Nissan May Face Significant Costs Due To A Serious Issue With One Of Its Petrol Engines

Nissan’s innovative engineering idea may backfire at a critical time. As the company struggles financially under its new CEO, it now faces a significant recall in the North American market for its once-promising engine. Compounding this issue, Nissan has asked some suppliers to delay payments due to liquidity concerns.

The recall affects the American X-Trail and Rogue, both equipped with “VC-T” (variable compression technology) engines. This unique feature allows the compression ratio to adjust in real time using small actuators at the piston, but it has now become part of the company’s challenges.

A VC-T engine sealed by bearings

The problem stems from the VC-T system’s bearings, which are not of the quality expected in the specifications. And these bearings are inevitably subject to high stresses, in addition to being immersed in engine oil. Except that premature wear of the bearings leads to the proliferation of tiny metal particles in the oil. These famous particles can sometimes be seen with the naked eye during an oil change or simply accumulate on a magnet when the trickle of oil flows from the crankcase. And eventually, oil loaded with metal dust will wear out all the other moving parts of the engine.

This is also how Nissan will proceed for checks and possible replacements: complete engine oil change, and if there are no traces of metal in the oil on the detector, the customer will simply leave with fresh oil in the case of the four-cylinder 2.0 turbo of the X-Trail or the Infiniti QX50. For the smaller 1.5 three-cylinder of the Rogue (our equivalent of the Qashqai), a complete replacement of the oil pan will also be required.

500,000 cars recalled, and engine changes

Nissan faces a major issue: if metal particles are found in recent vehicles equipped with the VC-T engine (launched in 2021 with the Rogue or X-Trail), a complete engine replacement will be necessary. This could be costly, as simply replacing the bearings is too complex and labour-intensive. Nearly 500,000 Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are affected by this recall in North America. Additionally, the VC-T engine powers the Qashqai in its e-Power variant. It’s unclear whether it comes from the same factory and uses the same bearings as the American models.

The fact remains that with the growing media coverage of the actions of the NHTSA (American National Highway Safety Agency), European manufacturers are increasingly tending to avoid conflicts with customers who have been multiplying class actions in recent months.

• Also See: Shareholders At Nissan Are Seeking Drastic Changes