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hr16de owners - must read

81K views 109 replies 33 participants last post by  SlickVersa 
#1 ·
Hello everybody.
I am starting this thread since a lot of owners of hr16de cars (micra/march, versa sedan, tiida sedan and versa note) in south america, mexico and canada are having engine fault.
The fault is a rod knock since car is brand new, is not a sever red knock, only audible with warm engine and light throttle.
I will le you the steps to perform the rod knock test and videos showing the problem.

STEPS TO TEST THE KNOCK:
1) Car in Neutral With Park Brake On.
2) Start Car, idle to normal operating temperature ( 20 minutes).
3) Place smart phone/camera/audio recorder on ground under front bumper near oil pan, recording
4) Slowly press accelerator pedal to 2500 rpm and hold, then depress slightly until rpm drop to 1900, and then press again until 2500rpm.
5) Repeat step 4 a few 10-20 times, rpm increase and decrease must be very slow, with very light load on throttle.
6) share video/audio.

Official nissan explanation to this problem (in spanish, paper came out nissan factory in aguas calientes, mexico), it seays is a rod knock and repair procedure (replace pistons, rings, barings, rods, etc).


On canada forum, some people had their engines replaced and new engines are knocking again.
Also some cars knock since brand new (like mine, and other memebers) and another we think yes, but owners only noticed the knock after some mileage (because tends to get a little worse) and others because they saw post on forum, made the knock test, and found their engines were also knocking.
Some videos:
nissan march less than 1.000 km:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9cGXMIK7Yg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT27UoARszo

nissan micra less than 700km:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqaB2e6O2Lk

nissan versa note, 190 km:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIJDpwQFliE

nissan micra, 40k km (start video at 2.35):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_gWgIciYE

nissan micra, 36k km (start video at 1.00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CrCV3ZvQAc

same micra with new engine, 1500km on new engine, nissan said new engine has to be replaced, as you can hear, it knocks a lot less than the old one, because knock becomes worse with mileage, start video at 5.40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5mZEzG5Mfc

micra 1200km:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avE8BEpBLVg

i know a guy in stataes that has his versa engine replaced at 35k due to the knock, and new engine started knocking again at 15k miles, the guy sold the car.
So plase perform the test, and share your experience.
 
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#2 ·
must be them new HR's because mine is rock solid! 2009 HR16DE no maintenance other than oil changes every 7500-10,000 miles. Of course now that I said that it will probably blow up.

But good post about the knock.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
is your engine made in mexico?? is the hr16de equipped with 8 or 4 injectors???

at present both versions of hr16de have the same knock, very simple explanation, the bottom end is the same on both.
The oldest models i am aware they have this problem are 2012 made in mexico.

15k miles on mine and time for an appointment for a tap that I'm hearing.
have that noise checked at the dealer, you can also perform the knock test by yourself, is a very easy task
 
#6 ·
Bumping this old post because it's very important.

I tested my 15 note at 5000 miles and it for sure had the knock. Very clearly could be heard as per the instructions.

According to the micraforums thread, a very large number of new versas will have this issue which can lead to a lot of headaches, poor power and gas mileage, and decreased engine life.

The diagnosis takes a while since the engine needs to be removed and Nissan is hassling people by trying to say the noise is normal. There's talk of class action lawsuits, since Nissan really doesn't want to completely replace every versa and micra engine made in the past few years.

For me, I wanted out before the resale value drops like a rock due to most versas having this problem. That and I didn't want to have the car stuck in pieces for monthss Nissan tries to get parts in, which they are "mysteriously" out stock on suddenly world wide. Aka, they aren't announcing a worldwide recall, but are using up the entire supply of parts in secret in an attempt to keep this out of the public eye. So I took the $2000 loss and traded it in towards a 16 fiesta st.

Word to the wise, do the test. If it sounds like it's knocking, get the ball rolling now because you don't want to wait until you're out of warranty.
 
#8 · (Edited)
well, small update.
my micra is at the dealer, engine is fully disassembled and there is clear damage in crank and rod bearing at cylinder 2.
problem is as the tip in spanish says bad assembly between rod cap and rod, so you end up with a slight rod knock.
here i know of 2 engines that throw a rod, one was 30k km, the other around 60.
the owner of the second one reported that he sometimes felt an strange noise but since the car was runing strong did not complain.
car was 2 or 3 month out of warranty.
also in mexico there is another guy with a 2012 versa that throw the rod at 49900km, was 5 month out of warranty.
he had to wait almost 3 month for new short block(and he lives in mexico, where engine is built), during that time i sent him the technical tip i posted here, he showed the information to the dealer and after that he mysteriously received a 30% disscount in new short block and labour.
in my case i had to wait more than 3 month for new internals to arrive so i can have the engine repaired.
all has to be replaced, pistons, rod, bearings, crank, etc.
replacing the engine IS NOT AN OPTION because new engines are still being produced faulty, you can see at the micra forum of canada that many people had the engine replaced and knock is still there.
in my case i will sell the car ASAP no matter if i loose some money and get a proper 100% japanese built car, a zc32s swift sport.
i encourage all the members of this forum to perform the knock test on their engines, you will be amazed with the results.
of course this is my first and last nissan.

legatinho
according to my dealer (they are very aware of the piston slap issue in tiida) the problem was fixed in that engine using a new design of rod and piston, that design is used in the hr16.
i dont know if that is true or not.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Mine seems fine, but I only got 47,000 on it. 2014 Versa Note, bought in April of '14


Is there anything I can do to prevent this, if I don't have the problem yet?

I'm well out of warranty. I had warranty work for leaking front timing cover.

Now I am concerned. Will drive it easier for sure.
 
#11 · (Edited)
well you can easily test if your engine has the knock problem or not.
1- warm engine (15 minutes of driving or 20 at idle is ok).
2- place a camera under the frot bumper, near oil pan area.
3- VERY VERY slowly start pressing gas pedal on neutral and let rpm rise until 2500.
4- when rpm are at 2500 lift off your foot from gas pedal a little bit so rpm wont keep rising, keep them at 2500 for 2 or 3 seconds and now let them go down VERY slowly until 1900 (so you dont have to lift off you foot completely, only a little bit so they can start decrease slowly).
repeat step 3 and 4 several times.
5- upload video and share it here on forum.
here you have an excelent example showing a good place to place the camera.
engine is from a micra, 100% the same of the note.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqaB2e6O2Lk
also on this video you can clearly listen the knock after minute 1.10, see how light load on gas at around 2000rpm makes a noise that goes away when rpm drops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CrCV3ZvQAc

there is nothing that can be done to prevent this, engines are rolling out of the factory with improper clearence between rod bearing and crankshat, thats what is causing the knocking noise (rod knock).
because parts (crank, bearings) are saddly very bad quality, some engines knock louder than others, but there are a lot of knocking noises engines out there and 95% of the owners are not aware of this because for 99% of people is not an easy noise to detect.
a lot of people on the micra forum thought their car was knock free and after performing the steps above noticed the knock was there, some with 40k km.
i know 3 engines that throw the rod, allways cylinder number 2, 2 versas and 1 micra.
 
#12 ·
because parts (crank, bearings) are saddly very bad quality
Any bearing will go if tolerances are not right, what do you mean bad?

So I need to do a UOA on my oil at next change. IF the bearings are taking a beating, then there should be elevated levels of metals!


I am running Mobil 1 EP 5w-20 and going to increase octane of gas. I do not detect knocking, a UOA of the oil should give me some indicators, as bearing wear would occur before the slap.
 
#13 · (Edited)
yup on the micra forum there is a guy who took his car to the dealer for the knock with 700km on the odo, oil sample was taken and there was metal in the oil.

i saw my engine's stock internals when the engine was disasembled and on cylinder 2 main bearing was damage, same on the crankshaft, clear sign of rod knock, also bad clearence was confirmed by the tech, car has less than 10k km.
felt the knock since day 1.
i would recomend you perform the knock test with the camera under oil pan and share video,
 
#14 ·
My 2016 has 250 miles on it and i can hear the rod knock. Drives me nuts! Guess i will be calling the dealer.
 
#15 ·
really sad to hear that.
it seems that the problem is not solved already, what a disgrace/
let us know what they tell you.
do you have any video to share???
which series is your engine?? you can check the engine number on the engine itself, it starts HR16NNNNN(Numbers) and ends with one letter.
share the HR16NN......Letter,
 
#18 · (Edited)
I had to drop the Versa off sooner than expected. wasnt able to get a video of the knock. But the knock was louder than some of the videos i have watched. The dealer went through a series of tests and the engine had low oil pressure and severe knock.
Long Block on the way. I will keep everyone posted. Car only had about 490 Miles.
 
#20 ·
The tech will take pics for me of the removal and install and i will get the engine serial number for everyone.
 
#23 ·
New engine number =
 
#24 ·
old engine =
 
#25 ·
 
#26 ·
New engine is in and running smooth. NO KNOCKING as of now. I pick it up on Monday. I will keep everyone posted!!
 
#28 ·
I can do that! I get the car back in a few days. I will keep you posted.
 
#32 ·
Does anyone know if there is a TSB or memo etc... about this issue? Even if it's just an instruction sheet on how the technician should inspect it. I'm going this week and would love to have something in hand about this. The dealers and service writers claim to never know anything and act like I'm the first person to ever have a problem. LOL It looks like the original poster had something but it's not from the States and I can't read spanish. Any help would be appreciated.
 
#34 ·
well thank god i have finally sold the car.
saddly there was a delay on the shipping from japan of new car, i will have to wait until end of june :(
i want to share a video i recorded the day before i sold the car showing the valve guide problem.
listen carefully between 0.13-0.20, you can hear an intermitent metalic knocking noise, those are the valve guides with incorrect clearence, so the valve knocks while moving.
https://youtu.be/IQEafLTwF2k
nissan is also well aware of this problem, fix is to have the entire cilinder head replaced and cross fingers to get a new one that wont develop the same problem after 10k km.
also engine after 1500km since the overhaul was starting to knock a little bit, i am sure in 20 30k km the knock will be as bad as before.
how are your new engines doing?? apparently problem is greatly improved on L series engines, at least on the short run, time will tell if they develop a severe knock or not.
 
#35 ·
OK, you all have me scared here!

I just bought a new 2015 Versa SV Sedan, a leftover that never sold after the 2016's came out.

My engine number: I don't see any DE in it. What does the DE mean?

Here is how mine reads off the block:
*HR16* then 6 numbers with an H at the end.

Do I have one of the "potential" problem engines?
 
#36 ·
I also bought a new left-over 2015 Versa in early 2016 and did have the engine problem...that is not to say that you will, but at least you are aware and have time under warranty should the problem arise. See my experience in the thread entitled "have you had any engine failures or issues - post here!" for more information.
 
#38 ·
I'm an owner of a 2015 Versa Note S /w about 6900 miles since Sept. 2015. (Drove off the lot with 7miles) It's manual and I have never had as much issues driving manual on other vehicles like i do with mine.

I'm having them look into it when i bring it in around 9k or so for my oil change and check. Its really hard when the AC is running, when i apply clutch it drops to idle really fast causing the transitioning gears difficult. Turn off ac and its not as bad but has gotten worst. Hate to say it but not really excited about it anymore.

Been driving manual for the past 3-4years. Had 3x Nissan 240's all manual, 1 boosted, 2 i converted to 5speed my self and did the clutches. Never had these issues before.

Also noticed loud noises like ticking but im assuming its 1 of the 8 damn injectors this bastard child has.. Will be asking them about this also..
 
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