I bought my 33k 2010 max from an individual on March 9, 2012 and I really like the car. After about a month I began to pay attention to a very subtle knock that is apparent "to me" only at idle and when standing in front of the car. This knock is not injector clicking or gasoline octane related. It seems to be a singular knock per revolution from inside the motor. I stopped by my local Nissan dealer and the service writer who listened to it suggested that I leave it with them for evaluation. I intend to do that next week. I did change the oil and filter (Quaker State 5w-30 and fram filter) soon after I got the car. It had a Nissan filter and unknown oil. I have read several threads and comments re engine knocks. Only one thread reported a significant problem (main bearing issue). All the other comments that I read indicated that dealer evaluation concluded "normal" engine noise. Finally, here is my question: Does anyone know what this "normal" engine noise (knock) is and from where it is originating?????
Thanks for any insight.

 

Quick question but are you filling it up with premium? The engine can knock if filled with regular/mid-grade

 

I don't think octane would be involved in a knock that happens only once per engine revolution. This almost has to be something mechanical in the engine. As to fuel, midgrade is fine, but I would not recommend regular under any circumstances.

This is why I stopped buying used cars many decades ago. There is just no way to know how a car has been treated. This car may have been owned by one of those posters here who runs 0 to 60 time trials a week after buying the car new, or races TLs with only 30 miles on his odo. Those are excellent ways to damage the engine.

Once a driver realizes he has damaged his engine, he sometimes changes to a very thick oil to mask the noise, and when the correct viscosity oil is put in by the next owner, the noise returns. In the old days (1940s), folks sometimes put things such as bananas into the crankcase to soften engine noise until they could dump the car on someone else.

I will be interested in what the dealer finds.

 

I have the same noise and have a few youtube videos posed of it. At the time, I was in Kayenta, AZ. You should look it up....an exhilarating read, it is. Ha! Anyhow...Ktown is at 5700ft elevation. Going to Flagstaff, it got slightly worse (7000ft). Coming home to the Appalachians in SW VA, it isnt so bad. And being here at Myrtle Beach, SC now, it is virtually nonexistant. It was nearly silent in Phoenix and Vegas, the times I was there (~1000ft).

Moral of the story...I do think it is elevation dependent. I am certain it has NOTHING to do with octane.

Late,
Trav

 

yeah i have my own videos on youtube of the VQ's engine noise...it is a LOUD engine

 

And isn't the engine suppose to be loud being that they (Nissan) are trying to make it like a sporty car?

 

Eh....the sound machine is suppose to increase intake noise. You should hear that at increased engine load. The engine mounts and sound insulation should be unchanged. I.e., I dont think the noise increase is suppose to be all the time. I agreee with Ghozt, the VQ35DE in the 09+ is very noisy. Especially when compared to my previous 07 Altima 3.5SE, which was super smoothand quiet. The Max...not so much.

Late,
Trav

 

My car always had that ticking noise at idle. It's is a bit quieter if you put in that special oil Nissan recommends.

 

My 2012 SV has the knock. Refer to NTB12-071 (Nissan TSB). It seems that the #1 cylinder has bad bearings. Nissan is going to fix mine. BTW, I only have 4500 miles on this thing. If I could, I'd get another car. I almost got a Chrysler 300. Oh well. I am very disturbed that I have a new car needing serious engine work already and I will probably worry about it for as long as I own this car. I am not sure how this service will affect resale if I decide to get rid of it.

 

Well rest assured you can resale it for well over 20K I would say to keep it for three years and under 36K.

 

I use to be a tech, I always laughed when someone bought a car in for an oil change with 30k on it and the car had the factory filter on it

I agree with Light on the not buying used, but I have seen the abuse 1st hand when I worked for Nissan, so I know engine/drivetrain issues are primarily driver related, 2nd is build quality but driving a car like you stole it will find its weak spots, thats mostly what TSB are weak spots, its also the reason why some car have the issues and some don't.

 

He said it had a Nissan filter, the previous owner could have bought one. That doesn't mean it was the original. In my almost 40 years of driving most of my cars have been late model used. I have had a few minor problems but nothing major, most were still under factory warranty. Besides my MX I have a09 Murano a ex rental I bough with 14 k. It now has 56 k and has been flawless. Late model used cars still under factory warrant can be a good deal

 

ckam888, what was the outcome of your main bearing replacement?

 

The dealer replaced the main front crank bearing @ 5300 miles. They had the car for 3 days. The knock noise is gone and the car is running great! Just got back from a 1500 mile trip to Florida.

The dealer gave me no problems. They listened to the knock and agreed that it was some kind of lower engine problem and performed the fix as identified in the TSB.

After the trip, I no longer have any concerns about the engine.

Craig