I had a catastrophic Qashqai engine failure without warning. Thermostat housing split open leaking coolant, the engine overheated and an engine warning light only came on a few seconds before I came to a total standstill. RAC rescue van confirmed he had come across this problem with Qashqai’s before, my garage confirmed this was the issue and with minimal research we found other Qashqai drivers had exactly the same experience as me. My husband stopped just last week to talk to another Qashqai driver in Norwich who had the same issue. Nissan have been totally unhelpful - they said I would have to pay £180 for a diagnosis and of course as the engine wasn’t working I would have also had to pay for transport. The DVSA said Nissan were aware of this problem and were dealing with it but not so in my case - I have never had any notification that there was an issue with this part failing. Nissan gave an outline price for reconditioned engine replacement of £11,500 - £3000 more than the car was worth. The particularly frustrating part about this is I had loved  my car - it was in pretty perfect shape. We have lost £8000-9000 and it seems incredibly wasteful when Nissan could have recalled Qashqais and changed this relatively cheap part.

i would say its a case for the ombudsmen and certainly run it past citizens advice to get some more guidance on pursuing a claim

If unsuccesful then a secondhand engine (with the revised cooling system parts) may be the most financially advisable way forwards

Thank you - the ombudsman is the direction we are heading but I am surprised the DVSA has not taken it seriously as I have read about lots of other people who had the same experience but in much more dangerous situationseg:  on motorways and again with no dashboard warnings. Nissan have apparently revamped this part a few times but shocked how they have washed their hands without any help.

its amazing how powerful the media can be in resolving such issues with manufacturers - keep trying as you may get a good outcome
 

Thank you yes haven’t given up yet as we really looked after our car so feel it is pretty unfair 🙃

Exact same thing just happened to me this weekend, car just stopped with no warning! I'm going to try and claim through my finance company claiming a breach of my consumer rights but i'm not hopeful. Looking online it seems the problem is endemic! 

I am really sorry to hear that -sadly you don’t have dig deep to see lots of other people in the same boat. I am afraid I found Nissan completely awful to deal with- I really hope you have better luck as we have lost thousands. Citizens advice suggested approaching the car finance company if you have a finance deal because claims can be made outside the warranty of the vehicle. Trading standards are also worth contacting - the more of us who contact the DVSA with evidence I  think the better - because engine failure without warning is very dangerous, particularly as this is such a popular family car. I am planning on sending details about this issue to car journalists. I hope you get a happier resolution. 

On 8/12/2025 at 4:11 PM, sublow40 said:

Exact same thing just happened to me this weekend, car just stopped with no warning! I'm going to try and claim through my finance company claiming a breach of my consumer rights but i'm not hopeful. Looking online it seems the problem is endemic! 

So, a little update on ours! We've managed to get a warranty replacement agreed via Ancaster and Nissan UK. We had to prove service history and it's going to take 6-8 weeks because there's a part out of stock (they've already had it 6 weeks). It took some arguing but definitely worth pursuing, especially if you've maintained your vehicle.

Deutsch:

Hallo, wie ich sehe habt ihr das selbe Problem wie ich, an meinem Quashkai j11 mit 1.33 Liter Benziner. Ich habe auch ein gerichtliches Gutachten, auf deutsch. Leider hat der Gutachter nicht genau sagen können, mit was der Schaden angefangen hat. Das Thermostat und das Gehäuse, die Kopfdichtung und der Flüssigkeitsströmungsbegrenzer sind defekt . Die Wasserpumpe war in Ordnung. Während der Fahrt, kam bei mir auch kein Warnsymbol am Display. Erst später, als ich schon mit dem Auto am Straßenrand stand. Der Motor hat sich fest gefressen und das Kühlwasser ist sofort entwichen. Erfahren habe ich auch, dass der Quashkai J11 keinen Sensor besitzt, der erkennen kann, wie viel Kühlmittelwasser noch während der Fart vorhanden ist. Dies hat der Gutachter schriftlich bewiesen. Und meine Abgassensoren, die normaler weiße auch eine Meldung zeigen sollten, haben beide eine Funktionsstörung gehabt, laut Lesegerät vom Gutachter. Also höchstwahrscheinlich sind die Kabeln wie bei einem anderen Nutzer weggeschmolzen.

Habt ihr bereits welche Resultate erziehlen können? Habt ihr auch irgend etwas schriftliches, wie ein Gutachten ? Damit ich es dem Gericht vorweisen kann? Ich habe nämlich noch Garantie und Gewährleistung auf dieses Auto.

English:

Hello, I see you have the same problem as me with my Quashkai j11 with a 1.33-liter gasoline engine. I also have a court report in German. Unfortunately, the expert was unable to say exactly what caused the damage. The thermostat and housing, the head gasket, and the fluid flow restrictor are defective. The water pump was fine. While driving, no warning symbol appeared on the display. Only later, when I was already standing on the side of the road with the car. The engine seized up and the coolant immediately leaked out. I also learned that the Quashkai J11 does not have a sensor that can detect how much coolant is still available while driving. The expert proved this in writing. And my exhaust sensors, which should normally also display a message, both had a malfunction, according to the expert's reading device. So most likely, the cables melted away, as was the case with another user.

Have you already achieved any results? Do you also have anything in writing, such as an expert opinion? So that I can present it to the court? I still have a warranty and guarantee on this car.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)