Infiniti announced the then new Nissan 3.0-litre VR30DDTT engine on 15 December 2015. It made its debut under the bonnet of the 2016 Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and was also found in the Q60 coupe from 2017.
Both the block and cylinder head of the Nissan VR30DDTT are made from aluminium. The engine is capable of 300 or 400 hp and has made a place itself on the Ward’s top 10 engine list.
Production of the 2997 cc engine began in 2015. It is a V6 layout, twin-turbocharged, gasoline-powered unit.
Fuel consumption, L/100 km (Infiniti Q50 2017):
13.3 litres in the city
7.0 litres on the motorway
9.3 litres in mixed traffic conditions
Engine life, km: ~200 000
Engine reliability: on various forums, owners of cars equipped with this engine have encountered the following problems:
V-belt failure: a known fault with the Nissan VR30DDTT engine for quite some time. The manufacturer has taken the problem seriously and has issued a service bulletin to resolve the problem. Models manufactured after 2017 do not have this problem, but the 2016 and 2017 Infiniti Q50 and Q60 models being the most affected by timing belt failure. Because the engine was new at the time, and virtually all brand new units suffer from some sort of teething problem, it’s not surprising that it only appears in certain previous models.
Fuel injection valve failure: The manufacturer is aware of the fault and has released a fix in the form of a new fuel pressure line, which hopefully will provide a permanent solution.
Excessive carbon build-up: as with virtually all direct injection engines, there is a potential risk of carbon build-up. However, this is very gradual and will take a few years to become a problem. This is still a relatively new engine, so the problem is not yet common, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on, especially in high mileage cars.
Nissan has therefore acknowledged the faults and issued service bulletins to correct them, so the updated VR30DDTT units should deliver the reliability expected of Japanese manufacturers.
As for long-term use, we will have to wait and see how the VR30DDTT perform in this respect. In any case, so far the engine has been reliable. This engine is also used in the new Nissan Z, which appears in 2024.