NISSAN :Pathetic after sales service, compassion and attention to complaint lodged

The letter below is a letter I wrote and attached to an email to NISSAN South Africa on July the 27th after speaking to a lady at head office and received an email from her requesting some details about me and the vehicle. My reply was not acknowledged and I heard nothing from the company until yesterday when I protested heavily on another email. I did receive a response this time but a different lady simply requested the same details I had sent before. I cannot think otherwise than that they did not bother about my letter and that the complaint was not filed. Why otherwise would they ask for my contact details, the registration number the VIN no , the mileage and the dealer name if I sent it in my response to the first lady?

MY LETTER TO NISSAN DATED JULY 27 2018 I am the owner of a Qasqai bought from DTM Nissan George on the 26th July 2017. I live in Plettenberg Bay and after the purchase I travelled home with the car. The next day we left for Durbanville – no untoward incident and the car performed normally. On the evening of 28th July I took friends home who were visiting and at a traffic light in Brackenfell Boulevard I stopped. When I tried to accelerate after the light turned green, the vehicle responded with a very low impact and proceeded forwards at about 5 Km p.h. A warning light with the shape of an engine appeared on the screen as well as the icon when Antislip control is switched on . I studied the manual and found that I was permitted to travel further provided that the light does not become orange/red in color. You will appreciate how annoyed the cars were behind me, but I had no control of the events. On the other side of the traffic lights I moved to the side, switched the car off. I waited a few seconds and switched on again. The engine icon appeared still and the car responded with a tremendous surge of energy moving forward at high speed. I had to control this by applying the brakes. Hereafter the car moved forward in a normal way and gave no more trouble on returning home. The next day the car responded normally but because the warning light was still on the screen I went to have the vehicle inspected at the recently opened Nissan branch in Durban Road Durbanville. A computer survey was run and the technician informed me that the computer showed an old factory fault and that they found nothing else. I informed them that I planned to travel to Gauteng the next day and I was told there would be no reason why I should not make the journey. The next day I travelled to Gauteng on an un-eventful journey with no warning lights appearing on the screen. Friday morning the 11th of August my daughter requested me to fetch her daughter from her school and drop her off at home in Centurion. I stopped at the junction of Piet Hugo Road and Ruimte Road and waited for traffic to pass by. I app**** my foot to the accelerator when there was an opportunity to pass into Ruimte Road. The car responded very sluggishly like it did in Cape Town and I realized I would not make it into the desired lane before a car came speeding towards me. The next moment however the vehicle responded with a tremendous surge of energy and I sped across the road missing the oncoming car by millimeters. This could have been fatal for my grandchild as the impact would have been on her side. I was shaken with fear. I am convinced that had I caused an accident nobody would have blamed the car — much more likely the driver – me. The next few days the car responded normally with no signs appearing on the screen and I took it that the problem was temporary and that there was indeed nothing wrong with the car as the technician diagnosed in Cape Town. We spent a few days in Centurion and on the 17th August travelled home again. The warning light still appeared on the clock but as we planned to overnight in De Aar where I had previously practiced and also purchased two Nissan products I planned to take the vehicle into De Aar Motors to have it checked again as the staff in this work shop are fami**** to me. Five kilometer outside Colesberg we stopped at a service station. When we attempted to resume our journey the car once again responded in a similar fashion as it did on the Brackenfell Boulevard. It felt again as if it had no power and on applying my foot to the accelerator we could move only at about 5 kilometer per hour. We decided that we could not stay on the road until help arrives so we tried to move towards Colesberg at the ridiculous speed of approximately 5 Km per hour. We were deeply concerned and stopped the car on the side of the road. I phoned the salesman Mr Johnny Westraad from the Nissan Branch DTM in George where I purchased the car. He put a technician on the line who said that I should switch the engine off and wait a minute or so and switch back on again. There was the slow response for a minute or so and I kept my foot app**** to the accelerator. The next moment the car sped forwards with an enormous force and I had to apply the brakes. I phoned Mr Westraad a second time relating the problem to him and told him that I did not want this car any longer as it caused a near-death experience for me and my grand-daughter. When I purchased the vehicle there was an X-trail on the floor and I asked him if I could bring the car in and what the difference in price would be. He told me that the price difference was R40,000.00 and I said I was willing to pay that in. He said he would speak to the manager and come back to me early the next morning. The mileage on the clock at that time was 3100. We managed to reach De Aar without any further events. The next morning the car was put through diagnostics and the technician ( I believe he is a Mr Ebden?) informed me that there was something seriously wrong and that he could hardly believe that I was given the go ahead when the car was first tested in Cape Town. He also stated that it would take a day or longer to rectify the problem. When I protested as I needed to get back home he suggested taking the “part” he would need to replace from a new Renault on the floor(the parts apparently are identical). I received the car back six hours later with the assurance that the diagnostic tests now came back normal and that I could travel to Plettenberg Bay. Mr Westraad phoned me on the road and informed that he had spoken to the manager and that this gentleman said the car was now second hand and the difference in price would be R91000.00 I was taken aback as the vehicle according to me was defunct right from the start and I was now expected to keep the vehicle whether I was content with the circumstances or not. For a number of months the car responded normally — no warning lights showed up. In May 2018 we went to visit our children in Gauteng again and suffered a similar incident on the Olifantsfontein road outside Centurion. We got lost and had to turn back so I stopped in a spot on the side of the road and attempted a U-turn. The two warning signs appeared on the screen again and once again there was very little power. We were in dire straits on this extremely busy road with cars trying to pass us as we could only travel at about 5 Km per hour. I stopped beside the road, switched the engine off, waited a few seconds and switched back on again. The "engine icon" showed up but the car responded normally. I was very angry about this situation and warned Mr Westraad that I would take the car in as soon as I arrive back in Plettenberg Bay. In June I thus took the car for a service. The mileage has meanwhile risen to 15000 Km and it hence time for the first service. The management ensured me that after the service they could find no problem and that I would suffer no more trouble. Last night my wife took our domestic worker home and after the lady got out the car did exactly the same as before. You will appreciate that such circumstances is very undesirable with a woman alone in the dark in a township with a car that responds with a speed not more than 5 Km per hour. The same perilous incident happened to her also where the car then took off with an enormous surge of power and she narrowly missed crashing into the back of a car ahead of her. I went all the way to George again and spoke with the salesman and manager and technician who took the car in for two hours and eventually came back saying that all is now sorted out. I have been told this three times now and yet there is no change in the circumstances. I cannot remain content with these circumstances any longer. I feel extremely annoyed and I do believe that my patience has been stretched to the limit and that I deserve a new car without having to pay in any money. And now the car is a year old and has put me and my family through severely dangerous situations. I await your response. If I receive no word after two weeks I will request the assistance of my lawyers to approach the Consumer Council.

Dr Johannes Petrus Aucamp Plettenberg Bay ********** **********