Nissan Juke – Years to Avoid

Featured image - TTTNIS, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quick answer - we would say that if you were to pick any years to avoid when buying a Nissan Juke, avoid the first generation (2010 - 2019) and go for the second generation. 

This appears to be a much more reliable car with few complaints about issues - although this model has only been out for a couple of years so more issues could materialise.

The Nissan Juke is a bit of a marmite car - you either love it or you hate it. For many, it’s a cheap and cheerful way of getting around - for others it’s absolutely pointless. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter camp - having driven the Juke a few times when we’ve had them in for repair, I just feel they are like a Micra on stilts; not much space to speak of, they don’t drive very nicely, and unfortunately they’re prone to problems.

However, if you’ve got your heart set on a Juke, you might be wondering whether there are years or versions of the Juke to avoid due to common problems. The answer to this is yes, and the problems mainly lie with the first generation of Juke. There are a number of recalls on this particular generation of Juke, which range from minor issues to really quite serious issues like a loose timing chain and a fuel leak, which can cost you a lot of money to rectify.

I’ve done a pretty detailed writeup on what I believe to be some of the most common issues with the first generation of Nissan Juke. This is based on my experience of being a mechanic for over ten years and having seen Jukes in for repair for each of these problems. Your mileage may vary however - it’s possible you might never experience any of these.

How to tell the difference between first and second generation Jukes

For absolute clarity, here is a first generation Nissan Juke:

And here is a second generation Juke:

I haven’t driven the second generation Juke nearly as many times as I have the first generation simply because the first generation has been around for thirteen years at the time of writing and the second generation has only been around for four years. However, it does appear to be a better car - but only time will tell if it will be a more reliable one.

Please understand that there may be issues yet to be resolved with the second generation Juke - so I am not guaranteeing by any means that you won’t experience problems, whether they’re listed here or not, if you buy a second gen Juke. They’ve already been subject to a few recalls (although nothing particularly serious) so do your due diligence as you would with any car when buying a second gen Juke. If you’re looking at the first gen, however, pay close attention to the issues we discuss here.

Common problems that affect the first generation Nissan Juke

Recalls

The first generation Nissan Juke was recalled in the UK for the following issues:

Thanks to vehicle-recall.co.uk for this information.

As you can see, there aren’t a huge number of recalls for this car, which may lead you to believe at first glance that this is a car without many problems. Unfortunately there is evidence that there are issues for which the Juke was recalled in other countries that it wasn’t recalled for in the UK. 

Therefore in the next section we’re going to go through some fairly common Nissan Juke issues that you need to be aware of if you’re thinking of buying a first generation model. Again - the first generation is anything made between 2010 - 2019 (the second generation started to be manufactured in 2019, so if you are looking at a 2019 model you should check which generation it belongs to.)

Clutch problems

A really common issue with the Nissan Juke relates to a leak in the clutch master cylinder. This will be most noticeable to you if you press the clutch pedal and it does not return on its own. 

The clutch master cylinder is connected to the clutch pedal, and is part of the hydraulic system that allows you to engage and disengage the clutch. Some cars have a clutch cable to do this - the Juke does not have a cable and has a hydraulic system that moves the clutch in and out. 

If you notice that the clutch pedal has become softer, or you are noticing liquid on the floor after leaving your car for a few hours, you need to get this issue resolved. This is because if your master cylinder fails you will push the clutch in and you won’t be able to get it back up again - which means your car will either be stuck in gear and you’ll need to stall it to get it to stop, or your car will be stuck out of gear and you won’t be able to drive. 

Unfortunately a leaky master cylinder can also cause contamination to the clutch itself which will need to be replaced. You will likely pay around £500 to have this issue resolved - but thankfully most garages will be able to do it for you very easily.

Our recommendation: there’s not much you can do to predict this. When you test drive a car you want to buy, make sure you pay close attention to the function of the clutch pedal - if if feels soft or spongy, or you notice fluid leaking onto the floor, a master cylinder leak could be the cause.

Loose timing chain

This affects the 1.2L DiG-T petrol engines fitted to the Juke, primarily in the first generation. Over time, the timing belt is known to become loose which can cause a number of symptoms. This was actually subject to a recall in the US, when Nissan recalled over 100,000 of their Jukes to replace the timing chain due to a defect part. I don’t believe the Juke was ever recalled in the UK for this issue - but to my knowledge they are the same car with the same engine.

Generally you can tell this is your problem in a number of ways. There are some rarer symptoms like the engine cutting out at low revs, or fault codes showing on the dashboard, but the main symptom of a loose timing chain is a shaking or rattling sound when your engine is idling. You will definitely be able to tell that this is a problem because in my experience of when the timing chain starts to come loose, the engine starts to sound like a diesel. 

Fortunately, if you catch this issue early enough, you should be able to get away with just replacing the chain itself, which is likely to set you back around £700 - £1000. If it’s too far gone, you are unfortunately likely to have to source a replacement engine. 

I’ve never worked at a Nissan dealer so I’m sure there are others more qualified to talk about this than I am, but I’ve heard of timing chains going at as little as 5,000 miles. I’ve certainly seen examples with this problem at 50,000 miles which is really, really low for a timing chain to be causing problems.

Our recommendation - avoid the 1.2 DiG-T petrol engine unless you are sure the timing chain has been replaced. Listen for rattles when you start the car and when you rev it up. If you hear any, walk away from the sale.

Blocked oil feed

A known issue with the turbocharged engines of the Nissan Juke (which is all of them, except the 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol) is that the oil feed to the turbocharger becomes blocked. This can cause the turbo to overheat if the oil feed to it is reduced for any amount of time. 

Generally it’s thought that the OEM oil feed line is prone to clogging with carbon deposits. This is usually as a result of not changing the oil frequently enough. You should be aware that the oil change interval for the Nissan Juke is lower than most other cars, with the recommended interval from Nissan being 9.000 miles. I would usually recommend to people they replace every 10,000 miles anyway, but there are manufacturers out there now giving service intervals of 15,000 - 18,000 miles which I would really not recommend.

Unfortunately again, this is a big issue and if your oil feed pipe is blocked, you will likely need to replace the turbocharger which is an expensive job. There are suggestions elsewhere online that the OEM oil feed line can be replaced. This isn’t a job I’ve done, but if there are aftermarket examples that perform better than the OEM example you may want to look into having this done if you are concerned about this issue. Having a new oil feed line fitted is going to be a lot cheaper than having the turbo replaced, put it that way. 

Our recommendation: be really careful when you’re buying a Juke used, and make sure the car has been diligently and regularly serviced. If the car you want to buy has missed several services, you are more likely to have this problem.

Fuel leak

Again - another recall. Over 130,000 Nissan Jukes were recalled for this issue. If you are noticing a smell of petrol or diesel in the cabin, you need to stop driving and research this issue. What happens is that the fuel lines become blocked, and because of this they work themselves loose with increased fuel pressure. This can cause the system to leak - which is obviously a big fire risk.

You might also find that the fuel pressure sensor has failed, and this is the cause of your leak. Unfortunately fuel leaking is never a good thing and you need to book your car into a dealership to get this resolved ASAP. It doesn’t look as though Nissan has been particularly helpful with this issue, and there are reports online of people still having this issue even after the recall work was carried out.

Our recommendation: double-check that the recall has actually been done and if it has, turn the engine over and sit in the cabin. If you smell fuel, walk away.

Sadly - there are a lot of issues with the Juke, some of them quite serious. I would generally recommend staying away from the Juke and looking for something else, but if you have your heart set on one, then make sure you heed the warnings in this article and check any used example out thoroughly before buying.

We've written a few articles on the Nissan Juke - which you can check out below.