Nissan Navara Engine Problems

Our Nissan specialist, Jerry Newman, says the only timing chain failures he has had to repair on the Navara are because of poor maintenance, mostly because the oil hasn’t been changed, and the tensioner has failed leading to the failure of the guide and the chain. It’s vital to keep up the maintenance.

We were asked if it was necessary to change the timing chain on a D40 Navara and we correctly advised the reader that it wasn't. There is no requirement to change the chain regularly as there is on engines with timing belts, but chains do wear and sometimes they loosen or even break as we reported in our used review of the D40 a few weeks ago. Of course, when that happens you must replace the chain. It's pretty easy to hear a chain when it's loose, there's usually a loud rattling noise from the front of the engine. If you hear such a noise best get it checked out before you do some serious damage to the engine internals.

Being seven years old I doubt you would get any sympathy from Nissan. You could have the engine pulled down and inspected in an attempt to establish what caused its demise, and then approach Nissan with the results and see what they then say.

I can understand why you would think it's dangerous. We haven't had any other reports of this issue, so can't say that it's widespread as you claim, but it's something that needs to be addressed on your vehicle at the very least. It would not appear to be a problem of the vehicle going into a limp-home mode, as you would expect a warning light to come on. That said, switching the car off and on again usually reboots the computer and eliminates the problem. I would suggest it's a fuel supply problem, perhaps the pickup that the dealer is suggesting, or even the fuel pump or injectors.

I have had the odd reports of timing chains breaking, but every time I have checked into the issue I have been told the main reason for the failure is either a lack if servicing or poor servicing. It would appear that Nissan engines are more sensitive than most to having fresh oil running through their galleries and regular oil changes should be carried out religiously to avoid a build up of sludge resulting in blocked oil passages.

It's only necessary on engines that have belts and the Navara engines have chains, so there's no requirement to replace them.

I could imagine that you could get better fuel economy when the cruise is not engaged, but it would depend on the calibration of the cruise and how aggressive it is, the specific vehicle in question, and the way you drive normally when the cruise is not in use. I doubt you could draw a general conclusion that fuel economy is always better when you don't use cruise. Perhaps you should try it for yourself and see if it does work for you.

It's possible that they might come to the party and help out with part of the cost of repairs, so you should approach them with a claim. You might find, however, that because the car is six years old, you bought it secondhand so there's no record of its previous use, and it's well out of warranty I think your claim could be rejected.

My contacts say there is no problem with the chain on the D40, bearing in mind that all chains will stretch over time, so you have to suspect the service guy is trying to sell you something you don’t need. On top of that there should be no difference between the Spanish sourced model and the one from Thailand, as the engine is the same in both.

Have you checked your invoice to see how much oil you have been charged for? It could be a case of being overcharged for oil you don't need, or it could equally be incompetent service staff simply overfilling your engine.