Nissan Navara 2009 Problems

Fuel-injector problems are not confined to Nissan, all brands use much the same injectors and all suffer problems. I reckon you're going to struggle to get any sympathy from Nissan on this one, the vehicle is out of warranty, and you have followed your own service schedule, which at 10,000km intervals suggests you have serviced it every year instead of six months as per Nissan's recommendation. If you feel particularly aggrieved you could contact Nissan directly and express your concerns.

Unfortunately they are serious; it's not uncommon as you can see from Peter Dunn's report. You could consult a brake specialist and see what options they have in aftermarket pads and rotors.

There are reports of engines failing, but those that have appear to have failed because they weren't serviced by the book. It's important to religiously service the Navara, and use the Nissan recommended oil. The failures we have heard about are mostly failures of the camshaft, cam timing gear etc that have led to more serious damage. It's believed the initial failure of the cam or cam gear is due to a lack of proper servicing, leading to blockages in the oil passages feeding the top of the motor.

Heavy black smoke is normally a sign of over-fuelling. You could try another Nissan dealer, as not all dealers are up to speed on diesels, or go to an independent Nissan service agent, such as Jerry Newman at Cheltenham Service Centre (03 9583 0500).

We’ve had reports of clutch trouble with the D40, but we’ve also had reports of clutch failures on most one-tonne utes on the market. We haven’t heard of problems with timing chains or drive shafts. I wouldn’t get out of it on the basis of what you have experienced so far.

I don’t buy the story that the problem is due to switching manufacturing from Europe to Thailand, they’ve been building D40 Navaras in Thailand for a couple of years now. The general rule of thumb was that manufacturers would maintain spares for 10 years after a model has left production, but with changes to the way they do things they appear to be cutting things very fine. I would keep the pressure up on the company, through the dealer and direct, and certainly have a solicitor send them a letter.

The treatment you have received is appalling. The idea that a UHF antenna fitted to the nudge bar could be enough to crack the chassis is laughable. If the chassis of the Navara is that weak then everyone driving one should be deeply concerned. Don’t repair it; Nissan should be doing that under warranty. The dealer seems to be on your side, so enlist his help in contacting Nissan. Nissan’s headquarters is in Melbourne, their phone number is 03 9797 4111.