Do I have a case against Nissan for my broken Navara chassis?
QUESTION
Hi John,
I hope you might be able to give me some advice on my vehicle problem.
I purchased a new Nissan Navara D40 from my local Gold Coast Nissan dealer in October 2012. It has been serviced every 6 months by a registered mechanic but not always by the Nissan dealership.
I use the vehicle for holidays towing a small single axle pop-top caravan with a tare weight of 1456kg. Over time I have replaced the style sides with an alloy tray and added ARB suspension with air bags, and an ARB plastic bull bar. I have been very mindful of the weight constraints for this vehicle and store the heaviest items on the tray closest to the back of the cab, and keep well under the maximum GCM.
On a recent trip post-lockdown here in sunny Queensland my wife and I visited a place we had always wanted to go to, Mt Moffat in Carnavon National Park. The road to the park is gazetted as suitable for 2WD to the park entrance and then AWD from there onwards - well within the capabilities of this vehicle. I towed the van to one of the two camping areas suitable for caravans. The roads are rough and I drove to the conditions. For example from the park back to Injune is 160kms and I took 3 hours to cover this distance.
When I pulled up at Injune for fuel I realised the tow bar was sloping down to the ground. I quickly realised this was due to the chassis, now broken behind the wheel on the driver's side and crumpled and cracked on the passenger side. The van seemed to be towing well and there was no signs of any problem until I stopped. The vehicle was not driven any further and both it and the caravan were towed back home to the Gold Coast. The vehicle has done 108,000km.
After being assessed by the insurance company the break had been described as a structural fault of a weld that has broken. This is not covered by the insurance policy.
I approached the service manager at Gold Coast Nissan who said the vehicle was out of warranty and wanted to know why the insurance company wasn't paying for the damage. He claims he has only seen one broken chassis like this before and it was severely overloaded. At no time has my vehicle ever been overloaded.
I am led to believe Nissan has recalled earlier builds of this model as the Nissan tow bar (which I have) caused stress issues for the chassis, but not for my year of build. I attach the assessor's report and ask for your advice on how to proceed to attempt to recover the cost of my vehicle or the cost to have it repaired.
Thanks very much for your time,
Brody
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ANSWER
Brody,
Just looking at the photos I can see it’s a manufacturing defect. The weld failed (and that’s what bent the other side). Nissan is probably liable to pick up the tab here under Australian Consumer Law (breach of the ‘acceptable quality consumer guarantee’). There’s a track record of Nissan flaunting ACL, so there’s plenty of evidence to add to your case.
Plonk yourself down in front of a decent local solicitor and spend your money on an hour of their time. Do what they say. Bring the pictures and the report, and any correspondence from Nissan or the dealer.
Make sure your solicitor is confident of Australian Consumer Law and is prepared to take on the matter. Let me know how you go.
Best of luck mate.
JC
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