Have had this happen in my 2008 NAH twice in the last few weeks.

Driving at speed on highway for short distances (10-20 miles) engine has started racing, power has been reduced to the point of not being able to maintain speed, and engine got HOT HOT HOT. First time I pulled over and could see nothing wrong, but the engine smelled hot. 2nd time it was so hot that smoke was coming from the engine compartment on the drivers side, near the firewall. The smoke actually took about 10 minutes to stop coming out. Smoke, not steam. Not billowing clouds of it but, you know, smoke.

Also, the second time, both radiator reservoirs were low, but the radiator itself was full.

No warning lights of any kind are coming on and I've had it in twice to a mechanic and it isn't throwing any codes. Mechanic even drove it about 10 miles, didn't experience the problem. Sees nothing obviously wrong.

Has relatively recently had 30K service, but I checked and CVT transmission fluid and 0W20 oil was used.

Any ideas?

 

Keith, you said a mechanic looked at it. Was it a Nissan dealer / mechanic? I only had the overheat light come on one time, I checked the coolant reserve and it was low, i added coolant and it has been fine ever since. I would have a certified mechanic at a nissan dealer look at it. If you can bring it in while this problem is occurring would help.

 

The mechanic was certified, reputable, but not Nissan. Which may pose a problem. We'll see.

Last time I visited the Nissan dealer all the guys came out to look under the hood because they'd never seen a hybrid. The service manager, totally nice guy, said they can't work on it because they aren't certified on the hybrids and hybrids have been known to fry mechanics who don't know what they're doing.

Yes, I did know this could be an issue when I moved heaven and earth to import it from New Jersey to Kentucky.

Perhaps things have changed. It's been a while.

 

Took it out tonight for a spin just now because the mechanic even drove it for 10 miles and nothing happened. Took it out on the highway and after about 30 miles, sure enough, lost power, engine raced, opened the hood and it was about as hot as the surface of the sun. No warning lights, no nothing. Let it cool for a while then limped home. Will try Nissan next.

 

If its not a cooling system issue, I could only imagine it would be a eCVT issue as that would be the only thing different that could be causing things to get smokin hot. good luck thoug.

 

maybe you have issue with the thermostat or the heat sensor.
Good Luck

 

How would I figure out if these were the problem. The problem (even after so long) has never been resolved because I usually just drive it short distances. Since no codes are thrown, how would I go about testing the thermostat or temperature sensor?