[pimperell]

Hi There,

I just bought an used 2010 versa SL here in Canada. It has 86k on it, and its nice little car. I'm replacing my 1998 Altima, and although I had some reliability issues in the past, overall I still like the Nissan for not breaking too much on me.

On my altima, I had a solenoid type of noise every time I turned on the ignition key without starting the engine, coming from the engine area, was never able to figure out where exactly it was coming from, but the car didn't fail, so that's a good thing.

On the versa, I experience a noise when I do the same thing, but it sound more like an impact driver! lol

I made a little video, and you can hear the noise, right after the beep beep (from having the driver's door open). I did it twice.

Versa Engine Noise - YouTube

Is this normal? If not, any ideas of what could be causing this noise? Is my car dying? :crying:

Thanks! :smile

I have to say that the noise does not sound "normal" to me. Neither my 2009 and 2012 versa have ever made that noise, and if that was a "normal" sound, I am sure that Nissan would not be selling too many new cars. As to the cause if you were trying to start the car when the noise sounded, I would have said the pinion gear on the starter could be the cause, but you state that it happens before you try and start it. If I were you, I would take it into a dealer and have it looked at. It could be something very simple, or it could turn out to be something that will leave you stranded on the side of the road. It will be money well spent. Good luck

 

[pimperell]

Today I asked my wife to turn the key while I stand there listening. We did it a few times, and the noise seems to be coming from the CVT area (bottom right part o the engine bay). Very strange! Since it's still under powertrain / cvt warranty, would a dealer take a look at this for free, or do I have to pay a diagnostic fee?

I never had to take a car to the dealership for issues like this, so not sure how it works!

Thanks!

If it does in fact turn out to be the transmission, the power train warranty would cover all costs. If it turns out to be something else, then I would assume that there would be a charge regarding the diagnosis. You can speak to the service manager to see exactly what that might be prior to having anything done. Good luck