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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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#3 ·
I have had the same issue, but it has only happened about 3 times in 90,000km. So to try and get a Nissan dealer to locate the problem would be pointless. I just turn of the ignition and start again. If anyone finaly works out what is causing it I'm we would all like to know.
 
#4 ·
common problem is the turbo boost contoller failing.

when it does it does it blow any clouds of smoke?
other wise fuel pressure sensor.
also try reseting fuel pressure data. sometimes they forget to do it when it serviced and that causes a few problems.

yes they change fual rail when changing injectors. i'm told that its a safty thing due to the high pressure in the rail.

any idea of boost level or EGT's when the fault is occuring?
 
#5 · (Edited)
mate, there is no boost when its idling, and i would expect that the EGT is very low in this state aswell, over boost only occurs under load. The problem doesnt occur at all (in my car) when driving around, only idling for 30sec or more. Spoke with the actual nissan mechanic who worked on my car today and it turns out that there WAS an error code in the ECU, P0069 i think eh said, excessive fuel pressure is what it meant tho... so my theory is getting closer.

Denso make the whole common rail system in the navara, pump, injectors, sensors, rail, even the ECU i believe, and they also make it in the landcruiser etc... so im wondering if there are interchangable parts we can use... like ordering the sensor thru toyota instead...? id bet the hilux uses similar/same denso parts aswell. Once i find out the denso part numbers, ill post them here so people can order them direct instead of a new fuel rail thru nissan...
 
#9 ·
bloody best thread i have read.
i agree to to the boost at idle, the lagg pisses me off, a bloody datsun can take off quicker than my TD40.
I only get limp mode when i rev high, usually overtaking in 2nd or 3rd, then it cuts out my engine. its FN ANNOYING when ur on a highway in traffic and WHAMMO ur car just stalls. its an accident waiting to happen. My old man once drove my car, and he came back and said ur car has serious problems, i drove home (10kms) at 20-30kms/ph. i laughed and said yeah u triggered the safety in the ecu... you just had to restart engine..

But look, sometimes you neeed to have that extra grunt to take off and/or overtake. i cant stand that limp mode, i would love to have it disconnected or removed all together..
 
#10 ·
I've had mine go into limp mode several times BUT only when I was running a tuning chip and I had turned it up to high , Like Tweek'e said over fueling sounds like the problem, once I was able to install a new fuel filter and the engine ran without me having re-set the fuel curve 2000km later it started to play up , pulled over and re-set the curve on the side of the road 5mins later all was well again and never missed a beat since then

Try this before you buy any parts

To clear the codes from your ECM do as follows

How to Set Diagnostic Test Mode II (Self-diagnostic Results)
1. Confirm that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch ON and wait 3 seconds.
2. Repeat the following procedure quickly five times within 5 seconds.
a. Fully depress the accelerator pedal.
b. Fully release the accelerator pedal.
3. Wait 7 seconds, fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for approx. 10 seconds until the MI starts
blinking.
4. Fully release the accelerator pedal.
ECM has entered to Diagnostic Test Mode II (Self-diagnostic results).

How to Erase Diagnostic Test Mode II (Self-diagnostic Results)
1. Set ECM in Diagnostic Test Mode II (Self-diagnostic results).
Mode II (Self-diagnostic Results)" .
2. Fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for more than 10 seconds.
The emission-related diagnostic information has been erased from the backup memory in the ECM.
3. Fully release the accelerator pedal, and confirm the DTC 0000 is displayed.

or in short
Ign on count to 3
full on and off throttle 5 times within 5 sec's
count to 7 hold throttle down for 10 or so seconds
wait for the ECM light to flash let go of throttle and your in count the codes after you have written them down or fell you don’t need any codes just hold the throttle down until you see the ECM pattern change to ten fast flashes twice and then ten slow flashes and there you have one reset ECM
 
#19 · (Edited)
ok so i tried this just now because i am having problems with my nav i believe it occurs at the peak of my boost (3000 rpm) exact and then the van goes into limp mode.. the van sounds and acts normal from 3000rpm and below but once it attempts to pass thats it. i dont even hear the turbo.. so i am assuming that it is what someone stated before (the boost pressure controller failing) because at some times i see black smoke behind the van while i attempt to cross 3000rpm ( this takes a while ) in limp mode...

but now im puzzled because if it was the turbo boost controller wouldnt the van be spittin out smoke before limp mode whilst on boost? and i believe i put bad diesel in my van..:(
anyways i tried reseting and when it reaches the point where i have to see two fast flashes of ten and one slow of ten .. i see 3 fast 10s and 1 slow ten.. error code?? can someone help me? thanks
does anyone know how to drain the fuel pump / filter for dregs

new development .. i just realised that the fuel pump thing to press is soft and anytime i press and it gets hard after a while it gets back soft.. help?
 
#11 ·
gd on ya martin
I appreciate mate, thanks...
 
#12 ·
well i got mine sorted...without spending anymore money...

turns out all that was needed was for the ECU to have the LEARNT part of the ECU reset - so everything it has learned, was cleared. I was told it has somthing to with the learning algorithms and the way the injector pump times/ meters the fuel etc. So the fuel rail pressure was getting too high at idle because the ecu was telling the pump to deliver too much etc. Still have no idea why it went bad in the first place and niether did nissan, but it has been fine more than 2-3 weeks now...???? oh well... anyone else with these type of problems should have this done as it costs nothing and only takes 2mins... if it still occurs then you have further issues...
 
#14 ·
Yes the dealer did it. They initially did not know to do this... It was only after they figured it out on another navara under warranty, that they called me in to do mine ( as i had to pay out my own pocket)

None of the diesel specialists suggested this as a fix when i described the problems i had...

It was not simply clearing the error codes, it was resetting the injector pump learning that fixed the problem.
 
#15 ·
It was not simply clearing the error codes, it was resetting the injector pump learning that fixed the problem.
what ever you do don't go back to those idiots......clearing injector learning is part of NORMAL SERVICING ! ! ! :censor: ! ! !
its done everytime the fuel filter is changed so it can relearn the new fuel pressure rate with the new filter. its one thing that seams to catch out the DIY'ers.
 
#17 ·
So we have to learn to be mechanics on our cars, so we can teach the experts how to maintain our cars.. for fk sake.
that is disgraceful.
then they call us anal cos we stay on top of them...
 
#18 ·
That happened to me once too. Put my foot down to beat traffic, took off like a dog shot in the arse, then nothing, thought i'd broken a throttle cable till i remembered it's fly by wire. Limped about a k or so and decided to switch it off for a few seconds and bingo, right as rain. That was about a week ago, hasn't happened since but i'm glad i read this thread. Has anyone who thought they fixed this issue had any more troubles?
 
#21 ·
Air filter you say ---hhhmmmm dont know about that one unless it was that blocked which I doubt , Air flow will not make the ECU go into limp home mode, maybe just maybe if you sucked up a rabbit and completely blocked it :)

Sorry Dude you better keep looking for the problem
 
#25 ·
No code

Hi
i have had my D40, commonrail pipe replaced at 30000km. Limp mode produced a code of, fuel preassure loss. Since that i have not had any problems until now.
I am at 135 000km. The computer produces no errorcode.
Just as you describe but it does not go into limp mode. I go of the throttle and when i go on again it works.
When it is cold, -15C, the power does not come back.

Some one have any ideas?
 
#26 ·
Hi
i have had my D40, commonrail pipe replaced at 30000km. Limp mode produced a code of, fuel preassure loss. Since that i have not had any problems until now.
I am at 135 000km. The computer produces no errorcode.
Just as you describe but it does not go into limp mode. I go of the throttle and when i go on again it works.
When it is cold, -15C, the power does not come back.

Some one have any ideas?
-15C....Move to a warmer climate, that'll fix it :laugh:
 
#28 ·
Anyone that has the Diesel engine should cut n paste this info print it out and just add it to your manuals , this when you are stuck on the side of the road you can at least give it a try

Glad the info has helped some one

Cheers Marty
 
#29 ·
ECU reset after diesel fuel filter change

I have read your post regarding ECU reset after diesel fuel filter change in a Frontier Navara commonrail YD25 turbo diesel engine with much concern as my local dealership strongly denies that this is even an allowed let alone correct procedure and in referencing the D40 / YD25 service / repair manual showed me that that is only done after replacing the fuel pump itself or the injector(s) or the actual ECU unit but NOT when replacing the fuel filter!? I have a digital copy of the D40 service manual in PDF format if interested I can e-mail it to you? Furthermore, in this service manual there is 2 "learning" (clear memory) areas: Fuel injector(s) learning or fuel pump learning, which is the one that you suggest to clear? It seems that the fuel injector learning programming is done by manual data entry with numbers/codes/data printed on each (slightly different) injector housing and not "self-learning"? Thanks in advance for your reply!
 
#30 ·
We are not talking about clearing the memory of the injectors here!!! this can only be done at a dealer , we are talking about the pressure curve if you like of the injector pump that alters as the filter gets older , upping the pressure so that the rail always has the correct pressure

When you get to 40'000kms change the filter yourself and see if your engine will start , I doubt that it will , any dealer that tells you there is not such procedure when the fuel filter is changed, needs a bullet

I have the manual as well , if you dont have mechanical know how , why are you even contemplating doing this kind of work yourself ?

Cheers Marty
 
#31 ·
thanks for your reply.
Actually I wasn't trying to do this myself even though I have some mechanical knowledge, the dealer already did it at 20.000 km which he claims is the prescribed time to change the expensive fuel filter and sell me new one but he did not clear the learned data of the fuel pump as the procedure in the manual does not mention anything about that in the section about changing fuel filter.
So all I want to do is to force the mechanic who has the consult-II scantool to do it for me, just need to make sure about the (right) procedure:
Do as if the fuel pump was replaced?

He did do learning for the idle (RPM) speed to re-adjust that after changing the filter though but I guess that is not the same thing? (Only sets the idle speed?)

tHANKS,
kIM.
 
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