Turbo Failure Just Out of Warranty

LUHG1878

Hi,

I'm hoping someone might be able to give me an idea of what rights, if any, I have with regards to an expensive repair just out of warranty period.

We have a Nissan Qashqai 1.5DCI, the car is 3-years old with 18k miles on the clock, the warranty expired on 24th September, so only around 4 weeks ago. The car has a full Nissan dealership service history from new.

The car has been making an intermittent whirring sound on acceleration the past few weeks, but this has gradually got worse. The car was due it's annual service so I booked it into the dealership, and asked them to check out the noise.

They have confirmed that it's a bearing issue in the turbo, and that the vehicle is not safe to drive. They advised that a replacement part would be around £1,200 plus labour.

I queried this with them, as the car is just out of warranty, and has low mileage. They advised they would apply to Nissan for goodwill, and that Nissan may contribute towards the part, not necessarily the full amount, but that I would be liable for the labour.

How much are Nissan likely to contribute, surely there's a case that the full repair should be completely free of charge, given the low mileage. If I had done 70k miles or something then fair enough, but surely a major part should not fail after only 18k miles??

Also, how much is the labour element likely to be?

If they do come back and say I need to pay for this, what are my options, does the sale of goods act hold any weight here?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

DUTR

Did you have the car from new, or have you just purchased it?

System

LUHG1878 wrote: »

If I had done 70k miles or something then fair enough, but surely a major part should not fail after only 18k miles??

Depends on how you drive. In F1 and WRC they've had turbos fail within 100 miles. If you're in the habit of not letting the engine idle for a short period (30 seconds) after the turbo has been working and just shutting off the engine that can prematurely kill a turbo as the oil needed to cool it isn't circulating.

Also, how much is the labour element likely to be?

I'd be surprised at more than a couple of hours, three tops so maybe around £200-£300.

If they do come back and say I need to pay for this, what are my options, does the sale of goods act hold any weight here?

At that age the onus would be on you to prove that it was a defect that existed at manufacture.

Personally before panicking I'd wait to see what Nissan have to say. Certainly I'd be surprised if they didn't meet the majority or all of the cost.

DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR. They are not wrong about driving it being a bad idea. Worst case scenario is that the turbo grenades itself and all the fragments from that internal failure end up getting sucked into the engine and knackering that too. So when you do drive it, slow acceleration on light throttle is the name of the game and low RPM gearchanges so you're not spinning up the turbo more than needs be.

LUHG1878

Thanks DUTR and Tarambor, much appreciated.

Did you have the car from new, or have you just purchased it?

Yes, we have had the car from new.

Depends on how you drive. In F1 and WRC they've had turbos fail within 100 miles. If you're in the habit of not letting the engine idle for a short period (30 seconds) after the turbo has been working and just shutting off the engine that can prematurely kill a turbo as the oil needed to cool it isn't circulating.

My boy racer days are behind me, and i've never had a turbo failure in car i've driven over the past 20 years, so I would definitely argue if they suggested my driving style was the cause of the failure.

I'd be surprised at more than a couple of hours, three tops so maybe around £200-£300.

Ok, so not a major job then, I could live with that, if Nissan cover the cost of the part, although I still feel that it shouldn't have failed after such little usage and that I shouldn't have to pay anything.

At that age the onus would be on you to prove that it was a defect that existed at manufacture.

How would you be able to prove one way or the other whether the defect was manufacturing problem, or driving style?

DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR.

I won't be driving it, the Nissan garage have had the car since Friday, and will keep it for the duration of the repair. They didn't have any courtesy cars available, but have said I can get one when one does become available, Tuesday earliest, although not holding my breath.

Personally before panicking I'd wait to see what Nissan have to say. Certainly I'd be surprised if they didn't meet the majority or all of the cost.

Agreed, although i'm not panicking as such, I just want to be prepared and be able to argue my case, should it come to it.

Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated!

Johno100

LUHG1878 wrote: »

How would you be able to prove one way or the other whether the defect was manufacturing problem, or driving style?

Very difficult, but if you haven't already I'd be trawling through UK Quashqai owners forums to see if it is commonly reported problem with low mileage Quashqai's and how the dealer/Nissan dealt with those cases.

TadleyBaggie

Johno100 wrote: »

Very difficult, but if you haven't already I'd be trawling through UK Quashqai owners forums to see if it is commonly reported problem with low mileage Quashqai's and how the dealer/Nissan dealt with those cases.

Here are the two I know of:

https://www.qashqaiforums.co.uk
http://forum.qashqaiclub.co.uk

However I can't recall anyone reporting early failure of turbos.

loskie

turbo failure mentioned here:
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/qashqai-2014/?section=good

Irrespective of warranty and bearing in mind FSH and low miles you should be able to claim against supplying dealer and or finance co as goods not of satisfactory quality you are also well within the small claims threshold which is helpful. If you have legal cover with home or car insurance it is worth asking them for advice.
Tarambor's advice is poor, the onus is on the supplier to PROVE the fault was not there at purchase.
IMHO you would have a good chance of a resolution at no cost to yourself other than a bit of effort. Don't believe a word the dealer tells you re your rights. CAB may also be worth talking to as well.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

facade

It is the Renault engine, depending on who you ask, these are the most reliable and trouble free engines ever made, or they suffer from turbo failure at 40,000 miles, fuel pumps commonly disintegrate inside and wreck the entire fuel system, and EGR and DPF faults are "normal"

Like everything else to do with car problems I suppose, Renault made literally millions of the things, so if less than 0.1% have any problem, that is still thousands of people affected.

AdrianC

It's not just a Renault/Nissan engine, either - these engines are sold to Mercedes for some of their vehicles. As you say, plenty out there.

I'd expect a reasonable likelihood of a hefty goodwill contribution, given the situation.

arcon5

loskie wrote: »

turbo failure mentioned here:
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/qashqai-2014/?section=good

Irrespective of warranty and bearing in mind FSH and low miles you should be able to claim against supplying dealer and or finance co as goods not of satisfactory quality you are also well within the small claims threshold which is helpful. If you have legal cover with home or car insurance it is worth asking them for advice.
Tarambor's advice is poor, the onus is on the supplier to PROVE the fault was not there at purchase.
IMHO you would have a good chance of a resolution at no cost to yourself other than a bit of effort. Don't believe a word the dealer tells you re your rights. CAB may also be worth talking to as well.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

He's not wrong though is he. Op bought the car 3 years ago.

In fact, the link you posted even confirms the poster you claim to be wrong is in fact right

IanMSpencer

I'd be pretty sure that the days of turbo failure due to people not doing X Y or Z when coming to a stop are gone. If oil circulation is necessary for 30 seconds or so to avoid premature failure, then the engine will have a system of managing that and will have a pump to ensure oil is circulated even when the ignition is off (for example, how does the ancient wisdom that sit with my bi-turbo Merc which has stop-start so is regularly coming to a halt and immediately stopping the engine).