Member QLD Steve & Lorraine Mc replied:

Hi Gon Patrolin.
I have the same problem with our 03 GU wagon after a trip last year the car was still under warranty by a month when we got back & Nissan didnt want know anything about it.(Which is normal for them) I am just about to replace the door now, with a second hand one from the wreckers a lot cheaper option I think, mine is cracked in the exact same spot so I think Nissan have a problem with their doors & the spare on the back is only standard size, so they cant blame that either. In all just a general pain in the *ss due to their crap engineering Id say. The rest of the car is great.

Cheers Steve.

Patrolman Pat replied:

Mine too has developed this crack after a trip on thre Oodnadatta track recently. After doing a search on www.patrol4x4.com/forum/ it seems like a fairly common prblem, some have had it fixed under warranty, others have been rejected. I haven't been to Nissan yet but will do so in a week or so.

Shaker replied:

I have a Nissan Terrano 2 with cracks in the rear door also.

Dave B (NSW) replied:

'no recourse through them and it happened because we take the cars off road.'

What a joke. Why the hell do they make 4WD's for?

No wonder there are a lot of them in 'Toorak'. Is that all they are built for?

Could it be deemed false advertising or goods unfit for the purpose for which they are advertised?

I have been involved with 2 late model GU's and they have cracked around the rear door frames.

Nissans response was basically the same as above.

They have got a mod for the problem with the frames, but it's hard to get them to admit it.

Dave

cruisen tom replied:

I have fitted a Kaymar rear bumper which has provision for one spare and two jerrycans or two spare wheeels to be fitted off the doors. No problems with doors cracking or failing to seal properly

Member - 'Lucy' replied:

Evening Gentlemen.

I can feel your angst from where I am sitting and rightly so, regardless of what the vehicle make and/or model is.

The trend by some manufacturers to re locate the spare tyre from underneath to the rear door area, without designing a new door configuration to adequarely support the subject spare tyre under extreme road conditions, like the Oodnadatta track can produce, is p i s s poor to say the least.

To not honour their warranty for a foul, inferior mounting design is a travesty and miscarriage of justce to the owner of the said vehicle.

The 'not made ' to go off road thing is not uncommon these days due to the 'toorak tractor' syndrome.

Hi-lux diffs in the front end of 1xx series are a classic example of this.

Why go to a lot of trouble to design then R & D a whatever for off road when the odds are that the vehicle will never be taken off the bitumen.

However, you would think that the manufacturers would warranty the 'odd one or two' that do get driven offroad.

You either fight 'bad money' with 'good money' and take your chances or get another door from the wreckers and replace the OEM rear bar with a K-mar bar with rear wheel carrier.

You won't be all that much out of pocket and it won't happen again causing the cost all over again.