Nissan Navara 2010 Problems

This is a very contentious question and depending on who you talk to, you’ll get a bunch of different answers. Overall, it seems that Navara D22s from about 2007 to 2010 did, in fact, have a DPF fitted as standard. But only if they had an automatic transmission; manual versions don’t seem to have been fitted with a DPF. Why? Who knows.

In any case, the definitive answer can be obtained by looking under your vehicle. The DPF will appear as a large cannister, mounted next to the chassis rail, just behind the transmission and is part of the exhaust system.

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.

Yes, your issue does sound like it was caused by the torque converter locking up too early. The converter is locked to eliminate the slippage that you normally get when the convertor is not locked, which uses up fuel. Locking the convertor is done to reduce fuel consumption, but doing it too early, as it appears Nissan has done, makes the engine labour and vibrate.

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.