Dishwashers are for dishes right? Well, of course, they are. That’s not the case though for some new Nissan crossovers i.e. the Nissan Juke. During development, thousands of liters of water are sprayed onto every angle of their exterior. It’s a process known as the “dishwasher test.” It requires Nissan technicians to spray the vehicles seals with a jet washer, which is specially engineered to operate at pressures as extreme as 150 bar.
Undoubtedly, the test is tough. Technicians start by pouring 24,000 liters of water onto the car, and during the most intense part, more than 1,000 liters fall in just 15 minutes – the equivalent to a foot of rainfall.
“Another member of the team will be in the car with a high-definition endoscope to see inside the panels, looking for even the tiniest drip of water that may have made it through,” said Nissan engineer Carl Sandy. The team goes a step further by stripping the Nissan’s interior to make sure no water has made it inside.
During the entire process, up to 30,000 liters of water are used. This translates into more than 2,000 times the amount used in an average domestic dishwasher cycle. It’s a lot of water but none of it goes to waste. In fact, every water drop is recycled back into a huge tank.
Inspections take place at Nissan’s European Technical Centre, and they are designed to be adequate for the mostly modest climate and roads of Western Europe. However, Sandy says this robust process is also sufficient for even the toughest environments.
"Rigorous testing is important because not every market is the same," points out Sandy. "Through continuous evolution of test standards, we make sure that our cars stand up to the most demanding driving requirements in Europe."
Check out the video above to watch the test in action!