Page 1 of 1

J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:43 pm
by wiseguy
I own a Qashqai J11 2014 1.5 dCi

I am in Finland. Its VERY cold. Recently it got colder. Temperatures dropped from -5C to -26C. As the winters over here are usually in minus Celsius temperatures, most cars are fitted with electrical pre-heating systems that warm up the car's oil tank and interior on the scheduled time. Plus to the preheating systems, we use DIN EN 590 Winter Diesel, which its jelling point is around -40C. The oil, antifreeze etc are all adapted to the weather conditions.

Though last year the temperatures weren't so low, it still had reached around -15C. I had no problem starting the engine. But for some reason this year something is wrong.

After turning on the glow plug I turn the key to start the engine but it doesn't start immediately, then I retry warming up the glow plug and start the engine. When it starts, the revs go to 1000 rpm as normal, then I leave it to warm up for a while as its extremely cold...This is the point when the 2nd problem starts: the engine starts to shiver, not being able to keep a steady rpm and the gauge is bouncing up and down. Whilst the shiver I can hear clanging sounds (injector ?). Even I gently press the accelerator, I cannot manually keep it at a steady rpm. I try to be careful and not to rev too much to so that I dont damage the turbo. After 5 minutes or so as the engine etc parts reach to certain temperature, the idle rpm becomes normal.

I also notice that normal fuel economy computer goes berserk to something like 70 liters/100 km :D, when I reset it, it still burns around 8.8 liters / 100km, which the winter normal is around 5.7 liters / 100 km.

What could be wrong with my Qashqai ? Any similar experiences ?

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 7:24 am
by Atif
In Estonia, we have also extremly low temperatures and my QQ fuel economy is also extreme - last tank 8,7 l/100 km.

But starting the car is OK, even with -27C it started very well (without any preheating) and revs were stable.

Maybe if you use preheater, car thinks it is warm and does not use glow plugs so long time. Usually when it is very cold, glow plugs stay on after engine is started.

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:46 pm
by jet
I did observe similar behaviour on a few 1.5 dCi Pulsars and Qashqais, including mine, at -10 C. Engine fires normally, then after 1-2 minutes idling, RPM starts to hesitate and the engine sounds as if it drops a cylinder or two. After 2-3 minutes everything goes back to normal.

Poor quality diesel has been the main suspect in all cases (althought I have Wynn's Ice Proof for diesel in the fuel tank). None of the vehicles has been diagnosed with Nissan Consult though.

Strange thing is, this particular engine is quite popular and widely used in Renault/Dacia/Nissan range, but only Nissans seem to suffer in low temperatures :-)

The issue seems to be recurring, i.e. reproducible, so it is worth visiting your dealer.

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:46 pm
by Atif
Today, when I cleaned the car, I noticed this unstable rev case too. The first time. And exactly as wiseguy and jet explained.

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:56 pm
by Mark46
"When it starts, the revs go to 1000 rpm as normal, then I leave it to warm up for a while as its extremely cold..."

Hi wiseguy, just my opinion on your above warming up the engine procedure. I wouldn't recommend letting the engine idle to warm it up, the best way to warm the engine is to start it up and then drive off steady at first, that way the engine will warm up more quickly causing less wear to the engine.

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:08 am
by haug
Hello

Living in Denmark, i had the same on my 1.5 dci 2015 7000km a week ago. Temp only -3

Visit the dealer, with warm engine he could not hear/see anything.

He tried on another new car in the sales row, it did the same.

He said it most be normal to theese engines ??

Haug

Re: J11 & Cold Weather Problems.

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:11 pm
by wiseguy
haug wrote:Hello

Living in Denmark, i had the same on my 1.5 dci 2015 7000km a week ago. Temp only -3

Visit the dealer, with warm engine he could not hear/see anything.

He tried on another new car in the sales row, it did the same.

He said it most be normal to theese engines ??

Haug
Alot happened since one year but it seems the defect is still there. Instead of answering everyone one by one, I will try to answer all at once.

1. Here in Scandinavia nearly all cars are fitted with electrical engine warmer circuits. Generally a resistance heater which heats the oil tank by connecting a cable from an external power source (so that in the morning the engine starts easily). But the problem seem to be actually arising not from the engine itself but the other components such as the fuel injector due to cold weather conditions. As a plus the fuel we use here in the winters is called "winter fuel" which is resistant against freezing up to -35C.

2. During the last one year, first the handbrake started to fail, then the Start/Stop. Luckily as the car was in warranty and the fault was found in the battery (dead cell) and it was replaced. It solved the Start/Stop and the Handbrake problems but the cold weather start is still there and I believe its related to thermostat and or the fuel injector as the car starts normally and runs above idle to warm up the engine, but like if its on a timer, after a while the idle revs drop and I start hearing weird clings coming from the engine.

At this point, I have to stop and comment that mark46 advises to run the engine cold and drive off like that. But you cannot do that.
i. In the User Manual it clearly states that you should not drive immediately in very cold temperatures and warm it up a bit. It also states that you should not go to high rev (because you will burn out the turbo charger).

ii. Whilst its advised not to drive off immediately at cold temps, you cannot anyway because while the engine is shivering when you press the accelerator (gently of course) the engine loses power drastically until it warms up to a certain temperature. Once again it seems it is related to cold/frozen fuel injector or the coldstart unit.

Here is a similar video to my situation, it seems the same sickness from Finland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrEZQ9NQ7M0

To user Jet: That is the exact situation. Best solution I could find is to press the accelerator gently and manually raise it to 1500 rpm and keep it there for few minutes.

Hence today it was so cold that I could not warm up the engine even after 1.5 hours driving around.