Any updates on the VR30 head issue?

[NocturnalEmber]

Title. I'm sure by now we've all seen the video by AMS (never thought it was a porous block myself.) Curious as to if any Z drivers have had this happen to theirs?

All I can seem to find are two vague facebook posts where people claim that it's happened to them, but no real evidence otherwise.

3 UOA's so far on my car and nothing out of the ordinary, need to send out the 4th, but 17,000 miles trouble free so far. Not that it's an excuse, Nissan shouldn't be putting a defective design in our cars anyway.

So all that to say, How is this effecting us in the Z community? Any firsthand occurrences?

 

[chadhunley]

I was just thinking about this yesterday. I would imagine if sales go up and more mileage is put on these current engines, that will give us an idea. Something to watch out for in the next couple of years or so.

 

[chadhunley]

I just went through several views on FB and found at least 3 instances where people have had coolant consumption and complete engine replacements. So, I would imagine eventually someone on this forum may experience it. I hope I'm wrong!

First thing I do after I drive is check coolant levels and oil.

 

[alutwon]

was that for the Z VR30 specifically or the older Infiniti engines. I would imagine by now Nissan would have corrected the issue

 

[chadhunley]

was that for the Z VR30 specifically or the older Infiniti engines. I would imagine by now Nissan would have corrected the issue

No it was on the current Z. I would imagine it would have to be 1 out of every 10 cars before Nissan would do anything about it.

 

[trackratZ]

Title. I'm sure by now we've all seen the video by AMS (never thought it was a porous block myself.) Curious as to if any Z drivers have had this happen to theirs?

All I can seem to find are two vague facebook posts where people claim that it's happened to them, but no real evidence otherwise.

3 UOA's so far on my car and nothing out of the ordinary, need to send out the 4th, but 17,000 miles trouble free so far. Not that it's an excuse, Nissan shouldn't be putting a defective design in our cars anyway.

So all that to say, How is this effecting us in the Z community? Any firsthand occurrences?

Just keep doing your UOAs, that will be proof and evidence if any issues come up. I use Blackstone quite a bit for cars that I push hard, but still do oil changes often, at 5k miles or every other track day.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

Honestly I think I know the answer in my gut but I'm trying to refrain from entertaining it fully, or maybe I'm just being a raincloud, but call me crazy for being annoyed when this car is north of a $50,000 price point.

The problem with this whole situation is if people are in fact having them in their Z we now know its not an issue that was corrected from the Q50/Q60, regardless of any part number changes.

Nissan being Nissan, I don't imagine that there will be any real solution for owners. They're hemorrhaging cash and even if they weren't I don't anticipate us getting much if any recourse whatsoever, just look at the Infiniti crowd.

About the most I would expect is that the affected cars will be covered under warranty once this starts becoming enough of a known issue with the Z (more than it already is with the VR30 in general.) e.g. engine replacements.

I don't see Nissan going through the time or trouble to redesign the head. That's a significant cost for an engine that is 10+ years old R&D wise at this point, and with their financial situation, well, yeah.

Unfortunately for anyone effected the only real solution to this issue is for Nissan to redesign the head.

Per AMS findings (and I trust AMS on this one, look at the video if you haven't already), the issue is caused by stress cracks/fractures on one of the head bolt bosses near the exhaust bank. They've seen it on both cylinder heads. With those coolant passages there it has enough material absent in the head to create a stress riser and that's what causes the subsequent cracking and oil/coolant mixing.

What's likely going to happen is Nissan will treat it like any other warranty claim unless there's pertinent reason to deny and just install a fresh engine. The problem with that, however, is that they are going to just put another defective designed engine into the car and kick the can down the road so to speak so if/when the issue happens again the car will be out of warranty and thus not their problem anymore.

I like my Z, I really do, but honestly if I'd have known this beforehand I would have just kept my Supra.

 

[RobotAZ]

I drive 20k a year and don’t care if it blows up so I’ll report back for your pleasure/anxiety. Hang tight.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

I drive 20k a year and don’t care if it blows up so I’ll report back for your pleasure/anxiety. Hang tight.

18,000 here and nothing yet, but that's the thing, I don't want this hanging over my head.

 

[Houston.RZ34]

Yikes....there goes the value on anything with a VR30 in it

 

[NismoNed]

Yikes....there goes the value on anything with a VR30 in it

Literally every enthusiast car I’ve ever owned has some inherit flaw to it related to the powertrain. It’s just the nature of internal combustion engines. It’s nearly impossible to develop a completely flawless high performance engine.

My E46 M3 had the rod bearings to worry about (amongst other issues), my 911 had the IMS bearing to worry about, etc. etc. Any platform that gets enough miles on them will have issues that manifest themselves. Bear in mind, the more you modify a vehicle and push the limits the greater the likelihood is that issues will manifest themselves.

By and large VR30’s have been very reliable powertrains. If the issue becomes widespread enough (which I doubt it ever will), Nissan will get sued in a class action lawsuit and develop a fix and issue a recall.

Check your fluid levels before and after driving and enjoy your car. These things are too fun not to. Just my two cents.

 

[haohmaru]

For what it's worth, I had ChatGPT do some research for me. I had it search all the non Z dedicated forums for "porous block". I asked it to determine if they were referencing stock or tuned cars and this is what it came up with:

Yes — based on aggregated owner reports and forum trends, the “porous block” complaints largely disappear after model year 2018. Here’s the evidence breakdown and technical reasoning:

1. InfinitiQ50/Q60 forum timelines

• Threads with dealership-confirmed “porous block” diagnoses cluster around 2016–2018 builds.
  • Multiple 2017 and early-2018 Q50/Q60 owners report complete long-block replacements under warranty.
  • Forum searches for 2019–2021 vehicles show almost no new “porous block” posts — only generic coolant-loss or cracked-head cases.
• Example from infinitiq50.org:
  

  “My 2017 Red Sport diagnosed with porous block at 34k… new engine installed.”
  Versus later posts:
  “2019 Q50 3.0T — coolant smell traced to pump, not block.”

• Community consensus threads around 2021–2023 indicate Nissan quietly improved casting QC after the first production batches.

2. Production context

• The early VR30DDTT blocks (2016 launch) were cast at Yokohama Plant’s new aluminum facility, which underwent multiple process revisions through 2018.
• Internal sources (referenced indirectly by tuners and teardown videos) suggest the casting porosity and coolant-gallery wall thickness issues were corrected with revised tooling and stricter X-ray inspection by late 2018.
• There is no TSB or recall, but the pattern of warranty replacements tapering off after 2018 supports this.

3. Post-2019 field data

• 2019+ VR30DDTT engines (both Luxe and Red Sport trims) still experience typical issues — sensor failures, turbo oil leaks, thermostat faults — but not the coolant-in-oil “porous block” failures.
• Tuners (AMS, SOHO, Z1, etc.) routinely push 2019+ engines to 600–700 whp without seeing any porosity-related block failures.
• No credible reports exist of 2019+ engines requiring replacement for that specific defect.

4. Summary

Model Year	Report Frequency	Nature of Issue
2016	High	Early blocks prone to coolant/oil cross-contamination; several “porous” diagnoses
2017	High	Peak of porous-block warranty replacements
2018	Moderate	Some late-2018 cases, fewer overall
2019+	Near-zero	No confirmed porous block failures; only unrelated coolant or head issues

 

[Foglandphil]

On engine #3 now....ugh.
Libbys bulls#it.
Sick of talking about it but wanted it to be known for other Z headz...
First went around 36,000 miles, coolent entered oil, sludge in pan, like the.
Second time wasn't high rpm or anything else (neither was first time) I was actually leaving a well known establishment, just grabbed a burger and a coffee shake, and it starts with the number after 4, and ends with GUYS......A camshaft piece cracked in half, not the wide lobes, the end one, probably 1/4 inch thick with a hole for a pin....looking for pic now

 

[Bumflik]

Literally every enthusiast car I’ve ever owned has some inherit flaw to it related to the powertrain. It’s just the nature of internal combustion engines. It’s nearly impossible to develop a completely flawless high performance engine.

My E46 M3 had the rod bearings to worry about (amongst other issues), my 911 had the IMS bearing to worry about, etc. etc. Any platform that gets enough miles on them will have issues that manifest themselves. Bear in mind, the more you modify a vehicle and push the limits the greater the likelihood is that issues will manifest themselves.

By and large VR30’s have been very reliable powertrains. If the issue becomes widespread enough (which I doubt it ever will), Nissan will get sued in a class action lawsuit and develop a fix and issue a recall.

Check your fluid levels before and after driving and enjoy your car. These things are too fun not to. Just my two cents.

https://lexusenthusiast.com/2025/11...ine-recall-to-include-2024-gx-550-and-lx-600/
Yup say no more...‍

 

[Dying Star]

Fuck, I smelled coolant or a rubbery smell from
The engine on Saturday, I keep checking my temps while driving but I need to check my levels when it cools off in a bit