Nissan QashQai Forums

Hi there. I have Nissan Qashqai 2015 J11 auto diesel. It has done 120,000 miles with all services carried out on time. I recently went on a 2000 miles road trip where I encountered a weird problem. The temperature gauge was acting abnormal. it would stay at just before the middle and suddenly it would go all the way just before red zone and next second it would come back to normal position. car was not overheating or performing poorly. I thought may be something was wrong with temperature sensor. I had it checked when I came back to london and mechanic said it has EGR COOLER problem. there are no leaks in radiator or pipes or anything. Also, I had to top up coolant almost everyday. I had the EGR COOLER fixed but it is still reducing coolant. I have to fill 200-300 ML after driving 20 miles (my daily distance). I am using genuine nissan coolant L248 premix to top up.

Could it be due to faulty radiator cap? I don't see an wet surface inside or leaks under car. Please HELP!!

Just before this issue started, I put universal coolant from a poundshop to top up the coolant which I believe could have caused this issue as I was unaware of compatibility of different types of coolant.

Bump

Welcome to this forum.

Sorry, I don't know the answer.

if you don`t top it up every day does it fall well below the minimum line on the expansion tank ?
it could be the thermostat stuck open too, so that maybe the next thing to get replaced

Head gasket?

I did wonder "head gasket" myself but I decided I wasn't technically qualified enough to suggest it!

Is the engine oil still black , or does it look like caramel when you check the oil.

Likewise inside the coolant cap.

Easiest way to quickly check for a physical leak is to pressurise the coolant system.

Its not unknown for joints to expand when hot , and coolant escape.
Same can be said of the water pump

From another forum I use, a similar problem was found to be a pin prick hole in the expansion tank with no evidence of the leak. It was found when the engine was up to temperature and a search was underway trying to find a leak.

The obvious one though is head gasket into the piston bores then out through the exhaust.

andy2019 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 8:10 am if you don`t top it up every day does it fall well below the minimum line on the expansion tank ?
it could be the thermostat stuck open too, so that maybe the next thing to get replaced

I won’t say well below the minimum line. Probably 0.5 litre for every 50 miles.

Buffy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 12:16 pm Is the engine oil still black , or does it look like caramel when you check the oil.

Likewise inside the coolant cap.

Easiest way to quickly check for a physical leak is to pressurise the coolant system.

Its not unknown for joints to expand when hot , and coolant escape.
Same can be said of the water pump

I have just replaced the expansion tank cap. So let see what happens now. Oil is black not caramel colour. Car is not overheating as well.
I had the garage check for leak and they did not find it any leak but quoted £650 for egr cooler (part and labour) which was too expensive. So I bought second hand egr off ebay and went to a local garage and they charged me much less for the job and even rhey could not find any leak. I asked both mechanics if it could be head gasket and they both refused that it can not be head gasket.