Nissan Qashqai – Losing Power when Accelerating?

The Nissan Qashqai (known also as the Nissan Dualis and Nissan Rogue) is one of the best selling crossovers on the road today. Powered by a selection of dependable and proven petrol and diesel engines, the Qashqai is a reliable family workhorse. Now on it’s third generation, the Qashqai has sold nearly three million units in Europe alone.

However, as with all cars, the Qashqai experiences its fair share of problems. One of the most well documented, with users in forums and other sites on the internet reporting it very frequently, is the loss of power when accelerating. This is an issue that plagues both petrol and diesel models of the Qashqai (although different issues arise on each) and is something that if you have a Qashqai that’s done high mileage, you’ll want to pay attention to – nobody wants to lose acceleration at 70mph on the motorway.

In this article we are going to go through some of the most common issues that cause poor acceleration in the Nissan Qashqai and what you can do to solve them. 

Jump to any of the following sections:

Petrol or Diesel

As we’ve mentioned, whether you have a petrol or diesel Qashqai is important as separate issues can arise on each. For example, you don’t want to be wasting your time thinking about DPF issues if you drive a petrol Qashqai, as your car won’t have a DPF.

To help you, we’ve put flags against each issue to help you determine whether this is a petrol issue, a diesel issue or whether it’s a problem that can arise on either. 

Additionally if you’re looking through this list and you’re in any way not sure of where to turn, always book your car in with a local garage that you trust to take a look at the problem. 

Engine air and fuel filters (petrol, diesel)

Your engine is a complex piece of machinery. In order to run, it requires both fuel and air, as well as spark (for petrol engines) or compression (for diesel engines.) One of the most common causes of poor acceleration on the Nissan Qashqai is either a blocked fuel or air filter.

I’m sorry to have to say this, but unless you do your own servicing, you have no idea what the garage is doing to your car. It’s not uncommon or unusual for unscrupulous garages to charge for parts they haven’t fitted – so you could be diligently booking your Qashqai in for a service every year, and come to find that they aren’t actually changing all the filters you think they’re changing (and that you’re paying for them to change.)

Checking your air filter is probably the easiest thing you can do in this situation if you’re experiencing poor acceleration on your Nissan Qashqai. AutoDoc provides an excellent series of tutorials for both the first and second generation of Nissan Qashqai, and this includes how to change the air filter.

Providing the air filter isn’t totally black, it’s probably fine. If your air filter gets too blocked, it’s likely to be strangling the supply of air to the engine and as a result, the engine won’t be burning fuel as efficiently as it could be. 

As a result you’re going to notice probably a lot of unburnt fuel being kicked out of the exhaust (which might leave you with a strong petrol or diesel smell if you leave the vehicle idling) but also could be the cause of a loss of power – as the throttle is allowing the sufficient amount of fuel to be injected into the engine, but as the air supply is too weak, that fuel can’t be burnt efficiently and will leave you down on power.

Additionally this is the case with the petrol or diesel filter. Your vehicle has a fuel filter to prevent grit and other fine particles in the fuel from entering into the fuel system and causing damage to your fuel injectors. If your fuel filter is blocked, you will have a reduced supply of fuel reaching the engine, which can lead to acceleration problems. 

Additionally a blocked fuel filter can cause other issues in the car, most notably with the fuel pump which will likely be straining to push fuel through the system and encountering a blockage at the fuel filter. 

A fuel filter is something you can change and check yourself on your driveway, but it does require a degree of mechanical knowledge. What you can do is do an OBD scan, which will show you any codes that have been generated by the vehicle. A blocked fuel filter will likely cause an error code similar to “Fuel rail/system pressure fault”. This may also throw up an engine management light. Hopefully this points you in the right direction – as I mentioned, if you’re not sure, have a mechanic check your vehicle out.

One thing worth mentioning about the fuel filter is that this is something that rarely gets changed even at a full service. You will generally need to request a major service for your fuel filter to be changed – either that or specifically request that a garage changes your fuel filter independent of a service. Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for the fuel filter to go unchanged in some vehicles for many, many years – even when a garage says they have completed the work. Make sure you check everything before signing the vehicle off.

Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) (diesel)

Diesel vehicles after 2010 (Euro 5 emissions) have been fitted as standard with a diesel particulate filter. What this does is it captures the harmful particulate matter thrown out by the exhaust. Unfortunately if you do a lot of short drives, the DPF can clog up. With longer drives, the DPF gets hot enough to regenerate and burn off the soot and the ash that gets built up there. On shorter journeys it doesn’t get warm enough, and if the DPF builds up with enough soot and ash then it may not regenerate, and after a certain amount of time it will be blocked.

A fully blocked DPF will generally mean you’re unable to start the vehicle. You’ll also get an error code if you do an OBD scan which will generally say something like “Emissions fault” or “DPF blocked”. However if your DPF is partially blocked, you could experience a loss of acceleration.

Whether your DPF is blocked or not depends on the kind of driving you do and how many miles your car has done. If you’re experiencing a loss of acceleration at 50,000 miles and you do mainly motorway driving, this is highly unlikely to be your issue. However if you’re at 150,000 miles and you drive around town, this is more likely to be the cause of your problem. You’ll probably notice a significant amount of smoke from the back of your car if you put your foot down. 

Fundamentally, a DPF has a finite life, and if your car has done high mileage (120k+ miles) even if you’ve done the right sort of driving, it’s possible that your DPF could be blocked, as even when it regenerates it’s not able to burn off all of the soot and ash. The DPF isn’t a service item – and is probably going to cost you upwards of £1,000+ with a mechanic to replace it. 

However, it’s worth getting this confirmed with a mechanic that this is the cause of your issue before spending this kind of money. As I mentioned, leave it too long and a blocked DPF will eventually mean you’re not able to start the car.

Fuel injection (petrol, diesel)

All versions of the Qashqai use some form of fuel injection system to supply fuel to the engine. If your injectors are blocked or damaged in some way, this could be the culprit for your Qashqai losing power when accelerating. This is one of the most expensive jobs you can do on a modern vehicle, simply because new injectors are very, very expensive – at the very least you’ll be paying £300 – £500 per injector. And unfortunately, when one goes, it’s often necessary to replace all of them – so you could be looking at a hefty bill.

As such you want to make sure this is actually your problem. One common issue, especially on diesels, is that the car will struggle significantly to start from cold, and you may find yourself cranking the engine for 10 – 20 seconds before the car starts. Generally, however, the car will start fine if it’s warm. 

Another thing you may notice if your injectors are faulty is a strong smell of fuel – possibly the injector may be over-supplying fuel, or there may be a leak in the injector due to a faulty part. You will probably also notice significantly increased fuel consumption and reduced range, as well as uneven engine idling – one way to tell is to start your vehicle up and listen to it. If it settles to a consistent idle fairly quickly then fuel injection is likely not your problem. If your Qashqai has a lumpy idle, or is hunting (the car revving on it’s own) it’s possible a faulty fuel injector is the culprit. Additionally if you have a misfire, this can be down to an injector not opening properly.

You can go down the route of using an injector cleaner, or maybe even running the car on a tank of premium fuel such as Shell V-Power, but in my experience when a faulty injector starts causing a loss of acceleration then you need to get it checked out by a mechanic, as it likely needs to be replaced or rebuilt, and a simple treatment with an injector cleaner likely won’t cut it.

I would not recommend you tackle this job on your own. Modern fuel injection systems squirt fuel out with such high pressure that they can force fuel through the skin and damage nerves, tendons and joints. If not treated properly injection injuries can result in loss of limb and function. If you’re in any way not 100% confident changing your own injectors, pay someone else to do it. 

EGR Valve (petrol, diesel)

The EGR valve helps reduce the amount of nitrogen and nitrogen oxide that is expelled by the exhaust system in your car. By recirculating exhaust gas back into the engine, the chemical makeup of the air entering the engine is such that temperatures within your engine are lower, which makes for a cleaner and more efficient exhaust.

An EGR valve is generally closed when you start the engine, and gradually opens as you idle the engine. The reason for this is that only a small amount of power is required, and therefore only a small amount of oxygen is required to burn fuel in the engine. However, when you need more acceleration, the engine needs more oxygen as it’s burning more fuel. As a result the EGR valve closes to ensure as much oxygen as possible enters the engine. 

If your EGR valve is faulty, it may not be opening and closing properly. If it’s open when you need more acceleration, you’ll find that the fuel mixture becomes too lean, and without the correct oxygen ratio in the air entering the engine, your fuel burn will be less efficient and will cause poor or inconsistent acceleration.

Again, on the Qashqai a faulty EGR valve will generally throw up an error code, so make sure you do an OBD scan. If you’re not sure whether this is your issue, take your car to a trusted mechanic to be looked at.

Transmission issues (petrol, diesel)

Depending on whether you have a manual or automatic Qashqai, a transmission issue can present itself in different ways.

For example, if you have a manual, one of the most common issues that might cause poor acceleration is a slipping clutch. A clutch starts to slip when it’s worn, and one of the most obvious symptoms of a slipping clutch is that you put your foot on the gas, the revs rise but the car doesn’t pick up speed. You may also notice a loss of acceleration at times, along with a sticky clutch pedal, difficulty changing gears (or crunching) or unusual squeaks or grumbles when you press the clutch pedal.

The repair for this is that a new clutch kit is required. This is likely to cost you anywhere between £600 – £1000 depending on how much your local garage charges for labour.

However if you have an automatic transmission, a transmission fault may also be the culprit. Watch out for hesitation when shifting gears (as if your car doesn’t respond straight away when you put your foot on the gas) or shifts late, gear slippage or if you’re noticing a burnt smell when getting out of the car. 

Mass Airflow Sensor (petrol, diesel)

The mass airflow sensor (MAF) measures the air entering the engine. It measures the temperature of the air coming in and then along with the PCM (powertrain control module) controls the injectors to deliver the specific amount of fuel proportional to the airflow – meaning you always have the perfect air/fuel mixture.

As previously discussed, a broken mass airflow sensor may be causing the PCM to allow the wrong mix of fuel and air to enter the engine. If there’s too much air and not enough fuel, you’ll be running very lean, and you may experience a loss of acceleration on your Nissan Qashqai.

If your mass airflow sensor is broken, you might be experiencing sudden jerking when accelerating, or hesitation when trying to accelerate. You may also notice black smoke from the exhaust, or rough idling, especially if the air fuel mixture is too rich (too much fuel and not enough air.) Additionally if you experience rough starting, or engine surging, the mass airflow sensor is possibly your culprit. 

Next steps

There are other things that might be causing weak acceleration on your Nissan Qashqai, but these are some of the most common. If you’re experiencing poor acceleration, or a loss of power when accelerating, and you’re not sure what is causing the issue, book your car in to your local mechanic and get it checked out.

Hope this article helped – more on the way, so stay tuned!

Check out some more of our engine related articles!