So the other day I started hearing this knocking sound under the hood. I can't really hear it in the cabin I just noticed it while I was outside the car while it was running. Anyways I went by the Nissan dealership on the way home from work today to see what they thought it was. After cranking the car and letting it idle for about one minute the knocking noise presented itself and the technician said pretty confidently that my timing chain is on it's way out. For what it's worth I will say that I wasn't really worried about the noise because my engine performance has not been affected. I asked how much it would be to repair the noise and he said $1500-1800. Please someone tell me this isn't what's wrong.

 

Highly unlikely. Timing chain is a rare item that breaks on this car. Maybe the tensioners?

 

Sounds like a second or third opinion is in order. Glad you don't think it's the chain.

 

Would you happen to be able to provide us with a video or some sound clip? I agree, EXTREMELY rare for it to be the chain.

 

If it's the tensioners the bill might still be fairly high. Lots of work to replace those. Not sure how many hours that job is. Get a few more opinions.