FOR ABOUT 8 MONTHS, I WOULD HEAR A NOISE UPON STARTING UP MY TRUCK. EVERY TIME I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP, THEY COULDN'T HEAR IT. IT DID NOT ALWAYS HAPPEN. HOWEVER ON 8/1/2018, I WENT OUT TO START THE TRUCK AND THERE WAS THE NOISE AGAIN, BUT IT WAS LOUD AND HORRIBLE.

I IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE TRUCK. I HAD SOMEONE LOOK AT IT. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS PROBABLY MY VALVE. BUT I DISAGREED WITH THEM AND THOUGHT IT MAY BE MY TIMING CHAIN. I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT ANY TIMING CHAIN ISSUES WITH NISSAN UNTIL TODAY. I DID NOT WORRY BECAUSE I HAD AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH A COMPANY CALLED ENDURANCE.

SO HAD IT TOWED TO AAMCO WHO IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WARRANTY COMPANIES. EVEN THOUGH I HAD ALL MY RECEIPTS FOR THE UPKEEP OF OIL CHANGES AND YEARLY MAINTENANCE FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, THEY WOULD NOT HONOR A FEW RECEIPTS THAT WAS WRITTEN OUT BY MY MECHANIC OF 25 YEARS. SO I HAD TO PAY. I DIDN'T EVEN CALL NISSAN, SINCE THE LAST TIME (2016) I HAD TO PAY $4100 FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION WHICH THEY DID NOT COVER.

THE REPAIR MAN SAID THERE WAS RADIATOR WATER IN IT!!!!! I NEED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TIMING CHAIN CLASS ACTION. MAYBE I CAN GET SOMETHING BACK

Got it fixed in March of 2018. Started noticing a faint whine in the engine, most notable around 2,000-3,000 rpm in November of 2017. It started out as very faint whine that only happened occasionally. Towards the last month before getting it fixed, and only 1,000 miles after first hearing it, the noise became very loud and the engine started misfiring and getting terrible mileage. Got it fixed at Nissan and they told me they fix a 2005-2007 Xterra, Pathfinder, or Frontier timing chain every two weeks. This is ridiculous, Nissan should have issued a recall. No warranties, NOTHING!

Since I've reached the 100,000 mark I have had numerous issues with this Xterra, all very expensive. I had the main brake module go out when I was going down a steep hill, definitely could've ended badly. I love Nissan vehicles, but there's no doubt they cut corners and are far less reliable than other Jap vehicles on the market.

The mechanic told me the next issue I should come across is the coolant leaking into the transmission, this is insane. Could cost over $3000 for the radiator, plus labor. I have the unlimited power-train warranty which will cover the transmission, but the cost is still ridiculous. The vehicle itself is only worth $4,000.

Hopefully I can sell the car before this happens, currently at 112,000.

Bought this car in October of '17 with what I thought was wear on the power steering pump but soon discovered it was the timing chain guide issue. Parts and labor $1200, and even though that was a bargain it really ramped up my initial cost. So much for the "great deal" I got on the purchase price. Had to be done before I could drive it anywhere since it was so severe, so it spent first 10 days of ownership in the shop. Now it's fixed but I don't have a lot of confidence in the long term reliability of this car due to having to blindly trust that Nissan has improved their factory parts that caused the original issue. Plus I now have a weird muffled rattle / diesel type sound that used to go away when the engine warmed up but is getting more prevalent. Did it do that before? Who knows?!

The noise from the chain was so bad you couldn't hear anything else so I never got the chance to establish a "normal" for this thing. Nissan obviously doesn't have a real strong track record for good parts on vehicles from this era (and I'm being real generous here), so shame on me for being dumb enough to buy the damn thing since I had already dodged a bullet with my wife's 2008 Pathy by replacing the radiator with an aftermarket to avoid the leakage that leads to transmission being replaced. Sometimes you just can't do enough homework / internet research on something.

Nissan needs a 55 gallon drum of whoop ass opened up on them for foisting this crap on the car buying public. Now that some settlements are occurring in certain states someone from the government that's supposedly so concerned with my welfare needs to step up and force Nissan to settle with every owner that's dealt with this ridiculous situation.

Timing system failure at 156,000 miles...Nissan is aware there is a problem because they issued a service bulletin but won't do a recall. $2200 to repair, thankfully I heard engine noise and was able to shut it down before major engine damage was done.. Last year the IPDM failed (which results in no power to the fuel pump)..$600..another known problem. Also had the the transmission cooler line rupture a few years ago...$1500 to repair the cooling system plus multiple flushes of the transmission and engine to get the gunk out. Nissan claims nothing wrong with the design but then re-designed the part to eliminate the problem so obviously something was wrong. I've bought this vehicle with less than 10,000 miles on it, have done all maintenance at the recommend intervals - it should have lasted far longer than it has. Nissan KNOWS there are design problems with the Xterra as evidenced by all of the TSBs, but refuses to do a recall or stand behind their vehicles. I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER NISSAN product.

The third common, expensive, and necessary repair we've had with our Xterra. I hate this car. If i wasn't handy with cars, we would have spent close to $8k in repairs by the dealership to keep this car in working order with all the major failures. Understand, this is a very well maintained vehicle.

In this case, the vehicle started a high pitched whine somewhere around 90k miles. You can't hear it from inside the car, and it takes a second for it to start, so we would hear it briefly when we were getting out of the car after a drive. I assumed it was a bad belt (changed it, no dice) and then though maybe one of the pumps. With the car on, I tried again to locate where the noise was coming from. Was still in the belt area, but with the belts changed figured it must be coming from inside the inside. Christ.

I looked up the symptoms online and sure enough, tons of folks have this problem. A timing chain tensioner (a $2 piece of plastic) has warn down to nothing and not the secondary timing chain is rubbing against the metal plunger. The dealership I think quoted us $1,500-2,000 to repair it. At this point we're trying to sell this P.O.S. model with it's never ending problems so had to get it fixed. I didn't read anything of what happened if it went unrepaired (just worst case scenario speculations), but I assume it's not actually a must fix if you don't mind the whining. Could be a long long while before it failed.

I opted to repair it on my own, cost about $130 in parts. Another $300 if you buy the one time use tools Nissan recommends to do the job (I opted not to, which was in all fairness a more difficult approach). There are a couple videos and walk throughs online along with service bulletins and manuals. That said - don't do this. 15 hours into the 20+ hour job, I would have gladly gone back in time and paid someone to repair it.

The defective timing chain guides were known to be faulty and fail prematurely, causing catastrophic damage to vehicles not diagnosed and repaired. Nissan is typically known for their high quality and durability. I know first hand how reliable and durable a Nissan can be, I bought a 2008 Frontier with Nissan's 2.5L 4 cylinder engine brand new in 2007. It currently has 140,000 miles and has not needed any major repairs.

I recently bought a used 2007 Nissan Xterra with 115,000 miles because of the quality exhibited by my 2008 Frontier. However, I'm regretting my decision by recently discovering the Xterra is affected by this issue. The faults with Nissan's early iterations of the 4.0L V6 does not stand up to the quality and durability of a Nissan, as compared to with Nissan's other models.

This failure to address the issue completely and fix those affected vehicles will only hurt Nissan's reputation, and it's bottom line in the future. I hope that Nissan comes to resolution without being forced to, in order to properly fix this vehicles so that they continue to display Nissan's durability and reliability. Thank you.

About two days ago I noticed a hissing/whining sound coming from the front, right side of the engine when running. Over the short time since the sound started, it has already developed into a significantly louder whine with some clicking/clacking sounds in the mix. I then learned about the service bulletin issued years ago involving the timing chain components failing prematurely and causing catastrophe failure to the engine.

Nissan has apparently chosen to issue a service bulletin to its auto technicians but not to the customers keeping this problem under the table. No recall has been issued as of yet but many believe should be the case. Now I'm seeing what I can do about getting this problem fixed and I came to this website as the first step.

I purchased this Vehicle at Staten Island Nissan exactly two years ago. Since then, I've only put 4,000 miles on it. I've always smelled something a bit awful when first starting the vehicle. During it's last inspection it was determined that it needed new rotors. While getting the rotors replaced, a mechanic who'd formerly worked at Nissan had determined noticed that the secondary timing chain and gasket were bad, causing an internal leak. After brief research, I've discovered that this has been a common problem that Nissan has not been informing their consumers and this is a very dangerous/expensive manufacturer's defect. I've since placed several calls to Staten Island Nissan and have been receiving the run around.

I purchased this Vehicle at Staten Island Nissan exactly two years ago. Since then, I've only put 4,000 miles on it. I've always smelled something a bit awful when first starting the vehicle. During it's last inspection it was determined that it needed new rotors. While getting the rotors replaced, a mechanic who'd formerly worked at Nissan had determined noticed that the secondary timing chain and gasket were bad, causing an internal leak. After brief research, I've discovered that this has been a common problem that Nissan has not been informing their consumers and this is a very dangerous/expensive manufacturer's defect. I've since placed several calls to Staten Island Nissan and have been receiving the run around.

Had problems with my 2007 Nissan Xterra, transmission. Took it to a transmission specialist and was informed of the cover up and automotive defect Nissan was responsible for. At 87,000 miles the Transmission filled with antifreeze from the defective radiator and both were replaced yesterday. I choked down a $2,500 copay which was ridiculous. Had I been informed by Nissan last year when I purchased the vehicle second hand, I could have had prevented the problem from ever existing by having the hoses rerouted so the antifreeze could never have run into the transmission.

I was also informed that I was in need of timing chains replacement. Then I find out that there is a lawsuit pending upon another manufacturer defect of the timing chains and plastic parts being used, and once again Nissan is being accused of deceiving customers to cover up using plastic parts in the timing chain assembly which will cause catastrophic engine failure. I am afraid to drive my vehicle as it rides worse than before the transmission and radiator were replaced. I am out of money and I need help.

Cannot believe from what I have read online about this problem that seems to be a design flaw or just cost cutting to use parts like plastic guides that Nissan will not take responsibility for this. Only 43000 miles and to have timing chain issues is unbelievable to me. Always had the oil changed at regular intervals and always used recommended oils. I have owned General Motor's vehicles that have had well over 100000 miles and never had this type of problem, needless to say this finishes Nissan for me

Somewhere between 63K and 65K miles we noticed a slight whine coming from the engine of our SUV. We have regular maintenance done on the vehicle and only drive it when it is needed. This is not an everyday use vehicle for us.

After using the vehicle for a driving vacation and realizing the whine had gotten much worse, we took the vehicle in for service to our mechanic. We were informed the problem is the timing chain and that Nissan is VERY aware of the issue on the vehicle and refuses to address the issue with a recall because it is "not a life hazard issue". Meaning it is something not likely to kill a person. Nissan is, in my opinion, refusing to acknowledge the issue of financial hazard. Most people cannot afford to pay $2K for vehicle repair. Our Xterra is our newest vehicle, the next closest in age is our 2002 CHRYSLER, which has never cost us this kind of money to fix!!!

Nissan's position on this issue has soured me. I was actually considering purchasing a newer version of the Xterra in a couple of years in order to make certain I would always have a reliable vehicle. Not anymore, a company that willingly REFUSES to take RESPONSIBILITY for its mistakes and then REFUSES to TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO CORRECT THEIR MISTAKES, is not a company I will give my hard earned income to. I will make certain to purchase QUALITY vehicles from companies that are more upstanding and deserving!!

My 2007 Xterra with 62K miles began making a whining noise when accelerating . Not sure what it was I took it to the Nissan dealer where I get all my major services done .The technician took a look at the problem and within min notify me it is the timing belt chain and guides , known issue for my Nissan Xterra model.

When I ask him if he is sure he confirm he does few of this every month and that the problem is so known that Nissan has a service bulletin, with the title describing the issue and the symptom ! He has confirm the issue is with the plastic guide that is part of the design .

Looking online I find many Nissan owners are experiencing the same problem .

I am extremely disappointed with the Nissan brand and not sure what to do , If I replace the part , will it happen again as it is a design issue ?

When buying the car, one of the selling point was that he car does not have a timing belt any more but a chain ! That will most likely engine it self .

Calling Nissan customer service did not help and I am left with a $2000 repair due to a known issue and bad design

This is a common problem with this engine as a result of cheap plastic parts in the timing chain assembly. Mine went out just 12 months and 9,000 miles beyond the drive train warranty. Nissan refuses to cover a penny of it. I'll never buy a Nissan again -- the company cannot be trusted to stand behind their cars. Their argument is that this is a "normal wear" item and that timing chain adjustments are standard. But this was not a adjustment, it involved replacing the worn out parts. Worn out at 69,000 miles? Normal? Give me a break. I'm going back to Toyota for my next vehicle.