16.02.2006
By NATHAN EVANS IT’S 10pm and your brand new $30,000 four-wheel drive conks out metres from the water on a sandy limb extending from the tip of Noosa North Shore into the mouth of Noosa River.
That was the situation facing Noosa North Shore Retreat human resources manager Michael Cates after what was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip went pear-shaped on Tuesday night.
Left with no choice but to abandon his crippled, new Nissan X-Trail flagship overnight, Mr Cates returned early yesterday morning to every four-wheel-driving enthusiast’s worst nightmare: a stranded vehicle and quickly rising tide.
As early-risers watched agape from the banks of Noosa River as the waters edged closer to the broken-down 4WD, Mr Cates sat inside awaiting help to arrive – a wait that lasted until noon, leaving the expensive vehicle at the mercy of Mother Nature.
“We spotted it when we first came down (to the river) and we could see it was right down in the sand halfway into the wheels, and we thought, ‘Christ, it’s well stuck in there’,” said British tourist John England.
Thankfully, the waves stopped short of the vehicle’s wheels, but for its owner – a regular to the sands of Noosa North Shore – there was never any threat, as, he said, the water was well enough away from the car to cause alarm.
“The tide didn’t come in far enough, she just got stuck. To be honest, I’m not overly impressed (that it broke down) because it’s a new car,” Mr Cates said.
Clayton’s tow truck driver Justin Wall, said while it wasn’t uncommon to receive one or two calls to help bogged motorists in a month, it was not so common to rescue vehicles stranded close to the shoreline.
Mr Wall suspected the vehicle, which could not be driven, had suffered a broken clutch, which he said had been the source of a significant number of callouts to crippled 4WDs over the Christmas period.
Mr Cates said he would take the issue up with Nissan after the vehicle was towed back along the beach to Noosa North Shore Resort.
While the car escaped the volatility of Mother Nature, the rescue provided a show for onlookers.
“It’s going to cost him a fortune to have that one taken out,” Mr England suspected after the tow truck tried several times to shift the X-Trail.
“He (the tow truck driver) came around in front and tried to back up close to him, but even he was getting stuck in the sand there so they hooked a line on to him and got a good run at it.”
Fellow visitor Margaret Meckenzie was concerned other nearby four-wheel drive users weren’t offering to help.
Ken Wilson of Brisbane put his money on engine or mechanical damage rather than bogging.
Mr Wall said most calls for help from four-wheel driver users on the North Shore were from rollovers caused by night-time speeding.
It's the Aussie X-Trail...Different model... this would never happen in Canada! Oh I forgot it did but not sand.... snow.... right Marc!!! LOL It's just well Marc (Valboo) did not have press around.. heheheh
I wonder if it was an automatic transmission or a manual. If it was a manual, what probably happened is he burnt the clutch. He will then blame Nissan for making a "bad" clutch that can't handle heavy slipping because he tried to get out of the mess he put himself into.
Before you jump on the "bashing van" guys (yes, you Mr. Stephen who never even attempted to drive the exy on grass LOL) sorry just kidding
This is a classic example of an xtrailer who had seen too many TV. Adverts and thought the xtrail was a capable submarine
Note this extract from the report:
Quote:
“He (the tow truck driver) came around in front and tried to back up close to him, but even he was getting stuck in the sand there
This shows that the exy should have never been in that spot in the first place.
Clutch problems do and WILL happen if you drive the exy over its capabilities and limits. We do not have a low range and this is something every xtrail owner should remember when venturing out.
The soft sand on Australian beaches is un-forgiving and you can get trapped in a matter of seconds.
The clutch problem he has experienced could have well been attributed by him trying to get out of too many bogged situations prior to this one and who knows, maybe he even forgot to engage the 4WD LOCK when it was needed and continued on 2WD or AUTO (not a good choice for soft sand driving)
Having been on 2 beach/sand trips, I usually stay well clear of the beach area, as this is where the sand is very soft and if stranded (like our friend here) you could expect the worst with the high tide coming towards you.
Second golden rule which our friend has overlooked:
"Never go for a beach or off-road trip ALONE!!!" and if you do, make sure you have all the needed recovery equipment, as the person pulling you out and giving you a helping hand might not have it!!
This concludes our lesson for today. hehehe
Stephen, you can now go and put the above lessons into practice and show us the results LOL
PS:I don't claim to be an off-road driving expert (far from it) but I use my head before pressing on the accelerator
__________________ Cheers,
Jalal (Sydney, Australia)
See my X-Trail HERE
See what we have on offer at the Australian X-Trail Forum
Bieng up in the great white North of the frozen Canada... we canucks only live in igloos and drive on ice all day... and ski as well... yes the view of Canada... oh by the way... we have running water in oour tents... LOL
It's so much fun to poke good clean fun at each other... I just laugh at some of the things people do with their vehicles and then try to blame the dealers and or manufacturer.. just because it is an SUV does not imply that it is an SUV... lol...
Well Montreal had a wonderful winter dump of everything today and of course our beloved civil servants did a wonderful job of not listening to the weather report and did no cleaning.. I guess they were having breakfast or golfing... ... the roads in Montreal were lousy and I never have seen my slip light go on so many times...
I have come to the conclusion that Montreal Drivers need to learn to drive again...I am not a perfect driver but they should make a renewal of driving lessons mandatory for everyone in Montreal.... there is no respect for anyone including the law.
Ok... I am off topic, got it off my chest, Marc will clean this topic up because he like to be in charge (LOL) and now everyone Down Under is making fun of me because I can't drive on grass... oh well that's life.. but heck were all friends and I really enjoy being ribbed by all of you... LOL...
hehehehehe
Stephen
Last edited by ValBoo : Feb 18th, 2006 at 07:11 AM.
Reason: deleted redundant quote
First of all, I have to agree Montreal drivers are probably amongst the craziest I've ever seen! I think it's because they're frustrated they can't turn right on a red :P (at least you couldn't when I travelled there)
I also agree that it sounds like this is not an X-Trail problem but is a Driver error.
Bieng up in the great white North of the frozen Canada... we canucks only live in igloos and drive on ice all day... and ski as well... yes the view of Canada... oh by the way... we have running water in oour tents... LOL
It's so much fun to poke good clean fun at each other... I just laugh at some of the things people do with their vehicles and then try to blame the dealers and or manufacturer.. just because it is an SUV does not imply that it is an SUV... lol...
Well Montreal had a wonderful winter dump of everything today and of course our beloved civil servants did a wonderful job of not listening to the weather report and did no cleaning.. I guess they were having breakfast or golfing... ... the roads in Montreal were lousy and I never have seen my slip light go on so many times...
I have come to the conclusion that Montreal Drivers need to learn to drive again...I am not a perfect driver but they should make a renewal of driving lessons mandatory for everyone in Montreal.... there is no respect for anyone including the law.
Ok... I am off topic, got it off my chest, Marc will clean this topic up because he like to be in charge (LOL) and now everyone Down Under is making fun of me because I can't drive on grass... oh well that's life.. but heck were all friends and I really enjoy being ribbed by all of you... LOL...
hehehehehe
Stephen
How does the AWD handle in todays kind of weather....the roads were pretty greasy on the ride home. does AWD help in conditions like this. You did say your slip light went off often.....
__________________
ValBoo. Click Here For My Ride
(QR25DE w/ HS CAI & Header, UR pulley, Timing Advance, SS DP, Magnaflow cat, res & muffler, SS 2.5" exhaust, APEX'i S AFC II, JWT BSR, Tein-S suspension coils)
Last edited by ValBoo : Feb 18th, 2006 at 07:13 AM.
Reason: deleted redundant quote
Well not while driving... anyways.... to Marc... no I just had a great day so no drinking... To Tom....
As Mark said... it was great... yes the slip light (VDC) was flashing like a Disco Light BUT I gunned it (no cars around) and it just worked... going straight, cornering.. it was wonderful. I am also glad to have the Ultra Ice from GoodYear... great tires.
No time for new car to conk out
sorry just kidding
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