Nissan Navara 2014

Nissan Navara 2014 Q&As

Check out real-world situations relating to the Nissan Navara 2014 here, particularly what our experts have to say about them.

• Why is there oil in my 2014 Nissan Navara's intercooler?

  This is actually a pretty common problem and there seems to be two common causes. The first is leaking seals inside the turbocharger. The turbo needs oil to lubricate it, but if its seals are leaking they can allow oil into the inlet tract and, therefore, the intercooler.

  The second cause is possibly even more common and involves the crankcase ventilation system allowing oil into the intake (and intercooler). A modern engine needs to consume its own crankcase fumes and burn them (rather than vent them into the atmosphere) as part of its anti-pollution systems. But in many cars (and modern turbo-diesels are the prime suspects) those fumes can contain some oil mist which, once enough of it has accumulated, will form the oil droplets you’re seeing in the intercooler.

  While a faulty turbocharger will need to be replaced, if the problem is the work of the crankcase ventilation system, it still should be addressed before the oil mixes with soot from the exhaust gas recirculation system (another emissions-control device) and forms a horrible, back gunk that clogs the engine’s intake system. If hat happens, costly disassembly and cleaning is required.

  Even if you’ve caught this in the early stages (before the gunk can build up) the oil can still cause problems with sensors inside the inlet system and could cause poor running and high fuel consumption. A good quality oil catch can is the preferred method of stopping this occurring as it 'catches' the oil mist before it gets to the inlet tract.

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• When the fuel light is on in the 2014 Nissan Navara, how many litres of fuel are left in the tank?

  The only thing more unreliable than a low-fuel warning light is the on-board computer that gives you a distance-to-empty kilometre figure. The problem with the latter is that the figure will differ enormously depending on your driving style at the time. For instance, the computer, a highway trip might, suggest you have 100km left in the tank. But once you hit the outer suburbs and switch to stop-start driving, that number could be as little as half the figure flashing on the dashboard.

  As a rule of thumb, car-makers tend to calibrate the fuel-warning light to come on somewhere between 100 and 50km before you actually run dry. But it’s still a stab in the dark, and really not worth pushing your luck.

  To get the most accurate feel for what the fuel-warning light is really telling you, here’s our advice: Fill the car to and absolute brim. A 2014 Navara holds either 75 or 80 litres of fuel, depending on specification. Then, the next time the fuel light flashes on, pull into the first service station and fill it to the brim again. That will give you a pretty accurate idea of the umber of litres you’ve used from filling up to the point where the light switches on. Then, you can subtract those litres from the tank’s capacity to arrive at how much was left in the tank.

   

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• What is the best reliable ute?

  Given the kilometres showing on the car in question, that price-tag is about right, rather than any kind of exceptional bargain. Beyond that, the D40 Navara is not generally regarded as a magnificent long-term prospect and many in the trade reckon about 160,000km is the limit for reliable service going forward. At least the one you’re looking at has a full service record, so that’s a start, but frankly, there are better options out there that represent greater value for money as well as longer shelf-life.

  The D40 in turbo-diesel form was susceptible to timing chain problems at about the 80,000km mark. Check the service record to see if a new chain was fitted around this mileage. Even if it has, mechanics reckon the chain needs to be inspected every 40,000km thereafter to prevent catastrophic failure when you least expect it. The D40 also suffered from injector problems, EGR coolers that could fail and ruin the engine, automatic transmission coolers that could destroy the gearbox and lots of other problems right through to cracks developing in the vehicle’s body. The fact that this is an ex-work truck won’t help those problems one little bit as it’s probably already had a pretty hard life, servicing notwithstanding. The broad advice for somebody looking for reliability first and foremost would be to cast your net wider.

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• Nissan Navara 2014: Oil leak

  There’s no rule about when cars should or shouldn’t need repair. That Nissan has offered you a deal to cover half the cost of a replacement turbocharger is tantamount to an admission that the turbocharger shouldn’t have failed at that distance. If you feel that Nissan’s offer isn’t up to scratch take them to VCAT.

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