Nissan Primera: common faults & what to check

Which Nissan Primera are you looking at?

2 generation variants documented. Pick the shape you recognise: the faults, the servicing and the timeline below all narrow to it. Free, no account needed.

Petrol

2 variants documented

2001–2008P122001–2008P122.0 petrolPetrolDocumented issues6 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

2001–2008P122001–2008P122.5 petrolPetrolDocumented issues3 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Now narrow it to the engine

A 1.8 and a 2.4 of the same car do not fail the same way, so the faults below narrow to the engine as well as the year. Free, no account needed.

Start your free check on this Nissan Primera

No plate needed. You get the risk score, the buyer's checklist and the guided inspection for the exact car you picked above — not the whole nameplate.

The checks worth doing on a Nissan Primera before you hand over any money. Every documented fault is listed below, each with its own page.

• Serious issue

  Ask directly how much oil it uses - anything approaching 1 litre per 1,000 km is a warning.

  See why

  QR20DE pre-catalyst break-up scoring the bores (P12)

  The P12 Primera's QR20DE (and the QR-family generally, pre-2004) has a close-coupled pre-catalyst that breaks up with age; the ceramic dust is drawn back into the cylinders by exhaust reversion and scores the bores, which then causes heavy oil consumption. Once the bores are worn the engine burns oil badly and is effectively worn out - a used JDM replacement engine is the usual fix. It is the defining engine fault to check on these cars.

  What you would notice

  • Heavy oil consumption (up to ~1 L/1000 km)
  • Blue smoke, especially on start-up and overrun
  • Rattle from a broken-up catalyst
  • Poor power / catalyst efficiency (P0420) codes
  • Metallic glitter in the oil in bad cases

  Typically $2,500–$5,500 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Drive it the way this fault shows itself, which is in ordinary town driving rather than on the open road.

  See why

  CVT stalling, shuddering and refusing to change ratio

  The CVT in the P12 Primera has a poor record and owners report a consistent set of symptoms: the engine stalling as the car slows towards a roundabout or intersection, shuddering while driving, and in the worst cases the transmission stuck in a single low ratio and refusing to change at all. The underlying causes are the familiar CVT ones — degraded fluid, belt and pulley wear, and control faults — but on a car of this age and value the arithmetic is unforgiving: a replacement unit costs more than many P12s are worth. That makes a proper test drive the difference between buying a usable car and buying a write-off, and the stalling symptom in particular is one you will only find by driving it the way you actually drive.

  What you would notice

  • Engine stalling as the car slows to a stop or towards a roundabout
  • Shudder or vibration while driving at steady speed
  • Revs rising without the car speeding up to match
  • Transmission stuck in one ratio, or refusing to pull away properly
  • Whine or drone that rises and falls with road speed

  Typically $400–$5,000 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Inspect the ball joint boot for cracking or missing grease.

  See why

  Front lower control arm ball joint failure

  P10 and P11 Primera share the common Nissan front MacPherson strut arrangement with a lower control arm ball joint that wears through normal use. Boot splitting due to age and road exposure leads to grease loss and rapid joint wear. On the P11 in particular, the combination of sporty suspension tuning (SR20DE models) and NZ road conditions accelerates ball joint wear. Joint failure results in clunking, unpredictable steering, and in severe cases catastrophic joint separation. A common WoF failure point on older examples.

  What you would notice

  • Clunking noise from front suspension over bumps, dips, or when turning at low speed
  • Steering feels imprecise or has a loose/vague centre feel
  • Inner or outer tyre wear out of proportion to the rest of the tread
  • Vehicle wanders on straight roads

  Typically $240–$580 to put right.

• Serious issue

  Look at the coolant and the top of the engine while it is cold, before it is started.

  See why

  Coolant leaking through the idle control valve gasket and reaching the ECU

  This is an unusual fault and the reason it is worth knowing about is where the coolant ends up. The gasket at the idle control valve degrades and lets coolant escape, and on this car it can find its way to the engine control unit and destroy it. So a leak that starts as a few millilitres of coolant becomes an electronic repair, and the ECU is one of the more expensive individual parts on a car of this age and value. Two things make it worth checking properly: the early signs are small and easy to dismiss as a normal weep, and by the time the ECU is affected the symptoms look like something else entirely — running faults, warning lights, a car that will not start. A cheap gasket, found early, prevents all of it.

  What you would notice

  • Coolant level dropping slowly with no puddle underneath
  • Damp coolant residue or crusty deposit around the throttle body area
  • Rough idle, hunting revs, or stalling
  • Engine warning light, or several unrelated running faults at once
  • Hard starting, or the car refusing to start at all

  Typically $250–$3,000 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Inspect the junction between the cam carrier and cylinder head at the rear of the engine — look for fresh or baked-on oil residue.

  See why

  SR20DE cam carrier oil leak

  The SR20DE engine in P10 and P11 Primera uses a separate cam carrier casting that seals against the head via a cork/rubber gasket and RTV sealant at the cam carrier bolt flanges. Over time the sealant degrades and the bolts loosen, producing an oil leak that typically appears at the rear of the cam carrier and drips onto the exhaust manifold. This generates a burning oil smell and visible oil smoke from the engine bay. The leak is documented extensively on NZ Primera owner communities and workshop reports as a near-universal issue on high-mileage SR20DE engines.

  What you would notice

  • Burning oil smell from the engine bay, especially after spirited driving or highway runs
  • Visible oil residue on or around the cam cover/carrier area and rear of the engine
  • Blue-tinged smoke from engine bay when parked after driving
  • Oil level dropping more rapidly than expected between changes

  Typically $450–$950 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Listen to it cold and then listen to it warm, because the two faults show at different moments.

  See why

  QG18DE timing chain stretch and manual valve clearance adjustment

  Two things need knowing about the QG18DE in the P12 Primera. The first is the timing chain: past roughly 160,000 km it stretches, and the car starts jerking and idling roughly as the timing drifts. The second is less famous and matters just as much — this engine has no hydraulic lifters, so the valve clearances need adjusting by hand roughly every 100,000 km. That is a real workshop job that a great many owners have never had done, and skipped adjustments cause a tapping noise at first and burnt valves later. Both faults sound similar from the driver's seat, both are mileage-driven rather than random, and both are the sort of thing where the service history is worth more than the odometer on an imported car.

  What you would notice

  • Rattle from the front of the engine after a cold start
  • Persistent tapping or ticking from the top of the engine once warm
  • Jerking, hesitation or a rough idle
  • Engine warning light with camshaft or crankshaft timing codes
  • Harder starting, or a general loss of smoothness

  Typically $600–$2,800 to put right.

What these repairs cost on other cars

Some of the Nissan Primera’s documented faults are repairs other models share. Each page lists the documented NZ cost for every model it affects.

• Timing Chain Replacement Cost
• CVT Gearbox Repair Cost

Other Nissan models