Man, I'm torqued. After about 15K miles I noticed that the left speaker bank in my Max was distorted and cutting off and on. Messed with it for another 10K miles (big mistake, take it in immediately) and finally took it in. My dealer, where I purchased the car new, replaced the head unit. 10K miles or so later, same thing. Replaced the head unit. Another problem. Replaced the head unit. Now, the auto is out of warranty, past 36K miles. But, the head unit was replaced again less than 8K miles and 4 months before. Next, the CD changer breaks. Now, it's hem and haw and delay and "well, we have to call Clarion." Clarion says that Nissan is the one who decides if it's under warranty, or not. Bose says that Clarion makes the head unit and so Clarion is responsible. Nissan says that Clarion won't replace it under warranty. Now Nissan Consumer Afffairs is deciding if my claim is valid. The facts are: The unit has never worked properly for more than 10K miles. It was a $1,000 option (because it was Bose) on the automobile. Bose says that it's not responsible for the head unit because they don't make it. Clarion says they make the head unit, but Nissan sets the terms of the warranty, even though a call to Clarion put me in touch with a rep who told me that the units were warranted for 12 months or 12K miles. The Clarion person who called me after I called Bose Consumer Affairs would not state the warranty period because he said the guidelines are set between Clarion and Nissan and Nissan would have to decide if they will replace the head unit under warranty.
Look, I don't know what it costs to manufacture a head unit CD changer for this automobile audio system. Because Nissan charges it as a $1,000 option, it probably costs Clarion $100 to manufacture the CD changer/head unit, I don't know. I've pursued my claim that they should replace the unit under warranty for a month, now. Six unplayable and irretrievable CDs remain in the broken changer. I've produced the documentation showing the miles each time the head unit was replaced. Nissan has this in their database. The automobile was a $30K plus sticker price vehicle. It takes the tech about 20 minutes to pull the head unit and replace it. It can't cost the manufacturer or Nissan over $150 to replace a defective part. I'm not trying to scam anyone, but I'm treated as though I've stolen something from them and now I'm trying to sell it back to them.
To Bose's credit: Their consumer affairs rep called me personally and said they would assist me, and offered to pay for half the repairs. To Clarion's credit: Their consumer affairs rep called me personally and said they are not responsible for the warranty on the head unit. To Nissan's credit: They have replaced the head unit 4 times when it broke before the car was past 36,000 miles. All I'm asking is that the unit be replaced as a defective unit because it has not operated as it should and I've used it less than a year and haven't driven the vehicle for more than 8,000 miles when the CD changer broke.
Am I steamed up unjustly?
