Cannot accelerate, RPM max at 2900

[flipf0nt]

Hello All,

I have a 2009 Nissan Rogue S FWD at 56k and the car is having issues accelerating. I drive from San Jose to LA several times a year and have had the vehicle RPM will not go past 2900 with the pedal all the way floored. I will be cruising and then need extra power to go up a hill or pass a slow driver so Ill push a little on the pedal, nothing happens, push a little harder, nothing happens, eventually I am flooring it. If I "pump" the pedal, the RPM overshoots to about 3100, then settle at 2900. The engine sounds like it might be whining, but its faint under all the road noise.

Its bad enough that I've had to stay in the far right lane behind trucks because 60-65 is my max speed.
Problem persist until I pull over for some extended amount of time or I am able to drive down a steep grade for a while. When it is able to "fix" itself while going down a grade its when I have the pedal floored and the max RPM will increase in stages, 2900 to 3400 to 4200 etc.

Has anyone had any issues like this? I've never been able to reproduce it on short everyday drives, but when I have 1+ hour trips, it becomes an issue. Any suggestions would be helpful. Feel free to have me clarify some of the symptoms if I didn't provide enough detail

[ImStricken06]

welcome to the forum.

two possible causes:
1. over heated transmission fluid, or too high of a transmission fluid level:

Summary of NTB12057:
SERVICE INFORMATION A Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is designed to go into fluid temperature protection logic mode ("fail-safe mode") if the CVT fluid temperature rises above a certain threshold. When the CVT goes into fail-safe mode, engine performance is reduced. Customers may report this condition as "low power" or "reduced engine performance". While the CVT is designed to go into fail-safe mode if the fluid temperature rises above the threshold, the following conditions may causethe CVT to go into fail-safe mode prematurely during normal vehicle operation: 1. Overfilled CVT fluid level. 2. Incorrect type of transmission fluid - Use Genuine Nissan NS-2 CVT fluid. 3. Incorrect coolant/water mix. See this bulletin for more detail on each of the above conditions.

2.faulty brake switch: fix-for-no-power-from-dead-stop-issue-t544443.html

[Black B15]

It sounds like you are running in limp mode. If this is the case, this is something your ECU is doing purposefully in order to not roach your engine.

Again, IF this is the the case it could be a number of things. Any SES light or part failures/replacements recently? I had my Sentra go into limp mode probably 6 times over the course of 150,000 miles. The car would only accel to about 2500 rpms and would sound like it was hitting a rev limiter....just kind of bouncing at 2500 (and one time it was 3500 rpms).

At any rate, cleaning my MAF sensor and resetting/clearing the ECU did the trick every time.

Do you have an aftermarket air filter that is oiled perhaps, like a K&N?

[flipf0nt]

Thanks for the warm welcome posting.php?mode=reply&f=215&t=575283#

I am ruling out the over filled transmission fluid because this started being a problem at 2-3 years. I've never touched the transmission fluid other than checking the stick, and even that was done just recently.

Since I've never had the tranmission fluid replaced. Its still factory, that can be ruled out too.

I verified brake lights are working at park and when in limp mode. So I think i'm good here.

Coolant water mix was factory green. I flushed it this weekend and put pre-diluted 50/50 nissan blue as per the tutorial in the maintenance thread on this side. Problem still persists.

engine air filer has been changed at 40k (i know a little late.. Driving the 5 has poor air quality too IMO). I cant remember that brand, but its aftermarket and not K&N

I can try resetting the ECU. Can this be done myself, or will I need to bring the car into a shop?

I also have a few videos of my dash when it happens. If anyone finds it helpful, ill upload them.

[ImStricken06]

I am ruling out the over filled transmission fluid because this started being a problem at 2-3 years. I've never touched the transmission fluid other than checking the stick, and even that was done just recently.

well since it could have started 3 years go, and your car is only 3.5 years old - that doesnt mean it couldn't have been over filled at the factory or by the dealership during PDI. often times after issues develop they realized that during the initial build, they used too much or too little of something. thats what TSB's are for

Since I've never had the transmission fluid replaced. Its still factory, that can be ruled out too.

and things done at the factory level are always perfect? things happen. even half a qt to much could affect it, so they come out with TSB's to rectify the problems people are having.

Coolant water mix was factory green. I flushed it this weekend and put pre-diluted 50/50 nissan blue as per the tutorial in the maintenance thread on this side. Problem still persists.

doesnt mean much. if the transmission is over-heating, your coolant wont change color. adding better coolant wont help much either

I also have a few videos of my dash when it happens. If anyone finds it helpful, ill upload them.

deff post em up.

question: does this happen more in the warmer months?

[flipf0nt]

I should have been more clear when I posted '2-3 years', I meant the car was 2-3 years old when this started to occur. If I were to really pin point a date, i think it was summer 2011 when I first experienced this. Its reoccurred more often since then.

Here are a few videos: http://youtu.be/yuwuJq6-FFM
This video shows the max RPM start to drop off. Pedal position is all or nothing.

Here is another video where the RPM partially begins to recover (2 minutes into the video). Again, pedal position is all or nothing. Its hard to hear, but there is also a faint "air through narrow straw" suction noise at ~3600 RPM
http://youtu.be/OyLpHRa3Pmo?t=2m1s

I am not sure if this is related, in both videos the minimum RPM seems high.

[ImStricken06]

in your 1st video: i can hear your transmission man... its deff either over heated, or fluid is too high, or its failed to the point of needing replacement.

2nd video seemed alright(kinda)

[flipf0nt]

I was afraid of this
Ill post a picture of my transmission fluid in a bit. ( Ithink I read that color/darkness isn't a good indicator of fluid life?)

[ImStricken06]

I was afraid of this
Ill post a picture of my transmission fluid in a bit. ( Ithink I read that color/darkness isn't a good indicator of fluid life?)

you have a module that runs some algorithm to determine your fluid life. color isnt really indicative of anything. consistency: maybe. i would head to your dealer asap, as the computer might have recorded and stored an error code even though you dont have any dash lights ignited.

what they might do for you, is a free drain & refill to see if the problem continues. if not, there is your problem

[flipf0nt]

I took the car in today (still with them). Appearently the transmission fluid is suppose to be greenish. Mine is dark brown and smells burnt. I asked about being rated for 100k miles and they told me at 55mph. That statement throws me off quite a bit.

[ImStricken06]

I took the car in today (still with them). Appearently the transmission fluid is suppose to be greenish. Mine is dark brown and smells burnt. I asked about being rated for 100k miles and they told me at 55mph. That statement throws me off quite a bit.

if i told you: "with 14 gallons of fuel, you can drive 350miles, only if you drive at 55mph."
Now say you drove at 65-70mph... would you still get the same life expectancy from 14 gallons? NOPE

likewise, if you drive at 55mph, its less wear and tear on parts/fluids. if drive faster, then you wear and break things down faster