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D40 turbo diesel engine issues.

374K views 55 replies 23 participants last post by  Henry S. 
#1 ·
Im having some issues with my 2.5TD D40 navara at the moment, its just started nowe the car is 60.000kms and 3years old, (just out of warranty)

Ive read about ALOT of similar problems on the net and spoken to many people that have had similar issues with their common rail navara`s.

For those that dont know, ill explain a little about the sorts of problems occuring. Some folks report a "severe loss of power", others call it "going into limp mode" or "safe mode" which is a more acccurate desription of whats happening. Somtimes the engine check light comes on, somtimes it doesnt when this occurs depending on whats causing the engine computer to trip itself into this protective state. When the vechile is in "limp mode" you cannot rev the engine much past about 2000rpm in gear, and there is very little engine power, even in neutral with your foot flat to the floor, you will only get about 3000rpm.
Simply swtiching the ignition off and then starting the vehicle again, resets the vehicle out of "limp mode" until the problem occurs again and so on....

The usual course of action then sees the poor unsuspecting punter down the nissan dealership asking them to find the problem where they come back and say "you need a new fuel pump and/or fuel rail, that will be $5000-7000 please sir" :crikey:

Is any of this sounding familiar yet??? Well regardless, its time this BS from nissan stopped. For starters, a fuel rail (metal cylinder) doesnt just stop working, its a piece of metal ffs!. What the problem most likely is, is the fuel pressure sensor that screws into the end of it, and sends data to the ECU!! (or PCM they call it nowadays) Thing is, NISSAN ONLY SELLS THE FUEL RAIL AS A COMPLETE ASSEMBLY FOR $1000!!!! :thatswck:
Then theres the fuel pump, $4500 worth of high tech pumping technology that delivers 28,000psi of fuel presure to the fuel rail and injectors. Again, if your navara can happily operate for hours on end making great power, running like dream, chances are theres nothing wrong with you fuel pump, more likely to be somthing like a presure relief valve or fuel pressure regulator that comes with the fuel pump thats giving us dramas with intermittant problems yeah??? Thankfully NISSAN DO SELL THESE seperately for just under $400 last i called.

Now, after talking to a few people, it seems that YOU CAN GET a fuel pressure sensor on its own, just have to ask the right people who know where to get them OUTSIDE nissan, afterall the sensors are all made OEM by companies like bosch, seimens and denzo etc, in fact the whole common rail system is supplied by these companies.

It also turns out that there can many causes such as dirty fuel inc water etc, oil from the turbo on intake map sensor, corroded/poor connections and earths etc, that play havoc on these sensors and cause you ECU to trip out and go into limp mode besides just faulty sensors so check all of the easy stuff like this first, change you fuel filter, check for air leaks and fuel leaks neatral/park transmission switch etc.

Now im at a point where ive gone thru all this and here is my problem.
The car goes into limp mode when i leave it idle for more than about 30secs. I go to drive off and bingo, no power, no engine check light, no error codes logged in diagnostics (from the dealer). Apart from this, the car performs flawlessly non stop, drove 1200kms the other day without skipping a beat until i stopped at the servo and let it idle for 30 sec again same thing. So im thinking that at very low rpm`s, its tripping out on low or possibly high fuel pressure due to a faulty sensor or perhaps the regulator not controlling the pressure properly. I mean what else could it be???? everything else works...

So my next move is to order a fuel pressure sensor from a diesel shop that tells me they can get them, whack it in and see how i go. Failing that, im going to swap out the pressure regulator and then see what happens. I have a very strong feeling one of these things will fix my problem and so i will share the results with you so hopefully no more people will get ripped off.

end rant...
 
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#32 ·
At 20k I doubt that the would need changing unless in the later 09/10 plate vehicles is std procedure , re-setting the idle still involves clearing the codes , but still in any case to change the filter at 20k is a total waste of time , go and phone some good diesel mechanics and as them when diesel filters should be changed most will tell you 40k

Anyway I doubt that I will have my D40 this time next year , I'll be changing over to the new VW, far better designed

Cheers Marty
 
#33 ·
20k oil filter change waste of time

I agree that changing the fuel filter at 20k is a waste of time and money but the dealer still claims it is the procedure for the 2008 navara D40 even though the manual says to change at 60k!
What do you mean by "clearing the codes" in relation to re-learning the idle speed? I had no trouble or error codes before or after!
Are we talking about just clearing trouble codes or are we talking about resetting / clearing memory data stored in the ECU in order to reset the pressure curve after changing the fuel filter?

Thanks again, kim.\:hi:
 
#35 ·
engine vibration

Thanks a million Marty!
The reason I am so concerned with clearing the old data is because until 15K the engine was running smooth like other navaras but then it starting vibrating when in idle especially when the A/T was put in "R" or "D" so maybe this will now disappear with the new filter and ecu reset?

Regards, Kim.
 
#37 ·
idle speed

Thanks again for your advise.
The dealer here requires the car to be serviced by them every 5.00 km or they will void the warranty so I can easily force them to adjust the idle speed using the consult-II scantool to whatever I like but it does not seem to help.
In Indonesia there is only one grade of diesel fuel available, rubbish grade, full of water and some dirt but I have never seen the "drain fuel filet / water in fuel filter separator" light come on and the dealer drains it every 5000 km anyway.
I am stuck with Navara as the VW will go down under but not to Asia!

Regards, Kim.
 
#39 ·
it takes them all of 10 secs with the scan tool to reset the fuel pump learning data.

also does it come with dual fuel filters, some countries they come out with two filters. if it doesn't i would recommend fitting a primary filter. saves the main (expensive) filter from blocking up so quick.
 
#41 ·
Limp mode update

Dear friends. I have had a very nice day today.
My mecanic found the problem with my car.
If you excuse my english i will try to explain the problem and solution.

The car went into limpmode but left no codes.
After many days at the shop the problem was pointed down to electronicsystem. And it was something so simple as a ground-cable that had eroded. The groundcable for the airintakemeassure-thing was grounded with a very simple hobby-type of hook-on contact.
A real joke for a factorybuilt truck.
However problem found and solved!

Very nice day today.:fantastic:
 
#43 · (Edited)
AT LAST!!!! ive finally found the problem and fixed it myself... after being quoted heaps of $$$ for new fuel pumps and all the rest of it...

from the original post in this thread, the car has had intermittent problems the same ever since and ive just been putting up with it, UNTIL NOW. My reading and understanding of the common rail system grew to the the point where i could not fathom the need for a new/reconditioned fuel pump based on what it was doing. I beleived it was a control issue, not a mechanical issue due to the fact that it would drive around no problems, but not idle properly.

The problem turned out to be a bit of both. It was the SUCTION CONTROL VALVE on the fuel pump that controls the amount of fuel delivered to the pump was faulty. It became "sticky" and thus worked sometimes but not all the time. Its a solenoid actuated valve controlled electrically by the ECM so i guess it could be described as a "mechanical control" problem. Anyways i found out that you can swap this part out WITHOUT removing the fuel pump from the vehicle and it took about 1 frustrating hour to do the job as its a bit of a PITA to get your hands in there...

The suction control valves (SCV) cost about $300 and you can now buy them from authorised DENSO dealers and soon? (if not already?) from nissan dealers as they have conseded that this is a common problem and does not justify changing the whole fuel pump (like it has been in the past). All common rail diesels have a SCV, and the problems accociated with them are widespead, including mitsubishi, toyota etc as they are all DENSO common rail systems. Im not sure if the BOSCH common rail pumps have had the same issue or not. The symptoms of a faulty SCV can be varied too, a experienced common rail specialist shop should be able to diagnose it by simply plugging it in and watching the fuel pressures on their computer. They MAY tell you you need a rebuilt pump however, its all more money for them after all. Simply ask them if its the SCV. Theyve been making a racket out of this too long.

Good luck people, and one last comment.... with the knowledge ive learned these last 6 months, i see no advantage in running a common rail diesel in australia. A modern petrol engine is a better choice and my next 4x4 will be a petrol, most likely another navara with the 4.0L 6cyl. You pay a premium for common rail 4x4s, they have the same amount of electronics that can go wrong crossing rivers and deserts but cost ALOT MORE to repair, they have less horsepower and are more noisy in the cab! And dont tell me about fuel consumption either! A friend and i went on a long road together, both had d40 navaras, his petrol mine deisel. After 400km both loaded up with camping gear on the roof about the same size and weight, we filled up at the servo and his car took 45L and mine took 44L... so much for that argument.
 
#46 · (Edited)
I went to NZ to ski, gave my car to my father to use. He drove home after dropping us off at the airport.
Arrived in NZ with a stack of missed calls on my phone from him. He triggered limp mode or that bastardly SCV went awol again on him in the M5 tunnel. He reckons he drove in limp almost all the way to Granville!!
Told him why didn't ya pull over for a bit. I told him about the stalling while changing gear issue, and said if he gets it bad take it to service, which he did.
He picked us up at airport again, we drove back and car drove smooth as silk.
Said straight away, 'You got it serviced'.
He says, 'Yup and he changed a part'...
I said, 'Common rail'.
He says, 'Yup'.
Knowing this, I wasn't convinced the problem was gone. I just didn't think it had to do with the common rail.
So 3 days later I take off at a set of lights and change from 2nd to 3rd and, woop, I got no gas. I'm pumping the pedal like mad to get through the stall, it kicks in again as it usually does. A bellow of black smoke flies out the pipe. The real strange thing is about this is that when it kicks back in it takes off in an incremental like fashion rather than a smooth rise in revs. It winds up then plateaus, winds up higher, plateaus, etc. So I go back to the mechanic. He explains to me, he had to change the rail cos Nissan wouldn't sell him the CR sensor control that sits on the end. He had to buy them together. He said the rail is perfectly fine and the sensor would only cost $20-30 instead of the $1K for the rail.
So $1500 later I still got this fn problem. Its now some 4mths later and service time again, and I still get the 'in between gear change stalls or flat spots'.
Requested that the mechanic now order the fuel pump SCV. I am not even thinking twice about going to Nissan service on this issue. Probably would have cost me more than the $1500 already spent if I had them look for the problem as last time they said they will have to flush my tank and fuel system out if the problem persisted on the previous service to the last one. But, after their service the car also ran smoothly for 2-3 days just as it did last service with the new rail & sensor.
Keep ya posted.
 
#47 ·
Been away from the Nav forums for a while now


Try this and see if you have any joy with it

Completely clear the vehicles memory , disconnect battery at the neg terminal and try to start the engine , this will drain most of the 12v in the system , next touch the neg terminal with the pos terminal this will drain any remaining voltage from the system , now if you have a chip of any kind remove it before do this\

If you do have a chip if everything so that the vehicle runs as per normal , push it hard and see if you trigger the limp home mode again , it may take several runs to get the limp mode to come on again , if dont come back on you might be lucky if limp does come on what are you doing with such a high setting with your chip in the first place ??? high settings will activate the limp mode

More fuel is no good unless you re-map the ECU and MAF sensor which of cause you cant do unless you have the know how

How old is your D40 ? got any warranty left on it ? Nissan know that they had [still have] problems with the rail and pump but will only do the work under warranty if you beg and just high enough

Try that and see how you go Marty
 
#48 ·
It's all running stock, no mods to driveline, engine or suspension. It's 2007 Series 2, and I planned to keep it 4yrs then upgrade, thats why I have not tweaked with it.
 
#49 ·
So no warranty if its an 07 plate
Go and talk to Nissan technical in Melbourne , explain the issue at hand and see if you cant get some sort of out of warranty claim , they have done it before where they wear the parts and you pay the Labor charges

Did you wipe the EUC memory as per my last post , try that before anything else

M.
 
#50 ·
Very interesting thread..........I can just about follow most of it...........now here's the rub - Nissan Thailand dealers and sales have got to be just about the most stupid, dullest, incompetent group of people involved in the motor industry anywhere in the world - add to that my limited knowledge of the Thai language and I'm dreading tomorrow when I have to go into my local Nissan dealership and try to explain to the service department what might or might not be wrong - e.g. reset ECU etc etc......

Has anyone here had experience of Nissan servicing in Thailand - as yet I have only experienced their sales team and if they are anything to go by I could be on a hiding to nothing........

Better still does anyone know of an expert in Thailand who may or may not be connected with Nissan dealerships?
 
#51 ·
Hi there

It is ironic you should begin

Im having some issues with my 2.5TD D40 navara at the moment, its just started nowe the car is 60.000kms and 3years old, (just out of warranty)
because this is almost exactly what has happened to me.

Just a few days ago it started running in limp mode and not realising at the time I could reset it by restarting the engine I did some slow trips.

Until yesterday the engine check light wasn't coming on but now it is on all the time.
This morning I commuted in traffic and had to pull over or restart the vehicle at lights a few times.
Then at lunch time I did the reset routine in this thread that appeared to work, ie. it ended with the engine light doing the 10 short and long flashes but the engine light still didn't go out and it went into limp mode once almost immediately after.
The commute home tonight was trouble free.

It's booked in for a service in a couple of weeks but it is a bit disconcerting.
I hope they don't want to spend a whole heap of money.
 
#53 ·
Im having some issues with my 2.5TD D40 navara at the moment, its just started nowe the car is 60.000kms and 3years old, (just out of warranty)

Ive read about ALOT of similar problems on the net and spoken to many people that have had similar issues with their common rail navara`s.

For those that dont know, ill explain a little about the sorts of problems occuring. Some folks report a "severe loss of power", others call it "going into limp mode" or "safe mode" which is a more acccurate desription of whats happening. Somtimes the engine check light comes on, somtimes it doesnt when this occurs depending on whats causing the engine computer to trip itself into this protective state. When the vechile is in "limp mode" you cannot rev the engine much past about 2000rpm in gear, and there is very little engine power, even in neutral with your foot flat to the floor, you will only get about 3000rpm.
Simply swtiching the ignition off and then starting the vehicle again, resets the vehicle out of "limp mode" until the problem occurs again and so on....

The usual course of action then sees the poor unsuspecting punter down the nissan dealership asking them to find the problem where they come back and say "you need a new fuel pump and/or fuel rail, that will be $5000-7000 please sir" :crikey:

Is any of this sounding familiar yet??? Well regardless, its time this BS from nissan stopped. For starters, a fuel rail (metal cylinder) doesnt just stop working, its a piece of metal ffs!. What the problem most likely is, is the fuel pressure sensor that screws into the end of it, and sends data to the ECU!! (or PCM they call it nowadays) Thing is, NISSAN ONLY SELLS THE FUEL RAIL AS A COMPLETE ASSEMBLY FOR $1000!!!! :thatswck:
Then theres the fuel pump, $4500 worth of high tech pumping technology that delivers 28,000psi of fuel presure to the fuel rail and injectors. Again, if your navara can happily operate for hours on end making great power, running like dream, chances are theres nothing wrong with you fuel pump, more likely to be somthing like a presure relief valve or fuel pressure regulator that comes with the fuel pump thats giving us dramas with intermittant problems yeah??? Thankfully NISSAN DO SELL THESE seperately for just under $400 last i called.

Now, after talking to a few people, it seems that YOU CAN GET a fuel pressure sensor on its own, just have to ask the right people who know where to get them OUTSIDE nissan, afterall the sensors are all made OEM by companies like bosch, seimens and denzo etc, in fact the whole common rail system is supplied by these companies.

It also turns out that there can many causes such as dirty fuel inc water etc, oil from the turbo on intake map sensor, corroded/poor connections and earths etc, that play havoc on these sensors and cause you ECU to trip out and go into limp mode besides just faulty sensors so check all of the easy stuff like this first, change you fuel filter, check for air leaks and fuel leaks neatral/park transmission switch etc.

Now im at a point where ive gone thru all this and here is my problem.
The car goes into limp mode when i leave it idle for more than about 30secs. I go to drive off and bingo, no power, no engine check light, no error codes logged in diagnostics (from the dealer). Apart from this, the car performs flawlessly non stop, drove 1200kms the other day without skipping a beat until i stopped at the servo and let it idle for 30 sec again same thing. So im thinking that at very low rpm`s, its tripping out on low or possibly high fuel pressure due to a faulty sensor or perhaps the regulator not controlling the pressure properly. I mean what else could it be???? everything else works...

So my next move is to order a fuel pressure sensor from a diesel shop that tells me they can get them, whack it in and see how i go. Failing that, im going to swap out the pressure regulator and then see what happens. I have a very strong feeling one of these things will fix my problem and so i will share the results with you so hopefully no more people will get ripped off.

end rant...
All problems stated we have suffered with the D40 . The complete cure is so simple and has been explained in numerous replies by contributors over the years . It is the black plug on top of fuel folter with two hoses . The Plug has two ORings Which leak air . Too prove this pull it out , smother with grease and the ute runs smoothly. You will have a week of trouble free driving . The cure is two new o rings or genuine fuel filter which comes with the plug already installed . NO LIMP MODE , NO IDLING PROBLEM , EASY STARTING , GREAT ACCELERATION
 
#54 ·
Im having some issues with my 2.5TD D40 navara at the moment, its just started nowe the car is 60.000kms and 3years old, (just out of warranty)

Ive read about ALOT of similar problems on the net and spoken to many people that have had similar issues with their common rail navara`s.

For those that dont know, ill explain a little about the sorts of problems occuring. Some folks report a "severe loss of power", others call it "going into limp mode" or "safe mode" which is a more acccurate desription of whats happening. Somtimes the engine check light comes on, somtimes it doesnt when this occurs depending on whats causing the engine computer to trip itself into this protective state. When the vechile is in "limp mode" you cannot rev the engine much past about 2000rpm in gear, and there is very little engine power, even in neutral with your foot flat to the floor, you will only get about 3000rpm.
Simply swtiching the ignition off and then starting the vehicle again, resets the vehicle out of "limp mode" until the problem occurs again and so on....

The usual course of action then sees the poor unsuspecting punter down the nissan dealership asking them to find the problem where they come back and say "you need a new fuel pump and/or fuel rail, that will be $5000-7000 please sir" :crikey:

Is any of this sounding familiar yet??? Well regardless, its time this BS from nissan stopped. For starters, a fuel rail (metal cylinder) doesnt just stop working, its a piece of metal ffs!. What the problem most likely is, is the fuel pressure sensor that screws into the end of it, and sends data to the ECU!! (or PCM they call it nowadays) Thing is, NISSAN ONLY SELLS THE FUEL RAIL AS A COMPLETE ASSEMBLY FOR $1000!!!! :thatswck:
Then theres the fuel pump, $4500 worth of high tech pumping technology that delivers 28,000psi of fuel presure to the fuel rail and injectors. Again, if your navara can happily operate for hours on end making great power, running like dream, chances are theres nothing wrong with you fuel pump, more likely to be somthing like a presure relief valve or fuel pressure regulator that comes with the fuel pump thats giving us dramas with intermittant problems yeah??? Thankfully NISSAN DO SELL THESE seperately for just under $400 last i called.

Now, after talking to a few people, it seems that YOU CAN GET a fuel pressure sensor on its own, just have to ask the right people who know where to get them OUTSIDE nissan, afterall the sensors are all made OEM by companies like bosch, seimens and denzo etc, in fact the whole common rail system is supplied by these companies.

It also turns out that there can many causes such as dirty fuel inc water etc, oil from the turbo on intake map sensor, corroded/poor connections and earths etc, that play havoc on these sensors and cause you ECU to trip out and go into limp mode besides just faulty sensors so check all of the easy stuff like this first, change you fuel filter, check for air leaks and fuel leaks neatral/park transmission switch etc.

Now im at a point where ive gone thru all this and here is my problem.
The car goes into limp mode when i leave it idle for more than about 30secs. I go to drive off and bingo, no power, no engine check light, no error codes logged in diagnostics (from the dealer). Apart from this, the car performs flawlessly non stop, drove 1200kms the other day without skipping a beat until i stopped at the servo and let it idle for 30 sec again same thing. So im thinking that at very low rpm`s, its tripping out on low or possibly high fuel pressure due to a faulty sensor or perhaps the regulator not controlling the pressure properly. I mean what else could it be???? everything else works...

So my next move is to order a fuel pressure sensor from a diesel shop that tells me they can get them, whack it in and see how i go. Failing that, im going to swap out the pressure regulator and then see what happens. I have a very strong feeling one of these things will fix my problem and so i will share the results with you so hopefully no more people will get ripped off.

end rant... A Problem With My Nissan Frontier / Navara..
What Happened is It Runs Out Of Diesel, and The Turbocharger Hose Were Burst Then The Problem Occurred, Engine Lost Of Power Appeared..
I'm Having
 
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