# Nissan X-Trail 2008 T31 Engine Vibration Issue



## DavidWxtrail (Oct 17, 2020)

Hi,

I was hoping to get some advice on this forum before giving in and taking my motor to a professional.

The issue in question only happens once the engine is up to temperature.
At speeds over 40mph, there is suddenly heavy vibrations from the engine bay that reverberate through the dash.

It's a shudder/vibration that is loud enough to dominate the noise levels in the car. The engine performance does not falter in the slightest but it does feel disconcerting while driving.

The car brakes and manoeuvres fine and there is no vibration/shudder when the car is cold.

Initially, I thought it could be track rod ends or ABS but the look and feel fine and as stated the issue only happens when the car is up to temperature.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Thanks in Advance.

David


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Possibly a bad front axle CV joint or a bad wheel bearing.


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## DavidWxtrail (Oct 17, 2020)

rogoman said:


> Possibly a bad front axle CV joint or a bad wheel bearing.


I thought the same myself but there is zero vibration or shudder for a good 5-8mins once the car is started from the cold. Yesterday was a particularly cold morning and the issue in question did not happen once. This problem only occurs once the engine is nice and warm. I would have thought that a CV joint or bad wheel bearing would be persistent even when cold?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

To check for a bad wheel bearing, take a jack and use it to lift the vehicle up until the tire is off the ground. Now try moving the tire in a vertical direction, and then a horizontal one. If the wheel wobbles or has some free play, then there might be damage to the bearing.

Here's 4 signs of a bad CV joint:
1. "Clicking" Noises When Turning.
2. A Knocking Sound.
3. Grease on the Inside or Edge of the Tires.
4. Vibration While Driving. This is a tricky one, since there are many things that could cause vibration when you drive.

What I generally do to diagnose front end vibrations that are difficult to pin down is to jack up the front of the car and place jack stands under both lower control arms. *You also may have to jack up the rear of the car in case the car is 4WD or AWD*. Now start the engine up and put the tranny in DRIVE; start reving the engine; look at the speedometer to reach 30 mph or faster to feel when the vibration occurs. Since the tranny has differential spider gears, only one wheel will spin; however you may get some movement with the other wheel. To test the other wheel, you can block off the opposite tire with a set of wooden blocks. I've been doing this for years and it works every time; saves a lot of time and money.


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## otomodo (May 23, 2008)

@rogoman
Have you tried this on a awd xtrail?
On the owner s manual it's clear and i ve seen it myself, even if the car is not on awd mode it could engage awd.
If he lifts the front end and puts it in gear, he could go for the ride of his life. 


Sent from my SM-A505W using Tapatalk


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

otomodo said:


> @rogoman
> Have you tried this on a awd xtrail?
> On the owner s manual it's clear and i ve seen it myself, even if the car is not on awd mode it could engage awd.
> If he lifts the front end and puts it in gear, he could go for the ride of his life.
> ...


Hey otomodo, thanks for pointing that out. I certainly don't want anybody getting hurt. I fixed up my previous post. Thanks again!


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## DavidWxtrail (Oct 17, 2020)

Thanks for the info Rogoman, I shall take a look and come back to you in a day or two. Fingers crossed.


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## alejoc (Dec 18, 2019)

I had the same problem in the T30 X-Trail AT. It was actually two things: The front engine mount was already damaged and the left front CV joint going to the wheel was due a change. Maybe start there and have it checked.


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## Ottric (Sep 21, 2020)

Also check all the wheels for balance. If one or more is out of balance by little it will shake once you get to a higher speed. Are any wheels bent?


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