nissan elgrand e50 isuzu filly.pdf

All content The Dog & Lemon Guide 2011. All rights reserved

ALSO CONSIDER: Toyota Previa.

$6000 $10,000

$5000$8000

$1000$5000(for used car dealers add around 30%, including GST)

Not widely available.

SUB MODELS: Manufacturers code is E50, available in a number of different versions, including Isuzu Fargo Filly, Isuzu Filly, Nissan Caravan Elgrand & Nissan Homy Elgrand.

Quick SummaryThese vehicles offer a good ride at a comfortable pace at a reasonable price. Petrol versions are viciously thirsty. There are some safety issues.

How Reliable?Okay. See what goes wrong below

How Safe?Okay. See our safety summary below

IF ITS DONE LESS THAN 150,000KM

Nissan Elgrand Isuzu Filly & Fargo Filly

1997-02


Some of this wording is shared with other reviews.

Forty years ago most vans had their engines between the two front seats. This made them compact, but it also made them noisy and hard to work on. Worse, there was little between the front occupants and road in front, so in serious accidents the front occupants knees became part of vans crumple zone.

Eventually these grim facts filtered through to the carmakers, and they started to put the engine out the front, as they would with cars. Aside from being safer and easier to work on, this also meant that the vans could be made a lot quieter.

The Elgrand is a semi-luxury van with its bonnet out the front, offering a high standard of seating for six passengers. Dont be fooled by claims that these vehicles are designed to carry seven and eight passen-gers; theyre not.

Still, theres lots to like about the El-grand; it drives more like a car than a van (well, like a yuppie four-wheel drive, actu-ally the Elgrand uses a lot of technology borrowed from the Nissan Pathfinder).

The Elgrand has lots of geeky Japanese technology designed to make the occupants feel like royalty. The front seats swivel like captains chairs and all passengers have access to air conditioning. The swoopy dashboard is both simple and practical.

Most of these vehicles are advertised as having seven or eight seats, but this is basi-cally a crock.

In practice, the Elgrand is a luxury six-seater, with an additional sort-of seat in the middle, between one or both of the two rear outer seats (depending on the version). The middle occupant gets neither a proper seatbelt nor a headrest, nor, for that matter, much in the way of space (see below).

The front occupants sit in supreme luxury. Ditto the occupants of the middle row of seats, when the centre seat is not in use. The rear occupants get less space if the front two rows are in use by adults. With all three rows of seats in use theres only a tiny amount of luggage space left.

One of the Elgrands great features is versatility: the seats can be moved back-


wards and forwards on rails, and rotated to provide some ultimate comfort arrange-ment. When not in use, the rear seats can be folded flat for extra luggage storage.

The rear sliding doors are also very use-ful, especially in tight parking spaces where a normal, swinging door would not be able to open without banging into cars or other objects.

There are five engines but only one gearbox option; a four-speed automatic. All the petrol engines are V6s: good engines all, but rather large and thirsty.

No matter how you look at it, owning an Elgrand is going to be a thirsty exersise; dont kid yourself about this. Around town (which, realistically, is where most of these vehicles are going to be driven) you can expect to use around 16-17.5 litres per 100 kilometres. Ouch.

On the open road your fuel economy will improve, but not by as much as you would think; youre driving a heavy vehicle that slips through the air with all the aero-dynamic grace of a brick. Add six occupants and you have the perfect setup for high fuel consumption, wherever you go.

If youre going to buy one of these ve-hicles youd better hope that petrol prices dont substantially rise.

Many owners are attracted to the diesel-powered versions, due to their improved fuel economy. However, in some cases buying a diesel may be false economy. There are two diesel engines, and dont get confused about which is which, because you may regret it if you do.

The good diesel is the QD32 (3.2-litre). The bad diesel is the ZD30 (3.0-litre), which is notorious for melting its pistons, at great expense. The information about engine size should be on the vehicle ownership papers. Otherwise, ask a mechanic which engine is

fitted to the model you are looking at. Neither of the diesel engines gives much

in the way of performance. While they have plenty of power, they deliver it reasonably slowly. Life in a diesel Elgrand consists of a series of slow bursts of acceleration, fol-lowed by another gearchange.

The petrol engines have plenty of imme-diate power, and a thirst to match. Driven hard, these engines would bankrupt an Arab.

On the road, the Elgrand gives a smooth and competent ride, provided you remem-ber that its actually an offroad vehicle youre driving, not a car. On smooth, straight roads, the Elgrands passengers will feel comfortable and secure. On rougher roads and roads with lots of tight bends, the Elgrand will feel less at home; the ride becomes badly wallowy and bumps are transmitted up through the vehicle. Driv-ing more slowly is your only option.

Because of the weight of the vehicle, the Elgrands brakes and suspension dont last all that long. Repairing this suspen-sion many not be cheap. Therefore, only a madman would buy one of these vehicles without a really thorough mechanical in-spection. If you live in an area where safety inspection certificates are required, demand a new safety certificate with the vehicle.

If you live in a hot climate, be very careful that the Elgrands air conditioning works. On a hot summers day, an Elgrand without air con is like a furnace.

Safety-wise, the Elgrand did quite well in its Japanese crashtest.

However, please note that the centre rear occupants get only a lap seatbelt, known to virtually tear the wearer in half in a serious collision, even if the other occupants walk away unscathed.


Click this link to see what may happen to children who are wearing lap-only seatbelts during a collision.

Be aware also that its common for un-scrupulous car dealers to wind the odom-eter back on these vehicles to hide the true mileage. This means that your low mileage Elgrand could actually be mostly worn out. Dont be fooled by a tidy interior: the Japanese are an obsessively tidy culture; its common for vehicles to look clean and tidy even when theyre old.

NEVER buy one of these vehicles with-out first getting a full mechanical inspec-tion from your local automobile association or other reputable mechanical inspection service.

The huge problem for families on a budget is: how to buy a vehicle that is capable of carrying the whole crew afford-ably and in safety. In reality, there are few vehicles that tick all the boxes: theyre all compromised in some way. The biggest attraction of the Elgrand is that its a lot of vehicle for the money. Dont however, by fooled by claims that these vehicles can safely seat more than six beings.

Whether or not one of these vans will suit you depends on your budget and your expectations. Unless youre prepared to risk the lives of the centre-rear occupants, the Elgrand is really a six, not an eight-seater. Plus, the Elgrand is thirsty and its relatively rare, so parts may be an issue.

Would we buy an Elgrand with our own money? Yes, but cautiously, and wed sell it long before it got too old. See also our comments on Nissan at the end of this review and our comments on Diesels & Japanese Imports on the links page that follows this review.

Engine problems There are two diesel engines fitted to the El-grand: one good, one bad.The 3.2-litre (QD32) diesel engine is among the last of Nissans old-fashioned, slow-but-reli-able workhorses. The main problems with these engines aside from those caused by abuse are age and fuel leaks. Heres what goes wrong with these engines:1) The cylinder heads on these engines are solid and well built, but if seriously overheated, they may blow head gaskets and often crack, which will frequently require expensive replacement of the head (and sometimes the entire engine). Many experts are wary about any engine that has been overheated to the point where the head cracks, because there may be hidden damage. When the cylinder head is replaced, the injectors have to be removed as part of the head replacement process. Because the injec-tors are often pretty worn by the time the head fails, they are often replaced at the same time, which means that the cylinder head repair job may cost thousands once you add up the parts and labour charges. Therefore, avoid any vehicle fitted with one of these engines if the engine shows signs of having been overheated, has coolant leaks or a radiator with lots of its fins missing. See also our general head gasket warning at the end of this review.2) The seals around the diesel pumps may leak due to a change in the composition of the diesel on sale in many countries. Fixing these seals can be expensive, which means some owners instead sell the vehicle, leaving the problem for the next owner (e.g., you). Once these seals


have been fixed with more modern parts, the repair should last for a long time. Obviously, you need to check the diesel pump for leaks, but start by simply looking under the vehicle for drips originating from the engine. Diesel is fairly thin, clear and has a particular odour that is quite different to oil. Smelling the drips may be useful in terms of working out where they came from. Another symptom of a leaking die-sel pump may be difficulty starting the vehicle from cold (although this may also be caused by other things, including dodgy glowplugs).3) If the oil is not changed regularly, the rocker shafts will wear out. They can, however, be replaced without taking the cylinder head off. Rather more serious is a problem that occurs occasionally on engines that have been fitted with cheap aftermarket filters: the return flap in the oil filter (which is designed to keep oil in the filter when the engine is off ) may leak, allowing the engine oil to drain out overnight. This means that the next time the engine is started, it will have very little oil and no pres-sure for the first, critical few seconds. If this problem happens once, thats okay, but if left unfixed, this constant lack of oil pressure at startup can wreck an otherwise perfectly good engine. The easy way to check for this problem is to insist that you hear the engine starting from cold. If theres a problem you may hear a nasty knocking from the bottom of the engine that may cease after a few seconds. Walk away.4) Turbochargers (on turbocharged versions) also wont forgive lack of oil changes. Repair is expensive and secondhand turbochargers are not recommended. Be wary also of turbocharg-ers that were retrofitted by the owner onto engines that left the factory without them. Lots of othcerwise good engines have been wrecked this way. It takes a mechanic to tell if the tur-bocharger has been fitted properly; dont buy a version with a retrofitted turbo unless your mechanic says its okay.5) Even though these engines were a pretty good design, many of them have done Star Trek mileages by now and are simply worn out. Due to the age of these engines there arent many good secondhand ones about and repairing a worn out engine may cost you more than you

paid for the vehicle. The key, of course, is to not buy a vehicle with an engine that is worn out, then repairing it wont be your problem. The 3.0 (ZD30) turbo diesel engine is some-thing of a disaster area. It has a shocking repu-tation for reliability and typically suffers from total meltdown.It is sometimes (erroneously) claimed that the only problem with this engine is the occasional failure of the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF). The MAF is blamed for the ZD30s biggest problem, which is over-fuelling. Over-fuelling (which is essentially a diesel engineers term for running too rich), means the excess fuel starts washing the lubricating oil from the pistons, creating excessive heat and, quite soon, engine meltdown together with cracked cylinder head.However, the ZD30s problems go far beyond simple sensor failure: 1) These engines run relatively high turbo-charger pressures and also have a major exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system in order to reduce pollution. EGR systems cause problems on many modern diesels, but especially the ZD30. On the ZD30, the high turbocharger boost levels create equally high pressures in the crankcase. This pressure eventually causes oil to seep past the crankcase baffle, through the intercooler and eventually into the inlet mani-fold. Inside the inlet manifold, the oil seepage mixes with exhaust gases from the EGR unit to form a sludge that gradually restricts the inlet manifold, especially at the rear. This problem is compounded by the second:2) Over-boosting too much pressure from the turbocharger is common. Some owners fit aftermarket boost gauges for this reason. The ECU will notice if theres too much boost pressure and lower the pressure in response, but its slow to react, which can allow spikes of 25psi or more. The ZD30s boost sensor does not control the fuel mixture, so over-fuelling can accompany over-boost. One symptom of over-boosting is intercooler hoses blowing off. Because many owners dont recognise whats causing the problem, they simply reattach the hoses. Soon the whole system is heavily over pressurised, which compounds the EGR prob-lem described above, and may also cause the


hoses and intercooler to rupture.The Engine Control Unit (ECU) relies on the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF), Throttle Posi-tion Sensor (TPS) and Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) when setting fuel levels. When one of these sensors fails (especially the Mass Air Flow Sensor), the ECU will often get the fuel levels badly wrong. Because of the EGR sludge prob-lem described above, the rear cylinders often run lean, while the fronts run very rich. The ZD30s ECU does not monitor the mixture going into the individual cylinders, therefore it remains blissfully unaware of the problem. On many diesel engines theres an exhaust tempera-ture sensor, which would also detect a problem. Because the ZD30 doesnt have one, the engine can be melted by the time the driver of the vehicle notices theres something wrong. See our general head gasket warning at the end of this review. Timing belts (V6 petrol engines) are prone to expensive failure and must be replaced ac-cording to the manufacturers specifications or catastrophic engine damage may occur. See our article A Question of Timing on the links page that follows this review.We do not know whether the 2.0 (NA20G) en-gine uses a timing belt or chain. The diesel en-gine uses a timing chain, not a timing belt, and these chains fail also. The symptom is a rattling from the engine. Not only does this rattle mean the chain, guides and tensioners need replac-ing, but it also probably means that the vehicle has done a high mileage and will probably need serious work soon. On petrol engines, camshafts, camshaft bearings & cam followers tend to wear out very quickly if the oil hasnt been changed regularly. The problem is the oil squirter on the rocker arms that blocks through lack of oil changes. Youre in trouble once this happens. Overheating can destroy your engine! See our

article Keeping it Cool on the links page that fol-lows this review.

Elgrand models built between 21 April 1998 & 28 May 2003 The engine rotary sensor can become deformed by engine heat, caus-ing a short circuit. False signals from the sensor mean the engine wont start, or will stall and not restart. If the problem has been fixed in Japan there will be a silver sticker on the right of the vehicle type plate in the engine bay. VIN numbers @ dogandlemon.comSearch dogandlemon.com RJ-0995-0

Gearbox & drivetrain problems See our general automatic transmission warning at the end of this review. Constant velocity (CV) joints are prone to wear. Drive the car in a tight left, then right-hand circle and listen for the telltale knock-knock-knock sound.

Steering & suspension problems Power steering racks are prone to failure at high mileages. Especially watch out for oil leaks from the steering rack, because this not only signals that the unit needs rebuilding, it may cause it to fail a safety check (see recall below).

Brake & safety problems See our general airbag and ABS warning at the end of this review.

Elgrand & Isuzu Filly models with turbocharger, built between 20 August 1999 & 15 June 2001 Parking brake cable wears out brake pipes and may cause them to leak. If the problem has been fixed in Japan there will be a silver sticker on right side of model number plate. VIN numbers @ dogandlemon.comSearch dogandlemon.com RJ-1855-0

Elgrand, Homy Elgrand & Isuzu Filly models built between 13 July 1998 & 13 March 2001 The handbrake cable may break, especially in cold conditions, causing handbrake failure. If the problem has been fixed in Japan there will be yellow paint on the side of the left lower suspension link. VIN numbers @ dogandlemon.comSearch dogandlemon.com RJ-0964-0 and RJ-0765-0


This vehicle did well in a Japanese crash test. However, this test was easier to pass than its Western counterpart, so we cant give this car a useful rating. We believe, how-ever, that it would probably protect you okay in a moderate collision. See our general comments in the Safety section (see the links page that follows this review). See also our comments on Vans & Safety in the links page that follows this review.

This vehicle lacks proper seatbelts throughout. The centre-rear seats have lapbelts only, which may rip you or your children in half in a serious accident, even if the other occupants walk away unscathed. Google dog and lemon guide restraint for more information.

VIN PLATE LOCATION: Not known.ENGINE TYPE & SIZE: (petrol) 3.3 VG33E V6 3274cc DOHC EFI 3.4 VQ34DE V6 3498cc DOHC DOHC MPI 3.5 VQ35DE V6 3498cc DOHC MPI

(diesel) 3.0 ZD30 4cyl 2953cc DOHC Di turbo, 3.2 QD32 4cyl 3153cc OHV MPI

RECOMMENDED FUEL/S: (petrol) RegularHOW MUCH FUEL?: Realistic urban averages:

(petrol) 3.3 16 litres/100km 6.4 km/litre 18 mpg 3.4 17.5 litres/100km 5.7 km/litre 16 mpg 3.5 17.5 litres/100km 5.7 km/litre 16 mpg

(diesel) 3.0 8.5litres/100km 11.7 km/litre 33 mpg 3.2 8.8 litres/100km 11.3 km/litre 32 mpg

SafetyPRETENSIONING SEATBELTS: All modelsWEBBING-GRABBER SEATBELTS: Information not suppliedANTISKID BRAKING (ABS): All modelsAIRBAGS: Dual front, all modelsSIDEINTRUSION BEAMS: Yes


making senseof this review

Note: this PDF review is designed to be read on your computer. Obviously, the online links within this review will only work if youre viewing this PDF onscreen with your computer hooked up to the internet.

1) We suggest you read this page carefully if youre having trouble understanding the review. If youre frantic and need a quick confirmation that youre making the right car-buying decision, go straight to the Quick Summary section on the front page of your review.

2) The rest of the review is there to explain why we make our recommendation in the Quick Summary section. Dont be surprised if we make a negative recommendation: we try and steer buyers away from vehicle purchases that are likely to end in tears.

3) Buying a car is a complex and confusing process. For this reason we recommend that you calm down and read our supporting articles as well as the review itself, so that you can see where were coming from.

4) We especially recommend you click on the blue link below to read our article: How to Use These Reviews.

5) If youre buying secondhand, we recommend you watch our free video: The Five Minute Car Check.

6) There are a number of really useful supporting articles available free from our website. You can access these by simply clicking on the name of the article on the links page that follows the review.

7) If youre still horribly confused: contact us, but please have some compassion for our overworked support staff: most of the answers you need are already supplied within this review and the free articles on our website.

Enjoy!

Heres the Quick Summary section on the front page of your review.

Mr Y. Katayama, former president of Nissan USA, shares a joke with his

sales manager

NISSANOfficial name: Nissan Motor Company, Ltd.

Owned by: Mostly Renault (44.3%).

Owns: 15% of Renault, Nissan Marine.

Current situation: Nissans finances have improved but its quality has dropped since the Renault takeover. Nissan is now the least reliable Japanese make sold in Britain. Except in China, Nissans sales have fallen sharp-ly. Global profits will continue to suffer in the near future.Nissans fortunes are now closely linked to Renaults. Both Nissan and Renault have been aggressively expanding into uncertain markets in developing countries. Both companies now face declining market share and heavy losses.

Chances of survival: uncertain. In the longer term Nissan & Renault could part company once more

Fo u n d e d i n 1911 with the catchy name of Kwaishinsha Co, Nissans first car was called the DAT (Japa-nese for hare), which was produced in vari-ous models for a dec-ade. In 1930, after being absorbed by the Tobata Imono Co, a new small car was produced. Being the conceptual child of the DAT, the new car was given the English name of the Datson son of DAT.

However, in Japanese, the new name sounded too much like the word for ruin, so the name was altered to Datsun. The trademark Nissan was added in 1937 for a new range of Datsun cars.

Nissan started assembling Brit-ish Austin A40s in November 1953 and built Austin A50s from 1956 to 1959. The Bluebird, a Morris Ox-ford clone produced in 1959, was the beginning of a boom for Datsun that continued for years. The Nis-san trademark was reintroduced in 1960 for the companys top models, and grew to take over as the name for the company itself.

Nissan produced some of the finest budget cars of the 1970s. Models like the Datsun 120Y and rear-wheel drive Sunny established the brand in the West. However, even in the 1970s the motor in Datsun Cherry was based on the one in the Mini.

As time went by, however, Nis-sans management grew old and tired, and the cars followed suit. Nissan didnt really have any central plan; it had too many models, too many factories and too little grasp

Carlos Ghosn, the Renault man who turned Nissans for-tunes around, has al-most godlike status in Japan. However, what Ghosn did was on the page one of any economics textbook: close down unprofit-able factories, reduce the number of models & tart-up the exist-ing models so that they look a bit more appealing to consum-ers. Its wasnt rocket science.

Modern Nissans share bits with Renaults. Renault quality has therefore improved from appalling to merely dread-ful, while Nissan quality has often dropped from reasonable to poor.

Some modern Nissans simply dont have the reliability that you can usually take for granted with Japanese vehicles. For example, in a recent reliability survey, 40% of Nissan X-Trails had an engine problem.

A couple of decades ago, Nissan was one of the most reliable Japa-nese makes, according to most Brit-ish reliability surveys. Now Nissan is the least reliable Japanese make sold in Britain, according to the consumer magazine Which

of what the customers wanted. By the late 1990s, Nissan was facing bankruptcy. Renault brought much of the ailing Nissan company in 1999.

Before You Buy Bargain Hunting How To Use These Reviews

The Five Minute Car Check Finance Buying New

Depreciation in Australia Depreciation in New Zealand Insurance Types of Vehicles

Japanese Secondhand Imports

Cabriolets & Convertibles

Yuppie Four-wheel Drives

Hybrids

British Cars

European Cars

German Cars

Classic Cars

Luxury Cars

Ownership Issues Automatics & CVT Transmissions

A Question of Timing - timing belts

Keeping It Cool

Know Your Battery Tyresome Foolishness

Diesels

CNG & LPG

Turbochargers & Superchargers

Safety Playing it Safe - vehicle safety features

Making Sense of Crashtests

Dozens of useful additional articles for free! Just click on the name of an article from the list below

(you need to be viewing this page on your computer and be connected to the internet for this to work).

online links

Cars 1970-88

Vans & Safety Four-wheel Drives & Safety Classic Cars & Safety A Tragic Lack of Restraint seatbelts

The Seven Deadly Sins - the causes

of road crashes

A Comedy of Errors road safety ads

dont work A Fine Mess why fines dont work Calming the Madness good road design can save lives

That Sleep of Death driver fatigue Victims of Circumstance how you

live affects how you die When a Phone Box Pulls Out In Front

of You

Cars & The World We Live In A Long Way From Paradise The Dream Merchants

Women & Cars

Cars & Other Dysfunctional

Relationships - by Germaine Greer The Chinese Bubble Cars & Nazis

Its Not Easy Being Green The Emperors New World The Emperors New Car

The Meaning of Life Dictionary of Car Terms

Both the ABS (anti-skid braking) and airbag warning lights should go on and then off when you first start the vehicle. If this does not happen, the vehicle may require a major, extremely expensive repair immediately (if either the ABS or airbag warning lights do not go on at all, someones probably disconnected them to hide the fact that the ABS or airbag system is faulty). If either warning light comes on while you are driving, this may mean a serious malfunction in the vehicles safety systems, and the vehicle should not be driven, let alone purchased.

Modern engines work hard. Because of this, they tend to get hot and frequently blow their top, especially if the engine has been overheated or run without fresh antifreeze. Head gaskets may be very expensive to fix and if left unfixed youll probably end up broken down at the side of the road. Worse, blown head gaskets sometimes lead to total engine failure.

The symptoms of a blown head gasket are mysterious coolant loss, sometimes accompanied by rough running and overheating, clouds of white steam coming from the exhaust, oil in the water, water in the oil, and/or white goo under the oil filler cap (see picture opposite). You should also lift out the oil dipstick. If the oil is the colour of the white goo in the middle of the oil filler cap in the picture, you have a cracked cylinder head and/or blown head gasket. You should also be suspicious about any vehicle with a heater that leaks coolant into the interior of the car. A leaking heater is sometimes a symptom of a head gasket problem. So is a blown or leaking radiator or its hoses.

Blown head gasket warning

ABS & airbag warning

Automatic transmission warning Automatic transmissions that do not shift smoothly during a test drive are probably not long of this earth. Also, with the vehicle at normal operating temperature (so that the engine is not idling too fast) put the handbrake on and try switching the gear selector between forward and reverse this should happen quickly and smoothly without any clunk if not, suspect big repair bills in the near future.

Note: the advice below may not apply on some modern cars, because there may be no dipstick to check. For further information, see our articles on automatic transmis-sions and CVT transmissions in the links page (one page back).

With the transmission in neutral and the engine running at normal operating temperature, lift out the transmission dipstick, wipe it clean, put it back in and then remove it again. The automatic transmission fluid should be a happy cherry red colour & should be within the marked area on the transmission dipstick if its not, abuse and/or neglect is pretty likely and the vehicle should be avoided!

nissan elgrand e50 isuzu filly.pdf

Documents