Car Model Guide/ Dacia/ Duster/ HS/ 1.5 dCi

1.5 dCi K9K

The most-produced small diesel in Europe, shared across Renault, Nissan and Dacia. It's absurdly economical and cheap to fix, and injector wear is the fault that defines it, with a leaking injector able to wash a bore.

Overview

The 1.5 dCi is the K9K diesel version of the Dacia Duster SUV (HS), sold 2010–2017 with 110 PS and manual_6. Demands diligence at level 3. Injector wear can let fuel wash a bore, which turns a moderate job into an engine. 3 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Dacia Duster SUV (HS) · photo Dacia Duster HS FL Glacier White (2) by Damian B Oh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Power110 PS

Torque240 Nm

Years2010–2017

Fueldiesel

DriveFWD / 4x4

EnginesK9K

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 3 recorded in total.

60Demands diligence

DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800partly checkable
Injector wear and bore washing€400–€1,200partly checkable
EGR cooler leak€400–€1,000partly checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −18 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 7 with no recurring fault reported

Engine✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Fuel systemwatchInjector wear and bore washing, €400–€1,200.

Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Cooling✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Emissions⚠ attentionDPF clogging and forced regeneration, €250–€1,800.+1 more in this system

Transmission✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Electrics✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Suspension & brakes✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Body & interior✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

Phase	Years	Low	Average	High	Good buy	What differs
pre Pre-facelift	2010–2012	€4,200	€6,800	€10,500	€5,500	The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)	2013–2017	€4,600	€7,400	€11,450	€6,000	New grille and lights; Better cabin materials; Media Nav infotainment added

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

DPF clogging and forced regenerationDPF€250–€1,800

Warning light, limp mode, oil level rising above the maximum mark from fuel dilution. The filter needs sustained hot running to regenerate. A car used for short urban trips never completes a regeneration cycle.

Check: Read the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

EmissionscommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–250k km

Injector wear and bore washingK9K 1.5 dCi€400–€1,200

A rough idle, smoke on start-up, uneven running and in the worst case low compression on one cylinder. The injectors wear and can leak, letting combustion gases and fuel past the seat. Left alone, fuel washes the oil film off the bore and damages it, which turns an injector job into an engine one.

Check: Read the injector correction values on a diagnostic and look for one cylinder out of line with the rest. Ask what injector work has been done, because most high-mileage examples have had some.

FuelcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented130–230k km

EGR cooler leakEGR cooler€400–€1,000

Coolant loss with no visible external leak, white smoke, sweet smell. The EGR cooler cracks internally and leaks coolant into the intake. BMW recalled affected diesels over a fire risk from glycol deposits igniting.

Check: Check coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

EmissionsoccasionalPartly detectableevidence: manufacturer120–250k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once.

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

3 checks · saved in this browser ·

1PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

EGR cooler leakCheck coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

2OBD scanMandatory. A seller who refuses a scan has answered the question.

DPF clogging and forced regenerationRead the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.Injector wear and bore washingRead the injector correction values on a diagnostic and look for one cylinder out of line with the rest. Ask what injector work has been done, because most high-mileage examples have had some.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

The K9K happily runs past 300,000 km, so distance alone shouldn't frighten you. What matters is whether the injectors have been looked after, since a leaking one does its damage slowly and silently.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil and filter Injector and turbo life both depend on it.	10,000–15,000 km	€70–110
Cambelt and water pump Belt failure is terminal on this engine.	120,000 km or 6 years	€380–560

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €7.1k

€4.2k€5.5k€11.4k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€5,500band €4,200–€11,450

🇺🇸 United StatesNot sold1.5 dCi K9K was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelDacia Duster 1.5 dCi
ChassisHS
EngineK9K
Years2010–2017
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the hs median, all 2 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

This is the most-produced small diesel in Europe and every independent in the country can work on it, which keeps the bills low. Read the injector correction values on a diagnostic and look for one cylinder sitting out of line with the rest. Most high-mileage examples have had injector work, and a car with receipts for it is worth more than one without. So look hard underneath as well, because these get used the way the advertising promised and many have led rough lives.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	K9K 1.5 dCi
Configuration	I4, turbocharged · 1461 cc
Fuel / injection	diesel · common rail
Model years	2010–2017
Facelift phase	Sold either side of the 2013 facelift, 2010–2012 pre, 2013–2017 LCI
Power / torque	110 PS · 240 Nm
Transmissions	6-speed manual
Gearbox families	Renault JH/JR five- and six-speed manual
Drivetrain	FWD · 4x4
Economy (real-world)	4.5–6 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU