Nissan doesn't honor warranty

[zknm7]

I have a 2005 Xterra with 21000 miles on it that I just finished installing a new clutch in myself because Nissan wouldn't replace it. They told me that it was a "wear part" and that it wasn't covered under the warranty. What a crock. I'm sorry, I've had buddies heavily modify their Subaru WRX's and do clutch drops from a standing start at 5 grand all of the time, and have their stock clutches last 60000 miles. If I were drag racing the damn thing maybe I could understand, but I wasn't hard on it at all. I am very disappointed in Nissan. I loved my Xterra before this but now I don't think that I'll ever buy a Nissan again. Was losing a customer and not honoring your warranty worth saving a few hundred dollars?.......And one more thing, Nissan.....get some operators that speak English fluently. Even more frustrating than having to pay 2 months for a truck that doesn't work is trying to deal with somebody that you CAN'T UNDERSTAND!!!

[Encryptshun]

So how exactly were you informed about the warranty issue? Dealer? Mechanic? Nissan customer service? We have a few Nissan and/or dealer employees on this forum, and we might be able to escalate a bit.

I would say from a straight warranty perspective, though, the clutch falls in with brakes, air filter, oil filter, etc in the "wear and tear" category and will rarely be covered under warranty (unless you can prove it was a manufacturer's defect).

[Desert Rat]

Read through your warranty. It's expressly stated that clutch linings are not covered.

That said, 21k is very disappointing, but I don't know how you drive. I offroad extensively and can get 100k out of a clutch on my '98 Frontier though based on the wear I've seen on it.

[zknm7]

To DesertRat:Concerning the clutch lining, thats exactly what they told me. However, I think that in this instance they should make an exception because of the extremely low mileage. I mean, 20000 miles? I've not been hard on this vehicle.

To Encryptshun:I contacted the dealer first, and they told me that the clutch would not be covered. I then contacted Nissan's Corporate Headquarters, who told me the same thing. Well, they said that I could take it into the dealer, let them take out the transmission, and then if it was the pressure plate it would be covered. If it wasn't the pressure plate, then I would have to pay for the disassembly. To me, that is ridiculous. At a minimum they should have disassembled it and told me yea or nay. It isn't my fault that they didn't include a means of clutch inspection that doesn't involve removal of the transmission.

Thanks for both of your time.

[hsckris]

i think you have unreasonable expectations. pretty much any automotive company isn't going to cover the clutch as a warranty item. in fact, i've never heard of any company covering it.

obviously it would've been nice for it to last longer. but again, we don't know how you drive and neither does nissan.

[Desert Rat]

BMW is the only one that covers clutch and brake linings, as far as I know.

I don't disagree that 20k miles is a ridiculously short life for the clutch....certainly not arguing that.

Was it just flat worn out - the clutch disk material was all used up?

[zknm7]

Would have been nice if it had lasted longer?

Gee, it's only $200 out of my own pocket for parts and 15 hours of my own time under the stupid thing in my driveway fixing it. I had a 1980 Volvo that had a stronger looking clutch than the one in my Xterra. My dad had an original Caravan in the 1980's that he got stuck in the mud and burned the clutch up on. He informed Dodge, who paid not only to have it replaced but also to have it towed to the dealer. That's customer satisfaction. I think it's pathetic that my dad's 1990 Dakota with 350,000 miles on it had to tow my Xterra, which is practically brand new.

[zknm7]

When I extracted the old clutch it was destroyed. The disc was just dust in the bellhousing. My girlfriend tried to get me to get one with an automatic trans, now I wish that I had.

[Encryptshun]

Better be careful changing that clutch yourself if the vehicle is still under warranty. Nissan can pretty much say that voids the rest of your warranty if they know you did that. It all depends on how much of a jerk the dealer/tech/cust. svc. person wants to be that day. Cover your ***.

[C-Kwik]

Better be careful changing that clutch yourself if the vehicle is still under warranty. Nissan can pretty much say that voids the rest of your warranty if they know you did that. It all depends on how much of a jerk the dealer/tech/cust. svc. person wants to be that day. Cover your ***.

Any dealer can decide to be a jerk about anything, but at the end of the day, unless nissan can show you that your installation of the clutch was the cause of the problem that you are trying to claim under warranty, they can't simply void your warranty or deny your claim. The warranty that any manufacturer provides is in essence a contract that outlines your duties and theirs.

[boondox]

Look at http://www.thenewx.org for more info about the clutch. Your not the only one that have went through a clutch that fast too.

[hsckris]

Would have been nice if it had lasted longer?

yeah, it would have been nice. sucks that your clutch blew.

that doesn't change the fact that it is unreasonable to expect a dealer to cover a clutch.

[NM50]

I'm on the other side of the fence here.Most people dont understand the way clutches work.The transfer case low range reduces the work the clutch does.Hence the torque is multiplied.In your defence the clutch face area of the D40 trucks is not large enough.IMO.They just dropped the ball.