I Can't Drive 55, oh no, literally

 

Sorry to hear about your car. It will not be good if it's determined the 12+ models are likewise affected by this issue.

I assume that would also mean the 08-11 models that had the gasket replaced with an updated metal gasket as a fix could potentially fail again.

Hopefully that's that the case though

 

in for updates

 

Per the dealership, issue is the rear timing cover gasket. Parts have been ordered. Car is being fixed under warranty and should be finished Wednesday.

 

Gasketgate? What does Nissan know, and when did they know it? Who lied to whom?

This would be funny if it weren't tragic. They're going to handle this just like Takata did with the airbag recalls and Toyota with the unintended acceleration. Instead of issuing a wide recall of all the models that they know damn well suffer from this issue and are potential engine failures waiting to happen, they are going to handle this one at a time on a case by case basis and only give relief to those who are lucky enough to catch it while still under warranty. The difference being that they are not legally required to issue any recall because of **** engineering and build quality since it's not a safety issue that causes imminent danger to owners. Just massive financial harm if you have to foot the $3K bill for repairs out of pocket. I can understand this form a business perspective, although being on the crappy side of it I don't like it. They'll save millions and probably only alienate a few consumers who actually know what's going on. Most people won't have a clue that they know that every VQ is a potential grenade and refuse do do anything unless they're forced to.

No car company is perfect. Any manufacturer may have defects that cause problems. Some handle them better than others. I replaced my wife's timing-gasket-blowing 09 G sedan with a '15 Lexus GS350 and have never looked back. I still have Black Betty in the driveway getting minimal miles these days because she's no longer my daily. At this point, I don't see myself buying another Nissan vehicle. After 26 years of continuous brand loyalty. It was a great run... until the end.

Thanks Nissan!

 

I'm definitely not happy about this development. I'm hoping it's some sort of anomaly. I never did much research into this issue as I thought it didn't affect 2012 and newer models. So basically the rear timing gasket went from a fiber-based to a metal gasket, correct? Is there any manual installation of sealant at various locations which could be points of failure if not applied correctly? Or is it a case of sticking the gasket on and bolting down the cover?

To the OP...any way you can have them save the old gasket to see what material it's made out of?

 

Dunno, I think popping into limp-mode unexpectedly is definitely a safety issue.

Anyway, I need to swing by the dealership to grab an item from my car, I'll see if i can get some more answers

 

AFAIK, the gasket is part of the entire timing cover assembly and isn't serviced on its own,

 

They don't service it on it's own because there are no torque specs for the bolts that hold them on, however they sell the gasket solo.

 

Point is, i wont be able to get a good look at the gasket if they're just replacing the whole assembly.

 

Nope. It's an expensive inconvenience. If limp mode were a safety issues, car manufacturers wouldn't program cars to do it intentionally when certain damaging conditions exist.

I have been told directly form one owner that a service department did just replace the gasket only at his request rather than the entire rear cover. Saves a number of hours of labor. However I'm certain that the repair came with no warranty on workmanship because of the issue you cited about not having torque specs for the bolts.

You can examine it when it's torn down. If you look at photos of the blown gasket, it's readily apparent when you tear into the timing case. You could ask for photos of the problem when they tear it down before replacing the rear cover.

 

Well, would have been very inconvenient if it had happened when i was merging on to the expressway...

 

This really is a chitty development, looks like VQ really stands for Very Questionable Hopefully you can get the remnants of that oil passage gasket, would be great confirmation if your gasket is the paper one. And FWIW I can't imagine that metal one degrading to the point where that seal blows out like the paper one did, maybe there's another weak link in there that needs attention. Keep us posted and any pics/info wpuld be great.

 

Sorry to hear this. Please try to get photos of the gaskets to confirm if they are paper or metal.

 

Makes you wonder if Nissan just had a bunch of VQs assembled and ready to install, and rather than take them apart and retrofit the new metal gasket they just put them in the new cars. If that's the case when was the true final build date w/ those crap gaskets???