# NISSAN X-TRAIL WILL NOT ACCELERATE



## chibo (Aug 8, 2016)

My Nissan X-trail petrol engine QR 20 is behaving strangely.
It is hard to start. When it runs it will idle for a less than a minute and cuts off. Sometimes it will idle normally but it won’t accelerate. I put the foot flat on the throttle down but it will only rev up to 1950 RPM.
I have changed the following parts 
1.	Fuel pump, Actually I had to get a pump from another vehicle which was running properly.
2.	Swapped the ECM from running vehicle
3.	Replaced throttle body from a running vehicle
4.	Cam shaft and crankshaft were faulty replaced with new ones. There are not DTC for this.
5.	Replaced all injectors with known one from running vehicle.
6.	Replaced MAF sensor.
7.	Replaced accelerator pedal position sensor.
Take note that I have tried to fit these parts to similar vehicle and the other vehicle is able to run OK
As I try to accelerate the engine cuts off and makes popping sound from the intake manifold. (The previous engine did the same. We have just replaced the engine with used one but not dismantle before)
WHAT COULD BE THE CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

* - Fuel pressure may be very low.
* - Timing chain may have skipped some teeth.
* - There may be a major vacuum leak in the intake system.

Also it would be nice to know the year of the vehicle.


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## chibo (Aug 8, 2016)

thanks Rogoman. i took another fuel pump from another vehicle nothing changed. same fuel pump fitting in another car works peferct
this afternoon I changed the intake manifold. on the previous engine the chain was checked and was correct.
it is a 2006 model


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

It definitely seems to point to a fuel delivery problem. Perform a fuel pressure test. With the Tee'd-in temporary fuel pressure gauge at the input side of the fuel rail. The reading at idle should be around 51 psi. Check the electrical system to make sure the alternator is charging correctly so that there is 13.2 - 15.0 volts at the battery posts while the engine is running; low battery voltage can cause the problems that you're encountering. Check the engine grounds to make sure they are tight and there is no oxidation.

There may be a major vacuum leak in the intake system. To check the intake system for a vacuum leak, attach a vacuum gauge to a full vacuum source. With the engine fully warmed up, the reading at idle should be 18 - 20 InHg. At 3,000 RPM, it should be around 21 InHg. If readings are under 18 InHg, check the intake manifold nuts to make sure they are tight. The gasket may have failed; spray a water mist at the gasket to see if the gauge reading changes. Also check the intake plenum bellows at the throttle valve and at the MAF for cracks or loose clamps.


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## chibo (Aug 8, 2016)

Thanks. Will check and report back on my findings


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Were the new crank and cam sensors genuine Nissan ones? Seems to me I have read about similar problems related to using cheap aftermarket ones. Just a thought. Hope you get it running soon.


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## Henniebrandweer (Jul 21, 2016)

Stupi question but did u check the exhaust? My cousin's car had similar simptoms and it was the exhaust thatbwas cloged

Sent from my Fire using Tapatalk


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## muddasar bashir (Aug 19, 2019)

chibo said:


> My Nissan X-trail petrol engine QR 20 is behaving strangely.
> It is hard to start. When it runs it will idle for a less than a minute and cuts off. Sometimes it will idle normally but it won’t accelerate. I put the foot flat on the throttle down but it will only rev up to 1950 RPM.
> I have changed the following parts
> 1. Fuel pump, Actually I had to get a pump from another vehicle which was running properly.
> ...


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## muddasar bashir (Aug 19, 2019)

hello sir how are you i am a mechinic same problem in my same car and model which problem will you find in your car plz tell me i will change all the things that you will change afterall i will change the engine but same problem is still write now


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

As Rogoman said, it could be an air intake leak. Check the hose that runs between the MAF and the engine. They crack underneath and can develop holes. You will need to remove it to fully inspect it. It happened to my 2006 X trail, and when I went looking for a replacement at a pick and pull yard, the first two I removed from scrapped vehicles had the same issue, and the third one I found was obviously a newer one that had been replaced previously. Good luck.


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## schoface11 (Sep 28, 2020)

chibo said:


> My Nissan X-trail petrol engine QR 20 is behaving strangely.
> It is hard to start. When it runs it will idle for a less than a minute and cuts off. Sometimes it will idle normally but it won’t accelerate. I put the foot flat on the throttle down but it will only rev up to 1950 RPM.
> I have changed the following parts
> 1. Fuel pump, Actually I had to get a pump from another vehicle which was running properly.
> ...


Hi if your still having problems try replacing the EGT sensor i done everything that you have done over the last 2 years just had the egt sensor replaced by main dealer and its just like when i first bought the xtrail


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

chibo said:


> thanks Rogoman. i took another fuel pump from another vehicle nothing changed. same fuel pump fitting in another car works peferct
> this afternoon I changed the intake manifold. on the previous engine the chain was checked and was correct.
> it is a 2006 model


Your comment "I put the foot flat on the throttle down but it will only rev up to 1950 RPM." indicates that the system may be running in "fail safe" mode. There are many conditions that will cause a "fail safe" situation. The FSM spells it all out; if you have a copy, the EC.PDF section is the place to look.

It looks like you've gone through a major replacement effort with no fix. Here are some things you *haven't* done:

- Perform an ECU code readout with a portable scan tool to see if any fault codes are set. Post the actual codes here on the forum so that we may be able to help you further. If there is one or more fault codes set, they can help point to the malfunction.
- Perform a fuel pressure test with a Tee'd-in temporary fuel pressure gauge at the input side of the fuel rail. The reading at idle should be around 51 psi.
- Check the electrical system to make sure the alternator is charging correctly so that there is *13.2 - 15.0 volts* at the battery posts while the engine is running; low battery voltage can cause the problems that you're encountering.
- Check the engine grounds to make sure they are *tight and there is no oxidation*.
- There may be a major intake system vacuum leak. To check the intake system for a vacuum leak, attach a *vacuum gauge* to a full vacuum source. With the engine fully warmed up, the reading at idle should be 18 - 20 InHg. At 3,000 RPM, it should be 21 InHg. If readings are under 18 InHg, check the intake manifold nuts to make sure they are tight. The gasket may have failed; spray a water mist at the gasket to see if the gauge reading changes. Also check the intake plenum bellows at the throttle valve and at the MAF for cracks or loose clamps.
The camshaft mechanical timing may be incorrect. Check the chain guide to see if it's broken or it may be cracked and has skipped some teeth. Verify that the timing is correct.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Not sure but I just read the list of things done and don't see the spark plugs having been changed. Any possibility of old and possibly failing/fouled plugs being the issue?


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## Eddy Tevares (Mar 11, 2021)

Hi guys Eddy here.i recently bought an 06 xtrail with the exact same issue.went through the whole issue with tp sensor and the whole shebang of fuel pump and the works.cleared all the faults replaced the works.i parked it as an ornament now.its been a month already and for some reason I just tried starting it again and removed the plug on the airflow sensor and low and behold it idles and drives but when in P or N it idles like a tractor with and unbalanced object on the PTO.never the less to me it points to the airflow meter.i changed just about everything and I gave up.but now I'm going to swop it with one that's running perfectly to check if it works.NB any swopping of parts has to be reset before it's gonna work.otherwise the ECU does not recognise the new part because it's not relearned that it has been replaced.so that's the one thing iv learned.if you replace the throttle body it must be reset or its gonna behave exactly the same as the old faulty one.do not try and drive it if you have not reset it because it's like a virus that corrupts the new parts memory..when I get it sorted will post the issue on here.thanks for the heads up guys.this car made me want to take it out to pasture and put some holes in it and leave it to rust in piece but the light came on at the tunnels end.hope this helped a bit.


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## schoface11 (Sep 28, 2020)

Eddy Tevares said:


> Hi guys Eddy here.i recently bought an 06 xtrail with the exact same issue.went through the whole issue with tp sensor and the whole shebang of fuel pump and the works.cleared all the faults replaced the works.i parked it as an ornament now.its been a month already and for some reason I just tried starting it again and removed the plug on the airflow sensor and low and behold it idles and drives but when in P or N it idles like a tractor with and unbalanced object on the PTO.never the less to me it points to the airflow meter.i changed just about everything and I gave up.but now I'm going to swop it with one that's running perfectly to check if it works.NB any swopping of parts has to be reset before it's gonna work.otherwise the ECU does not recognise the new part because it's not relearned that it has been replaced.so that's the one thing iv learned.if you replace the throttle body it must be reset or its gonna behave exactly the same as the old faulty one.do not try and drive it if you have not reset it because it's like a virus that corrupts the new parts memory..when I get it sorted will post the issue on here.thanks for the heads up guys.this car made me want to take it out to pasture and put some holes in it and leave it to rust in piece but the light came on at the tunnels end.hope this helped a bit.


Hi I've had these problems spent over £3.000 after all the expenses turned out to be the exhaust emissions sensor


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## Eddy Tevares (Mar 11, 2021)

That sounds about right.i found out that my xtrail had been through water and wouldn't start after drinking quite a bit of water.apparently there was tons of water in the exhaust also so driving a hot car through water to the point of it been submerged for a while could explain the issue.so yeah.will check and report back.


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## schoface11 (Sep 28, 2020)

chibo said:


> My Nissan X-trail petrol engine QR 20 is behaving strangely.
> It is hard to start. When it runs it will idle for a less than a minute and cuts off. Sometimes it will idle normally but it won’t accelerate. I put the foot flat on the throttle down but it will only rev up to 1950 RPM.
> I have changed the following parts
> 1. Fuel pump, Actually I had to get a pump from another vehicle which was running properly.
> ...





schoface11 said:


> Hi I've had these problems spent over £3.000 after all the expenses turned out to be the exhaust emissions sensor


Hi sorry was was exhaust temperature sensor


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

I can only assume both of you have diesel X trails. I don't think the QR20 or 25 have such a sensor.


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