Nissan Patrol - towing

Hi Neil & Lea

A lot of people are going to tell you to keep away from the Nissan because of problems they have had with this motor. It might be true but I am on my 2nd patrol and have had no problems.
The first one was a 06 model auto 3lt diesel towing capacity 2500kg when towing our caravan ( 2500kg loaded) our average speed was 85/95 klm per hour some hills would slow us up to about 50klm. Our average fuel consumption was 16 lts per 100 klms which I was happy with.
I have since traded up to the latest 3lt manual model 3200kg towing capacity. Our new van weighs 2650kg loaded and the manual still pulls it along around the 85/95 klm per hour with no problems, I did get up to 100klm per hour at some stages but don't really like doing that to often. A couple of hills still slow it down but not as bad as the auto model did.

We have just come back from our first long trip with this new set-up 2700 klm from the central coast NSW down to the lakes entrance and return via the monaro hwy up to Cooma, Canberra, Goulburn and return. We averaged 14.88 lts per 100klm which I was very happy with. The worst was 17lts per 100klm on the hwy between cann river and Cooma all up hill.

I think you have to remember that the 3lt motor is on the small size and you should drive it accordingly, depending on what weights you are towing hopefully you have no problems. hope this helps
You could also put a chip into it.

Tricky

Nissan will love you. They nearly cannot give them away they are so badly dated, well out of date.

Yes, they are great for towing as they have good towings eyes on the front of the car!

Just getting rid of mine - 2009, 23L / 100km, replaced clutch @ 29,000km bad service bad attitude no empathy have gone to Toyota after owning 5 Patrols since the '90s.

Otherwise I didn't have any issues with the previous units particularly the 2003 3L DI - not CRD.

cheers
Colin

If you think your old GU didn't pull too well dont expect too much from the 3 Litre. Slow & steady they do the job, just careful with the clutch taking off.
Cheers Craig..............

Hi Neil,

I bought a new GU 3.0TD back in 2003 and found it a very good vehicle for the $$$. While I had no issues with the 3.0L engine, I did have the dual mass flywheel fail. Long strory short, after the way I was treated by Nissan Australia on this and a few other relatively minor issues, I will never let a Nissan darken my driveway again. The dealer was great, but Nissan Australia did everything they could to chase me into the arms of Toyota.

No vehicle is without some sort of issues and the minor ones I have had with my cruiser, well the difference in how Toyota looked after me is like night and day. I genuinley enjoyed my GU, but after my experinces with Nissan Australia, I could not recommend one. If only they looked after their customers....

Cheers

Captain

G/Day Neil

We had a 2008 3 litre crd auto Patrol, which we purchased brand new.

It struggled towing the caravan up hills and trying to overtake slower vehicles.

Fuel economy wise was between 22 litres per 100ks and 26litres per 100ks.

We had a major fuel contamination problem that would have cost over $13k to fix.
(long story).

With only 30 thousand ks on the clock we got rid of it and bought one of the last 4.8 litre petrol Patrols.

We absolutely love it, plenty of power and the fuel economy is better than our old patrol.

It is a 5 speed auto and can tow up to 3500kg

In my opinion the 3ltr Patrols are to much truck for little motor.

Cheers

Just returned from 13000 km trip pulling 2500kg van. Patrol never missed a beat. We returned consumption figures of roughly 20 ltrs per 100 kms. This was over a variety of terrains. Pretty much expected as we were carrying a family of four with all the associated gear. Heard all the stories about the 3.0 ltr but for the money I think the patrol is good value. Yes if I had the extra 10-15.000 dollars I may have looked at a cruiser but for the price the patrol can do anything the cruiser does.