Nissan Pathfinder Rear Door Handle

howardtog

We bought a Pathfinder from new 3 years and seven months ago. Its our fifth Nissan and like the others has proved reliable EXCEPT a month or so ago the rear door handle which is plastic broke off. Its a clean break and a result of either poor design or a manufacturing defect. Cost of the handle is some £60 odd but to fit it without painting is £174.So a £250 plus bill!!
I contacted Nissanand after some toing and froing with Nissan and the dealer where we bought the car Nissan told us that as it was out of the 3 year warranty they were not prepared to make any contribution to the part cost or its replacement.
Of course they have no legal obligation but it is most disappointing that Nissan have adopted this attitude given our ownership track record and the fact that the part failed after 43 months,
Has anyone had a similar problem with their Pathfinder,(There seems to be some anecdotal information on other forums that it has happened to other Pathfinder owners.
Also is the letter of the law approach usual with Nissan.
We are most disappointed with them and it will obviously be a factor when we look at buying our next new car.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Seems like the only manufacturer who stands by their product after warranty is Toyota.

Couldn't you fit the handle yourself to save the ludicrous labour charge, the cost of the handle isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.

howardtog

Thanks G&S for the Toyota comment!Fitting the handle requires dismantling the door.My local garage will get the job but its still going to be costly.
Im just registering dismay at Nissan whose attitude is in effect if things fall off our cars after 3 years we have no legal or moral responsibility. The former fair enough the latter very sad.

Rich_Benham

We're on replacement handle #2 now - the original lasted 3 years, the replacement lasted just under 2yrs. We bought the replacement from Nissan direct, I got a local car repair spray booth to spray it for 20 quid, and fitted it myself in under 15-mins - just take off the two black grommet covers on the inside of the door, unscrew 2 nuts, and off you go

rxsteve

Our rear offside handle broke this morning, the car is 18months old, spoke to the dealer and they are going to replace it under warranty, this aside the handles are made of plastic and in my opinion not really up to the job

Wongsky

Speaking of door handles, one (*there were several others...) of the reasons for getting rid of a Kia Carens I once owned, was because they had a propensity for the door handles to break, internally (plastic "cam" for want of a better word that cracks) such that the door won't open from the outside.

In my case it happened on the front passenger side door, and I repaired it myself (took it all apart and drilled and glued-n-screwed the plastic "cam"). Reading forums, it was a common occurrence, and I didn't want to wait for it to happen to the rear doors (which had the child locks enabled, so would have been a nightmare if they broke) - which seemed that bit more likely, because kids tended to be a bit rough with the door handle when getting to the car to open the doors.

flashg67

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Seems like the only manufacturer who stands by their product after warranty is Toyota.

Couldn't you fit the handle yourself to save the ludicrous labour charge, the cost of the handle isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.

I guess you've had a good experience with Toyota at some point, which is good.

I have no affiliation (and often no sympathy!) with car manufacturers but I do work in the fleet industry, and 'out of warranty' cover does vary massively between manufacturers. Fleets may get better treatment (rightly or wrongly!) but I can quote you 'good news' stories from virtually every manufacturer in respect of 'goodwill' repairs.

I think everything has to be looked at in context, and like most companies, profits are under pressure and many will offer substantial goodwill against major repairs, but on smaller items, they have clamped down.

I'd like to ask the OP what help they would consider reasonable from Nissan on a 43 month old car on a relatively minor repair. I suppose at some point, an owner has to accept responsibility for the costs of car ownership? I'd also suggest buying the part and getting a seperate fitting/paint job done by an independent garage. Also, most dealer bodyshops have a minimum inter-department charge of an hours labour or more!

Wongsky

flashg67 wrote: »

I'd like to ask the OP what help they would consider reasonable from Nissan on a 43 month old car on a relatively minor repair. I suppose at some point, an owner has to accept responsibility for the costs of car ownership? I'd also suggest buying the part and getting a seperate fitting/paint job done by an independent garage. Also, most dealer bodyshops have a minimum inter-department charge of an hours labour or more!

Not that I don't get the gist of your point - but all the same, I have to question how some marques are going about things. Engine components that are subject to wear and tear is one thing - especially where maintenance and servicing can be a factor, but other parts?

A door handle, for example - there's not much an owner can do to maintain that situation - especially if they've had the car serviced to the manufacturers specifications. The problem I have is many parts like this - which are pretty crucial to actually being able to use the car, and DO have safety implications, being built down to a price, so X% don't fail within Y warranty period.

Assuming it's not been abused, and there's no evidence of that, and it's not been used for commercial purposes, in which case you'd expect more than typical usage and wear, some components just fail because they're either poorly designed / implemented, or just not bloody built well enough (I can cite the Kia Carens (and other models, I believe) door handle issue, too).

Things like that failing, is just shoddy, and there should be much more manufacturer involvement in resolution, outside of the warranty period, because some things like this fail, because of being built down to a price, can't realistically be maintained / serviced, yet can be pretty crucial to being able to use the damn thing.

Now true enough, I know the natural argument is that everything is built down to a price, these days - but certain things should be over-engineered - like door handles - because they're essential, because there's scope for them to be treated a little roughly, and because realistically, there's not much you can do in terms of maintenance.

mattyprice4004

howardtog wrote: »

Thanks G&S for the Toyota comment!Fitting the handle requires dismantling the door.My local garage will get the job but its still going to be costly.
Im just registering dismay at Nissan whose attitude is in effect if things fall off our cars after 3 years we have no legal or moral responsibility. The former fair enough the latter very sad.

Is there any need for a sarky reply to the Toyota comment, especially to someone who's trying to help?