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 shitty 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.
