels are saying 50km/h (eg when doing a wheelspin) then it will look at the fifth sensor and decide that your drive wheels are moving at a high rate and indicate the speed of that - similar to when two wheels lock up (eg handbrake turns on the harbour bridge like we're all prone to do).

So, with standard tyres - because the ECU calculates that one rotation is a certain distance (actually it's 2398.29mm for stock, new 255/70R16s) - the ECU will know, by counting the rotations, precisely how fast and far you've travelled.

The speed signal of the vehicle is sent as a voltage to the speedo needle, which is just a electro-magnetic coil in a static magnetic field. Apply a certain voltage to the coil, the needle deflects a certain amount against a light clock spring that returns the needle to 0 when there is no power. So, the higher the speed, the higher the voltage and the higher the deflection - put this on a scale and it will approximate the vehicle's speed. It will never, ever be 100% accurate unless a specialist shop adjusts the voltage map to account for variances in the coil, the spring and the magnet.

Nissan make sure they follow the ADR very closely. Australian Design Rules allow the speedo to read over the actual speed by up to 10km/h + 4% (so it can read 114km/h when you're actually doing 100km/h) but it is not allowed to read UNDER the speed the vehicle is actually doing. Nissan are playing it safe, nothing more.

By changing to larger tyres, you make the speedo needle appear to be more accurate, but the ECU is no longer accurate in either speed or distance. My own speedo is closer to accurate now, but I still rely on the GPS, which is accurate to within 1%. Mine has never been more than 1km/h off those radar signs that you come across in some roadworks zones.

To cater for this, in my spreadsheet that I have for recording fuel economy, I calculated that my 265/70R16s are 2% larger and I add 2% to the tripmeter-reported distance travelled for LPHK calcs.

I hope I've been clear enough there!

 

[tweak'e]

went with the Navara as it's advertised, and presumed by me, as a tougher work ute.

they are not tough work utes. they are big soft SUV with a tray.
for a work ute you should have bought the D22 !

with load ratings, the 800kg means that most of that actually sits in the rear seats. anything sitting past the rear wheels acts like a larger weight. so a tool box right at the tailgate can act like 800kg.

rear springs...are known to be soft. airbags can be ok but prone to abuse and if the springs are soft you still end up with saggy springs. better to go fit aftermarket springs.

nissan service ?? .....stealerships for ya !