Nissan Navara 2010 Problems

The simple answer, Andrew, is that the 2.5-litre turbo-diesel engine in your Navara has a timing chain rather than a timing belt. However, it’s not that simple, as the engine uses two chains, rather than a longer, single timing chain.

The primary timing chain on your engine is a single-row chain while the secondary chain is a duplex (or double-row) chain. The secondary chain doesn’t seem to give too many problems, but many owners have found that the lower, single-row chain seems a bit underdone and has been known to stretch in service. When that happens (if the stretching is enough) the pistons and valves inside the engine can collide with fairly devastating results. The chain guides can also show signs of premature wear in these engines.

The trade recommends that the primary timing chain in these engines is changed every 80,000km or so and inspected for wear and stretching every 40,000km. Which pretty neatly sidesteps all the advantages of a timing chain over a timing belt.

There are literally dozens of things that can make a check-engine light illuminate, Kathleen. A faulty sensor, dud component, bad or dirty fuel, a vacuum leak, you name it, even the smallest glitch can cause the dreaded check-engine light to ruin your day.

The best advice is to take the car back to the workshop that serviced it and ask if, perhaps, the mechanic forgot to tighten or reset something properly. An interrogation by the workshop’s computer should throw up any fault codes present and from there, the workshop should be able to figure out the actual problem. It could be a coincidence, but, equally, it could be a simple thing the workshop has overlooked or forgotten to reset during the service.

It would be nice to think that carmakers would own up to problems with their cars, but they always seem reluctant to do so, and our consumer laws are so pathetic that there's no incentive for them to do so. I would take the car to one of the diesel mechanics you refer to and have it repaired by them. I would expect they would be less expensive than the dealer.

The dealer is telling you that there is no record of it being serviced by a Nissan dealer, which would seem to be correct given that you have had an independent mechanic do the servicing. I would agree that a timing chain shouldn't be worn and rattling at such low kilometres, but I doubt you'll get anywhere with Nissan on this. If you feel you need to follow through on this call Nissan's Customer Service Centre (phone: 1800 035 035).

I agree with the advice you've been given, go up to high-range and get out of the problem area

We have a few reports of this vibration from readers, so we've asked Nissan for an update on what they're doing to fix it.

I'd be looking at the injectors, particularly as the noise was there when the engine was cold. Worn injectors are a common issue with today's diesels.

In a word, no. The D22 is a hard riding old barge and you should have realized that before you bought it. You could try carrying some load in it, that should soften the ride somewhat, otherwise fit the Pedders suspension. Before you do check with them on the effect the changes might have on the load carrying capacity of the vehicle. The tyre life you're getting is pretty good; I wouldn't be too concerned about that.