I replaced a six-year-old Nissan X-Trail with a new top of the range Tekna model in April 2010 and diligently read the manual to cope with all the gizmos. I found the manual was inaccurate about air con control placement, and some features of sat nav/audio were missing or inoperative. I also found, via an owner's forum, that the satellite navigation version installed had apparently been superseded before purchase. The salesman acknowledged the discrepancies and, having failed to get answers, eventually referred me to Nissan Customer Service. After more waiting I was referred to a technician back at the dealership who verified my queries and himself contacted Nissan technical.

After a week the answer came back: The manuals don't fit every car and it must be a foreign spec that has the bells and whistles described that seem to be missing. There is apparently no means of determining whether the satnav has an update available. The dealer ordered a satnav DVD anyway, but it wouldn't load. The dealer will get back to Nissan but I'm told the model is too new for such issues to come to light and be resolved.

I have no gripe with the dealer's efforts but I'm pretty bemused and disappointed by Nissan Customer Service and the apparent lack of any expertise at HQ to answer questions about the vehicle or the satellite navigation. Am I being too picky or should manufacturers be able to answer questions about the hi-tech gadgets they claim to have included?