Nissan Diagnostic Test? Can anyone other than Nissan do this?

sho_me_da_money

Hi Guys,

To cut a long story short, the Nissan Micra is having a problem and I took it to Kwik Fit who suggested the symptoms could mean a number of things (think they werent sure themselves) and said I needed to go get a Nissan Diagnostic Test sorted out.

Symptoms - I was -driving the car and it started jerking (like someone was pressing the brake). I stopped, waited 5 mins, restarted and it worked fine for a few mins before doing it again. Stopped and Started again and then did the same thing outside the house. I didnt drive it until the next day when taking to KF - no problems driving there. In fact the problem hasnt repeated itself since.

Nissan is saying £61 for a test. I can't really afford this - is there any alternative way to get this issue diagnosed or perhaps there are other shops that offer the test cheaper?

Located in Manchester.

Thanks for the heads up,

harveybobbles

KF will tell you it needs some tyres and that will sort it out. And new discs and pads. And a piece of exhaust. And a pair of shockers. And two springs.

But they will do a free oil and filter change...

On the otherhand, I can recommend a company just off the M62junction 8 called Camco88. They deal in stuff like this.

How old is the Micra?

cyclonebri1

Unless you have access to someone witha an OBidocido unit, (brain gone),should know, I have one, you will have to get it tested by either Nissan:mad:, or a nice friendly independant garage that will diagnose for free, provided they fix the car:T:T. Find one and avoid the financial gutting;)

Anihilator

Tbh it may cost you a lot more in the long run if you dont get a proper nissan diagnostics done.

You may also find that the Nissan Dianostician recognises the fault straight off.

cyclonebri1

Anihilator wrote: »

Tbh it may cost you a lot more in the long run if you dont get a proper nissan diagnostics done.

You may also find that the Nissan Dianostician recognises the fault straight off.

No dissrespect but what is a "proper nissan diagnostic test"?, and how does it differ from one done at a good independant??

jeannieblue

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

No dissrespect but what is a "proper nissan diagnostic test"?, and how does it differ from one done at a good independant??

Proper means a dealership guy in the Nissan overalls with a diagnostic machine the same as ours ( or nearly the same ) but charging alot more.

OP do you have a light on? If not, alot of the diagnostic stuff could be useless..... can check the history of faults, but it won't necessarily tell you what the fault is at present ...

You may have just picked up some bad fuel. Get someone to have a look at your fuel filter and change if need be.

Anihilator

jeannieblue wrote: »

Proper means a dealership guy in the Nissan overalls with a diagnostic machine the same as ours ( or nearly the same ) but charging alot more.

OP do you have a light on? If not, alot of the diagnostic stuff could be useless..... can check the history of faults, but it won't necessarily tell you what the fault is at present ...

You may have just picked up some bad fuel. Get someone to have a look at your fuel filter and change if need be.

You forgot the part where they deal solely with Nissans and hence are far more likely to be able to work out what is wrong than someone with potentially inferior general diagnostic equipment who looks at hundreds of different makes and models and generally is less likely to diagnose it first time. Not to mention if its a repair that Nissan have to do you are in a better negotiating position re the cost of the initial checks.

Dont get me wrong an independent may find it but in my experience a lot of diagnostics are better done by a good dealer - they do exist.

jeannieblue

Anihilator wrote: »

You forgot the part where they deal solely with Nissans and hence are far more likely to be able to work out what is wrong than someone with potentially inferior general diagnostic equipment who looks at hundreds of different makes and models and generally is less likely to diagnose it first time. Not to mention if its a repair that Nissan have to do you are in a better negotiating position re the cost of the initial checks.

Dont get me wrong an independent may find it but in my experience a lot of diagnostics are better done by a good dealer - they do exist.

I know that there are 'goodies' around, but their hourly rates are extortionate and no, they do not know more than us, at the moment anyway....... We don't have cheap diagnostic equipement, we buy the best as most good independents do. We are also not dramatic either and will try and look at what really is going on with the car, rather than reading a fault code and changing what it says - regardless of cost!!

I still think that the OP may have picked up some bad fuel.

haggisAThome

i would suggest it could be a dodgy lambda sensor .. i have had a few on nissan,s lately . if you want to cut costs i can suggest one option . do you have rac/aa cover ? this is classed as a breakdown and we carry lap tops to plug in to your car ! is the engine management light on ?

worth a try i think my self , hope that suggestion helps

:beer:

delambo

If you look hard enough you will find someone with the ability to fault code read it for you for free but that is just the tip of the iceberg and might end up costing you more in the long run. I would never advise taking it to the dealer as they tend to charge around £100 per hour currently (in the south east) whereas independent garages will be around half that, and the dealer does not care for the individual as much as a small family run business for whom every customer counts.

Phone around and get some prices from a few independents and check their credentials online. Also check that you are getting a proper diagnostic check not just a fault code read.

I recently was asked to look at a Corsa with a running flat fault. It had been to 4 different garages all of which fault code read it. Each one came up with a lambda sensor fault, changed the sensor (at £50ish) a time none of the times did it fix the fault - but the customer was still charged not only for the part it didn't need but also for the labour to mis-diagnose the fault!! I knew from previous experience that although the fault code mentioned the lambda sensor that was not the fault. I tested the lambda sensor with an oscilloscope and found no fault with it (just like any of the previous garages would have found had they tested it in this way). I suspected the fault was in fact the air mass meter. I tested the air mass meter and found it to be faulty. I replaced the faulty part and test drove the vehicle - it was fixed.

The customer was over the moon since I had not only fixed the problem but had charged less than the previous people who had not fixed it!!

My advise is to do some research and ask some questions to see if they know what they are talking about. Ask if they have a wiring diagram for your particular make and model. If they say I wont need one (or similar) then they are well worth avoiding!! Ask what tool they plan to fault code read it with, and ask if they can print the waveforms for the sensors they scope because you are interested to see what they look like. If they say they haven't got a scope - or do not intend to use one then steer well clear. You may find that the ones who know what they are doing will charge a higher hourly rate but it will probably cost you less in the long run.

Finally let them know explicitly that you will not pay if the problem is not fixed. If they are confident in their work they will not squirm at this, if they do squirm give them a wide birth!!

MX5huggy

In fact the problem hasnt repeated itself since.

If that is the case then stop worrying about it and move on till it happens again.