Nissan Navara Problems

NO CARMAKER I know covers the clutch under warranty. It's regarded as a consumable item, so I'm not surprised Nissan has refused. But at only 40,000km I would have thought it would have come to the party with at least part of the cost of replacement. It would be a tough battle, but if you feel aggrieved, pursue it further with Nissan. You could go to VCAT and get a ruling, but again, it's unlikely to be worth your while.

NISSAN claims the diesel auto will do 9.5 litres/100km unloaded, so yours is doing well over the odds, but finding the answer isn't easy. The tare weight of the diesel auto Navara is about 1950kg and you reckon yours weighs 2900kg with all you have added. I reckon that's the reason for your high fuel consumption. Yours weighs 50 per cent more than the standard ute and your fuel consumption is about 50 per cent more, so I would start by taking everything out and off and driving it in the as-built condition. If your consumption is still high, then you have a case.

IT CERTAINLY sounds as though you have a problem. I got better consumption than that out of the V6 petrol (12 litres for 100km) the last time I drove a D40. Like you, I doubt the economy will improve as the dealer claims. Go back to him and have it thoroughly checked -- the filters, fuel pressure etc.

IF YOU'RE not happy with what the dealer has done, and I reckon you have every right to be unhappy with the fuel consumption you're getting, contact Nissan (ph: 9797 4111) and ask for their technical people to take a look.

IT DEPENDS what you regard as incredibly thirsty. Four-wheel-drives tend to be thirsty. They're heavy and have to drag all that extra four-wheel-drive gear around, and the Rodeo's petrol V6 is a 3.5-litre unit. If fuel consumption is a key consideration for you, try a diesel. Fuel consumption will be much lower, and you won't lose too much performance.

The manual will give you about 10 per cent better fuel consumption than the auto. I would expect you would get about 9 litres/100km on the highway without a caravan, but that would probably increase to 14-15 litres/100km when the caravan is on the back. The Hilux and Navara have similar fuel consumption. But I have concerns about the reliability of Nissan's 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine so can't recommend the Navara.

HAVE you thought about repairing the chassis? Cracking is not necessarily the end of the world. I'd check with a chassis specialist who can inspect the cracking and determine if it's worth repairing. If you are intent on fitting the body to another vehicle it comes down to the weight of the camper body. Think about the weight when it's fully laden with all the gear you plan to take with you. The vehicles you're thinking of are nominally one-tonne utes, so they should do the job providing your camper is one tonne or less when full of gear.

The trade holds the Hilux up as the best of those you've mentioned. The Toyota turbo diesel is easily the best, but the downside is that you'll have to pay up to $3000 more to get behind the wheel of a Hilux. The others are OK, and all rated equally, but there are plenty of reports from the trade about problems with the Nissan turbo diesel so I'd recommend caution. If you were to consider a Navara, make sure it has an extended warranty for peace of mind.