Nissan Pulsar

A number of owners report the 1.2 DIG-T petrol burning through oil fast, in one case 1.5 litres in 6,000 miles. Dealers have blamed worn piston rings and in some cases pushed a software update, with a handful of cars needing a reconditioned or replacement engine. No public recall or TSB was found for it, so it looks like a workshop-level fix rather than an acknowledged campaign.

Reported from under 20k miles · repairs range from a software flash (free-ish) to £1,500+ for engine work · sources: Honest John owner reports

Separate owner reports describe the timing chain pulley on the 1.2 DIG-T failing, in one case twice within six months on a car barely a year old. It is not the timing chain itself stretching in the classic sense, it is the pulley/tensioner hardware, and it has shown up early enough that most cases were still in warranty. Worth asking whether any chain work has already been done under warranty, since a repeat failure out of warranty is a proper engine-out job.

Reported within the first 1-2 years · repair roughly £400-900 out of warranty · sources: Honest John owner reports

Owners report rear suspension parts wearing enough to cause an MOT failure on higher-mileage cars, and this lines up with the measured MOT signature for this segment, where suspension is the standout fault category. Expect bushes, links or springs on the rear axle to be the weak point rather than anything at the front. Bank on £150-400 for parts and labour if it needs doing, more if a strut or spring has to come with it.

Shows up from higher mileage onward · sources: Honest John owner reports, segment MOT data

The built-in satnav on some cars intermittently blanks the screen and recalculates the route mid-journey. Nissan support acknowledged the fault when it was reported but had no fix to offer, so it is a known, unresolved software gremlin rather than a one-off unit fault. A full head unit replacement sometimes clears it, but there is no guarantee.

Reported on cars from new to a few years old · unit replacement roughly £150-400 · sources: Honest John (Nissan acknowledged the issue, no fix offered)

A scatter of reports covers central locking failing on individual doors, air-con packing up after a routine service, and stop-start throwing false alarms on steep hills. None of these look like a single named fault, more a general pattern of niggly electrics that owners put down to the Pulsar sharing wiring and systems with the second-generation Qashqai, a car criticised for patchy build quality. Most were sorted under warranty, so it is more of an annoyance than a big bill if the car is still covered.

Scattered reports, no clear mileage pattern · usually warranty work, £100-300 if paid for · sources: Honest John owner reports, Auto Express (shared Qashqai platform, build quality note)