On paper, Nissan’s variable-compression turbocharged engine should have been pretty awesome. Since it could change its compression ratio on the fly, it promised the power of a bigger engine when you needed it and the efficiency of a smaller engine when you didn’t. In reality, the Infiniti QX50 that the VC-Turbo first appeared in delivered neither, but now there’s a new reason the VC-Turbo probably wasn’t a great idea. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just announced a recall of more than 440,000 Nissans and Infinitis because their variable-compression engines might fail. Oops.
The recall affects 443,899 vehicles, including the 2019-2022 Infiniti QX50, 2022 Infiniti QX55, 2019-2020 Nissan Altima and 2021-2024 Nissan Rogue. That also means it covers both the three-cylinder and four-cylinder versions. But while Infiniti grabbed most of the headlines when it introduced the VC-Turbo engine, it’s the Nissan Rogue that’s being recalled in the largest numbers. The recall covers 84,536 QX50s, 5,124 QX55s, 5,685 Altimas and 348,554 Rogues. Not that you should be terribly surprised to hear that.
New Rogues are all over the place, and while you probably see newer Infinitis driving around, it isn’t like you’re actually going to remember seeing them. If anything, it’s almost impressive that there are 84,000 QX50s around to recall in the first place.
Variable compression engine failure
According to the recall, “Nissan has identified bearing failures in certain vehicles equipped with the subject 3-cylinder 1.5L or 4-cylinder 2.0L variable compression turbo engine (VC-Turbo) engines. A potential manufacturing defect in specific engine bearings… or supporting engine components may cause engine damage and potentially lead to engine failure.” NHTSA also wants you to know that “[i]f the engine fails while driving, it can result in a loss of motive power (LOMP), increasing the risk of a crash.”
The good news is, bearings typically fail gradually, so if you happen to own one of the affected vehicles, it isn’t like your car will be perfectly good one minute and dead on the side of the road the next. As long as you’re at least vaguely paying attention, you should get plenty of warning before your engine fails, and the recall does not include a Do Not Drive or Park Outside advisory.
Additionally, while the recall covers hundreds of thousands of vehicles, the estimated number of defective engines is only 1.2%, meaning 98.8% of them should be fine. They just have to check to make sure you’re good before sending you on your way, since, you know, engine failure is kind of a big deal. As with all recalls, Nissan will cover the cost of any necessary work, so having your car checked out should be free for you, and you can check NHTSA’s website to see if your car was affected by the recall.
