Quick News About Nissan Xterra Problems

Nissan owners are tired of their timing chains whining, buzzing, ticking, and knocking their engines apart.

In the case of Kobe Falco, et. al., v. Nissan North America, Inc., and Nissan Motor Company, LTD., the plaintiffs say they were forced to pay for expensive timing chain repairs which happened to fall ever-so-conveniently just outside of Nissan's warranty period. Earlier this year, the class-action was certified by a judge.

So now Nissan has brought together their best engineers and a top-notch legal team to come up with their defense –– ok, our timing chains are noisy, but they're not a safety defect.

From CarComplaints.com:

"According to the automaker, there has never been anything defective about the timing chain systems and the most that owners can show is that the timing chains make noise, not that the systems are a safety risk. Nissan says the plaintiffs admit no crashes are attributed to the timing chains, even though the majority of the vehicles have been in service more than 10 years."

So the case will attempt to answer are Nissan's timing chains just loud and annoying? Or are they loud, annoying, and potentially dangerous?

The vehicles named in the suit all use the same uniform timing chain system: the 2004-2008 Maxima, 2004-2009 Quest, 2004-2006 Altima (VQ35 engine), 2005-2007 Pathfinder, 2004-2007 Xterra, and the 2005-2007 Frontier (VQ49 engine).

Heads up, Nissan owners! The sunroof in your vehicle might soon be coming down in a thousand little pieces.

A lawsuit alleges that all of Nissan's factory-installed sunroofs (panoramic or otherwise) can explode without warning. This includes any vehicle since 2008.

"Plaintiff Janelle Horne says she was riding with her husband and four kids in a leased Infiniti QX80 when the sunroof exploded like a shotgun, causing Mr. Horne to pull off the highway and see shards of glass everywhere.

Yikes, that'll get your attention. Hopefully this lawsuit means Nissan will start paying attention too.

The lawsuit only includes residents of California at this time, but similar lawsuits may be filed nationwide based on its results.

A ti

ing chain lawsuit filed in New York accuses Nissan of manufacturing defective timing chain systems, with issues in the chain tensioner, guides, and shoes. Five lead plaintiffs claim the Nissan vehicles have timing chain systems prone to early failure that can cause a huge expense for repairs. The plaintiffs claim failure of the timing chain can cause extensive damage to the car, including to the catalytic converter and destruction of the engine.

The class-action is currently only for current and former Nissan owners (and lessees) who live in New York, Florida, Maryland, and New Jersey. However, this could lay the groundwork for other states.

Loose and busted timing chains are a longtime nightmare for many 2004-2010 Nissan owners. When not properly tensioned, timing chains can cause everything from engine rattles, to misfiring, and eventually catastrophic engine failure.

The lawsuit alleges that Nissan has known about the issue since at least 2004 when they issued a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) to their dealerships. Additionally, the automaker is accused of ignoring the defect until the systems fall out of the warranty period.

The plaintiffs in Vincent Chiarelli, Philip Dragonetti, Michele Maszon, Todd Maszon and Chris Santimauro vs. Nissan North America Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. are represented by Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.