nssan patrol vtc 2009 problems

[alfalasi]

hi
i have some issues about my car and i need some help ..
i have a Nissan patrol vtc 4800 super safari , i bought this car in 2008 as a 2009 model from the dealer in the united Arab emirates ,Dubai , since i bought the car and i keep smelling fuel smell when i get out of the car the smell is smelled from a distance from the car , so i toke the car back to the dealer when it was 800 km and complained about it they kept the car for a couple of days and they called me and said that there is nothing wrong with the car and the fuel smell is normal , when i really think it is not . any way i kept the car with me and drove it at the 5000 k service i complained about a sound from the rear deferential and the fuel smell again after the service they told me nothing wrong with car and the deferential noise is normal and so as the fuel smell , i toke the car and stayed quite , i carried on the services on the car till 1900k when i drove the car on a high way for a long drive and parked the car i noticed the car was abnormal as it was still running but in the parking position when it started making a funny noise as all the gages in the car were fluctuating just like i was accelerating but i wasn’t dong anything , i took it back to them and reported the problem , again they came with nothing can be found on the car so i took it back home and again it started playing all the gages were up and down but this time i recorded a video of it and took it back to them i showed them the video and left the car with them . again they said they tested the car and didn’t find anything !! anyway the car is 25000km now and i took it for the 25000k service and told them that this time i wont receive the car unless they resolve the fuel smell coming from the car as it is more now than before and the smell is coming from the rear and the front of the car any way after three days they called and told me that they finally know the reason for the fuel smell and it is because the fuel canister is blocked and need to be replaced under warranty !! i didn’t accept the replacing and told them that this car had this problem since i bought it and it has a factory defect ,, after a week they changed the canister and told me that after replacing it wasn’t blocked at all and they changed it to satisfy me only and the fuel smell from the rear was due to over filling of the tank and they showed me the traces of the fuel spills from under the car ,,of course i didn’t agree
they asked me to drive the car after the canister was replaced and i did but the fuel smell was still there ,,, so i took it back to them and refused to receive it .. the involved the Nissan company in the middle east and the sent a Tec team they went for a test drive on the car and told the dealer to replace all the fuel pipes from the tank till the engine in order to investigate the Couse of the smell .. now the dealer is putting pressure on me to accept the car without the replacement of the pipes and hoses and they are trying to convince me that there is nothing wrong with the car at all and they will replace the rear deferential on the warranty although they are saying there is nothing wrong with it but just to satisfy me ... now i am stuck and i don’t know what to do .. Does anyone have the same issue on his car like me ? And is the fuel smell normal in all Nissan patrols ?? someone please help me .. because i still think the car has a manufacture defect and the dealer is trying to hide it .. Kindly replay to me and tell me what should i do .
* the car has never been off road
thank you
my e mail is
ad2@w.cn

[growler2058]

G'day mate welcome aboard they're a good mob here full of great info and advice. It's very early am here hopefully someone will be able to answer your questions for you. In my opinion it would be very abnormal to be smelling fuel or for the diff to be making any noises

[alfalasi]

good day to you to mate , ya i know that is an abnormal smell but i checked another Nissan patrol that belongs to my friend we both bought the cars in the same day but his car is 94000 km ,his car also has the same issue the fuel smell ,the dealer workshop keep saying that all Nissan patrols have fuel smell after driving the car for some time . that’s why i am asking anyone in Australia if they have the same fuel smell in the Nissan or not .
thanks for the replay looking forward for more replies

[Bigrig]

Doesn't sound right to me either mate. Is it actually leaking fuel any where? The diff should most definitely not be making any "overly noticable" noise when standard driving

[alfalasi]

well as the dealers workshop say that they couldn’t find any fuel leakage anywhere .. and they keep saying that this is abnormal smell in all Nissan’s due to the fuel economic system in the car and that when the fuel returns through the fuel canister the smell comes ... i really don’t know what to do with them ... i have been complaining about this to them for the past three years

thanks for the replay looking forward for more replies

[rkinsey]

Hi Alfalasi,

I would document all of the times you reported any fault with the dealer. Include what fault you reported and what the response/outcome from the dealer was. Create one big document with times and if you can, who you spoke to.

Once you have this document, go straight to Nissan and report the issues you have been having not only with the car but the lack of after sales support that you have been (not) getting from the Nissan dealership. Dont be rude, demanding or upset. Just be polite but firm. Ask for a mutually benificial resolution. You want a nice car to drive and they want a happy customer.

Keep at them untill you are satisfied that your problem has been resolved. Dont let them talk you into somthing you dont want. You will get there.

Cheers (and good luck)

Rob

[Woof]

Hey Alfalasi, it's always a good idea to post up an introduction before asking for any assistance mate, gets everyone on side immediately

[Bulbous]

Hey Alfalasi,

I am also from Dubai, I have a 2011 Production spec Safari - It also smells of fuel - can we meet up in Dubai sometime to check
I am currently in the Philippines on holiday, but will be back in Dubai on 22 August.

I will send you a PM when I get back to Dubai - maybe something wrong with VTCs - I noticed fuel smell is worse with stock Nissan Air Filter - seems much less with K&N

As the guys above have said - log all your calls with Nissan and never get angry in the showroom - take notes and then write a letter to Head Office. I had BMW before and writing to BMW UK really got the action going. A £ 1500 bill was reduced to the cost of the parts only £ 197
As they say don't get mad - get even.

Hope to see you in Dubai

[vinceP]

It is important that you find the leaks as soon as possible, since driving with insufficient fluids in your car can lead to irreversible damage. You should find and address the leak before more serious problems occur. I just read a while ago about the news that Japanese automaker Nissan declared the latest of many recalls on Thurs. Almost 250,000 were recalled globally in the latest round, dealing with a faulty sensor. The issue could cause fuel leaks, the automaker states. This recall comes the day after a smaller recall -- about 1,000 cars -- over airbag troubles. Resource for this article: More than 280,000 Nissans affected in three recalls (http://www.cardealexpert.com/news-information/auto-news/nissan-recalls/).