Nissan Qashqai (2007 – 2014) Review

• March 2007: Qashqai unveiled
• November 2008: Sound & Style special edition announced
• April 2009: Qashqai n-tec model introduced
• December 2009: Revised Qashqai revealed
• August 2010: Stop/Start introduced
• January 2013: Qashqai 360 launched
• February 2019: Haynes Manual available for Qashqai 2007 - 2014.

01-01-0001:

Gear knobs can become unstuck. One reader had two gearshift linage failures in 36k miles and just over 3 years, both rectified under warranty.

Seems to be a high incidence of owners of 2.0 diesels failing to self-clean their particulate filters because they don't drive the cars far enough at high enough speeds.

Numerous reports of rattles from the rear suspension (see TSB under 'Recalls'). One 7 month old 25k mile example required new rear dampers. This is a standard fault, rectified with the December 2009 facelift.

One report of failed CD player needing to be replaced.

Several separate reports of a leak from the front screen seal leading to condensation inside the car.

Carefully check front brake discs for uneven wear. Some have been found to be almost worn through on the inner face at as little as 24,000 miles. Pad calipers may not have been 'floating' correctly.

Seems to be a gear selector problem on 2.0 dCi and in June 2010 a shortage of parts to fix them.

24-10-2011:

"Thumping" under braking apparently cased by warped front brake discs.

25-08-2012:

Clutch failure becoming alarminghly common on 3 year olds with 20k - 40k miles.

13-11-2012:

Early 1.5 dCi can suffer the same problem as other cars fitted with this engine: On 1.5 dCi EGR valve should open to allow carbon dioxide, which acts as a cooling gas) into the combustion chambers when the engine is under load. This allows the combustion chamber temperature to drop and thus the temperature of the exhaust gases. If it sticks in the closed position the exhaust gas temperature will rise causing a) the turbo bearings to fail and b) engine oil into the induction system. This can cause the engine to run on its crankcase oil until it is either stalled or goes bang. Problems with EGR valves in Renault dCi engines are often the cause of rough running when the valve is stuck in the open position as well. In several cases turbos have blown but the EGR valve has not been replaced. Inevitably the new turbo unit will not last long.

01-12-2012:

The old rattling rear damper problem is now causing MoT failures.

23-12-2012:

39k mile 2009 Qashqai 2.0 petrol CVT suffered severe carbon build-up and broken piston rings necesstating an engine rebuild.

17-03-2013:

Timing belt of 1.5 dCi failed at 65k miles, wrecking the engine.

01-05-2013:

T ailgate lift handles on 2007/2008 Qashqai seem to be breaking off as if the plastic fixings have become too brittle over time. The lift handle also houses the number plate light and tailgate release button. So better to let the hatch rise on its gas struts that to physically lift it.

04-05-2013:

Notified of rear differential failure on 2.0 dCi automatic at 3 years 2 months old and 37,000 miles. Car had never towed anything. Nissan paid 70% of parts only, leaving reader with £1200 bill.

01-06-2013:

Notified of another rear differential failure, this on 37k mile 2009 2.0 petrol Qashqai. Quoted £3153 for the repair and offered £744 towards the cost, contrasting poorly towards similar case in May 2013.

08-06-2013:

Aircon condenser matrix prone to corrosion and fins can crumble after about 4 years even if it doesn't spring a leak. At Nissan dealer price, £859 to replace.

01-10-2013:

Qashqai and X-Trail 2.0 dCi recalled ostensibly because of a potential problem of severe driving conditions causing the engine bearings to wear and lead to con-rod and main bearing failure, then being returned to the owners with significantly reduced power and torque.

05-10-2013:

Warranty on 2.0 dCi extended from 3 years to 4 years to cover a main bearing problem.

17-10-2013:

Report of 1.6 dCi 130 in a Qashqai 4WD failing due to a blown injector causing the lubrication on cylinder No 1 to wash away and wreck the engine.

25-10-2013:

Cylinder head problems with 29k mile 2008 Juke 1.6 petrol. Apparently found to be cracked. This is becoming a common problem on the Qashqai and Juke 1.6 petrol engine.

29-10-2013:

Weakened tailgate lift handle/number plate light ripped off in a carwash.

18-11-2013:

Report of Qashqai needing new front discs and pads after just 4400 miles and 12 months. Dealer refused to fit FoC under warranty and Nissan also refused. Small claims action against dealer advised.

19-02-2014:

Report of failure of CVT of Qashqai 2.0 dCi 4WD at 3,000 miles, replaced under warranty.

23-03-2014:

Clogged DPF reported on 2012 Qashqai 1.5 dCi used solely for low speeds on country roads.

12-04-2014:

Engine malfunction light of 17k mile 2002/62 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi 130 Tekna comes on intermittently. Dealer diagnosed "problem with exhaust". Replacement part ordered but delayed because, apparently "problem is widespread". Dealer assured owner that car was okay to drive. Can't find anything on an Internet search. Any feedback welcome.

28-04-2014:

Timing belt snapped on 38k mile 3.5 year old 2010 Qashqai 1.5 dCi severely damaging engine.

29-05-2014:

Transmission oil cooler sprung a leak on 2010/60 reg Qashqai N-TEC 4WD CVT. Leak temporarily stopped but a new oil cooler is £1000.

11-06-2014:

DPF of 55k mile 2011 Qashqai +2 Accenta 1.5 dCi became blocked while driving in France. Local dealer quoted €2350 to reolace.

13-06-2014:

Timing belt of 42k mile Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi failed. Apparently Nissan issued a TSB for Qashqai 1.5 dCi up to August 2010 to correct the problem.

23-06-2014:

2011/61 Nissan Qashqai suffered loss of tyre pressure due to the alloy wheels having become porous due to a manufacturing defect. Nissan repalced all four FoC.

06-09-2014:

Timing belt failed on 62k mile 60 reg Qashqai 1.5 dCi wrecking engine and leading to £5300 estimate for a new engine. These belts, tensioners and waterpumps need replacing at least every 4 years or 60k miles whichever comes first.

18-11-2014:

ABS failure reported on 65k mile 2008/58 Qashqai. Reader quoted £1,800 by Nissan dealer. Probably the same ATE Teves Mk 60 brake pressure sensor failure and can probably be fixed by ECUtesting for about £600 all in.

18-06-2015:

Qashqai suffered broken rear numberplate lamp covers from treating them as hatchback handles. They aren't strong enough. Cost £300 each to replace.

20-06-2015:

Pipe to CVT transmission oil cooler of 2010 Qashqai fractured at 35,839 miles. Replacement cost £351.72, plus fluid and hoses leading to a bill of £487.67 + 20% VAT.

23-06-2015:

Reader told that compressor of a/c of 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi 130 has failed. Dealer took 17 days to obtain authorisation from Nissan to replace the compressor only to find they were on back order. After 27 days, still no fix. Advised to take car to an independent a/c specialist to check if the fault is the compressor or the compressor electromagnetic clutch.

03-09-2015:

Rear hatch handle/number plate light cover broke on 2010 Qashqai. Quoted £280 to replace.

23-09-2015:

Aux belt failed on 53k mile 2007 Qashqai 1.5 dCi lodging in the timing belt causing valves to hit pistons and engine to seize.

30-10-2015:

Another complaint of tailgate handle/numberplate light assembly of a 4 year old Qashqai breaking in the owner's hands. These seem to become increasingly brittle as they age.

18-11-2015:

Failure of Dual Mass Flywheel reported on 2011 Qashqai 1.6 dCi at 42 months old and 60,000 miles. Cost £2,000 to replace DMF and clutch.

15-03-2016:

Three successive clutch failures reported on a 2008 Nissan Qashqai +2 1.6 petrol, at 19,000 miles, 43,000 miles and 49,800 miles.

17-03-2016:

Report of CVT transmission of 2012 Qashqai 1.6 failing at 24,000 miles, 5 months out of warranty.

26-04-2016:

Complaint of 56k mile 2010 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dCi intermittently refusing to rev and pull the car. Possibly blocked turbo bearing oil feed and oil return pipes. But also ESP light appearing and refusing to go out until engine is switched off and re-started.

11-05-2016:

Report of stop/start system faullt on 2013 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCI 130 2 weeks out of warranty. Nissan mechanic said there was a known fault and Nissan was working on it. Nissan dealer denied this. Shortage of the correct batteries means that cannot be replaced.

06-06-2016:

Report of failed injectors twice on 2011 Qashqai 1.5dCi; first time in January 2015 at 25k miles; 2nd time in May 2016 at 32k miles. £850 to replace and 28 days off the road.

31-07-2016:

Report of failed CVT of 16,500 mile 2011 Nissan Qashqai replaced by Nissan FoC.

13-08-2016:

Various problems reported to be afflicting a 2008 Nissan Qashqai: L eft indicator comes on ticking away whenever the brake pedal is depressed. Clutch pedal sticks, and interior door opening latch coating on 2 doors has worn off leaving sharp metallic pieces that cut through fingers when opening (had to cover with tape).

16-09-2016:

Report of CVT auto of 2013 Nissan Qashqai 360 failing in September 2016 at 30,000 miles, 6 months out of warranty. Nissan paid for a new CVT transmission, fitted within 10 days, and dealer absorbed some of the labour costs to fit it so owner paid only £325 and was happy.

06-12-2016:

Report of failure of front and rear suspension bushes on 2012 Qashqai at 19,000 miles.

19-12-2016:

Reader buying 2011 Qashqai 1.5 dCi discovered it was still due for a cylinder head gasket replacement that had not been carried out as a result of the original TSB.

08-01-2017:

Another report of a CVT failure on a Nissan Qashqai, this time on a 1.6 Acenta (age not specified) at 18,000 miles. Cost to replace £6,000, but Nissan will contribute 75% of the parts cost despite the car not having been serviced since purchase 15 months previously.

11-01-2017:

Report of "fully laden" 2011 Nissan Qashqai witn M9R 2.0 diesel engine emitting an acrid smell and stalling at 41k miles. When re-started, it exhibited a distinct tapping noise and rattle. Car recovered to our Nissan dealer who immediately advised it needed a new engine costing £10.5k. Internet revealed that there has been an underlying issue with the M9R engine that resulted in a voluntary recall in 2013 due to bearings failing under heavy load, at high speeds and in severe weather. Nissan offered to fund 50% of a Nissan reconditioned engine, that including dealer labour equating to a bill of £3.5k. The offer was based on a standard algorithm from Nissan's customer unit based on the vehicle age and mileage. Owner asked the dealer to strip the engine and advise the reason for failure before he accepted the offer. Service Manager has came back with a report; "We have now completely disassembled your engine and found the following damage: Crank shaft is badly scored in numerous places One big end baring has detached from connecting rod, this rod connects the piston to the crank shaft. There is also scoring on this connecting rod. The scoring of the above parts has caused fine metal filings to travel through the engine. This is evident when inspecting the engine oil strainer located in the oil sump. As to the cause this damage, I can only point to an area that may have contributed: The rear main crank shaft oil seal was leaking oil, this may have cause the crank shaft to dry and the bearing to detach. Based on the damage mentioned above it is not economically viable to repair the engine, a new unit is required."

23-01-2017:

CVT transmission of used 2012 Nissan Qashqai N-Tech failed while under dealer warranty. Replaced with a re-manufactured CVT transmission that failed after a month. Nissan refuses to replace the transmission with a new one, leaving an impasse between the dealer and the customer. If the dealer does not fix the car it ahs to buy it back from the customer.

27-01-2017:

Report that on a 2012/2013 Nissan Qashqai the satnav map display says the SD card is not inserted even though it is! Sometimes the problem cures itself at other times the card needs to be taken out and re-inserted. Owner spoke to my Nissan dealer who says the solution is a new SD card at £170. It could be that if the car is on a new road not mapped in the original SD card mapping, the system interprets this as SD card not properly inserted.

08-02-2017:

Report of jury finding 82 year old woman driver not guilty of manslaughter after she contended that her Nissan Qashqai CVT "whooshed away" when she tried to drive it from one side of a road to another and ended up on the footway killing a pedestrian in July 2014. She testified, "I am absolutely clear that I did not have my foot on the accelerator at the time when the vehicle sped off." She denied the prosecution claim that she had accidentally pressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake and insisted that the car “just wouldn’t stop”. Her lawyers said the electric throttle had malfunctioned due to an undercharged battery. On hearing about the trial, two witnesses came forward and testified that the same thing had happened to them in their Nissan Qashqai CVT automatics. Nissan's technical expert Takuma Nakamura from Kanagawa, Japan contended that the defendant’s claims were “impossible”. Nothing seems to have been mentioned about left foot braking that would have stopped the vehicle completely. A Nissan spokesman said that the Qashqai had an “exemplary safety record” and that the defendant's vehicle had been examined by Nissan and the police and “ at no point was any fault found with the vehicle which could have caused the accident. This verdict does not reflect on the safety of the vehicle. The only issue to be decided in this case was whether the driving of the defendant was dangerous or careless and caused the death of the victim” the spokesman said. The prosecution was unable to prove this beyond reasonable doubt.”

13-03-2017:

Report of noise from CVT transmission of 2012 Nissan Qashqai at 27,000 miles. Nissan dealers in owner's area could not “look at it for 3 weeks" and advised owner to try elsewhere. He rang two other Nissan dealers and got the same sort of response. Owner found that the only people competent to work on an auto gearbox were in Preston 18 miles away so he took it there. They diagnosed a collapsed bearing and said it could mean a new CVT gearbox costing about £6,500. They said to strip and repair it would cost up to £3,500 but agreed a fixed price of £2,500.

30-03-2017:

CVT transmission of used 2013 Qashqai failed at 39,877 miles, 6 months + 2 weeks and 4,656 miles after purchase. CD player had previously jammed and whole navigation console had been replaced.

23-05-2017:

Report of failure of CVT automatic transmission of 2012 Nissan Qashqai.

10-06-2017:

Report of timing belt failing on 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi at 45,000 miles. Five previous reposts of timing belt failures on Qashqai 1.5dCIs above.

03-07-2017:

Report of 2011 Nissan Qashqai requiring new rear suspension bushes at 31,000 miles at a cost of £200.

18-07-2017:

Report of exhaust actuator required on 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi at 50,000 miles at a cost of £700. Signified by orange engine light.

31-07-2017:

Curious case of engine revs rising on Nissan Qashqai 2.0 petrol CVT auto. On a flat road with little or no wind, accelerate up to a certain speed and then ease of the accelerator in order to coast, the revs increase considerably although the speed remains constant, eg at 60mph they increase from approx 1,800 to 3,000 or 3,500. Different speeds record different readings. When driver presses the accelerator to maintain speed the rev counter returns to normal. New transmission fitterd under warranty but fault still occurs so must be in the engine or transmission software.

01-08-2017:

Report of 2010 Nissan Qashqai +2 1.5 dCi needing new DPF and EGR at 90,000 miles. Fitted by local garage at cost of £1384 + £579 for 90k mile service (including timing belt), then light came on again after 1,700 miles.

07-09-2017:

Report of engine management light coming on in 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCiat 42,000 miles. RAC diagnosed P1480 fault = Exhaust e/throttle control actuator fault plus felt that Turbo was about to fail. Nissan dealer diagnosed the same and quoted £1,300+ for both repairs (£600+ for Exhaust & throttle control valve & £700+ for supply & fit a reconditioned turbo which they said would be guaranteed 12 months). After 7 working days car was returned and next morning exhaust repair seemed ok, but Turbo was still making whistling noise. Garage took car back in but 3 hours later left it back with owner with no explanation. We suspect that the reason for the turbo failure was turbo bearing oil feed and oil return pipes blocked with carbon and starving the turbo of oil. If these were not replaced they would starve the replacement turbo bearing of oil, which explains the whistle.

29-09-2017:

Report of bearing failing inside manual transmission of Qashqai 1.6 petrol model, destroying the transmission.

03-10-2017:

Report of gradual failure of CVT transmission of 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 petrol at 76,000 miles. It was bought from a Nissan dealer and has had all its services there. Dealer diagnosed a faulty CVT that would require replacing, at a cost of around £7.5k. Dealer subsequently told owner that Nissan had offered a 50% discount on the cost of the parts but he would need to call Nissan Customer Services to negotiate any further discount. He called Nissan, a case manager took a couple of days to look at the details and then rang back to tell owner they weren’t prepared to offer anything more than 50%. Owner found that in the USA Nissan has been forced to extend the warranty on its CVT to 10 years/120,000 miles: http://www.nissanassist.com/ProgramDetails.php?menu=2

18-10-2017:

Further report of failure of CVT transmission on a Nissan Qashqai. No age given. Was out of warranty, despite just 28,500 miles. No help from Nissan so owner had it repaired independently at a cost of £3,746.

25-10-2017:

Report of 2009/59 Nissan Qashqai DCi going in to Nissan dealer for a new clutch. Owner told it needs a new dual mass flywheel as well and that will cost £3,000 all-in.

04-12-2017:

Report of clutch of 2010 Nissan Qashqai failing in November 2015 and being replaced at a cost of £1,677. Clutch burned out again in October 2017 and was replaced by an independent garage in the locality where the clutch failed at a cost of £1,145.

06-12-2017:

Curious case reported of 2010/60 Nissan Qashqai 2.0 petrol N-Tech 4WD CVT with 74,300 miles lighting up '4WD' warning on dash when not switched to 4WD. Dealer diagnosis said: "Plugged in vehicle fault with 4wd system, fault 4x4 actuator carried out live data on consult and 4x4 knob working but not engaging system transmission control module required - £1494.48 inc. Payment in full was demanded and paid by Barclaycard." When the module was received about 10 days later the vehicle was booked in for an hour for fitting-included in the price above. An hour and a half later a courtesy car was offered foc since their "computer would not liaise" with the new unit. The vehicle has been with them ever since and the are still having trouble 'programming'. They are in touch with Nissan HQ. We eonder if these was caused by a tyre disparity? Might have damaged the 4WD system. Might simply not work because of the tyre disparity.

19-12-2017:

Report of windscreen wiper motor and wiper mechanism failing on 2009 Nissan Qashqai 1.5DCI and no spare parts available via Nissan or via Europarts. Problem seems to have become a common one and, because the car is an obsolete model, stocks of spares have been used up.

22-12-2017:

Report of rear dampers of 89k mile 2007 Nissan Qashqai corroding at base and needing to be replaced. Corrosion was also in the suspension mountings. Quoted £500 a side to fix.

18-01-2018:

Further report of spurious warning lights coming on: engine management, service, cruise control, this time in a 2011 Qashqai 2.0DCI. Nissan dealer, Halfords and independent garage all unable to fix.

03-03-2018:

Report of diesel injector failure on 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi at 43,500 miles. Car always serviced by Nissan dealers. E ngine management warning light came on when driving in Red plus 2 amber traction control warning lights. Nissan dealer advised that Injector 3 had failed. Estimate for repair £566.40.

26-04-2018:

Report of failed CVT transmission in ex Motability 2012 Nissan Qashqai. Dealer quoted £4,000 to replace it.

04-08-2018:

Report of CVT of 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 starting to judder a bit.

14-08-2018:

Report of CVT of 2013 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 CVT auto at 62,000 miles sometimes juddering when starting off or ascending hills.

12-9-2018: Report of Technical Service Update of engine management module on 2011 Nissan Qashqai 1.5cdi. Nissan dealer had three attempts at carrying out this work and not got it right yet. First try resulted in the car surging violently to a loud chattering sound. Try two improved things a bit, but not running smoothly and chattering noise reduced but still there when accelerating. Try three: chattering still there on accelerating. 14-10-2018:

Report of "clutch slipping when pulling away" in a 2013 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 CVT.

18-10-2018:

Report of failure of CVT transmission of 2012 Nissan Qashqai at 16,000 miles due oil starvation. Need for new transmission diagnosed at £7,500.

01-11-2018:

Report of failure of oil pump of 2012/62 Nissan Qashqai 1.5DCI at 48k miles, leading to internal erngine damage through lack of oil. No mention of the oil light coming on, only 'knocking' noises.

08-11-2018:

Failed bearing reported in 2012 Nissan Qashqai N-Tec+ 1.6 (1,598cc) CVT.

11-11-2018:

Report of turbo boost inlet pipe cracking on 2013 Nissan Qashqai 1.5DCI at 70k miles. After repair, fault code fault code p242f DPF filter restriction - ash accumulation came up. No mileage mentioned, but recommended DPF to be chemically cleaned by Ceramex.

11-12-2018:

Report of Nissan Qashqai 1:5 diesel, first registered August 2011, showing symptoms of power steering failure for which Qashqais built 6/8/2010 to 12/8/2011 were recalled in January 2012. Dealer denies it is one of the cars affected, but to have been first registered in August 2011 it must have been built between 6/8/2010 to 12/8/2011. 7,500 2010 to 2011 Qashqais recalled due to possible
Failure EPS unit out of specification Ref. R/2011/159 build dates 06/08/2010 to 12/08/2011.

02-01-2019:

Report of 2010 Nissan Qashqai 2.0 Tekna CVT from a Nissan Dealer, bought in 2016, requiring a replacement CVT transmission undser warranty in November 2018. Since then fuel consumption has increased from 32/33mpg to 26/27mpg, possibly due to more viscous fluid in the new transmission.

23-02-2019:

Report of 2012 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dCi suddenly suffering loss of power and the red engine management light came on. "It was the pipe connected to the turbo which had split, apparently a known fault and happens because the DPF needs regenerating. Also it's due for a EMS upgrade which causes further problems.

03-03-2019:

Report of ex-Motability 2013 Nissan Qashqai 1.6 CVT auto failing in forward gears only at 43k miles. Required reconditioning by specialist garage at cost of £3,500. Owner reports that the same garage is carrying out this procedure on 2 Qashqais every week.

16-04-2019:

Report of judder from CVT transmission of 2013 Nissan Qashqai. Dealer initially quoted £7,500 to replace the transmission. Owner checked this website for previous reports and approached Nissan customer services for a goodwill contribution as the car has a full service Nissan history. Nissan came back with an offer of 50% of the cost of the parts. Owner was subsequently quoted £2,856 by the dealership for the work and parts for a reconditioned transmission warranted for a year.

17-07-2019:

Report of front suspension arm bushes failing both sides on a 2011 Nissan Qashqau, then, 8,000 miles later, failing again.

20-11-2019:

Report of 1,461cc Renault dieserl engine of 54k mile 2011 Nissan Qashqai starting to misfire over the past 9 months sometimes leading to limp-home mode. Symptoms are similar to only firing on 2 or 3 cylinders. This has happened about 6 times. Left engine for a short while and then okay. Owner had several forced DPF regens that have not cured problem. Recently had a diagnostic check and it showed that various injectors had malfunctioned. Owner used injector cleaner and filled with V-Power diesel, then car ran fine for a month but after that problem came back. Stopped car for an hour then ran fine. See 23-2-2019 for a cure.

82 dated faults reported since January 2011

22-07-2022:

CVT gearbox failure reported on 2012 Qashqai with 1.6 engine. Car has 54,000 miles on the clock and owner has been quoted £3,600 for a replacement, reconditioned transmission.