Had enough - Selling the king cab, here's why

[skyline_man]

I though my problem of stalling and having trouble with the no low down torque was because of the extra weight I carry, 300-400kg constant. But you don't have those problems.
As I've stated I have fitted dump pipe, 3" exhaust and chip, but it still has very poor driviability in the low rev range, where I want the power most. I think if I cant get it to improve, I'll also be trading in far earlier than the 7 years I was hoping to get out of it.

Wait till mid or end of this year and trade it in for the new model Nav. 145kw and 450Nm from the same engine, and if we're lucky - Nissan might decide to give us an early Christmas surprise by bringing in the 'monster' V6 turbo diesel as well.

 

[user 1279]

Interesting thread.

I'm very concerned now. I have an ST Dual Cab on order. Seems most of these issues are related to the King Cab build in Thailand, and those talking about their Dual Cabs are the Spain build ST-X.

I wonder if the problems relating to the King Cab are due to the King Cab spec itself or due to the build location (Thailand).

Very concerning if it's due to the minor changes made to build the car a little cheaper (i.e the new ST model coming out of Thailand).

I'll see how mine goes when I get it in a few weeks time however would be good to hear from some new ST model owners as to whether they are seeing some of the same issues as the King Cab owners (obviously the issue with the rear doors should not be there).

Cheers ... Gregg.

 

[Marto]

ST-X Dual Cab here. Everything seems fine and I get around 9ltrs/100 BUT I Totally agree with the no power below 2000rpm! Mine is a manual and it is stupidly hard to drive! I came from a 98 Hilux that you couldn't stall! even if you let the clutch out by mistake it used to just lurch forward where in the ST-X I have stalled even when I am applying power. The dam thing makes you look like you don't know how to drive! It does my head in!

Can anyone say if the autos are as bad below 2000rpm? Or does the auto make the lag feel less obvious?

 

[justdrinkbeer]

ST-X Dual Cab here. Everything seems fine and I get around 9ltrs/100 BUT I Totally agree with the no power below 2000rpm! Mine is a manual and it is stupidly hard to drive! I came from a 98 Hilux that you couldn't stall! even if you let the clutch out by mistake it used to just lurch forward where in the ST-X I have stalled even when I am applying power. The dam thing makes you look like you don't know how to drive! It does my head in!

Can anyone say if the autos are as bad below 2000rpm? Or does the auto make the lag feel less obvious?

My King Cab auto is gutless as hell off the mark, my girlfriend calls me a nanna for the gaps I have to wait for before I pull out in front of someone.
Funnily enough though, in low range it is awesome, don't notice any lag at all.
Don't think i've noticed anyone else in a king cab auto on here, i'd be interested to see if their econo is as bad as mine.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

By the way, I just received a survey from Nissan about my experiences with Randwick Nissan service dept, suffice to say i've listed their incompetencies.
I thought I had enough problems with them to warrant putting a letter in with the survey form to return, once I have the final draft i'll post it up here, a few threats of consumer affairs & dept of fair trading should put a rocket up them

 

[user 1279]

ST-X Dual Cab here. Everything seems fine and I get around 9ltrs/100 BUT I Totally agree with the no power below 2000rpm! Mine is a manual and it is stupidly hard to drive! I came from a 98 Hilux that you couldn't stall! even if you let the clutch out by mistake it used to just lurch forward where in the ST-X I have stalled even when I am applying power. The dam thing makes you look like you don't know how to drive! It does my head in!

Can anyone say if the autos are as bad below 2000rpm? Or does the auto make the lag feel less obvious?

I'll probably be getting my ST next week so I will find out. The unfortunate thing about this is I sold my 06' ST-R a few weeks ago (which I was 100% happy with and had no issues whatsoever, however Kms were up to 150K and lease was finished) to upgrade to a D40 and now I am concerned I may regret the decision between issues I've read about clutch issues, fuel economy and lack of power at low rpm.

Hopefully they are still building ST-Rs in three years time when the lease is finished

 

[skyline_man]

ST-X Dual Cab here. Everything seems fine and I get around 9ltrs/100 BUT I Totally agree with the no power below 2000rpm! Mine is a manual and it is stupidly hard to drive! I came from a 98 Hilux that you couldn't stall! even if you let the clutch out by mistake it used to just lurch forward where in the ST-X I have stalled even when I am applying power. The dam thing makes you look like you don't know how to drive! It does my head in!

Can anyone say if the autos are as bad below 2000rpm? Or does the auto make the lag feel less obvious?

Perhaps you need some driving lessons in a manual?:aetsch:

 

[Bosshog]

Just mod it till it suits your needs. Throw that big 2.5 in the trash and put something decent in it.

That is exactly what I intend to do. Invested (some may argue wasted) too much to go back now. Cheaper to fit an inject 5.0 litre than buy another new ute.

Mmm does a v8 fit in the engine bay?

 

[maddogrc]

yeah, all the 14L/100 n such is pretty bad in my book considering my '98 hzj75 cruiser with its big old 4.2 non turbo diesel is giving me a nice 12.5L/100 and i like to use my lead right foot! not to mention its also heavier than the king cab.

 

[Marto]

Perhaps you need some driving lessons in a manual?:aetsch:

LOL Cheers mate!

I have owned many cars and have done many types of driving......and the Nav makes me look like a ****** lol

 

[tkingcab]

By the way, I just received a survey from Nissan about my experiences with Randwick Nissan service dept, suffice to say i've listed their incompetencies.
I thought I had enough problems with them to warrant putting a letter in with the survey form to return, once I have the final draft i'll post it up here, a few threats of consumer affairs & dept of fair trading should put a rocket up them

Yeah they arent scared by dept of fair trading at all i have to write a letter directly to nissan then dept fair trading is taking them for dust entry in engine and doors rattling and fuel consumption also low power

 

[KraftyPg]

On the note of Nissan surveys

I got the same survey after (weeks and weeks after) my purchase, of course I filled it out but I also didn't expect to install any rockets up their butts or even make anyone feels sorry for themselves as the surveys are for little more than making the customer feel better about their service or lack there of, results are handled by an external company which are correlated and sent to the originating company, usually in percentage form.

Despite all the Nissan logos and Nissan related information like just about every company out there Nissan just pay data collection agencies to harvest information, in many cases the originating company doesn't even write the questions.

I also got a phone call about 3 weeks after the survey from Nissan Australia customer service center inquiring about my purchase and asking similar questions to the paper survey. I asked the woman why she needed all the information given the paper survey was so similar and her response was exactly as stated above, external company harvest information, they get the greatest hits and they can't access the full survey unless head office requests the full survey data because it's not even owned by them.

But hey writing it all down and getting it off your chest is quite often a good move even if it's only for your own sanity

 

[Delta Sierra]

Thanks guys, good responses. I was expecting to be bagged for being a whinger. It's true, I am hard to please but common, I paid over $50k for the vehicle as it sits.

 

[Dave]

Thanks guys, good responses. I was expecting to be bagged for being a whinger. It's true, I am hard to please but common, I paid over $50k for the vehicle as it sits.

Na mate its all good, most of the guys on here are 20 to 40 years old and mature enough to see your point.

The only people on here I am happy to see bagged out are bullshitters and I haven't seen any of that in your post's.

Dave.

 

[Bosshog]

most of the guys on here are 20 to 40 years old
Dave.

I wish I still was! I'd have done a few things differently with the wisdom of hindsight and hard won experience.

 

[JustNav]

ST-X Dual Cab here. Everything seems fine and I get around 9ltrs/100 BUT I Totally agree with the no power below 2000rpm! Mine is a manual and it is stupidly hard to drive! I came from a 98 Hilux that you couldn't stall! even if you let the clutch out by mistake it used to just lurch forward where in the ST-X I have stalled even when I am applying power. The dam thing makes you look like you don't know how to drive! It does my head in!

Can anyone say if the autos are as bad below 2000rpm? Or does the auto make the lag feel less obvious?

I have an ST-X Dual Cab T/D Auto and it is really lags below about 1500RPM. If I want a quick take off I just "stall it up" to about 1500 with my left foot on the brake and when I take off I am right into the power zone.

As far as fuel economy goes, I am not overly happy with it. If I do a bit of combined city/highway I can get 12.5l/100km. As I only live about 5kms from work I often get a lot worse but that's to be expected from such short trips.

 

[j2m5k6]

I am very disturbed to read other horror stories similar to yours having just taken delivery of a $40k king cab, so far have done 1200km with no issues, actually fuel economy is great, around 11litres/100km mixture of highway and around town with a lot of idling, and its an auto which is obviously a wise decision given the almost rocket like boost from the turbo ,I agree that the quality of the trim plastic is atrocious,very easily marked and broken on removal. having just got out of a hilux workmate 2.7 petrol manual which averaged 14 to 20 ltrs per 100km and would only pull when worked hard basically because the engine is a celica motor that only likes revs and very easy to stall on take off, i can assure you there are way worse utes out there, it was the noisiest and most uncomfortable vehicle I have ever driven.Unfortunately big vehicles use big amounts of fuel, no matter what brand, hope you find a suitable solution.

 

[j2m5k6]

One thing I forgot to mention is the dash display being too bright at night even though there are about seven settings, can any of you electrical wizards suggest a fix for this, maybe in line resistor or something that will not overheat, is it globes or L.E.D's ?

 

[bigfluffys]

ive got one 2

I'm not expecting this to be particularly well received but here goes...

I've got the shitts with my King Cab and I'm getting rid of it. I'm going to get what I should have in the first place, a 4.2td Patrol or a Cruiser.

I've had my 09 D40 STX King Cab 2.5td manual since November 09, it's got 8000km on it. I've been struggling through dramas with a few minor things and have as of yesterday gotten the final word from Nissan regarding the fuel economy woes.

Fuel economy - unable to get 500km from a full tank under any conditions, commonly getting less than 450km. (range from 14L/100km to 15.5L/100km) To be precise that would be measured from absolutely full, seeing fuel in the filler pipe, to when the fuel light comes on. That is fairly close to being 70 liters when I fill up. First my local dealer was consulted and returned that the diagnostic was negative and that there were no available fixes such as an ecu re-flash. I contacted Nissan Australia and lodged a complaint with them. As a result of their internal investigation they advised me that the figures I am getting are within range of what would be expected from a vehicle with steel tray and bull bar. So that's that. There's nothing more to be done. For a 2.5td this is crap, I would expect to get this kind of economy from a much bigger engine. My previous vehicle, a Falcon XR6 Turbo with a 4 litre turbo petrol engine, used a combined 11.5-12.0L/100km doing the same driving as I do with my D40. (mostly highway @ 100km/h on cruise)

Other issues
- Ground clearance is very poor, it's very frustrating not being able to negotiate simple obstacles due to running out of clearance under the front suspension.
-No sump guard which is a ~$700 aftermarket proposition.
-Nothing from the dual cab is compatible with the king cab and most aftermarket does not cater for the king or single cabs.
-Interior plastic is the kind that once scratched by a finger nail, ring or anything similar, will leave a permanent scratch that can not be rubbed out. Very poor considering its the first I've seen of it in any other vehicle. The rear king cab doors rattle and let dust in.
-The vehicle has been to the dealer three times to have the doors adjusted/fixed and they still rattle. Same for the under dash rattle - not fixed and still annoying.
- Dash lights, very bright at night! I've had to put some tape over the high beam indicator light because it's blinding at night.
-The fuel filler neck is unduly restricted causing diesel foam to back up in the filler neck and either spill out or cause the trigger on the pump to click off. It is not possible to fully hold down the trigger on any pump I have encountered. Not a huge deal but very very annoying given how regularly I have to fill up.
-Engine torque, it has nothing under 2000rmp until the turbo comes up to boost. I've gotten used to not stalling it taking off in 1st but its way too easy to do so. The Mrs has difficulty in driving it because of this. In my opinion the small capacity of this engine relies on high revs to create power and torque. This is contributing to high fuel usage because of it's high revving nature. I don't like to drive a diesel 4x4 like a suzuki swift, it's easier to drive this vehicle like a work truck (flat out) than it is to drive it sedately.

I admit that some of these minor issues are things I should have picked up on before I purchased the vehicle. My mistake, and I'll learn from it.

I'm ****** that my new vehicle that I paid a fair whack of $$ for is not living up to my expectations. This vehicle was supposed to be nothing like a Patrol or Cruiser, but instead it uses as much if not more fuel, rides the same and rattles the same but is worse in it's off road ability and lacks any kind of low down torue. That's why It's going. I'm not going to force myself to live with something that I don't like and that's that.

Anyone want to buy a King Cab? I'm near Townsville, NQ.

Hi ive got same probs , had my king cab for 8 months done 12k , uses between 16-18l/100 at best arond town and with my camper on back and towing my tinny , between 20-23l/100 ,for a car that boasts a 9.8l/100 mine is not really cutting the mustard im now getting injectors replaced on warranty , and the roof has gone rusty in a 10 cent piece size , they are fixing that 2 under waranty as well , i hope the injector thing fixes fuel probs , or there may be another king cab on market , cheers ben

 

[brisbrutale]

From what I can ascertain, the Thai built King cabs, particularly auto's have fuel economy issues. Nissan Australia now do not have a techo engineering dept anymore, so trying to get a solution to the problem is like pissing in the wind. I was mildly lucky. I went to town about my **** standard suspension and they came to the party of an aftermarket rear setup. (I went and got OME front and rear and they paid for the rear). After that the application engineering dept was pretty well non existent.

If this is the **** service we get on a $50k car, imagine if we bought a micra!