Faults:

Had a Nissan X-trail 2.0 Sport from new in 2003, and in 4 years and 50000 miles not one problem. Traded this in for a 2006 2.2 dci Columbia in October 2007.

While at first, the performance was fantastic, this started to vary on some journeys, to the point of wondering if the turbo was faulty. It's intermittent and does not last long but annoying.

Then my front brake jammed-on and got so hot I thought it would burst into flames. To Nissan's credit, both front brakes were replaced free and they blamed grit in the caliper.

Then yesterday, the brakes failed completely with the pedal sinking straight to the floor. This resolved itself in a minute or so, but not before a few hairy moments!

It's in the with Nissan today, but they just scratched their heads as I had not been over-working the brakes prior to the incident. I know they will ring and say it all looks fine and can't find a problem. It does not leave me feeling too confident though!

General Comments:

A great family car, but brake problems and turbo issues seem to be common on later models.

Faults:

Having serviced the car regularly, with only 28,000 miles use, The TURBO BLEW. I note from this site that other owners have the same experience - is this a common problem?

General Comments:

The towing experience with this car is a little disappointing. The car does not respond well in reverse, unlike the Patrol and Terrano it seems/feels laboured in its performance. I have towed the same trailor and horse in all three models and feel the x trail lacks lustre.

Faults:

Inter-cooler leaking at 23,000 miles.

Sill kick plate broken 16,000 miles.

General Comments:

The X Trail is a very nice car to drive - roomy, comfortable, good performance for a vehicle of its type, and generally economical to run. All aspects of day to day use and functionality are first class.

Unfortunately as with other owners I now have the turbo and intercooler problem, with the dealer taking their time to get the vehicle booked in to sort this out. The broken sill plate mentioned is a minor issue, but does illustrate a certain flimsiness and fragility about the vehicle trim. Given the fact that this is a lightweight (and thus economical) 4x4 I'm prepared to accept the flimsy trim.

To judge by the frequency of other people's reported turbo problems, the original engineering creates an impression in my mind of wholesale inadequacy, and suggests to me that Nissan don't have any idea of how to permanently rectify the problem. I'd be prepared to forgive the original fault if I thought that Nissan and its dealers were able to come up with a permanent fix, but on the basis of the volume of repeat problems reported here I don't really have any confidence in them to do this - maybe I'll be lucky?

Nissan are trading on Japanese reliability credentials earned by other Japanese makers, and with the X Trail they are failing to deliver the expected level of reliability. This can only tarnish their own brand, ensuring low levels of recommendation and repeat custom. They could have made this problem a huge plus for the Nissan brand if they were prepared to admit it, establish a permanent fix, and then systematically fix the cars out there - but instead all I can see is another big, lazy car maker determined to do its own thing, and wholly disinterested in existing customers.

Anybody considering buying a Nissan Murano, Qashquai or 350Z should consider whether they are willing to buy what are relatively expensive cars from a company with this track record on reliability. As a footnote, the turbo charger was patented in 1905 - one hundred years of tecnological progress and Nissan still can't get them to work reliably on the X Trail.