Ntb07-042 Vq Engine; Buzzing / Whining Noise

[metsownyou]

I have a 2005 Nissan Maxima that had the whining noise. The dealer performed the secondary timing chain replacement at 55,000 miles and was covered under the warranty. Unfortunately after about 12,000 miles, the car is making the whining noise again at higher RPMs.

It is no longer under warranty but the service guy said since it was fixed before, Nissan would likely fix it again even though it is out of the power train warranty. My question is if I do not have it fixed, does it affect the performance of the car or it's durability? Any information is appreciated.

Thanks!

[jmdavisiv]

According to my dealership, it will only get worse and possibly lead to the affected chain to jump timing which could destroy your engine from valves coming in contact with a piston(s). Wouldn't let it go too far.............

[nritchie30]

Wow! glad to find this thread. 07 frontier with 44k a couple months ago i noticed this whining on acceleration. kinda sounded like the engine was sucking air at first , now it worse and sounds exactly like the youtube video of the guy with the red frontier. It does it all the time with acceleration weather in park or moving! I saw the TSB. how does one know if they have the VQ40 engine? what is VQ? i'm sure i have the 4.0 v/6... Thanks nate

[jmdavisiv]

Th 40 in the VQ40 model means 4.0 litre, so you have it..........

[metsownyou]

Originally Posted by jmdavisiv

According to my dealership, it will only get worse and possibly lead to the affected chain to jump timing which could destroy your engine from valves coming in contact with a piston(s). Wouldn't let it go too far.............

OK. But my problem is that the car has 67,000+ miles on it. They performed the secondary timing chaing replacement about 12,000 miles ago when the car was still under the manufacturer's power train warranty.

Since it is past the 60,000 mile mark, do you think the manufacturer would replace the or do the repair again if it is the same problem or related? It sounds like the identical problem and the service rep said when they initially performed the work if it were to happen again Nissan would most likely cover the work.

What do you guys think?

[jmdavisiv]

Nissan and the dealership should honor your request for repairing the problem again. Your prior repair should also be under some sort of warranty by the dealership that repaired it.

[maddiedaddy]

I'd like to thank all of you on this forum. I noticed a whining on my 05 Frontier that has 39K miles. Looked it up online, found a wealth of information on this site...printed up the Service Bulletin and will be taking it to the dealer tomorrow to see what happens. Thank you to all who contributes to this site/forum and makes these bulletins accessible so we have ammo when going into the dealership. Will let you know what they find out. I'm guessing it's the timing chain issue...would have no clue, and probably would have let it go longer if I didn't find the info online here.

[maddiedaddy]

$2400 worth of warrantied (thank goodness) work done and problem fixed at the dealer. 39K miles and it was the tensioner bearings..thank you again. Awesome forum

[TRD]

Unfortunately I’m one of the folks that noticed the noise after 60K. I see where one forum member received some help from Nissan and only had to pay for the labor, when others asked and were told no. Is there a way to plead my case to Nissan and get them to stand behind their product? I understand all vehicles have maintenance costs, but a $1800-$2400 repair (customer pay) seems excessive at 65K.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Confiteor]

Does anyone know if the same power train warranty applies in the UK?

Recently bought an '05 Pathfinder from a Nissan dealer and beginning to notice this whine.

Car has 38k miles on it.

Am I covered for a free repair?

[ljpage95]

I am totally disgusted with my Xterra. I've owned it for just over three years and have had to replace the sending unit with fuel pump, the vent control valve and EVAP canister twice and now I have this whine. Its the timing tensioner which is too tight. I called Nissan and they quoted me at $3100. Other shops have offered to do it for considerably less, but seriously, if I went with the dealership, I would have paid over $5000 on repairs for a car with 100,000 miles and is three years old. I don't think I will buy another Nissan after this.

[TRD]

Thanks to all the folks on the Nissanhelp Forum involved, because of you my experience with the engine noise with my 05 Xterra with 65,000 mi (out of warrantee) went like this, I called a couple of local dealerships in the area, I described the noise, the Nissan Service Bulletin, and asked how much it would cost to do the repair. Town Center Nissan in Kennesaw, Georgia told me it would cost approximately $2,150 to accomplish the S.B, and Regal Nissan in Roswell, GA estimated the repair at $1500. I then called Nissan Customer Affairs (1-800-NISSAN1) and in a calm/diplomatic way told them how I felt about my “just out of warrantee” Xterra requiring a $2,150 repair that Nilsson knew was a problem. The very helpful representative documented my complaint and all the information over the phone and suggested I bring my vehicle to one of their dealerships. Knowing I was going to have to have the work done either way I called the Regal Nissan service department back and told them I had talked to Nissan Customer Affairs. Regal Nissan asked for the Customer Affairs ticket number and told me they would get back with me after they had a chance to talk to their regional manager and Nissan. A couple of days later I received a phone call from Regal Nissan informing me the repair was going to be covered and asked me when I could bring it in. Some factors that may have resulted in the outcome of all this could have been, we were the original owners and purchased the Xterra form Regal Nissan and we had the dealership do the regular oil changes. I’m not sure, I didn’t ask. I am of coarse very happy with the way my situation turned out and with the way Nissan stood behind their product. Kudos also go out to Regal Nissan for taking such good care of us. We did have the serpentine belt and tensioner replaced while it was there and paid for that, but that type of maintenance is expected and understandable.
I wish anyone going through this luck. I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be until I actually got the phone call notifying me Nissan was going to cover all the parts and labor. Be persistent and patient.

[pepco]

Bump

[mdmitch2]

Hey guys -- wondering if I could get some advice on my timing chain issue... here's the situation:

I towed the car (2004 maxima) over to the dealership after it died on the interstate. They're saying the timing chain jumped at least 4 teeth, and they're quoting me $4400 to replace the timing chain, and said there's over $2000 in parts. When I questioned them on this and brought up the TSB, they're saying that they need to replace a whole host of additional parts due to the miles on the engine... 115K, mentioned 'sprockets' mainly.

But what they're actually recommending is to put a new engine in for $6700. They said that since the timing chain jumped, there may be damage to valves, but they can't tell without taking it all apart.

This all seems quite ridiculous, especially considering I took it to the dealership when I still had a warranty, and they said not to worry about the noise it was making... and now I'm being recommended a new engine for a problem that's a direct result of a design flaw.


What do you guys think about all this?? btw, I'll have a full parts list of what they're recommending I replace, as soon as they fax it to me.

[mdmitch2]

Originally Posted by mdmitch2

Hey guys -- wondering if I could get some advice on my timing chain issue... here's the situation:

I towed the car (2004 maxima) over to the dealership after it died on the interstate. They're saying the timing chain jumped at least 4 teeth, and they're quoting me $4400 to replace the timing chain, and said there's over $2000 in parts. When I questioned them on this and brought up the TSB, they're saying that they need to replace a whole host of additional parts due to the miles on the engine... 115K, mentioned 'sprockets' mainly.

But what they're actually recommending is to put a new engine in for $6700. They said that since the timing chain jumped, there may be damage to valves, but they can't tell without taking it all apart.

This all seems quite ridiculous, especially considering I took it to the dealership when I still had a warranty, and they said not to worry about the noise it was making... and now I'm being recommended a new engine for a problem that's a direct result of a design flaw.


What do you guys think about all this?? btw, I'll have a full parts list of what they're recommending I replace, as soon as they fax it to me.

Here's the additional parts they're recommending I replace, assuming we "risk it" with the valves, and don't buy a new engine. The sprockets are over $1000, and the "controller" is $250... not what that is. Is it really likely that the sprockets are damaged??

Controller: 284B7-7Y02A

Sprocket C:13024-7Y000

Sprocket C: 13025-EA21A

Chain Cams: 13028-ZS70A

Tensioner: 13070-7Y000

Guide - Chain: 13085-7Y000

Chain Guide: 13091-ZK00A

Gasket Ada: 14032-8J10A

Sprocket C: 13021-7Y000

water pump assembly: 21010-7Y026

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[dnvrnismo]

This is so sad that Nissan has ruined the quality of such a good engine by adding some substandard parts. I have an 08 Frontier with a VQ40 and 9000 miles and haven't any problems with it yet but I know I will if I keep this vehicle. I'm wondering are they still putting the same worthless guides and tensioners in the newer models? I was involved in a class action law suite against GM in the early 80's and what they did was definately no more irresponsible than this.

[JAYDEE]

dnvrnismo - Yes this is sad. I also have an 08 Frontier with 49K on it. It started making the buzzing noise (kinda sounds like I have a blower on it) at about 42K. Nissan will cover it under warranty but I am not going to take it in until I have about 58K on it. I know a Nissan tech and he said they have not changed or upgraded any parts to fix this problem. If that's true then I we all will have this kind of problem again in another 40K to 50K miles. The next time will it will NOT be under warranty - per the tech. He also stated he has no information about any kind of a recall to fix this problem. He says it happens on the VQ40 (4.0) engine. He has not seen this on other displacement engines. This is my 5th Nissan truck. I put on a ton of miles. This may well be my last Nissan too!

[iwanttoride]

Wow, you're lucky. My 05 Pathfinder had 2,000 miles over the warranty and they screwed me. The total cost was $2,200. I now have 100,000 miles on her and hope I can all the miles out of it before I upgrade...to another brand of car. No way I'm buying a Nissan again.

Originally Posted by TRD

Thanks to all the folks on the Nissanhelp Forum involved, because of you my experience with the engine noise with my 05 Xterra with 65,000 mi (out of warrantee) went like this, I called a couple of local dealerships in the area, I described the noise, the Nissan Service Bulletin, and asked how much it would cost to do the repair. Town Center Nissan in Kennesaw, Georgia told me it would cost approximately $2,150 to accomplish the S.B, and Regal Nissan in Roswell, GA estimated the repair at $1500. I then called Nissan Customer Affairs (1-800-NISSAN1) and in a calm/diplomatic way told them how I felt about my “just out of warrantee” Xterra requiring a $2,150 repair that Nilsson knew was a problem. The very helpful representative documented my complaint and all the information over the phone and suggested I bring my vehicle to one of their dealerships. Knowing I was going to have to have the work done either way I called the Regal Nissan service department back and told them I had talked to Nissan Customer Affairs. Regal Nissan asked for the Customer Affairs ticket number and told me they would get back with me after they had a chance to talk to their regional manager and Nissan. A couple of days later I received a phone call from Regal Nissan informing me the repair was going to be covered and asked me when I could bring it in. Some factors that may have resulted in the outcome of all this could have been, we were the original owners and purchased the Xterra form Regal Nissan and we had the dealership do the regular oil changes. I’m not sure, I didn’t ask. I am of coarse very happy with the way my situation turned out and with the way Nissan stood behind their product. Kudos also go out to Regal Nissan for taking such good care of us. We did have the serpentine belt and tensioner replaced while it was there and paid for that, but that type of maintenance is expected and understandable.
I wish anyone going through this luck. I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be until I actually got the phone call notifying me Nissan was going to cover all the parts and labor. Be persistent and patient.

[dnvrnismo]

Originally Posted by JAYDEE

dnvrnismo - Yes this is sad. I also have an 08 Frontier with 49K on it. It started making the buzzing noise (kinda sounds like I have a blower on it) at about 42K. Nissan will cover it under warranty but I am not going to take it in until I have about 58K on it. I know a Nissan tech and he said they have not changed or upgraded any parts to fix this problem. If that's true then I we all will have this kind of problem again in another 40K to 50K miles. The next time will it will NOT be under warranty - per the tech. He also stated he has no information about any kind of a recall to fix this problem. He says it happens on the VQ40 (4.0) engine. He has not seen this on other displacement engines. This is my 5th Nissan truck. I put on a ton of miles. This may well be my last Nissan too!

Jaydee - I visited a website where owners of the Nissan Quest were having the same problem. I'm pretty sure all of the US made Nissan VQ engines have the same timing set up. I would have thought that Nissan would have addressed this problem before it got too far out of hand.

[bigiowa]

I just bought a used 07 Pathfinder, 4.0 V6, Off-Road edition. 65k miles. I noticed the whine AFTER I got the car. The used car dealer missed the belt issue even when I paid for the 200 pt inspection.

I found a local guy that is giving me parts at cost and said he could do the job in 4 hours @ 55/hr shop labor rate. That includes a new water pump. Total cost $500. Seems WAY cheaper than what everyone else is quoting.

He plans on replacing the timing chain, both tensioners, both guides, and water pump. Gave me prices for all the gaskets and everything. Seems odd that is so cheap. Why would this cost so much to do??