Black Smoke and Performance Issues in '07 Nissan Qashqai: Possible Air Mass Sensor Failure

Hey, Had a somewhat similar experience with my '10 Nissan X-Trail not so long ago. Your symptoms are pointing towards a damaged cable harness, and it can be freaky when the engine starts messing around like that. In my case, the engine was randomly misfiring and became quite sluggish under acceleration. Not a pretty picture. After a lot of head scratching, the mechanics narrowed down the problem to a damaged cable harness that was playing havoc with the air-fuel mixture. They spent a good bit of time locating the cause, replacing the damaged sections and checking over the other electrical systems. You'd be surprised at the number of systems affected by those little wires! I'd suggest heading to a solid mechanic as soon as you can so they can diagnose accurately. These things can be serious if left unattended. Look for a specialist who knows gravy about Nissans, they tend to know the common faults better. Good luck!

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Hey, cheers for the reply! Sounds like we're sailing similar boats here, the whole situation is a bit of a nightmare indeed. Glad to hear you got yours figured out though! With your X-Trail, do you recall what the price tag was for the repairs with that damaged cable harness? Just trying to brace myself for the hurt on the wallet. Also, any weird gremlins come out afterwards or was it pretty much smooth sailing once they fixed it up? Thanks for the help!

(Translated from German)

Hey there, Yeah, the repair cost for the cable harness damage fell into about 95 quid, wasn't particularly cheap but worth every penny considering the trouble it was causing. As for any oddities cropping up post-fix, I was pretty lucky, the ride's been super smooth since the mechanic sorted out the air mass sensor defect. Ah, the joy of an engine behaving itself, eh? Pro-tip, don't let the cost put you off. Getting stranded is way worse than a one-off hit to your wallet. Plus, the fuel economy improves once the system is functioning correctly again. Guess we gotta pay to play, right? All the best with your fix!

(Translated from German)

Wow, 95 quid doesn't sound too painful as long as it gets my dear Qashqai back on track. And you're right! It's definitely about paying for the peace of mind. I'm stoked to hear your X-Trail's been behaving ever since the fix. Here’s hoping to a similar experience for me. Thanks a ton for sharing your experience and advice - really appreciate your help! I'll get her checked out as soon as possible and fingers crossed, she'll be back to her best in no time. Cheers!

(Translated from German)