36000 miles, need new engine!!!

[Lozlo]

Has anyone else had to replace the engine at this low a mileage?? They told me it threw a rod through the side of the engine, caused by lack of oil or the oil being dirty. They are replacing it under warranty so I'm not asking too many questions, but I never ran it low on oil. The oil may have been dirty since I have been a bit lax on oil changes lately. Maybe 9000 miles since last.Just wondering if anyone else had thoughts on this. Thanks.Ron.

[fjwagner]

not the oil, probably just defective engine parts. Modern dino oils can go 7500 miles (I have verified with lab analysis), so you have stretched it but that is likely not the issue. However, I suggest you try to remember to do 5000 miles changes with your new engine. Fred

[1_Sleek_Versa]

Nice a new engine! Take care of it now. lol

[Red Devil]

What were you're driving habits, more importantly.

[Lozlo]

Pretty normal driving. 90 miles a day round trip,75% highway,steady speed,70-75 mph. No jack rabbit starts,no engine mods, no abuse. The dirty oil thing doesn't make sense. That will decrease the life of the engine,but it shoudln't cause it to throw a rod. Also they were very quick to approve the warranty and not try to make me prove oil changes and stuff.I'm happy to be getting a new engine but I'd like to know what really happened, and what really caused it so perhaps I can prevent it in the future.

[BBISHOPPCM]

The likely cause of your premature engine failure was due to a defect in the engine, either poorly cast rods, a blocked oil port in one bearing, or something more trivial. Not taking care of the engine properly (which, imho, you are guilty of), was probably not the cause of this failure. I recently lectured my co-worker for not changing his oil in 10,000 miles. He owns a 2003 Saturn Vue with over 100,000 miles on it, and the engine was beginning to tighten up. After changing the oil, the difference was night and day. There is no excuse for not changing the oil regularly, at least every 4500 miles. An engine can cost several thousand; an oil change can cost as little as $12. You need to know that the oil passages on some of these newer engines are TINY; it can take very little to clog them (and oil filters will automatically bypass if THEY are clogged, allowing debris and sludge to circulate through the engine).

[feloniousmonk]

Either a defect or more likely oil starvation from a clogged oil filter. Regular oil and oil filter change is the most basic and important item of maintenance. These are the two things you don't want to get lazy on.

[audtatious]

If oil were actually low then the oil pressure idiot light would have been on. From an interval standpoint then 7500 is fine with 75% highway travel. Granted, 9k is way too long but having it only happen once in a while should not cause a rod to go through the block at 36k miles.

I would agree with "defect" in this case.

[retiredtexan]

Would you kindly respond to the following questions? I am faced with a very similar situation and need to make a decision about keeping the Versa.1. What year is your V?2. Is it the hatchback?3. Does it have the 4spd auto or cvt?4. How long did it take to return the car after the engine was received? How long was it in the shop?5. Did the dealer ever tell you what they thought went wrong with the engine?6. Were you charged anything ($) for the exchange?7. Dir they give you any type warrenty on the new engine?8. Did I miss any question that might be important?

Thanks for your input.

Ron

[Lozlo]

1. 20082. yes,hatchback3. CVT4.It was in the shop 6 days. Towed in on a Wednesday. Received the engine Friday. Installed Monday. Tested, run. adjusted,etc.. Tuesday.Picked up Tuesday night. They paid for a rental 2009 Altima from Thursday till I picked it up. Cost $5 a day due to some sort of homeland security surcharge that Nissan wouldn't pick up.5. The only thing the woman said was loss of compression due to dirty oil. She also said it threw a rod. She said these engines tend to "sludge up very badly". Unfortunately I wasn't able to see it because it was already boxed up. I suppose I could have demanded to see it but they werent asking me to pay for anything so I didn't push it.6.I was out some money. $65 for the tow. $25 for the rental. I also payed to have some service items taken care of but that doesn't really count.7.No, they just continue the original 50,000 mile powertrain warranty from Nissan. Though Pine Belt Nissan,where I bought the vehicle does have a lifetime guarantee on engine and trans as long as you have all scheduled maintenance done by them. I was assured by the service rep I dealt with that guarantee is still valid, and I do intend to keep up with the maintenance this time.8. Overall I was very happy with the way both Nissan and my dealership handled the situation. They didn't try to hassle me about it being my fault. They approved and changed the engine promptly and professionally. I've since put about 1200 miles on the new engine with no problems. In fact I think it runs smoother an gets better mileage than th old engine.

I hope this helps with your decision. If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask.

Ron.

[Shad0wXCalibur]

Awesome. Just don't wait 9,000 miles to change oil anymore. You'll be burning oil by 100,000 miles if you keep doing that... or throw another rod.

[browntown3]

Has anyone else had to replace the engine at this low a mileage?? They told me it threw a rod through the side of the engine, caused by lack of oil or the oil being dirty. They are replacing it under warranty so I'm not asking too many questions, but I never ran it low on oil. The oil may have been dirty since I have been a bit lax on oil changes lately. Maybe 9000 miles since last.Just wondering if anyone else had thoughts on this. Thanks.Ron.

You mean they didnt try to screw you over b/c you didnt go by the "manual" and change the oil at correct intervals? They told me about 5 times to make sure and get the oil changed and do all the mainenance so they wouldnt void the warranty ? Guess you got pretty lucky

[RetiredTexans]

I picked up my Versa this morning, so I thought I would give you an update.

The dealer had the car from 4/10 through 4/28. Per service most of the time was waiting on a newly manufactured "long block" for the exchange. It came from the Kentucky factory and is is either a "late 2009" or "early 2010" build. Service thought is was more likely a 2010 model engine.

I agree, the new one is definitely quieter than the original. We shall see on the mileage. The original one yielded a consistant 31-32 mpg in local, urban driving for 2008 and 2009.

Service didn't find any "codes" stored. Compression was low on some of the cylinders and they said there was some oil found, which I assumed meant there was oil mixed in coolant. Factory consultants told service to exchange engines. Paperwork called out a #4 rod knock as the problem. That's probably what I heard when I drove the V on Good Friday. Warrenty terms continue as they did in your case.

I bought one of the very first Versa's available in North Texas in August 2007. It had 32,170 miles at time of failure. It was always serviced by the dealer according to the book's service schedule. Any problems were similar to those reported by others, but for the most part, fewer in total number of problems. It's a fun car and my wife loves it. My only complaint is no cruise control. It's a Versa S with 4 speed automatic. I added some convienence items found only in the SL model for 2007. Couldn't find a "verifiable" add-on cruise control even though the wiring seems to be there, just missing a few parts and suitable processor in-place.

The net result: we will keep the car for the near term and monitor its performance and compare against records to see if it measures up to the original.