Very disappointed in this car

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Gizmo2005
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Very disappointed in this car

Postby Gizmo2005 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 10:56 am

I have the 14 SL. I've had the rear coupler replaced. I had the transmission replaced. All under warranty. I have 56K on it. Just brought it in again because of strange sluggish acceleration from 20-30mph. My wife and I was on the road when we both heard/felt like we just ran over a rumble strip. We didn't. This happened twice. Dealer could not find the issue. I'm also getting about 18.2 mpg combined, which is the lowest I've ever seen. I know it's winter but I've never had less than 19 in the 4 years I've owned it.

Something's wrong but dealer didn't find it. They just charged me a diagnostic fee and said nothing was wrong.

Part of me thinks they are doing this on purpose. My warranty is about to expire soon. I have to pay to get service done after this.

Just frustrated and vow never to buy another Nissan ever again.


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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 14, 2018 11:28 am

Sorry to hear of your issues.. :(
key is to document issues. So even when warranty expires if you can demonstrate it was an issue in the past they generally are forced to cover it.

Can u take some audio of the sound?

Gizmo2005
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Postby Gizmo2005 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:21 pm

I've told them to document every reason why I brought it in. So they said they would do so. As for the "Rumble strip' issue, there' s no way to record that. I have no idea when it's going to happen. But it has happened twice. It's very sudden. Have not seen it in over a week.

I bought this (14) because I've read/heard that the (13) had transmissions issues. They figured it out and fixed it. Well 14 is no different from what I've seen. I wish they would lose the CVT. I don't care about getting 18mpg vs 20mpg.

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:28 pm

Do you drive short distances now in winter?
that would be a cause for your reduced milage since engines that are cold consume tons more than warmed up ones.

Gizmo2005
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Postby Gizmo2005 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 12:53 pm

My drive to work is less than 10 miles each way. Your point is very valid. But I've driven this distance now since I bought the car brand new. It has never dipped under 19 until now. I find it just a bit too much of a coincidence.

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 14, 2018 1:15 pm

...often I find one can buy an extended warranty until the expiration of factory warranty.

Have you considered talking tot he finance manager there (their the ones responsible for extended warranties).

Dont tell him you think you have an issue though.. he might not budge from retail price on that warranty then if he knows what you are trying to do.

And you CAN haggle on warranty prices..

Gizmo2005
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Postby Gizmo2005 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 2:06 pm

I've always passed on extended warranty. I bought one for my dryer and never used it. Now that I need it, it's past the warranty date.

Not sure if buying a car warranty either. How much is it typically? A few hundred of a few thousand?

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Fri Dec 14, 2018 2:48 pm

Depending on your haggle skills and the provider a couple of grand.
While your vehicle is in warranty its presumed to be at 100%, why its easier to get one while still under warranty.

Usually you dont get back as much && as you get out of it... (otherwise they wouldn't be offered) but based on your concerns it might be something to look into.

In any event since your tranny concerns started in warranty u'd have a strong case for it to be covered even if its stills say 5000 miles out if it goes crap.

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Postby Grumpah » Fri Dec 14, 2018 7:28 pm

Your "rumble strip" sensation is the classic "judder" or "shudder" that the 2013 - 2015 Pathfinders are experiencing. There are well-established ways to document the issue, which you have to do, because Nissan is denying any problem exists unless proven otherwise on a case-by-case basis.

Take a read through this thread posted on another forum:

https://www.pathfindertalk.com/forum/10 ... i-btw.html

Click the links and you'll begin to understand why Nissan decided to extend the powertrain warranty on the earlier models, but you have to prove it to them first!

Gizmo2005
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Postby Gizmo2005 » Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:20 am

I don't know what the original warranty is, but they told me I have 60K on it. The problem is I have 57K on it now. This weekend was very noticeable. The 'sluggishness' starts right as I'm reaching 30mph. There's a jerking sensation that the car is changing gears. However, with the CVT, I don't see how this can happen. It's a very noticeable jerk. They said they test drove it and didn't feel it. How is this possible? I have no choice but to bring it in to them and test drive with them.

In regards to this link, can you do me a favor and summarize it for me? I'm not a car person and this seems like it's very technical...talking about valve body. I have no idea what this is.


Grumpah wrote:Your "rumble strip" sensation is the classic "judder" or "shudder" that the 2013 - 2015 Pathfinders are experiencing. There are well-established ways to document the issue, which you have to do, because Nissan is denying any problem exists unless proven otherwise on a case-by-case basis.

Take a read through this thread posted on another forum:

https://www.pathfindertalk.com/forum/10 ... i-btw.html

Click the links and you'll begin to understand why Nissan decided to extend the powertrain warranty on the earlier models, but you have to prove it to them first!

maloburro
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Postby maloburro » Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:20 pm

Gizmo2005 wrote:I don't know what the original warranty is, but they told me I have 60K on it. The problem is I have 57K on it now. This weekend was very noticeable. The 'sluggishness' starts right as I'm reaching 30mph. There's a jerking sensation that the car is changing gears. However, with the CVT, I don't see how this can happen. It's a very noticeable jerk. They said they test drove it and didn't feel it. How is this possible? I have no choice but to bring it in to them and test drive with !
[/quote]

I believe you can purchase an extended warranty at any time the car is still inside of the factory warranty. If you’re at 57000 miles then you’re still eligible. I want to say they range from $1000-3000 depending on coverage.

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Postby Grumpah » Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:57 pm

Gizmo2005 wrote:
In regards to this link, can you do me a favor and summarize it for me? I'm not a car person and this seems like it's very technical...talking about valve body. I have no idea what this is.
Essentially, the valve body is a component of the CVT that Nissan believes is causing the shuddering. It is less costly for them to replace just the valve body than the whole transmission, so that is what they have been doing. The problem is, new valve bodies are apparently not solving the issue for some folks, even after several iterations, so they are demanding replacement of the entire CVT. The only way to track success is to note the part numbers used so that owners can determine if their problem has been truly fixed or not.

If you are experiencing the judder/shudder issue, I'm afraid you're going to have to become more knowledgeable as to what is going on so that you can authoritatively work with your dealer to get what you deserve.

Gizmo2005
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Postby Gizmo2005 » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:02 pm

So I scheduled an appt with the dealership next week. I'm going to drop the car off for the day. It's still jerking at 30mph and is fine after that. But it's noticeable. Also, last week, we had a couple of cold spells and the 4wd errror was on most of the day. My neighborhood was not plowed so i got stuck because I had no 4wd. IT was very annoying to say the least.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Mar 06, 2019 11:24 pm

They've had similar problems in other Nissan models, as well, with the CVT. Usually when there is a slip or judder, it's the steel belt slipping on the pulleys that is happening. Often they'll pull the transmission and replace the TCM and inspect the pulley subset. If the slippage caused damage to the subset, they'll replace (or should replace) that, as well. I would also call Nissan's customer hotline @ 1-800-NISSAN-1 and tell them your concerns and have them start a report on your vehicle.

Gizmo2005
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Loud roar

Postby Gizmo2005 » Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:04 am

Something happened over the weekend. So I have my appointment with Nissan tomorrow 3/13. I'm bringing it in because of a shutter that occurs right around 30mph. The car actually jerks a little bit. But over the weekend, something else happened. When I accelerate, the engines roars like it's a hemi. I mean it's loud. When I accelerate to about 40mph, you can really hear it.

God. I've had enough of this car. Nothing but troubles. You know it's bad when you know the service guys at Nissan by their first names. They are nice guys but I don't want to know them.


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