# Timing Chain/Belt Problem - Help Requested



## WayneH (Nov 10, 2009)

Hi all,

I'm new to the sight not by choice but by neccessity. I am in a conundrum and could do with your help/advice. Here's the conundrum:

The Car: I have had a 2003 X-Trail 2000cc petrol for approx 18 months. It has 50,000 miles on it and has been serviced at 18,000 and 36,000 miles. When I bought it, I was told by the dealer that it had a 18,000 mile service schedule.

The problem: 3 days ago the Engine Warning Light came on so I booked it in with my local Nissan dealer to get it checked out and I also asked for a full level 3 service as they informed me that the service schedule was wrong and that it should have been serviced at 45,000 miles (9,000 service schedule). They quoted me £45 for diagnostic and £234 for the service if all OK. Anyway, on the morning of the service, I had to detour due to work and had to book it in at a different location but same Dealership. When I asked the prices, they quoted me £61 for diagnostic, £369 for service and a recommended Break Fluid change for £54 . When I questioned their prices they then reverted to the same prices as first quoted and gave me some babble about older cars (not impressed).

I left the car with them at approx 1030 hrs and proceeded to work with a proviso for them not to do the service if there was a major fault found and them to contact me by nolater than 1630 hrs. After not receiving any call from them by 1500 hrs, I decided to detour my journey that I was on and drive past the garage. Low and behold, the X-Trail was still in the same position I had left it (I know this because I had left the rear wipe central when I switched the engine off).

At 1645 hrs, later than the time stated, the lady at the garage contacted me and said she was sorry she was late contacting me but my car had been in the workshop since I had left and that they had found a major fault which was hard to diagnose. She then proceeded to let me know that it was a timing chain/belt problem that was going to cost me the best part of £1,100 and wanted to know if I wouldlike the work doing tomorrow.

So the conundrum: After reading many forums and 20 pages of this one, I cannot see any thread relating to this problem, which makes me think that it is a rues by the garage to get money out of me for work that doesn't actually need doing. Combined with the way they have treated me on the phone with their deception and lies, I am wondering if I should go anywhere near them. 

2 Questions for my peace of mind: 

Q1. Do you think these people are reputable and could I trust them?

Q2. Is the fault that they have diagnosed a common or very rare occurrence?

Thanks in advance.

Wayne.


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

Q1 - No
Q2 - I have not heard of Timing belt renewal at 50K Miles

According to this site, Timing belt (chain) does not needed to be changed.

It is well known that Stealers (and their staff) get bonuses for extra work obtained. I have heard instances of owners being told at 60K miles that "you will need new Disks" when the wheels havent been off the car.
I always make it clear that if any extra work is found at a service then that company will not get the remedial work, thereby ensuring that they know it is pointless to add on "extras".
I suggest that due to their original high prices an subsequent price matching, their obvious not touching the car till later than they have told you, that they are trying it on. 
I would be inclined to tell them to only carry out the work that you originally instructed them to do, to ask for a written report of any extra work they think is required, so that you can take it back to your "original" garage for the work to be carried out. 
I also suggest that you get an independant evaluation, and if necessary consult Trading Standards if there is any discrepancy, as I assume you must be in the UK.

Good luck.

Having just checked the ESM, I can find no reference to a recomended mileage to check or change the Timing belt either, if that helps.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Have they at least told you what the error code was after all this time spent in the garage? Timing chain doesn't need to be replaced at all, the timing chain tensioner is the serviceable item, but I can't see it generating a MIL light.


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

Theres ya answer then - I think they "found" the extra fault to ...
a) get more money out of you.
b) explain why they didnt do the service.


I suggest that you get a written report, including the fault codes, as Aussietrail has stated, and RUN.
You, obviously, dont trust them, so go to a place which you can.

Oh - and name and shame.


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## ladybirdmt (Jan 11, 2008)

*timing chain, not 'belt'*

at 90K k's because i could not find a mention in the manual of when to change the timing 'belt' on my '05 xt, i asked the local use-to-be Nissan dealer when should it be changed (most newer cars at 90-100K), as learned it can be very damaging and expensive if it breaks. I found out the xt has a chain, not timing belt, which does not need replacing. much relieved! i don't know what your garage wanted to do, and was that 1100pounds? yikes!!!


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

where abouts are yu based, WayneH?

mite be worth investing in one of these.


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## mgfiest (Sep 13, 2009)

that unit will take care of an X-trail? we can get in canada an universal for about C$60... that would even get me to buy one, even with the exchange rate and shipping cost.


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## The Mad Hat Man (Oct 3, 2006)

Chopped meat products ^^^^^^^^^^^^  (Spam)

I am assured that, yes, it will do X-Trails - or at least it will do mine (2002).
The advantage (and disadvantage) of this one is that it is stand-alone and will show you fault codes on the screen. I am aware of another one (for similar cost) which gives you results in real time and is more versatile, but needs a laptop and software to work. It depends whether you can or want to carry a laptop with you, or just want a "plug n play" device.

here is the same as above (from China)

and here is the one which requires a laptop.


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## WayneH (Nov 10, 2009)

Hi again, here's an update,

Firstly, thanks for all your replies and I am thinking the advice you are giving is spot on. I went back to the garage at about 0900 hrs the morning after and asked for the bill. They had charged me £60.80 for the diagnostic but not continued any other work as I had stated, however the agreed fee wasn't the £45 as stated and when queried the lady just told me it took longer than expected. When I told her that the car hadn't moved until past 1500 hrs she looked a little embarrassed and went to see the someone in the service department. On return she just reiterated her previous statement and said we'll call it £60 as they didn't have any change, which I begrudgingly paid. I also had a problem when I received the receipt as all it had on it was the fee for the diagnostic and a price for replacing the chain. When I asked for the error codes and the full diagnostic report, she said that this was the way they do it and they could not provide me with the requested info.

Very soon, I was asked to wait outside and the car would be brought round to me. When it arrived with the technician I asked why a part that was never meant to be changed had gone and needed replacing. He give me some speel and then mentioned that they have a lot of problems with the 2003 Micra also, then looked at my registration number and pointed out that they were the same year. I retorted with the simple comment that they are not the same engines and that I had never heard of a chain going so early, never mind the price. I also asked him when he thought the part would actually go and if I was able to drive it for the next few weeks, which he replied that it could go at 60k, 100k or even 180k, it couldn't be judged and knowing that I new at least the basics he went on to tell me that he had turned the warning light off and it may be good to part-ex it for a new model/car and pointed towards the new Qaiscai (?) +2. He also said that the car was struggling with it's timing due to the chain and that it was having to work harder.

To be honest, he wasn't to bad once he realised I had a little experience with cars and when I mentioned that I had the same problem with a different car which was rectified with a oil top up and then change, he said that it could have an affect and that the VVT will have problems if there wasn't enough oil. Strangely, I had just had an oil change about 900 miles ago by my local NTS and when I checked the level when the light came on, it was very low. The problem with that is that even though I had topped it up, the light didn't go off which mean't I had to get it checked.

So, by the sounds of it, for the sake of an oil top up, they were willing to go ahead with major work and charge me for he priviledge. However, I have now booked it into my local Nissan Dealer for a L3 service and will ask them to give it a quick check over as I wasn't sure if it was running right. I know this place aren't Arthur Dailey's and should get a honest report from them. Once I have had it done, I will post what they find (if anything), and if neccessary, name and shame the garage in question. I will also report this encounter to the local trading standards office if no problem is found as well as requesting a £60 refund for mis-diagnosing a problem.

Hope to get back to you soon with all of this resolved.

Oh, and I'm definately getting one of those gadgets that tell you what is wrong with the engine, as that bad-boy will most certainly save me money in the future.

Once again, thanks for all your help.

Wayne.

PS. You are right, I am in the UK.


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