Nissan Primastar road tests and consumer car reviews

Nissan Primastar 2.0 115 lwb 2007

I bought this van with 24,000 km on the clock with a full service history. It drove fantastically well for the first 9 months, then one day while driving along at about 100 kph it cut out on main road. The light that indicates an injector fault was on as I coasted to a stop (50,000 km on clock now). After being plugged in at garage I was told that injector 1 and 2 were faulty. The main dealer price  was €614 each including vat. I bought them reconditioned for about €200 each. After being put in injector 3 and 4 read faulty so they were also replaced, but there was still a problem with misfiring. A compression test came next, which showed there was no compression on cylinder 4 as the valves were stuck open with carbon. After sorting that out and putting the van back together it now runs well, but has cost about €3,000 to fix so far as it was out of warranty. Bad engine design means the injectors were sitting in an inch of water, I was lucky to be able to get them out...others were not so lucky. If I’d known then what I know now I would not have bought one of these vans. The only Nissan part is the badge, the rest is Renault. I’m not happy.

Nissan Primastar 2005

Fuel injectors, turbo and almost everything else that could go wrong with an engine has happened. Had the engine rebuilt after a valve broke and messed up the head replaced all valves and injectors 7-8 months ago, only to find the injectors have gone again. I do not use another diesel only topaz and never the cheaper diesel. I never use petrol or any products to clear the injectors. I also replaced the air flow meter and sometimes lose power when in 5th gear for a while, then it comes back when I knock it off and restart up again.

Nissan Primastar crew cab lwb 2008

This my third Nissan Primastar in 9 years but first crew cab lwb. I can not praise these vans enough and have had all from new with mileages as follws when sold first had 58,000 second had 53,000 and current has 44,000 apart from tyres and brake pads I have had no issues with any of them. Have read the comments and all I can assume is you have been unlucky. would not hessitate to buy a fourth one.

Nissan Primastar 2008

Hi, I bought my primastar in 2009 as an ex demonstrator with 7000 miles, I have now done 76000 without so much as a cough. It gets used daily fom morning ’til night without much let up. I service it reguarly and I don’t drive it like an idiot. Absolutely brilliant van, it’s comfortable, has plenty of poke and pulling power and I would recommend it to anyone.

Nissan Primastar 1.9 se swb 2005

I have had this van 6 weeks (Primastar 1.9 se swb) 100k on the when I paid £2500 and it’s only got 102k on the clock now, on the way home from buying this van it wouldn’t go in 3rd and 4th gear. Took the van to Essex Transmition on Canvey who changed the gear beerings, cost £630 cash so no vat, They done s..t job, tried to catch me out on the clutch, but that was done at 87k. I have had new track rod ends x 2, wishbones x 2, new engine mounts, full service, cambelt and more. Now I have paid £3936 for this and not happy. Glow plug light keeps flashing on when driving, rear brake pad needs replacing. DON’T BUY THIS VAN! I had a Toyota Hiace before this and I only sold it because I was using too much fuel. I will get this work sorted and then my van will be up for sale

Responses to this review

How does the garage that repaired the van bear any resemblence on the van itself? - Mark from Derbyshire

Nissan Primastar 2ltr 115 dc 2007

Bought van new in 2007, going well plenty of poke. Recently had prob with injectors, van keeps cutting out, Nissan dealer trying to scr*w us for them, but can buy ourselves new for less than half the price!

Responses to this review

I bought one too, biggest mistake I ever made! It has been in garage a total of 22 times in two years, an absolute disaster! Fuel injectors, water pumps, fuel sensors, glow plugs etc etc etc. Nissan are a nightmare to deal with, the big problem with these vans is sourcing the problem... I need this van for work, have stopped using Nissan garages for repairs because they think your wallet is a bottomless pit! I use my own mechanic, far cheaper... These vans will break your heart. I got into the van this morning and the slave cyclinder for clutch pedal has to be replaced as the pedal stays to floor! - Joe from Northern Ireland

I replaced the master cylinder and slave cylinder, gave the van a full service all over including new brake discs and pads. I thought everything was sorted then I was driving last week and the clutch hit the floor. Left it in garage and turns out that a steel bracket in the pedalbox has broke. The whole dash has to be taken out to replace it. Has to be done by Nissan with the price coming in close to 1,000 Euros. This van is a disaster and is totally unreliable and depressing especially with recession. Going to change it for a Ford, I will never buy Nissan again, these vans are bad for your health. Total spent in three years fixing it: 8,000 Euros. I’ve never had any weight in the van and never had a tow bar. Serviced every 8,000 kilometers and well looked after - Joe from Northern Ireland

Nissan Primastar 2008

Since I have had this vehicle have faced a number of problems: 1). first of all some sort of wiring loom burned out on it. 2). Then semi auto gear box broke wouldn’t select gear after had that repaired 3). Fear selector again wouldn’t select gear. 4). Window regulator and suspension baring replaced. 5). No electrical power because alternator had gone. 7). Gear box again wouldn’t select gear again after had it repaired with the vehicle been in Nissan Holdcroft for three months they finally repaired it but still it wasn’t right so it had to go in to Renault Holdcroft for the software for the gearbox. Now had it back for about three months and it’s back in Nissan Holdcroft because of the gearbox again, bear in mind this is a 2008 purpose built taxi which came from VOYAGER, which was based in Crewe but now have moved to Sandbach in the Midlands. So one thing’s for sure, I wont be buying anything off them!

Responses to this review

Hi Mohammed. I Know how you feel. I have the same vehicle from Voyager and it has the same gearbox fault as yours. The local dealer has been trying to find a solution since March 2009. They have fitted 3 robotic units but it still didn’t solve the fault. Voyager told me they was a dealer in Widnes who had 6 vehicles with the same problem. I have been told that the fluid that runs the automatic unit is getting contaminated and eventually the system shuts itself down. The dealer in Widnes told me they change the fluid every 4 to 6 weeks and it cuts down on the fault occuring. It isn’t a solution but it does keep you working. I got it back today after having all the software updated and fluid replaced so fingers crossed. If you wish to swap information you can email me at garyswatman[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk and I will tell you anything that can help - Gary Swatman from Yorkshire

I feel for you, Mohammed. I bought my ex voyager Primastar in Dec 2010 with 64,000 on the clock. Now at 111,000, the transmission has failed. It has the tiptronc system (ie. no clutch peddle but a manual clutch and gearbox). My local Nissan have quoted £2,300 just to supply and fit the clutch! Once fitted if it is found that the robotic actuator is faulty then the bill rises to £6,500! I’ve already waited two weeks for the clutch (arriving this Friday hopefully). If the actuator needs ordering that’s another two weeks. Cannot order both parts together as there is a no return policy on electronic components. Once bought, you have to have the part even if it is not required. The only thing about this vehicle that is Nissan is the batch. Never again! - Emmanuel Moschakis from Hampshire

Nissan Primastar 2.0 DCI 115BHP 2007

My Nissan Primastar is actually a taxi, made by a company called "Voyager". Problems as follows; new alternator (warranty), new clutch (65k), track rods x 2, inner track rods x 2 & ball joint x 2. I will have to replace the steering rack soon but that’s due to the pot holes. I currently have 90k on the bus and its doing good, but I doubt I would buy one again as I always like to try other motors.

Nissan Primastar 2005

Where do I start? I have had mine 2 months, very clean van looks great, comfortable. I purchased the van as the gearbox had been replaced with a recon unit, a brand new turbo fitted and had a new clutch, as these costly jobs already done I thought I was getting a good buy. Wrong, GLOW PLUGS & RELAY/ABS PUMP/ALTERNATER/REAR WHEEL BEARING/OIL LEAK. All this in 2 months, garage that does repairs just had Vivaro 2004 in, engine failure due to the water pump seizing. These vans really are no good, apart from looks and interior, don’t know why there are thousands on the road. Some people say they are fast, well I don’t know what they mean by fast but a 1.9 d with 100 bhp pulling a big van in my opinion is not. My girlfreinds ford ka feels a lot faster. DON’T BUY ONE!

Responses to this review

How did they find what the oil leak was... I have one and no one knows where the oil is coming from! Thanks - Matt from England

Nissan Primastar 1.9 DCI 2005

Excellent Van. Bought it from new in April 2005 originally for courier work and put 130,000 miles on it in it’s first two years, had no problems with it at all. Now over 5 years and clocking in at 168,000 miles, it still has never let me down. Will keep it ’til it dies, then promptly buy another.

Responses to this review

I’m a mechanic and am constantly working on these vans together with the Vivaro and Trafic. They are all the same van and all have the same problems. I’ve never heard of one doing over 100k on the same gearbox, 70-80k max. Together with constant electrical problems, glowplug issues, maf sensor and almost every other sensor, I’ve come to the conclusion that apart from the gearbox, these vans are all fitted with recycled wire in the loom. This Wire fails constantly and creates the mess which is reported here. The one thing I will say though is the turbo units never seem to fail, maybe it’s the fact the vans are limited to 3,800 revs and give the units an easier life. Do not buy these vans, it’s not a pleasant relationship, ever, in my experience - Mark Dodds from England

Nissan Primastar 2003

I have just bought a Primastar 2003 is the year with 78,000 miles on the clock. I seem to be having problems getting it into gear when it’s cold but when it warms up it goes in OK. I went to a Nissan dealer and I explained the problem and he said that the wrong gear box oil is probably in it, that it is too thick and that is why, when it warms up, the gears will go in easier.

Responses to this review

Did the change of the gearbox oil resolve your problems getting it into first and reverse? Or was it a gearbox fault? Mine is in the garage now and my mate already changed the gearbox oil for the right stuff that Nissan use and he is saying the gearbox oil is wrong. Mainly because he doesn’t want to drop the gearbox out - Gary from Staffordshire

Hi mate. I have the same problem, the van is OK in the warm weather but in the cold weather I have to leave the van run for half an hour until the van gets warm and then I can select the gears! Martin Knight from Neath Port Talbot

Nissan Primastar 2005

Well, I did say tempt fate... I went on holiday in June, came back to £650 bill for replacement parts as van was losing power again so - wait for it - all the parts that where replaced last time done again but hang on - they should be covered by 12 month parts warranty. Oh dear, 12 months and 2 weeks - no can do says Arnold Clark but is it not a bit odd all same parts that went last time all go at same time again. "But you never made us aware that our Glasgow branch did this previously Mr Carenduff" said the service manager. Wait a minute, W was on holiday my son, desperately needed to keep van on road to work and surely when you put vehicle details on the computer all work undertaken by the Arnold Clark Group would show? Well, it did at every warranty claim remember? This is the same van that has been in Arnold’s work shop more than any other. In fact, it would have probably been cheaper hiring 2 vans! I would, if it wasn’t for the fact I would probaly get charged for that too. "No sorry Mr Carenduff, our computer’s an old one, it’s not linked to the rest, so we did not know about the van’s history of all these parts being already done, sorry - but I will sort something out at next service, OK? A card drops through door to remind me of MOT and service required - oh good I will take manager up on that sort of deal. The van goes in for MOT and sevice - new bill £750: discs pads, handbrake cable... no sorry 2 handbrake cables, ball joint, suspension arm, abs sensor, no sorry 2 abs sensors and sorry 4 sets of pads - wait a minute discs and pads were done less than a year ago. "Do you have your receipt sir?" I will have somewhere but it won’t be a problem. I paid with mastercard - just put card details and my vehicle data in and presto... "Sorry sir, no can do, old computer" syndrome again. Tell me, how can they do a service and MOT for £90 pounds but charge me £169 for first service at 1800 miles. By the way, whenever I by a spare for my Primastar it is in a Renault box. I’ve been told by service manager that genuine Nissan parts need to be used or it’s a problem at warranty claim but then retracted that saying it’s a problem for him when I informed him that it was his parts department that supplied them and that was with me giving make model and registration!!!!! Again, I’ll keep you posted - getting good reading eh?

Responses to this review

UPDATE: Hi, just to keep you in touch did you read about problems I had with egr valves etc Sooting up? Was the most common phrase used by service manager, think I know how they only change the air, diesel, carbon filters and that at 54000 miles and that’s manual guidelines lol. Now sooting up springs to mind now your 1800 miles £160 3600 miles £230 thats £390 to throw out oil and change oil filter and visually check most moving parts and see what else needs replaced, at extra costs mind. Lamb to the slaughter lol. Next van I buy will be bought from Arnold as to be fair his new vehicle price is good, just wish I could say the same about the workshop aftersales. By the way, only found out about 54000 as I had checked filter at 1800 and it was not changed, was told by service manager that all the filters were changed at 36000 so when I checked at 36000 guess what I found in air filter casing? Yep that’s right, the filter I put in at 1800! Called the service manager to be told 54000! Just as well I am para about the old sooting up syndrome eh? lol. By the way arnold is changing all filters as a goodwill, not by much but that will nibble into the £390 eh? lol, cheers - Hugh Carenduff from Scotland

You should inform them of their obligations under the sale of goods act. They should be fit for purpose and last a ’reasonable’ amount of time. I think you have a case here and remember that ’company policy’ is not necessarily law. Good luck! Craig Halls from Devon

Nissan Primastar Minibus 1991

My minibus has 362000m on the clock, the only time it has let me down is when the alternator went. I service it myself don’t go to Nissan.

Nissan Primastar 2005

Well, here we go again with the update of Primastar. As i said, the chip installed has paid for itself re fuel consumption. The last thing to go was the altenator. I first thought it was battery but after replacement it turned out to be altenator. Other than tyres and brake pads the van is now ticking along fine and making money for family business, driven by my son Jamie who is not complaining about it (touch hairy wood lol). As for the Renault 155, at 33,000 miles and not a year old, yet not a peep. If only I knew in 2005 what I know now I could have saved a fortune. That said, best not tempt fate, Keep you posted...

Nissan Primastar 2006

Having major problems with the triptronic gearbox, rest of vehicle seems ok but box is a disaster. I would recommend that if you are considering buying one get the manual version or get a big overdraft.

Nissan Primastar 2007

I leased the van from new, drives excellent, never let me down until I dropped the key down a drain and lost the spare, oops!! Nice comfy driving and looks. Bad points: Back door handle broke 3 times; still not working I have to use side door, judders in 1st gear when pulling away; actually the whole van bangs and shakes. Took it to Nissan twice and they say nothing wrong with it. I think they are good value for money and would reccomend buying one.

Nissan Primastar 2004

The van is on on a 54 plate and has done 120,000 miles. It gets worked hard daily and carries around 1 tonne of weight. The passenger electric window has broken and has had to have a couple of track rod ends, but that just from mounting curbs etc. It has never broken down and is very reliable.

Responses to this review

Did you fix your window? Mine went the same, changed eveything, now I cannot get any gears - Jonathan Hingley from England

Nissan Primastar 2003

I bought a Nissan Primastar 2 years ago with 36,000 on the clock was ok for first year and a half until discs and brakes needed replacing all round at 45,000 miles then guess what gearbox went at 55,000 miles selectors became very stiff hoped it would just be the cable but turned out to be the box, drove it around for a few more miles ant it has now stalled abruptly whilst driving with a red flashing light saying there’s a serious injection fault waiting to take this in to the garage to see what’s next.

Nissan Primastar 2006

Anyone else noticed that the sills fill up with water which happily sloshes away behind the internal lining? Having removed the rear wheel arch linings and side trims, I discovered that the water can permeate both through gaps in the sill ends and also through the push in side-trim plugs. Primasters are nice looking vans but are poorly manufactured. Back to Leyland Daf for the next one.

Nissan Primastar 115 DCI 2008

I have a 2008 model with only 20k on the clock and already it’s had to go in 5 times to get fixed because of starter problems. I’ll never buy one of these vans again.

Nissan Primastar 2005

Hi! Well I said I would keep you posted so here it is. As i said in my last report i was warned next thing to go would be the gearbox, well wait for it..it is in the garage awaiting delivery of recon gear box. First thing to go were the wires that work the linkages, then the whole box. I was quoted around £1700 from the main dealer but as I was fed up being stung I shopped around and got one for £650 delivered from renault specialists somewhere in England. My local, honest-as-the-day-is-long local mechanics yard are installing it for me and hopefully it will soon be back where it should be on the road with my son driving it making money for our family business. Also, as I said in last report, I have now taken delivery of renault 155 dci trafic, don’t know if its because its a 2000 cc or what but this van seems and feels a total different breed from primastar all round more dig but have only done 2500 miles. I also put a chip in primastar and all the judders and flatness vanished, at £200 quid it will pay for itself in no time as it has greatly improved fuel consumption and makes a better drive all round. Will keep you posted, Hugh.

Nissan Primastar 2ltr 2007

Nice looking fast and very flashy... but total c**p. After 1 day no reversing sensors and they still have not managed to fix them 2 years later. At 4 weeks old it refused to start, I called out RAC and was towed to garage, it was a faulty fuel filter (not covered by warranty). It then ran OK until first service... when I called to pick up van I paid for service (£210). I started it up and the van oil light kept flashing. I stopped the engine and walked back into garage where the mechanic checks the engine - they had not put any oil in the engine! After draining it out, they fill the engine with oil, all 7 litres, and away I go with no problems. At the 36,000 mile service it required 4 brake discs and 2 sets off pads, no change from £600. I say this is a joke. 5 months old, the old wear and tear story, 40,000 miles, no air conditioning (hole in exchanger, not covered by warranty). 70,000 miles, rear antiroll bar fell off, caused by poor servicing, £240 for repair. 80,000, booked in for timing belt, off the road for two days as it was a very big job says the garage - they have never done one before... main Nissan dealer? I called after 2 days to pick van up, they have good news and bad news, the good news is that your van does not have a timing belt (that saved me money), the bad news... your turbo is whining noisily, your injection pump is leaking fuel and your power steering rack is leaking fluid - estimated cost £3,000 / £4,000. I am nearly bankrupt in a van less than 2 years old. Quick solution to the problem - trade it in and buy a Transit, or rent a wreck for a couple of hundred quid and throw it away when its due an MOT. I hope the poor sod that bought it has better luck than me, funny thing is the gearbox was OK.

Responses to this review

Get rid of it... pile of rubbish... I’m on my 2nd gearbox which has done 30,000... that’s started wearing in 5 and 6th. It’s cost me 4 grand in 2 and a half years - that’s without the finance which is £103 a month - Barry from England

Nissan Primastar 115 dci 2007

I bought this van in January 07 brand new, now 48000 miles on it. I use it every day laden with tools and often with a trailer. From day one I found the van to be very sluggish though there is plenty of backup torque; i.e. my mates 100dci Primastar is far quicker accelerating but does not pull as well as my van under load. Also from the start I found the gearox to be vague and slow to accept changes; it very very regulary crunches when trying to change up to third or down to third and fourth. So far my van has been in to the dealers to get a number of things fixed under warranty, none major yet but I suspect gearbox is coming up soon. Fixes so far have been: track rod ends, handbrake assembly, seatbelt pretensioners, fixed air conditioning, re-gas antiroll bar and bushings drop links, air conditioning radiator, all air conditioning pipes, steering rack and tie rods. Although this may seem a lot the first 4 were all done at the same time as a service, there were other items done at that time too but I cannot remember them, the other 5 were done two weeks ago. I left the van in one day, the garage gave me a loan vehicle and my van was ready next evening, all were fixed under warranty. Since it has come back though I now notice a loud whining noise from the gearbox which I couldn’t hear previously as the suspension and steering was banging so much, the whining is definitely getting worse and I reckon it is a gearbox bearing about to let go. Would I buy another Primastar? Yes I would, my van has had problems but they were all fixed with absolutely no questions or queries from my local dealer who I cannot fault. And at the end of the day my van is a work horse that has to work hard every day, it may get serviced regularly but between service works hard. No machine works hard constantly and doesn’t need repairing from time to time.

Nissan Primastar 2005

This was my second Primastar as the lad that worked for me met a large HGV on a country track and wrote it off. I went for the long wheel base instead of short as it is more handy for sheet materials. These vans seem to have same problems over time; the first being that when stopping for a short time, at junction or street end it goes into an annoying judder as if to stall, then it’s fine until the next stop. The work shop staff treat you as if it’s your imagination even though the boy that works with me witnessed it too. The next problem is with the windscreen top rubber seal that goes awol at speed on the motorway - try getting that from the fast lane - then the windscreen cracks bang on centre, this has happened to both vans at about 45k. Then the clutch slave cyl goes just on warranty up - Nissan have gone halves with me with on cost but I still ended up paying about 1.5k. And then came what they call the limp mode; the engine won’t go any faster, about 20 lorries on motorway love you as they all toot ther horns and wave as they go by - I get to garage and get humped for another 1.2 k (2 weeks of trial and error, $pound;75 each test and another part replaced, mostly fuel related I think). I was almost sleeping in waiting area as I was desperate not to let my buisness go under. I said yes to everything just to get my van back and it never quite ran the same after that and the Nissan garage that I bought my van from eventually admitted that they where embarresed learning at my expense and sent it to there Renault branch who sharply fixed it and hit me for another £500. I wonder if I could have saved 1.2k? I’m back working away trying to recover some cash to stay afloat when bang power steering goes, another £400! Then, bosh goes track ends and ball joints, more cash then the beep that you get when arming alarm doesn’t beep any more! I have replaced so much of this van that I am keeping it till it dies. Don’t laugh, but I am taking delivery of a Renault trafic with a nissan engine that I am assured by the dealer is the same van but without all the problems. On a positive note, the van is at 120,000, running at its best and giving 750 to a tank (and that’s full of tools). I will keep you posted...

Nissan Primastar 2007

I have had two major breakdowns concerning the gearbox and have found it to be unreliable in that respect. It is a very costly to have this job done, running into the thousands if not done under warranty. That is without the lost revenue whilst the vehicle is off the road, roughly two weeks at a time.

Nissan Primastar Minibus 2007

I’m having major problems with the techtronic gearbox juddering in first and reverse. I am now on the 2nd box in 2 years. Has anybody else had the same issues?

Responses to this review

I’ve had this problem. When pulling away slowly the van shudders and bangs violently and I can drive. I took it to the main dealer twice and they say nothing is wrong with it - Glyn Keast from Cornwall

Nissan Primastar Minibus 2006

I bought it new in 2006 and it has been a good reliable vehicle. The fan belt went (not the original one) in June 09; it jammed underneath the timing belt and bent the valves etc... Had to have a replacement engine. I went to a place called NAP in Oldham and it took them 2 weeks to do it & they forgot to fill the gearbox with oil. It siezed 85 miles later and me cost me £2k to fix. I got it back on the road 2 weeks later and the turbo seized which cost me another £1k. Would I buy another Primastar? Yes. Would I use NAP again? NO!

Nissan Primastar 2006

Got one brand new in 2006 and besides having done 272,000 miles (yes two hundred and seventy two thousand) it has had no problems at all. I do 2000 miles a week and it still drives superb. Lease expires in two months so I will be buying one. A star performer.

Nissan Primastar DCi 100SE 2003

Bought the van new, always really happy, saved myself a lot of money as its dramatically more economical than my Peugeot Boxer that it replaced. Normal things needed attention, brakes,s ervicing, two track rods replaced. The van drives like a car, very comfy and reliable, so why the poor rating? Well at 76k miles the gearbox started to make dreadfull noises, I called my Nissan dealer to see if he had any ideas, but obviously they were not familiar with any gearbox related issues with this van!! However after several calls to local gearbox speacialists I found this to be completely untrue and was told by all that the fault was well known and terminal, to the extent that one guy even guessed the mileage it had done and was spot on. They said they had seen a couple fail at 50k ! Expensive repair, I now know of three other people with same problem, all going back to Transits.

Nissan Primastar 19 tdi 2005

Got the van second-hand, it had done 30k. I have it serviced every 18k - it’s now done 140k. I only change the normal pads disks & filters. The only real problem I have is that it eats brake lights on the back offside but other than that it’s the best van I’ve had & I would buy another anytime.

Responses to this review

Hi Mike Do you still recommend the Primastar because I am thinking of buying one at the moment. Thanks - Neil Powell from County Down

Nissan Primastar 2005

Don’t buy a Nissan - the after sales service is c**p. It took Nissan 8 weeks just to look at my Primastar after it was taken to Aberdeen by the RAC. No van; no work; no money - Nissan are s**t. Buy a Toyota.

Nissan Primastar 2005

Brand new van and was told at 4k miles by Arnold Clark that van needed new discs and pads on front of van. vibrations through the steering, electrics playing up, roll bar bolt needed to be tightened, engine management lights keep flashing on/off whilst driving!! The rubber strip across windscreen (outer) blow/came off and this was not replaced under warranty. The reversing sensors were faulty as Arnold Clark in their wisdom disconnected them and said there was a problem with them, asked when they would be fixed...said they didn’t know!! The radio/timer whilst trying to change time the whole thing collapsed into the dashboard. GREAT WORKMANSHIP...NOT!!! Broke down a few times and the last time happened a few weeks ago and the van is still in doc. After only doing 30k this van seems to be prone to all types of problems. Still got the old faithful Transit that is able to take over and keep me on the road. Should never have bought the PRIMASTAR. Please Take Note...Look out for the gearbox problems as could cost you and arm and a leg!

Nissan Primastar 100 SE 2004

I got the van from new in 04 and have had no problems with it so far. I have done 97000 miles; it gets serviced regularly but the main dealers are very expensive. I get 750 miles approximately to every full tank. This has been a great van so far...

Nissan Primastar 2005

Bought in 2005. 2 years old and in the first six months it went to garage 14 times! Control box under dash kept putting left indicators on when it felt like and after three trips to the main dealer (Nissan) I pulled half the dash off and left the control unit hanging out so they could figure it out. It costs £70 every time they plug it in, not that they even know then what’s wrong. The power steering pump blew to bits on the Argos car park making a mess. The electric window motors fell to pieces and the alarm kept going off. The reversing sensor box packed in... sliding door kept jamming... interior lights just fall to pieces every few months.... eats track rod ends. The main dealer garage said you can’t buy just track rod, you have to have arms as well and charged £550... when track rod went again I had it done elsewhere. Steering is so light and vague it wanders about. I had a new clutch, it cost £800. It’s now developed flat spots. It once decided not to lock... when I got to the garage it worked again. The connectors on alternator had to be fixed. I have to constantly fiddle with wires under seat because the wiring on the pre-tensioners is crap and keeps disconnecting airbag and putting service light on. I found out after I had bought it (kept quiet from the garage) that it had had a new gearbox because it lost most gears. It does however start well and is very quite and nippy. I average about 33 miles per gallon. The washer motor packed in.... these are just some of the things that went wrong. I paid £8000 for it when it was two years old plus £2000 on extras. It’s cost me £3000 in repairs in only 22000 miles. So that basically is one hell of an expensive motor. Don’t by the Primastar, Trafic or Vivaro they are total shit and you will pay out thousands... and the main dealers charging 75-85 pound an hour. I haven’t got a clue how to fix them. I have had two Renault’s before this and they were incredibly reliable. It might have a Nissan badge but it’s a Renault. Everything on it is stamped Renault but Nissan will still charge you three times more for the same part. If I need parts I go to Vauxhall because you can buy the same part for a third of the price. The government are worrying because nobody is buying new cars. I think it’s not because of the credit crunch, I think everybody is starting to realise just how crap modern cars are. You can review any vehicle under the sun and there all the same... crap, crap, crap. If I bought a Dodge Ram and did about 8 mpg I would still be better off. I wish I had kept my old van, it didn’t have a turbo or ecu but I used it everyday for four and a half years and all it had was two wheel bearings replaced. The stupid thing is I sold it to better myself and do a bit more to the gallon. It looks like the laugh is on me.

Responses to this review

My power steering failed and while trying to drive the van to a garage, the steering wheel came undone. Yep, undone! I just turned it fully to the right and it engaged again. It has done this a few times, so watch out because I dread to think what would happen if it failed on a motorway - Stephen Porter from Kent

Nissan Primastar Primastar 2006

Well, my clutch has started slipping today at 38k. Having read other posts on the Vivaro & Trafic this seems to be the norm. The clutch and gearbox are not up to the job - had prices from £670-1k from the stealers for a replacement.

Nissan Primastar 2004

I have had my Primastar for the past 2 years. It hasn’t missed a beat. The only problem I have found is it goes like stink some days and seems to be lugging on others. A lot of other people have said their vans are the same. I can’t really fault this van, it drives and handles perfect . I did have it super chipped as soon as I bought it, well worth the extra expense. Lovely van.

Nissan Primastar Auto 2008

Just 5 months old and I have a faulty starter motor, it was in the garage for a whole week. The interior may be well laid out, but it is so plasticky and so easy to damage, I have managed to damage the air vents, just by cleaning them! The body is also a let down, you can dent it so easily, nowhere near as tough as a van should be. So a BIG disappointment. I should have stuck to a Toyota!

Nissan Primastar 2.0 dCi 2007

All round reliable van. Practical, well thought out lay out inside.