# X-Trail Head Gasket Issues



## Noofighter (Jul 7, 2011)

Hi there, wonder if anyone out there can help me.

9 months ago, my Nissan X-Trail '55 Plate Fat Face DCi blew its gasket. Water had been leaking through the cracked head into the cylinders, compression then caused issues with the cylinders and so I had to fork out for all the work, plus refurbed cylinders. Total cost was £2300. The work was carried out at an official Nissan dealership.

1 month ago, whilst undergoing a check on failed air conditioning unit, the mechanic noticed that there were bubbles within the radiator and warned this could be an issue with the gasket (again). I took it back to the original dealer, who advised "if it's an issue with the same parts as last year, this will be covered under warranty. If not, costs are likely to be a minimum of £400 labour." I agreed, as it was the only way I was going to be able to claim under warranty. 

I was then not surprised when the dealer called up a week later to advise of "bad news". Turned out initially there was an issue with the thermostat - instead of kicking in at 85 degrees, it was waiting until 95 degrees then only kicking in for minutes. As a result, the engine was continuing to heat up and as a result the "box", as opposed to the cylinders, had warped. The options were:

1) Put the car back together @ £400
2) Try and do work on the box to make it work, then put it back together @ £750
3) Get a new engine....

What I was expecting was that the garage would accept they did not do a thorough job in the first instance, therefore this would be free of charge. Wishful thinking maybe. My questions for this forum are:

1) Is the garage obliged to check things such as the thermostat when such a significant problem is being fixed (the original head-gasket repair)?
2) Is there really enough of a differentiator within the gasket itself to allow for two unrelated issues?
3) What is my best recourse here - do I accept that this can happen, that there is no liability on the part of the garage and pay the £750 necessary? Do I pay and then consider small claims? Or do I need to seek legal advice up front?

And, related though not directly, a more general question:

4) Does the X-Trail have a trigger switch fitted that turns off the air con unit when the engine gets too hot?

Any advice is appreciated - need to get it sorted as soon as possible.

Many thx.


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