2003 Nissan Terrano II SVE from UK and Ireland - Comments

Oil pressure switches (x3)

Windscreen washer system.

Door seals (x6)

Seat mechanism.

Door handles.

Exterior trim loose.

Various interior trim faults.

Rev counter failed.

South of the border, down Mexico way...apparently, that's where Nissan now source many of their electronic components from - and it is those components that are failing with monotonous regularity.

Add the 'Manana' element of the Spanish build quality and you've got problems.

Take the oil light sender switches. On the 3.0 diesel there are two of them - one each for higher and lower RPM.

They fail. The oil light suddenly come on and your heart nearly stops before the car does!

You telephone the dealer - "I'm on the side of the road and the oil light on my new Terrano has just come on! - what shall I do?"

"No problem, Sir, it's a known fault - just drive it in for us to look at"

"But, what if it's not the switch?, what if the oil pump has failed? - I'll wreck the engine as soon as I start it!..."

"Don't worry about it, Sir, we've had a lot of 3.0 engines exhibiting that fault - in fact, the necessary parts to fix it are on back order from Nissan"

"You mean you haven't got the bits to fix it?"

"No Sir, there's been a run on them - could take a couple of months"

"TWO MONTHS?!!" - what am I suppose to do in the meantime!?"

"Just keep driving it, Sir, and bring it in to us when you get a chance..."

(several weeks later, after the parts have been obtained from Nissan)

"Hello, Sir? - this is your Nissan garage, I'm afraid that the part sent by Nissan is also faulty...yes, Sir, that means that we can't fix the problem and will have to get another oil switch from Nissan... they're on back order again, Sir, could take a few weeks..."

{several weeks later when the replacement for the replacement oil switch has been obtained..)

"Hello, Sir? - this is your Nissan garage, I'm afraid that the replacement part sent from Nissan is faulty again...yes, Sir, I agree, it isn't really good enough...Yes, Sir, they are still in short supply...oh, about a month, I'd guess... just keep using the car until we get a new oil switch Sir..."

That's how it was for the oil switch - and that's how it was for the seat reclining mechanism that hadn't been properly installed during manufacture... and that's how it was for the exterior trim panels that were falling off... and for he glove-box that didn't fit... and for the door seals that kept falling off even though they were untouched by human hands!

That's how it was for the washer system that failed three times, that's how it was for the rev counter that is an integral part of the instrument cluster, the replacement of which means installing a new speedo with zero miles (which has to be explained at trade-in time..)

It's sole virtue is as a very good caravan towcar - but for quality and reliability look elsewhere... and look for something whose electronic bits were not made in Mexico!...

It's a shame you've had such a bad experience with the car, but Spanish people are not Mexicans and lets remember British build quality on ALL Land Rover products.. although British cars aren't known for their reliability this doesn't say that British people are incompetent. I am a Brit, by the way.

I have recently bought a terrano 3.0 DI SVE with 2000 miles on the clock and the oil pressure warning light comes on about once in every five ignitions - like you said, this is very disconcerting. Did the oil switch replacement fix your problem?

Well I've had my share of problems with the Terrano II as well. It is a new car and it's been giving me headaches ever since. Summary is listed below:

- Twice the rev-counter overturned while starting the car and was stuck on 6000 rpm. To resolve this problem it's necessary to remove the complete dashboard and manually push the needle back.

- the engine TD 2.7, was building up pressure and oil came squirting out next to the dipstick. In this case, metal chips were blocking the tube on top of the engine. Unfortunately I don't know the name, but I thought they called it the breather?? Excessive air from the engine is directed by this tube into the intake manifold. In this case Nissan-Spain didn't check whether the tubes are blocked... Thank god the metal chips didn't enter the cylinders!

- So after driving about 30000 km around Colombo, now the AC blower in front of the car stopped working and the dealer still didn't manage to find out what the problem is. If anybody knows how to resolve this problem please contact me on ctobie@yahoo.com.

Had 03 2.7 td swb van as company vehicle, good powerful vehicle, surprised how well it uses 4X4, stereo good, heating and ventalation excellent.

Bad points.

Eats tyres on N/S 1 tyre last 4k miles nissan say its the power steering?? been tracked numerous time, but still pulls to the right side, wiring burnt out on n/s headlight, antiroll bar links snapped, starter motor engaged at speed burning loom and killing the starter motor. door panels weak and no weight can be put on them, drivers interior handle comes off, the keys wear easily and fall out when driving along.

Versatile, but let down with numerous faults.

Nissan wrecked my life! This morning I was going to an important bussines meeting and car just didn't want to start! There was red oil lamp and I added 1 litter of quality oil. Nothing happend, the same problem appeared. I brought dozen mechanics (my warranty exceded) and noone knew whats the problem. Now, I'm lacking couple houndred thousand euros because I had to miss that meeting! And all because of unreliable car. We are going to court now.

My Terrano 3.0 is now five years old. The gearbox has already been replaced. Now the oil light comes on one day and off the next. I fitted a new switch now the oil light comes on below 1500 revs. Nissan dealers shake their heads, and seem to expect an open cheque book while they find the fault, yet a number of people seem to have the same problem. This is not the reliability expected from Japanese cars. Bring back British Leyland.