Nissan SA cannot fix their own vehicles and their vehicle warranty is not worth the paper it is written on

I purchased a 2018 Nissan NP300 D/C at around August 2021 (second hand) with approx. 60 000km on the clock. The tyres were replaced with a set of new tyres. At around February 2022 I began experiencing problems with the suspension, including sagging to one side, hard driving, and shaking over bumps. Any bump or even crack in the road would have the vehicle shake and it felt like the front suspension/ wheels would come off at times. Over the past two years, I have diligently sought assistance from various dealerships and mechanics. Below is a short description off what I did to try and resolve the problem over the years: When I began experiencing problems with the suspension, I took the vehicle to Hi-Q in Pretoria North to inspect the vehicle. They could not find any problem but because the vehicle was still under warranty they suggested that I rather take the vehicle to a Nissan Dealer. I took the vehicle to BB Nissan Sinoville on 18 March 2022. They could not find any problem and suggested that I replace the shocks. Because Nissan did not sound convincing, I took the vehicle to Dekra Gezina to have the shocks tested. The report indicated that the shocks were used but still in a good condition. I query Nissan regarding the shocks and the report that I have from Dekra. They advised me to bring the vehicle to them again. I booked the vehicle in at Sinoville Nissan on 23 June 2022. They replaced the wheels and the shocks from another vehicle to test my vehicle, but it still did not solve the problem. They even had the vehicle at another dealer, BB Nissan Gezina, but even they could not solve the problem. They gave the vehicle back to me, inform me that they could not solve the problem and suggest that I take the vehicle to Tyre Mart Gezina. Tyre Mart Gezina could not find any problem with the vehicle and suggested that I buy new tyres. I did not accept this because my tyres were still in a very good condition and BB Nissan Sinoville tested the vehicle with different tyres on and it did not solve the problem. I then went back to Hi-Q and took my previous set of tyres with and asked them to swap the tyres and balance it again. The problem was still the same. I then swapped the tyres back again because the problems were clearly not the tyres. I was informed about a suspension specialist and took the vehicle to him. Even he could not solve the problem that the vehicle had.

I waited until it was time to service the vehicle and took it to Brits Nissan on 7 July 2022 for a service (75 000km) and to have them assess the suspension problem for me. They had the vehicle to a company in Brits for wheel alignment but the problem was still not sorted. I received the vehicle again without the problem sorted out. On 15 September 2022 I took the vehicle back to Brits Nissan and asked them to have another look at the vehicle. The vehicle was still very unpleasant to drive and I could not even sell it because nobody would buy the vehicle driving the way it does. They noticed a problem with the steering box and it had to be replaced. The steering box was replaced a few days later and the vehicle was taken to Motor Vision (suspension specialist) in Pretoria West. The wheel alignment was done again. All of this did not resolve the problem with the suspension. After this I took the vehicle myself to Motor Vision to explain to them that the problem was not solved and they must have a look what the problem could be. They tested the vehicle and could not identify the problem. I even asked the owner to assist me. They tested the shocks again and told me the shocks are faulty at the back. They gave me an enormous quotation to replace the shocks (I did not accept the quotation because of the amount involved). I then took the vehicle to another technician to see if he made the same conclusion with the shocks. He suggested that I replaced the shocks. I went to Goldwagen and bought four new Monroe shocks for the vehicle. The shocks were fitted by the technician and I took the vehicle to Tip Top Tyres for wheel alignment. The technician then told me that he noticed the rear diff was not 100% correct in place (skewed) and that could be the reason for my problems. Even with the new shocks the vehicle’s problem was not resolved.

On 3 February 2024 I took the vehicle to Brits Nissan for its 90 000km service. I asked them to please assess the suspension again because it’s still faulty and nobody could solve it. After inspecting the vehicle they informed me that the one leaf spring was loose and that is the cause of the problem. They submitted it to Nissan SA (a claim) and the reply was that they are not going to repair it under the warranty because it is normal wear and tear.

I was pleased and disappointed at the same time. The problem was identified but Nissan SA will not replace this part.

If the Nissan Dealership had identified the problem 2 years ago (March 2022) with the vehicle with less than 75 000km on, I believe there could have been a different conclusion.

The vehicle was never in any accident. I have never towed anything heavy with the vehicle. I don’t even drive on any gravel roads daily. The tyres on the vehicle is still the tyres that I bought the vehicle with, there isn’t even any damages to the tyres because of normal wear or road conditions.

I believe that had this issue been correctly identified and addressed earlier, the outcome would have been different.

I have invested significant time and money into resolving this problem, and I am disappointed by the decision not to replace the defective part. After logging a complaint to Nissan SA again, a technician from Brits Nissan inspected my vehicle on 4 June 2024, I am still awaiting any concrete feedback or resolution. Nissan SA Customer Care has been in contact with me, but unfortunately, these interactions have yielded only phone calls and no tangible progress on resolving the underlying problem. On 17 July 2024, I was informed that the case had been closed, despite the fact that I continue to experience the same issues with my vehicle and have not received any follow-up regarding this matter. Subsequently, on 19 July 2024, another representative from Nissan SA Customer Care contacted me, necessitating a repetition of the entire situation.

I did not expect the lack of feedback and problem solving from an international company like Nissan.