Hello all I recently asked opinions re landcruiser workmate as a tow vehicle I have had a look but not really happy with it for our purpose so I have always been a Toyota man but have looked at 2012 Nissan patrol 3.0 litre turbo diesel I am sure many travellers have this vehicle is it capable of towing a 23-25 ft family van successfully any advantages any disadvantages ?? any help would be appreciated thanks in advance
It will be covered under warranty for a few years - not sure if it's 3 or 5 year for Nissan, so you've got no worries during that period.
From what I've read, it was mainly the early series that 'blew up', however as it's always best to learn as much as possible about it I suggest you GOOGLE "Nissan Patrol Hand grenade" and skim through the many results.
FWIW I don't think I'd have any worries about a 2012 model.
Good Luck.
Blown turbo's VERY rarely blow engines.. Although all the oil out exhaust sure makes some smoke !!
Intercoolers tend to filter any flying parts.. Its very fine alloy BTW..
Its mainly bearing failure in turbo which results in seal blowing oil down exhaust..
Looks spectacular ? A new turbo is often all that is required ..
From the 4X4 forums most of the angst was because Nissan:
- allegedly weaved and ducked on warranty; and
- its grudging 'solutions' did not appear to address the root causes of 'hand grenade' failures. For example, it allegedly reacted by inscribing a higher mark on the engine oil dipstick.
What lent credence to the claims was the number of ordinary, especially older, owners complaining. Some breakages from younger hotheads are expected, but when mum and dad are cruising and the engine fails out back of Woop Woop that is something else, a hell of a lot of inconvenience and a busted bank balance.
I don't know if the engines supplied to Australia are always the same as the improved models for the bigger markets. That was another claim, that a defunct engine was being dumped on the Oz market.
What real practical differences are known (as in known by mechanical engineering types) between the 'hand grenade' 3.0L engines and the 2012 model?
I had a2002 3ltr for 11yrsand had no problems with it,mate has a 2003 model done over 300ks and still going strong.
To my knowledge it was the early 3lts built before 2002 that had all the trouble of blowing engines.
I had a2002 3ltr for 11yrsand had no problems with it,mate has a 2003 model done over 300ks and still going strong. To my knowledge it was the early 3lts built before 2002 that had all the trouble of blowing engines.
Would they be every day towing vehicles, only ask as there's a big difference in engine longevity between a vehicle being used occasionally for towing and heavy daily use. Especially when dealing with low volume high revving alloy turbo charged engines. Modern souped up engines are great for the vehicle they are used in, but when you are towing big loads daily, they work very hard and are more likely to failure than a bigger capacity engine.
When buying a towing vehicle, you should be looking for one which will be over power capacity for what you intend towing, then you have a safety margin for your engine. Towing at or near a vehicles limit, will certainly reduce engine and running gear life, much better to get one that can handle it easily, then you'll have few worries. As for brand, that's a personal choice and you get lemons no matter what make it is, so buy a vehicle for what you want it to do and an engine which will easily pull your rig for a long time.
I bumped into a fellow senior traveller in the caravan park at Cooma. He had had a Nissan 3lt and the motor had blown up. I remember him saying that when bought it he had asked the dealer if it was up to the task of towing a van, and was assured it was. This was 18months ago. When I met him he had just bought a new 200 Cruiser, without a lot of the bells and whistles.
I agree they maybe allright as a straight vehicle, but put a 20ft plus van behind every day and its a whole different ball game.
-- Edited by Kiwi-as on Friday 7th of March 2014 11:18:28 AM
Nissan seems to be pushing its new petrol motor for towing. Maybe someone will know the fuel consumption difference between the suspect 3.0L diesel wording hard and the new petrol which should be a better option. That is if personal preference says Nissan it must be and in that case discussion of alternatives is worthless. Although there is plenty of choice out there.
they say 3200kg braked we don't have a van yet as it will all be determined on vehicle capability,i thank you for your interest,today was going to be settlement day on vehicle but so many negative comments about engines blowing up etc is really scaring us,really don't know what to do vehicle is perfect condition has everything we want just the towing business getting scary
We tow with a 2002 3lt TD not the common rail that you are referring to as in the 2012 model.
We have towed our 18' Regent Van with a Tare 1595kg an ATM 1995 70,000klm. Fuel range towing 15.8ltr's per 100klm's
And are now towing a Kedron Cross Country 18' CX3 Tare 2185kg with an ATM 3000kg. (I don't think we will use all the 815kgs of pay load Fuel range towing 17ltr's towing
It is a manual and can tow 3200kg's braked it has now done 175,000klm's and still going well the only modifications that have been done are the manual hubs I installed.
I have always changed the oil and filter every 5,000klm's and also regular servicing and the remainder of the vehicle.
I only ever tow in 4th gear.
Usually the reference to blown motors are from a mates mate or some bodys next door neighbour knows of some one and not from somebody that has had one.
As said before the earlier models had a problem and it was caused by overheating and Nissan did make changes by increasing the sump capacity not by re-marking the dip stick as previously mentioned.
I have seen turbo hoses blown not the fault of the vehicle but the driver wanting to maintain the speed limit plus but driving in 4th gear.
I have also seen evidence of pistons blown/burnt due to chip installation.
So to sum it up if you want to go with the Nissan Patrol keep in mind that autos will tow 2500kgs braked and manuals will tow 3200kgs braked so I would not buy a van that the ATM was at the capacity of the tow vehicle, if you go ahead with your purchase you will have a vehicle that is a capable tow vehicle.
tezza n tomoko, There are two web site forums (Australian), 'patrol4x4' and 'nissanpatrol' with a vast amount of information on the various models of the Patrol. There were earlier issues with the 3L common rail with both the engineering of the engine and the service, or lack thereof. There are fixes for those early models to prevent issues, the major one which I understand to be is that one cylinder would over heat, seize and the 'grenade' would go off. The late model 3L CR have have had engineering changes to prevent that issue.
I personally have a 4.2L that I have upgraded engine components, instruments and am continuing to add too thinking we will be towing a 2.5-3tn caravan around with. I pull my 20' boat around here all the time without issues, the trailer can't keep up the the 'trol.
I could drive what I wanted but the Patrol is a very solid platform with an extensive accessory market for goodies and parts. I think it looks good too!
-- Edited by HuskyInAuz on Friday 7th of March 2014 10:40:31 PM
Around 2000 /2001 there was a batch of engines which should have been re-called. The big end bolts where torqued too tight and under load with rpm such as towing they failed..It wasn't a matter of maybe ? It happened to every engine.. Models after 2002 didn't have the problems.. Again it pays to change down rather than have engine under high load as turbo busts itself to power along.. The causes very high heat in engine and turbine ( exhaust) side of turbo..
I am starting to breath a little better with all your help I am so glad some patrol owners are starting to comment and or just to hear some positive feedback as I said it is a 2012 vehicle we are looking at but by the time I am convinced it may be sold I hope not,i believe whether it is a Nissan,landcruiser Mitsubishi ford or whatever I am sure they have all had some issues we are very happy with vehicle we looked at just the negative responses re.engine failures scares the hell out of me,this is half of our future plan a relative new vehicle and then choosing our family van seems I have to watch the ATM of van and not overwork the motor/turbo and hopefully get out and meet you great people,by the way I appreciate all your help please don't stop----happy travelling
I am starting to breath a little better with all your help I am so glad some patrol owners are starting to comment and or just to hear some positive feedback as I said it is a 2012 vehicle we are looking at but by the time I am convinced it may be sold I hope not,i believe whether it is a Nissan,landcruiser Mitsubishi ford or whatever I am sure they have all had some issues we are very happy with vehicle we looked at just the negative responses re.engine failures scares the hell out of me,this is half of our future plan a relative new vehicle and then choosing our family van seems I have to watch the ATM of van and not overwork the motor/turbo and hopefully get out and meet you great people,by the way I appreciate all your help please don't stop----happy travelling
If you look after your vehicle as you have mentioned in your post you should have no problems, as with any engine if it is over loaded or over stressed there is the potential for failures at some time. After all they are not Mack trucks or Kenworths.
Hello Jim we are waiting for bank business at this stage unless they have sold it this weekend am hoping to secure it Monday if we are lucky then need to consider a van with weights suitable for vehicle atm gvm all that stuff to consider I am very green with all of that,i think the new condition and extras on this vehicle are all we want maybe a roof rack would be all we may want later,all the negative comments spooked us greatly re engine failures but I think with normal servicing and not becoming a drag racer we should be fine thank you very much for your interest, regards Terry
Most of the issues with the 3L motor have been caused by oil entering the inlet manifold via the EGR valve, this can easily be rectified by fitting a "catch can" which obviously catches any oil that would otherwise be sucked into the inlet manifold.
There have been two vehicles locally that this has happened to since Christmas, one motor was trashed but the second was leaking oil from the intercooler and was noticed in time
When a turbo blows it will let metal fragments enter the motor and instantly destroy it, but this is very rare in 4wd vehicles more common in trucks
I have owned two Nissans, the first was a Pathfinder purchased new and the second was a GU Patrol 2005 I purchased in 2007. And I would not recomend a 3 Ltr turbo Nissan Patrol to anyone looking for reliability long term. There are much better choices for towing than a Patrol, just ask yourself why there is no diesel option in the 2014 model and do a bit of research and you will find the motor referred to as a hand grenades. I found my Patrol a very poor choice for towing.
