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The transmission on my 2012 Nissan Juke (42,000kms, NZ new) has failed and probably needs to be replaced. Although it is now out of warranty do I have any recourse to encourage Nissan to help me out here. eg the Consumer Guarantees Act says an item should be reliable for an expected lifespan. I have expected the transmission to have lasted much longer than the km traveled so far.
Are private, personal cars covered by this act or some other?
What encouragement can I approach Nissan with?

Thanks,
Neville Jackson

Hi there,
One would expect a fully serviced/ cared for transmission to last longer than 5 years 42k.
The CGA doesn't apply to private sales, so no recourse available to the vehicle seller. But I would be asking questions of the manufacturer, but you would need to back it up with a service schedule and evidence that a lack of or incorrect servicing didn't contribute to the failure.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what you are referring to by "private sales". I bought the car for personal use from a registered car dealer. Does the CGA not apply in that case either?
Thanks,
Neville Jackson

Hi there,
In this case a vehicle sale from a dealer gives the benefit of cover under the CGA. It doesn't have an expiry, but is based on what is considered reasonable for the vehicle age, mileage and condition.
It would be best to give the selling dealer first right of remedy and have their reply documented. For best results if claiming against the vehicle manufacturer, you will need to supply evidence of the correct servicing procedures and intervals followed and that there was no outside influence contributing to early failure.

Thanks for your help and advice last week. Nissan have decided to replace the CVT at no cost to me, which has saved alot of money and potential hassles. They have a goodwill policy which they are using for my benefit. Thanks again, Neville

Hi Neville,
Thanks for the feedback.

Hi I wonder if you can help - I have the same problem with a 2010 Juke that has only done 34,000km. Just wondering what you said to Nissan to persuade them to repair yours. Did you quote the CGA, and is there a person you can refer me to. I have already approached Coachrane Nissan in Chch and they say Nissan have refused to cover it because it is an import, even though it has an AA certified mileage of 9000km at the date of import 2 years ago. This seems to be Nissan trying to get out of their responsibilities on a technicality. I have googled this and this problem is occurring worldwide and Nissan sometimes fix it and other times wont.

I said very little to Nissan to persuade them. The repair was approved within 24hours of the agents here sending in the request. A couple of things stand out as my case being different to yours. My Juke was NZ new, it was serviced by Nissan agents for the first three years and by my garage after that. Both service centres were able to provide records of up to date servicing which I was told helped. I was also told that there have been other transmission failures in Jukes, which I suspect also convinced them.
Good luck