Even if the car is still within warranty? (Mine isn't, but just trying to understand your logic!)

On the contrary, the Nissan-approved dealership that currently has my car, Glyn Hopkin in Essex were able to trace the service records from the Nissan-approved dealership, Yeomans in Worthing which carried out the servicing and the recall work. I agree that to think Nissan has a database accessed by all is probably incorrect, but there is some kind of Nissan-approved dealership network that records all servicing. The fact that Nissan are saying my car was purchased 'outside of the Nissan network' and are using this as a reason to offer only limited assistance also confirms that some kind of shared database exists. I'm no expert, but a vehicle's registration mark is not personal data and therefore the DPA doesn't apply, so as long as there is no personal information stored on this database that can be viewed by a third party then it shouldn't breach any DP laws. A further update as follows: Nissan have offered 50% towards parts which leaves me with the other 50% plus labour. They have said that there is no further course of appeal, which I don't really believe is the case so I'll be investigating this further. They have also said that I may have a case of claim against the dealership who carried out the recall work. Again, this I will be pursuing next week. So, an initial repair bill of £6.5k is now reduced to just over £4K, so I'm hoping to try and half that and suck up a £2k cost. I never expected them to cover all costs so anything is a result. As always, your advice and guidance is fully appreciated and anything else is always welcome.

Hi All, Apologies - I had no notifications for replies, I just came on to post an update and here you all are! Thank you all so much. To confirm, I bought the car in June 2013 and the car is under the 72 months by quite a bit. I have spoken to Nissan Customer Care and they have initially been very helpful, however according to them the cambelt should be replaced every 27k!! Ridiculous! So now I have had 3 different intervals been quoted. The case manager was very nice and made sure the dealership gave me a courtesy car, but she was very up front in saying that as the car is out of warranty and not purchased from a Nissan authorised dealer then I fall out of their 'Goodwill' policy. However, when I mentioned the recall and that I believed that by issuing a recall Nissan have acknowledged a fault and therefore I am led to believe the issue is due to mechanical build failure she said that I would need to instruct the dealership to strip the engine down and investigate the cause and if it is linked to the recall then they 'may be able to help'. At this point, I had a decision to make as a friend of mine could install a new engine for £1300 all in and was I prepared to take a gamble on paying the extortionate labour charges to the dealership only for them to tell me I need a new engine. I went ahead and instructed the dealership to strip the engine and they called me today to tell me that surprise surprise the engine needs replacing to the tune of £6500! I asked about the cause of the belt and have been told by them that the belt failed because it was rubbing on the 'water bottle'. I asked if this was the issue for Nissan issuing a recall and was told it is however my vehicle had the work done on the recall but the same fault has occurred either because the recall work wasn't carried out correctly or the belt has somehow moved back into its faulty position. Therefore it seems quite positive that the problem is indeed the engine build and not normal wear and tear. I have relayed all this back to NCC and they are now liaising with the dealership to clarify the situation and will be calling me back to update me on what 'if anything' they can do. I've read similar stories of Nissan only offering to cover the cost of parts or 60% towards parts only which still leaves a hefty labour bill. Surely I should expect them to carry out the work free of charge? Especially seeing as the issue is down to their initial bungled engine work and then not correcting the issue on the recall work? Looking forward to your advice. I will of course keep you all updated.

Thanks for the info - much appreciated. Just to confirm, my issue is with Nissan, not Renault although ironically the engine we are talking about is a Renault K9K engine. I believe that Nissan have admitted a mechanical defect by issuing the recall but they cannot tell me if my vehicle was subject to a check/rectification works. I have read numerous threads on people having the same issue with this engine and Nissan burying their heads in the sand somewhat, which is foolish considering the Qashqai is so popular and this fault seems to be quite common. I'm considering involving Watchdog over this. Their Social Media accounts have been flooded by unhappy customers also. Still requiring further advice please.

Hi All, I have been a regular reader of the forums in recent years and have now decided to sign up as I am in the early stages of what I feel is going to be a long, drawn-out process with Nissan regarding my Qashqai. I purchased a 2010 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci Acenta from CarGiant in June 2013 with 32K Miles on the clock. The car came with 2 Nissan Main Dealer service stamps in the book, plus an additional service/check from CG. I have had the car serviced at the recommended intervals set out by Nissan albeit by my local garage (with receipts/history provided). The car has given me 2 years trouble-free motoring up to June 2015 when it needed a new clutch, in my opinion prematurely but c'est la vie! Anyway, whilst driving to visit family this past Thursday (February 18th), the car suddenly lost power and I managed to get it off the road and call a recovery service. The recovery driver suspected cam belt failure and so I opted to have the car recovered to my local Nissan main dealer as I felt that the cam belt has snapped prematurely. The dealer confirmed that the belt had indeed failed and it would cost me £114 for the diagnosis, but if I wanted them to strip the engine down to inspect further damage this would cost another £450+ in labour. At this point I explained that I would expect Nissan to accept some kind of ownership of the problem as the stated cam belt change intervals of '100k miles or 72 months' (quoted by initial service clerk) had not been met. The clerk told me that he would speak with the service manager and get back to me today. He called me this morning to explain that the dealership would offer no gesture of goodwill as the car was not known to them. I explained that it was known to Nissan though and if they were trading under the Nissan badge then it should not matter. Anyway, he was polite enough and was just acting as the mouthpiece for his manager who obviously did not have the tacks to call me and explain himself, so I thanked him but then asked again what the cam belt change intervals were for my vehicle. He then went off to speak to a technician and eventually came back and said "76K miles or 6 years". This contradicts his colleague and also he kept referring to a timing 'chain'. I know from research that my particular engine is belt driven, not chain like all other Nissan engines. So, my next option was to call Nissan Customer Care to raise a case, which I have done today and have been given a 48-hour timeframe for a case manager to contact me. I have read various stories of the same issue, Nissan apparently issued a recall for due to the timing belt rubbing against the water pump but I can't seem to find the recall on the VOSA website. I've also read on various other forums that the cars that were recalled were inspected only for the belt to fail a short time after. The results seem to be mixed, some people receiving no gesture of goodwill at all, some receiving an offer of Nissan to cover the cost of parts and some actually getting the full repair done free of charge. The concern for me is simple - I can't afford the estimated £6k cost to replace the engine which is inevitable as I was travelling at around 50mph when the fault occurred and I've not read of a similar story that hasn't required a replacement engine. My other concern is that Nissan do not seem to be able to give me a conclusive schedule for having the cam belt changed! Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.