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Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 8:19 pm
by fat controller
Well, I have just gone out to check on the progress, and the charger was showing the Full message, so I disconnected it. I then started the car, and the message is still on the dashboard.

The more I think about this, the more I am wondering if this has been a slow decline and I am now wondering if most of the things that I was putting down to the cars French DNA (such as the radio freezing up whilst driving and then rebooting eventually, and the bluetooth refusing to work until a factory reset was done) have actually been signs that the battery is on its way out.

I have just tweeted Nissan UK to ask for clarification on how they handle defects that occur in the warranty period when the dealer can't book the car in until after the warranty has expired - lets see what their response is.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:09 pm
by fat controller
Update!

And top marks to Nissan CS.

I spoke to a chap this morning who took some details, opened a 'profile' and said that someone would be in touch within 48 hours (fair enough). Only a few hours later, I got a call back, very friendly and very helpful and whilst not committing to anything before speaking to the dealer and the dealer seeing the car, she was concerned about the Stop/Start and battery issue. She asked me to phone Nissan Assist again today, tell them that I had a case open with Nissan Head Office, and had the Stop/Start message still on the dash, and ask them to attend and bring a battery with them.

I phoned as soon as I got home, and the RAC arrived about 30 minutes later; he didn't have a battery with him as he had come from another job, so after a bit of a ring round, he sourced a new battery and went off to get it. Less than an hour later, and the battery was fitted, all fault codes were cleared (and there were quite a few) and he even went to the trouble of setting the car colour back up in the settings again. He did warn me that it might take a wee while before the stop/start feature would work, but having just been out in the car that proved not to be the case as it worked at the very first set of traffic lights. No warnings, no alarms, no nonsense - a happy wee Nissan once again!

The knock at the rear, I am much less worried about and to be fair it might well be a bit of a sod for the dealer to pin down as it only does it at low speed and intermittently (sounds like the exhaust pinging off something or a pad flapping in a caliper) - the main thing was the electronic worries, and that is now sorted.

Flew through its MOT today (Kwik Fit sadly, as the dealer couldn't squeeze me in), and is booked in for service on the 19th.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:19 pm
by PJB729
Glad to hear that common sense prevailed, you do have to wonder at the mindset at the dealer. :)

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:28 pm
by fat controller
It bewilders me why they always want to seem to start off with a fight, even before there is a fight to be had? I he had told me not to worry, they would sort it with Nissan, or even to whip it round to them at short notice, there would never have been an issue, and no pee'd off customer.

In so many ways, the QQ is an excellent car, and I am a realist in as much as I will accept that the paint isn't the best, and I will even look for my own wee knocks and rattles and quieten them with felt tape or sound deadening (I have some stored in the shed if i need it). If I could get another three years out of this car without too much trouble, then I would be in the market for something brand new. Even if I only get another year or eighteen months, I could be in the market for something used or pre-registered - and what better opportunity for a dealer to sell a car when a customer has their car in for service in the service department........

I will ring Nissan CS back tomorrow to update them as promised, and to add a note of thanks for the RAC guys who have been pretty exceptional to be honest.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:22 pm
by Hound
Pleased to hear that's been sorted out properly at last.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:02 am
by chrisw99
Might be a bit late to this thread, but have you considered taking out an extended warranty at the dealer? You can only do this before the original runs out and it's usually a bargain compared to other 3rd party extended warranty prices, and you get the full Nissan warranty.

My 3 years runs out on Halloween, but it's got a Nissan warranty till March 2019 because I got them to throw 2 years warranty in when I bought it in March. First year free, second year £249.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:52 pm
by fat controller
Warranty expired at midnight, so I am no longer covered - to be fair, it will cover another 7000 miles for each year that I have it, so even if I keep it until the very last gasp before I move it on, it will have just over 50k on the clock come trade in time.

The process of diagnosing and removing the battery brought back the old gremlin where the air filter housing rattled/vibrated badly (surprisingly loud!), which I resolved myself this evening with a plastic cable tie - the exact same fix that the Nissan dealer themselves deployed. The only issue I have now is an intermittent hollow metallic knocking noise at the back of the car - - for all the world, it sounds like the exhaust or heat shield knocking off the body, but it isn't loud and doesn't always do it - - when it does appear, it is when the weight distribution shifts slightly (light acceleration or light braking).

I had my neighbour out in the car tonight to get his opinion (he tinkers with cars too) and it took a wee while to show to him, but he did hear it and his thoughts were possibly exhaust, or a pipe under the rear (brake/fuel), or maybe even a drop-link on the suspension (if it has them). We are going to pop the car up on the axle stands at the weekend and take a look ourselves first, just to see if there is anything obvious - failing that, I will explain it to the dealer next week and see what they come up with when it is in for service. In fact, I will start a separate thread for this, as there could be advice available from fellow members here that I am missing by this being in a 'battery' thread.

Oddly, since having the battery done yesterday, and all the fault codes cleared, the car seems to be running much better - fuel consumption has gone back to what was 'normal' and the car is that wee bit perkier - - - could be purely placebo effect, but it did have a fault stored against the throttle position sensor which the RAC guy reckoned was purely due to the battery playing silly beggars.

If push came to shove, I could 'out' this car anytime from around February/March, but that would be a case of the trade in purely covering the finance owing, and leaving no equity. My original plan was to keep this car that wee bit longer, and then trade it in for a brand new (or pre-registered) QQ or X-Trail - - if I could get back to that plan, it would be nice.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:42 pm
by Deleted User 1571
I had a dodgy battery some six months ago and the RAC changed it with no quibble. He knew from experience that even though his tester showed it to be serviceable, that it actually wasn't and that if he didn't change it he would be back again in a few days. He didn't want the aggravation and neither did I.
Just wish Nissan dealers had the same attitude. I had an alarm sensor issue when I booked the car in for the air con leak repair and they couldn't find anything wrong with it at the time and told me to bring it back when it was acting up again, which it did most days. A 100 mile round trip and an unnecessary one for me, especially as it might not play up again when in. I just refused to take it back until it was sorted. They rang in three days to say that they had replaced the control module and it has been fine since. But why the aggravation in the first place?

On Tuesday it is having its third annual service, an MOT and the rear discs changed due to severe corrosion. The pads are also worn out more or less. They did boast about using genuine Nissan parts, to which I replied "oh no! Does that mean that they will be rusted and useless again in three year's time?" They didn't have an answer for that one.

There is something a bit dodgy about the buttons that lock and unlock the doors that I've asked them to look at too. They'll have to order parts, no doubt and if necessary. So that will mean another trek back there in the next few weeks, assuming they actually find the fault.

I'm generally very happy with the car and moderately happy with the dealer, but I have given up expecting high standards from main dealers of just about any brand. They tend to be all showroom gloss and no real substance. In Nissan's case at the first [pre-paid] service they phoned up offering all kinds of extras like an useless engine flush and winter check at extra cost. About 6000 miles ago they tried to get me to prematurely change the rear brake pads and corroded disks, when it was barely more than two years of age. No warranty on the disks of course, even though I've never had to change discs due to corrosion before on dozens of cars, some up to 22 years of age and doing less annual milage that this one.

Would I buy another Nissan? Yes. Its not quite up to the build quality of my CRV but its a very nice car that, apart from a flat battery one day, and the usual faulty air con condenser, has been great.

By the way, that knocking sound from the back. Fold the rear seats and really thump them back into place and watch that the tongue of the rear seatbelts are secured far enough away from any hard plastic trim. See if that helps.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:08 pm
by Deleted User 1571
Good news about the service. Although I'm not happy that the rear discs needed changing due to rust, they did do a pretty thorough service [pre-paid at car purchase]. They found a puncture in a rear tyre, which I knew was there but had pumped it to the correct fully-loaded recommended pressure to get it through the MOT. They plugged the puncture at no extra cost to me. All I paid for was the discs and pads. They do seem to have changed the pad carriers in both rear callipers.
An unexpected bonus is that the car is now covered by Nissan roadside assistance for another year FOC.

Re: What is the warranty on the battery?

Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 3:35 pm
by David Soren
As far as I know, a factory fitted battery has a warranty of three years. And a general battery has a a warranty of two years. But that differs with the manufacturer. I'm talking about "In general terms".