Nissan Rogue reliability and CVT transmission...

[A930Rocket]

Since we passed on the BMW, we are looking at a 2008 Nissan Rogue with 83K on the clock. The car is immaculate and drove perfectly. So anybody have experience with them or the CVT trans? I've read where some folks are not used to the way it shifts and/or the engine sound. In addition, there has been some noise about trans failures and Nissan extending the powertrain warranty to 10 years and 120,000 miles.

Thoughts?

[mark waller]

I have a 2013 Rogue as a company car. 25,000 miles since August. Had to have the brake rotors turned and a small transmission leak, other that that I like the vehicle.
I had 2011 Nissan Altima as my previous company car. I have never hated a car so much. Most uncomfortable car I ever had to endure.
Newer Nissan's do have improved seating. Getting about 28mpg. About 350 miles on a tank. No issues with power or transmission sounds but have heard people express concerns regarding that. Just my 2 cents.......
I prefer Toyota's.....

[Arizona_928]

I have a girlfriend that had a 11' sentra that had 3 warranty transmissions. They would replace them one after the other "and as soon as they can get them in". They even had people flown in to look at the car. She would drive on the highway for a hour and the transmission's would stop. Ie floored going 25 mph. Nissan said it was a known issue with all sentras transmissions. They don't have a fluid cooler. The solution, dealer requested to keep bringing in the car for new transmissions until it was out of warranty. Car had 68k and had the problem since day one. It ended up getting totaled a couple weeks later. Go figure.

I would go with Toyota for a jap import.

[tyro]

I drive a 2006 frontier as a work vehicle. Bought it new, manual 6-speed gearbox. Should be reliable, yes?

Not quite.

Most recently the radiator needed replacing along with the parking brake shoes and the front ball joints (replace entire control arm assembly and align).

Prior repairs include u-joints in the front drive, heater blower fan that quit, front wheel bearings gone bad, original brake pads that needed changing too soon, sensors for airbags that were changed under recall..

Now the TPMS system is acting up again.

It has 86,000 miles on it.

I don't think I'd buy one after this experience.

[sammyg2]

The wife has a murano with basically the same tranny, 100k trouble-free so far with the V6 but she does not drive it hard. Ever.

My daughter bought a used sentra with the CVT with 35k miles on it, nissan replaced the tranny free of charge at around 55k miles.
And they didn't bat an eye. I got the impression they were used to replacing those transmissions.
If they have an unofficial recall and replace transmissions free of charge even when they're out of warranty, what does that tell us?

Now who knows what the daughter's car was treated like before she got it, it could have been thrashed around pretty hard.
But I believe a regular import transmission could take it better than a CVT.

BTW, the wife's murano with 100k will prolly be traded in at the end of the year BEFORE expensive stuff goes bad (hopefully).
I'd trust a Toyota to go 200k, but not a Nissan with cvt.

[gshase]

Bought my daughter a new 2010 Rogue when she was 15. She is now a 20 years old and in College and still loves it. Only issue was a key fab issue covered by warranty. 54K miles on it.

[A930Rocket]

Thanks for the info guys. Good stuff.

[Arizona_928]

What happened to the VW?

[A930Rocket]

I was scared off by everyone, although my wife enjoys hers. Decided to look at Japanese cars.

What happened to the VW?

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I was scared off by everyone, although my wife enjoys hers. Decided to look at Japanese cars.

Don't let everyone scare you off on VW. A lot of their products are still on the road. And a lot of mk4 tdi's with over 200k!

[NutmegCarrera]

I have a 2011 Subaru with a cvt. originally said that I would never consider one of them - but I have to say its been a great car.
Outback #3 for us, and despite being bigger, gets considerably better mileage.
"Shifting" or lack thereof is a non issue, and unless you pay specific attention to the sound and tach, you won't notice anything. It is very smooth.
We get 30mpg highway regardless of temperature, speed or A/C on.
I would buy another.

[billybek]

Nissan was always known for bulletproof drive train but not so much anymore.
My wife has an X Trail (not sold in the US) and it is kind of the same vehicle.
Had some warranty issues that Nissan backed away from and would never consider owning another.
That being said, it has been fairly reliable with the 2.5L engine and a manual trans.

[Sunroof]

I own a 2009 NISSAN ROGUE, bought new. Here are the issues:

Witihn 12K the shifter for the transmission froze in place and could not come out of Park. It was replaced under warranty.

The CVT transmission failed at 52K while on the Interstate. The check engine came on and the transmission went into "safe mode". It would not allow the car to exceed 76 mph. we limped back to Atlanta from Savannah, GA and the dealer had to replace the transmission.

The more we researched the more we learned that this is not uncommon. These transmissions are known to fail and the dealers replace with "factory rebuilt" units. So far after 18K on the replaced one, no issues.

My friend had a 2010 and the "management brain" failed. His issue was very unique which brought in Regional personnel. It created one electrical problem after another. They gave him a credit and he swapped for a 2013. So far no issues. It was considered a "lemon".

If I had to rate the Rogue, I would say that given the problems, overall, it has been a joy to drive. The power and pickup from that thrifty four banger is impressive especially at highway speeds. Ergonomically, they are very comfortable for four, have enough cargo space to handle most of your needs, handle very well due to a low center of gravity and the braking is outstanding.

We get calls from our dealer every 6 months or so to trade it in as used Rogues are rare and are in demand. They do hold their value from what we see. Overall a great buy. I would probably invest, if purchased through a dealer in an extended warranty package. If you had to R&R that tranny, that could cost north of 2k alone!

Bob

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by billybek

Nissan was always known for bulletproof drive train but not so much anymore.
My wife has an X Trail (not sold in the US) and it is kind of the same vehicle.
Had some warranty issues that Nissan backed away from and would never consider owning another.
That being said, it has been fairly reliable with the 2.5L engine and a manual trans.

We used to own a 2006 Nissan Xtrail but passed it to the daughter. It has 52k trouble free miles but both rear wheel well arches have rust on them. This started in the warranty period but the Nissan dealer would not do anything for us.

It is cold in winter. I would not buy another Nissan. I would think that Toyota or Honda would make a better quality suv. Also Subaru as mentioned above. I would think that Nissan is cheaper than these and I cannot understand why anybody would buy Nissan because the quality is not as good. I have rented a Nissan Sentra and Altima in the last couple of years. CVT trans. tends to be a little erratic looking for the least possible excuse to downshift. Tends to be pretty buzzy too.
These cars though tend to have more character than Toyotas(the latter are smoother). Our Nissan Xtrail had auto trans(not cvt) and it was good.
Tough decision for you!?! Cheers, Guy.

[onewhippedpuppy]

In a small SUV, I would definitely prefer a slightly older or higher mileage Rav4 or CRV over the Rogue. The Ford Escape is quite nice as well. If you look newer the Mazda CX5 is really tough to beat.

[Shifter]

Have you looked at the Kia Soul? I don't know what the verdict on them is, but it seems like it could fit the bill for what you are looking for.

[A930Rocket]

Pulled the pin and bought the 08 Rogue. It drove and handled well. Cold AC too.

My understanding they have bumped the power train warranty to 10 years/120k miles.

Hopefully, we will not need it....

Thanks for info guys!

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Shifter

Have you looked at the Kia Soul? I don't know what the verdict on them is, but it seems like it could fit the bill for what you are looking for.

The guy I carpool with has a hampster-wagon.
At first I was skeptical but it's nice. Plenty of room for my lardass, not too buzzy, no rattles, but he went crazy with leather seats and such so he ended up paying $21k fior a $14k car.

I wouldn't have a problem buying a soul if I was in the market for that type of vehicle.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

The guy I carpool with has a hampster-wagon.
At first I was skeptical but it's nice. Plenty of room for my lardass, not too buzzy, no rattles, but he went crazy with leather seats and such so he ended up paying $21k fior a $14k car.

I wouldn't have a problem buying a soul if I was in the market for that type of vehicle.

I've had them for rentals several times. Nice little econobox.

[beepbeep]

Dad has 245hp V6 Murano with CVT. Should be around 100000 miles now. It works fine, but he's picky with changing transmission oil.

Weird sensation though, seeing rev counter pegged and car accelerating.