2010 Patrol getting hot under load

[emm]

Hi all,
I am a new member and just wanted to let interested people know our latest.
Love the car but when we took it on its maiden voyage with the caravan (purchased patrol used in August) it got hot when climbing a hill.
After reading an ongoing saga involving another forum user I took the 'troll to our local Geelong dealer for a warranty issue.
They are in the process of taking the radiator out and flushing out blockages as we speak.. at a cost to us though because they are saying the blockages are caused by the mechanic who serviced it (before we owned it) not using genuine Nissan coolant.
Our mechanic said he always uses genuine Nissan but he said it's a crock because Nissan don't make coolant, they buy it from companies who bottle it in a nissan bottle so it's no different to their regular coolant anyway.
I called Nissan Australia who said that if a car is serviced by a regular mechanic rather than Nissan itself, they must attach the receipts of all materials to show it is genuine Nissan, or the warranty is voided.
After reading the thread of another 2010 Patrol with the same issue I am thankful we will be out of pocket $500 rather than a more serious issue. Hopefully that will be the end of it.
Em
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[lorrieandjas]

Hi emm - depending on how important the $500 is to you and how fired up you want to get - I would take it further. Who did you speak to at Nissan Aus? Escalate beyond them if you must and you can also point out this is becoming a somewhat common issue.

Jas

[BearGUST]

Why has the cooling system been touched on a 2010 vehicle? If something needed replaced it should have been under warranty, if nothing needed replaced I would thing the original coolant should still be fine???

[Maxhead]

Why has the cooling system been touched on a 2010 vehicle? If something needed replaced it should have been under warranty, if nothing needed replaced I would thing the original coolant should still be fine???

I was going to say the same. Why has the coolant been changed, how many km's on the vehicle.

I suppose its done now but don't give up!. Find out who the previous mechanic was and ask them for the service report if you don't already have it and ask them what coolant was used. 99% of mechanics will do the right thing and ONLY use genuine if they are stamping the book. If he hasn't used the right stuff, then blame him and get him to fix it.

Nissan is palming it off as usual and it is true they don't make the coolant but rebrand someone elses.

[threedogs]

I take it you were reading about Goats 2010 dilemma. I'm with all the above all this should be covered by Mr Nissan, gee he loves to handball everything Put him in the forward line
Can see this thread going for 21 pages like Goats

[emm]

Yeah I feel the same way about rebranded coolant...
I called them and they said that the coolant they use isn't genuine Nissan but that it shouldn't be a problem..

The guys from Nissan Geelong reckon that the coolant was changed at the 40000km service and that it has reacted and caused a gel like substance in there.
When we bought it it had 48,000 kms on it. Now it has just over 50,000...
They reckon they have a sample of it to show me..
I am going to let it go I think but so much for a warranty; we bought it from a dealer in August!

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[threedogs]

Just sounds all wrong to me

[Maxhead]

I have hear if you mix different coolants they can react and cause problems so go and get a sample for sure.

Also you should have dealer warranty to cover this issue as well not just Nissan. Get stuck into them!

[MEGOMONSTER]

My mate had a overheating problem recently and they changed a stack of things before listening to me and getting the radiator removed to check for blockages like GOATS syndrome. They found 50% blockage in radiator. I also got an apology for not listening to me earlier as I told them when the very first overheating occurred. After several mechanics visits they finally listened. Big thanks to all contributing forum members for making my search easy for some answers.


Never argue with an idiot, cos he'll bring you down to his level, then beat you with experience.

[BearGUST]

Unfortunately if the coolant has been replaced with the wrong stuff it's not Mr Nissan's fault. I've seen coolants blend before and turn to jelly-bad news!
Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the Nissan service schedule but the stuff used in all Holden's has a 5 year service life, surely Nissan has a similar schedule.

[emm]

They kept a sample of the coolant to show me, it had separated by the time I got there but there was 50 percent grey sludge at the bottom.
I reckon if I had fought it I could have claimed warranty from Brighton Nissan where we bought it., but they would have wanted us to drive it up to get fixed... stuff that. .
The guy from Geelong has recommended another flush of the radiator at the next service, he wasn't too bad.. he said we shouldn't have a problem with it again as long as it's serviced properly.
Here's hoping...

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[taslucas]

Good to hear you have it sorted now. It sucks when you cant trust qualified mechanics.

[Drew]

One thing I've learned from our experience with our local Nissan dealership is that you can't trust them so get it in writing.

Once it's in writing, get ready for a fight or a "oh he's left now" or "he was never authorised to give such an undertaking" or let it go, pick your battles and once out of warranty find someone that does the right thing and looks after you.

In a nutshell some dealers are full of it :)

[Robo]

sounds like a tall story, going by what I read here so far.
not trying to rev you up but doesn't sound right
Hummm for such a new car there should be records that could be easily tracked down, "who did what".
may of even done it by mistake themselves and are not willing to admit to it
someone travelling through not coming back.
you saw them take the sample out of the car.
Its your $500.
$230 an hour for what?, 2 hrs work. and $40 of coolant
they are mechanics, if not an apprentice, not medical doctors.

[threedogs]

Tell me if I'm wrong but looks like BRIGHTON Nissan serviced your 4x4 for some reason around 46k and fluids were changed.
now Nissan do the work at GEELONG Nissan, trucks 2 years old where's the paper trail ? trucks only done 50k something NQR

[emm]

We bought the car from Brighton Nissan at 48000kms but they did not give it the 45000k service it had been due for. They said just get it serviced at 50000k and it would be fine for warranty.
Brighton Nissan got it as a trade in on the manual model (ours is auto) and it had previously been serviced in moe at a pedders suspension who also do services.
When I spoke to the mechanic from pedders moe, they said they don't use Nissan coolant but they use compatible coolant and there shouldn't have been a problem.
I don't know... people saying they react, others saying they don't.. the guy from Nissan Geelong told me they have put Nissan coolant in it now and just be careful because it reacts easily with other coolant...
My husband is mad that we really didn't have a warranty after all, but I am just thankful that the problem has (hopefully) been solved... I don't want to argue when I don't have the head knowledge.
Personally, I wonder if there is something contaminating the radiator of the 2010 model which surfaces around the 50000k mark??
We just have to tow the caravan up a few hills and test it now...


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[BearGUST]

IF the problem is fixed I don't think $500 is unreasonable. A couple of hours labour to thoroughly flush the cooling system, hopefully removing/replacing the thermostat. Remove radiator and send it away to be flushed properly, a bottle of genuine coolant at retail price... Adds up very quickly.
If you're willing to cop that on the chin, so be it.
If you're not you'll have to prove that the two coolant reacted, only way is to get both the coolants and mix them, then heat the mix up, then cool, then heat and so on. If it turns to jelly you can hit the Pedders place up for your costs.

[threedogs]

I hear you Emm, may be different if things were more complicated, but you're up and running now.
Hopefully servicing your new pride and joy at the correct intervals etc will see many years of trouble free motoring ahead of you
enjoy

[Lonicus]

What still gets me about this whole episode is that you're having to pay for something someone else did prior to you owning the car.

The Nissan dealership accepted the trade, the car then became their responsibility. They sold the car to you, with a warranty. The car was faulty, through no fault of yours, they have a responsibility to fix it under warranty.

Doesn't matter what the previous owner did or didn't do, the dealership took the car on and also took on the responsibility to sell you a roadworthy car, which I assume it was advertised as, they didn't so it's up to them to get it in a roadworthy condition, not you.

[lorrieandjas]

What still gets me about this whole episode is that you're having to pay for something someone else did prior to you owning the car.

The Nissan dealership accepted the trade, the car then became their responsibility. They sold the car to you, with a warranty. The car was faulty, through no fault of yours, they have a responsibility to fix it under warranty.

Doesn't matter what the previous owner did or didn't do, the dealership took the car on and also took on the responsibility to sell you a roadworthy car, which I assume it was advertised as, they didn't so it's up to them to get it in a roadworthy condition, not you.

Hi Lonicus - I understand what you are saying but in terms of the TPA and warranties it is quite clear that if a dealer "knowingly" did something they shouldn't or didn't do something they should then the stat warranty would take effect. However, in this case there was no reason for the dealer to check the fluid (not part of the current service interval?), there is no breach of duty of care, etc. Sucks - yes. But in this case I think its one of those things that you have to chalk up to stuff happens.

I was involved in a similar situation but with respect to a light plane. A wing fuel cap cover was replaced by the previous owner with a non-vented cap resulting in the tank bladder not being able to vent and showing a near full reading while the left tank was showing near empty. Luckily they train you for this because when I switched to the right tank the engine started to falter - not a great feeling at 7,500 feet and no petrol station to pull over into! :) Had to declare a pan pan and land in a field.

Long story short, would have been picked up (maybe) in its next 100 hourly but I had no recourse to chasing the broker who sold it due to the fact that he had no requirement to check a simple thing like a fuel cap. As it was explained to me should have checked the maintenance papers (which I did but it wasn't recorded).

I hate things like this - BUT - I am still not convinced there is not some other inherent issue in the 2010 model with some breakdown in the radiator/cooling system causing the coolant to turn to goop?

[threedogs]

True Now after reading a few overheating problems coming mainly from 2010 models.
Might be a good idea if you have any heating issues whats so ever on a 2010 model to ask the service dept or yourself to flush the system
and use fresh compliant coolant, summer just aruond the corner

[emm]

True Now after reading a few overheating problems coming mainly from 2010 models.
Might be a good idea if you have any heating issues whats so ever on a 2010 model to ask the service dept or yourself to flush the system
and use fresh compliant coolant, summer just aruond the corner

I'm thinking the same threedogs... does anyone agree with me that a second flush at next service should do the trick? I shouldn't think we would have any further problems with it after this...

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[cookpa]

my patrol owners manual /service history book says coolant change at 80,000 klm or 48 months whichever comes first ,a 40,000 klm service is all filters and all oils NO coolant change ,i work in the parts industry and we are told to only use green coolant where specified and only use red coolant where specified mixing red with green will cause jelly like grey substance to appear in cooling system, no prob mixing greens with green or reds with reds but i do see many customers trying to buy green to put in a car that clearly has red in it just to top it up but they dont want to pay for red its too dear they say , never before in the history of cars 4wd etc has it been so important to stick with the recommended oils and coolants in a car ,many new cars you cant get the exact oil or coolant for your car non genuine and you have to go to dealer ,just because a product is rebadged or packed in dealers pack does not make it the same as castrol etc even when its supplied by castrol to the dealer !!!!

[MEGOMONSTER]

Guy at work is/was having issues with overheating on 2002 patrol, so I suggested to join the forum and that I've been reading up on Patrol overheating issues and firstly suggested he get the radiator checked properly for blockages, not just flushing it. Also said that it just might be something simple like wrong radiator cap on the vehicle, he said "that couldn't be the problem surely" then explained different caps have different pressure settings. Took it to the mechanic and found he had the wrong cap on the car, they replaced with original cap and all is well now. All of this info from the NPforum and would like thank everyone for making this forum a wealth of information for everyone to learn, help and enjoy.

[emm]

Went away on the weekend towing, same route as last time, patrol didn't get hot at all... looks like it might just be sorted!
Loss of power up hills is annoying (big hills) but a consequence of the auto transmission I think.


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