Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!)

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 2 Feb 2023 20:09
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - AB3
Hi, hope this is the right place to post this!

I bought a 65 plate Nissan Pulsar from a well known national dealer in November. I’ve had no end of issues with it - stop/start system fault which they claim is caused by the battery despite my having the battery replaced, slack seatbelts, violent vibration when accelerating over 60mph, a key system fault and the car rolling when the handbrake is on/ handbrake getting stuck if you pull it up too far.

I took it back to them today (2nd time in less than 3 months!) and had to kick up a fuss to get them to look at it, even though it’s supposedly got a 2 year warranty (which of course did not include the battery). An hour later they called me to say the handbrake issue is actually a serious problem as the back breaks have completely gone and they need to keep the car for repair as obviously it’s not safe to drive.

The car came with a full service and MOT with no advisories and the dealer is saying this is a new issue, not an existing one but the handbrake has been this way since the day I bought it. I know literally nothing about cars so hoping someone here might be able to tell me how likely it is that they are being truthful? Is it possible for the back breaks to go from perfectly fine to completely gone in less than 3 months?

I use the car mainly for school runs and the odd day trip so it’s not done many miles in the time that I’ve had it but I feel pretty sick about the fact that I’ve been driving my kids around in a potential death trap.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 2 Feb 2023 20:28
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - Adampr

No, it's not possible for brakes to go from fine to not working at all in 3 months. They probably did some multipoint inspection before sale - ask them to see that and find out what the brake wear was. They would normally also check the braking efficiency during an inspection, so ask to see a copy of that and the one they have now done to determine that your rear brakes don't work.

More likely, Pulsars seem to have an issue with excessive handbrake travel and it needs about 10 minutes work to adjust it.

As for potential death traps, most of the force of your brakes goes to the front wheels, so it's not been as risky as you think.

I would be wary of the dealer telling you that the brakes need replacing at some astronomical price and that the warranty doesn't cover them. If they do anything other than say that they'll sort it out at no charge, tell them that you wish to reject the car and look forward to receiving a refund.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 10:43
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - edlithgow

No, it's not possible for brakes to go from fine to not working at all in 3 months.

Well, the linings could come off the brake shoes, for example. Mine did. But these probably aren't drum brakes.

The calipers could stick. I'd think the transition from sufficient to insufficient movement could happen within a 3 month timescale. Maybe not very likely, but possible.

Edited by edlithgow on 03/02/2023 at 10:47

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 12:43
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - AB3
Thank you! So far they haven’t mentioned cost at all, except to say that I have to pay a diagnostic fee of £72 for them to tell me what’s wrong with it.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 09:07
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - Big John
stop/start system fault which they claim is caused by the battery despite my having the battery replaced,

violent vibration when accelerating over 60mph,

Re battery replacement was this with an EFB or AGM battery and was it coded?

Re vibration above 60 - wheel balancing?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 09:15
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - Xileno

The garage needs to be clearer what is meant by the brakes "have completely gone"? No friction material left or a fault meaning the calipers are not being activated at all. If the former then I can't see any warranty covering that.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 12:45
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - AB3
They’ve not given me any detail at all and when I asked they said the mechanic hadn’t finished looking at it yet, he wasn’t available to discuss it. They promised to call me back but didn’t.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 3 Feb 2023 12:44
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - AB3
It’s an ECM battery.

When I first had the stop/start fault I’d only had the car a week so I took it back to the dealer, they charged the battery which cleared the fault and said if it happened again I’d need to replace the battery but that wasn’t covered under the warranty. About 2 weeks ago the fault reoccurred, I took it to Halfords but they couldn’t fit the new battery as they didn’t have the correct code to reprogram it so I had to take it somewhere else. The new battery was fitted but the fault didn’t clear so that’s when I contacted the dealer again, over the phone they accused the other garage of fitting the wrong battery (which the garage strenuously deny) so I insisted they look at it and whilst I was there I complained about the other faults too.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 4 Feb 2023 05:33
Nissan Pulsar - Handbrake/back breaks (one issue of many!) - catsdad

There are several reasons that stop start can play up. The main one at this time of year is insufficient battery power due to other demands on the electric system (screen heaters, lights etc) and insufficient long runs to keep the battery at top charge. Even if the battery charge is good, running too many high demand functions at the same time can cause the stop start system not to operate. Other electrical things will appear unaffected but the stop start is the first to submit. I had a 2012 Honda Civic from a year old and the stop start used to give up from about November through to February even with long journeys.
On the other hand my 2018 Golf stop start functions pretty well all year round. Even so it will sometimes not always operate on a cold day until the car has run a few miles.

Edited by catsdad on 04/02/2023 at 05:34

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide