Car: 2008 Nissan Rogue AWD
Miles: ~129,000

So, my Rogue is having issues and i think they are related to the CVT. It only happens on long trips (1hr on highway or more).

2 months ago I heard a whistling sound and the car would not be able to sustain regular speed (cruise control). It would then kick me off cruise. When i pressed the accelerator, it would only go to a predetermined RPM (maybe 4000) and it would not be able to accelerate, simply sustain speed. Things would get worse up to the point that i could get passed on by 18-wheelers. I would then pull over to a gas station let the car rest a few minutes, and when i got back on the road, it would go back to normal. If the trip was longer, i would have to do the same stop/rest routine every so often.
I read in these forums about the CVT transmission oil being "Aerated". I checked the level when cold and it was above the hash marks, so i removed ~1 quart and the problem seemed to disappear.

Yesterday a related yet different problem started. At night, during a short 20min drive on the interestate, i could feel the RPM jerking during cruise control. Normally the car settles at a certain RPM and cruises on it. This time, it was going maybe +/- 100 RPM back and forth. For example. If it wanted to be at 3000RPM, it would go to 3100, then jerk down to 2900, then back to 3100, back and forth (not smoot, jerky). It then went away, but i knew it was not normal.
Today during a 2hr drive on the interstate, i could vaguely hear a whistle (oh no right?) But it was not as loud as before. The car kicked me off cruise control, and this time the cruise SET light was blinking...i couldnt go back to cruise. I then pulled over and after a few minutes of rest the problem went away. I could tell the car was having transmission problems again.
On the way back (another 2hr interstate drive) the car started well, but slowly got worse. This time the RPM were not limited (i could press the accelerator and get the car to go to 7k RPM if i wanted) but the car had trouble accelerating. 2 months ago, i couldnt get it to accelerate. Today it was able to, but it was struggling. I also noticed that it needed 2700RPM to maintain 75MPH, and i think this was a little high (Normally around 2200RPM). After a while, the car needed 3200RPM to maintain the 75MPH.

I have changed the CVT fluid at 120,000miles (first change by the dealer at 36000 miles). I changed it myself, simply opened the drain pan bolt and refilled using Nissan NS2 CVT oil. I never experienced any problems up until 127,000 miles. I live in Atlanta, GA.

Any ideas what it might be? I am so frustrated by this that if i dont find a fix, i will never buy a nissan again. I had sentra, altima, and now rogue. I like them, but now all come with CVT and i dont have a good experience to go by.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How much oil did you put into CVT during your fluid change. You should have put in no more than 4 1/2 quarts. If you put more in then you overfilled and transmission is going into fail-safe mode. The only safe way to replace fluid is to put in 4 quarts and then drive it till the CVT fluid temp count is at 168 and then check fluid level and it should be on the lower half of the hash mark if not then ad till it is correct as per TSB.

At first i put in ~7quarts. I have since removed 1 quart. You think it needs less?

I dont know how to measure the CVT fluid temp count (168). Can you please explain? Do you have a copy of the TSB?

Using the dipstick, when cold, it is currently at the hash marks. Is this too much?

deeohgee81 wrote:At first i put in ~7quarts. I have since removed 1 quart. You think it needs less?

I dont know how to measure the CVT fluid temp count (168). Can you please explain? Do you have a copy of the TSB?

Using the dipstick, when cold, it is currently at the hash marks. Is this too much?

You are definetly overserviced by a lot and your transmission is overheating because the fluid is being aerated which leads to less lubrication in the transmission and higher heat. You need to drain the fluid and put in 4 1/2 quarts max, this is the only way you know exactly how much is in there. The fluid temp count is measured with the Consult 3 scanner and is a number that relates to transmission fluid temperature. You can't check the fluid when it is cold and with engine off as with any transmission. You need engine running and fluid warm but not hot to check fluid, with nissan you need fluid at a specific temperature. I made a fluid change DIY in this forum which will explain everything you need to know. Just search the forum for "CVT Transmission Fuid Change DIY Write-Up". With that much fluid in there I would not drive it and change fluid now. Your transmission is out of warranty at 129,000, so I would suggest correcting the fluid level immeditely.

too much fluid + heat (from hot temps due to long driving) will thin it out and cause the problems you have.

Update: I am now getting Check Engine Light code P1778.

I will make a complete tranny oil change this weekend. will use 4 1/2 quarts as directed.

Will update on how the car responds.

P1778 CVT STEP MOTOR
• The step motor changes the step by turning 4 coils ON/OFF according to the signal from TCM. As a result,
the flow of line pressure to primary pulley is changed and pulley ratio is controlled.
• This diagnosis item is detected when the electrical system is OK, but the mechanical system is NG.
• This diagnosis item is detected when the state of the changing of the speed mechanism in the unit does not
operate normally.
Possible cause : Stepper Motor

Deeohgee81, How did the trans. fluid change go ?
Did it seem to help the situation ?

Deeohgee81, How did the trans. fluid change go ?
Did it seem to help the situation ?

I'm getting ready to flush and refill the CVT, Cooling System, and Brake System on my '09 2wd Rogue @ 60k miles and have been gathering info and following this and other threads. I'm confused on the quantity of fluid. The service manual, under TM page 220, calls for 7.75 quarts of fluid, but in this thread 4.5 is recommended. What am I misunderstanding? Also, the cheapest that I've found the fluid is ~$20/qt; has anyone found it at a cheaper price?

Depends on whether you're doing a complete flush or a simple drain and refill. With the latter, you will typically drain only about 4.5 quarts, and you should add the same amount of new fluid as you drained out. If you're doing a complete flush, you should be careful about leaving trace amounts of non-approved fluid in the CVT. Unless you're using NS-2 fluid to perform the actual flush, you're probably better off doing a drain and refill at 60K and then doing another at 80K. Obviously if doing a complete flush, you have to replace all the fluid.

Thanks, DT; for some reason, I didn't get an e-mail notice of your reply. In everything I've read, I not seen anything on 'complete flush' vs 'drain only'; but I only read the 'changing' procedure in the manual. Can you direct me, or post a link, for the complete flush?

Deeohgee81, so how did the tranny fluid change go ? Did the performance of the tranny improve ?

Sorry for being MIA...life got a little busy.

After draining and putting 4.5Q in it, the whinning noise went away. Also, the limit on RPM (where the car will not go to higher RPM no matter if i depress the accel all the way) is gone.

The P1778 and "lack of torque" issue still persists. I commute about 30mins a day. I dont notice anything wrong for the first few miles. Then in the highway, i notice RPM needle slightly jumping up/down and a little jerk (due to the rpm shifts). After a while, that goes away. When i go back into street roads, i notice the to get some rapid acceleration, the car goes up to 4k-5k RPM which wasnt necessary in the past.
It might all be related to the CVT stepper motor (as the code indicates).

Does anyone have a DIY for stepper motor replacement? I can do the exchange and report back to see if problem went away.

According to the ATSG Service letter, the stepper motor is located on the side of the valve body which moves a spool and easily replaced for a person that has rebuilt a transmission. If you have never opened up a transmission or rebuilt one, I would suggest you take it to the dealer. You can toast your transmission if you make any mistakes. The valve body is made from aluminum and easily warps causing fluid going to the wrong ports. If you take it to the dealer they might not replace the stepper motor and replace the entire transmission because there is no factory service manual replacement listed for the stepper motor. Nissan dealers do not open the transmission for anything, all they do is just replace them and send them out for overhaul. As for a DIY, I don't think I would make one because this is not a DIY job for the average person.

I decided to take it to the dealer for the CVT service. I purchased 5 quarts of NS-2 for $16/qt from the parts guy prior to turning it in and labor was $52.25. I also got a complete brake/flush service with a brake kit installed for $80. Not bad. I got all of this accomplished for less than $215. I also bought a blower motor for installation for $170, discounted from the $213 dealer price; I love this parts guy. The motor was still good, but the squirrel cage a lot of mouse nest debris (I'll sell it for half price if anyone needs one). I'm a little disappointed with the dealer install, though. The new motor works really great with a lot of volume, but on Defrost, the air really whistles out of the opening. I think the installer may have gotten something misaligned when he re-installed the dash. Also the motor has a slight hum/roar at full speed. I'm taking it back on the 16th or 17th for a re-check.

Two questions, if someone can help:

1. On Defrost, hot air blows out of the main left and right AC vents, not the center vents. This in addition to the defrost vents on the the top left and right side of the dash that provides defrost to the side windows. Is heat supposed to come out of the side AC vents when on defrost?

2. When the AC/heater control knob is all the way to the right for heat, and the selector control knob is rotated to the left from defrost to floor heat, the AC light on the temp knob comes on. I can push the knob to turn it off, but if I rotate the selector from right to left again, it turns back on. It does not happen when rotating the knob from left to right. It may have done that prior to the dealer working on it, but if so, I hadn't noticed it. Is that normal?

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Clev, I didn't see your earlier post. The FSM states that it holds 7.75 quarts and that is true but in a empty transmission and torque converter. When you change the fluid you are only changing what is in the pan. You can only change half the fluid each time. To flush it you need to do it twice. Just keep in mind that the old and new fluid will mix. There are transmission flushers that connect to the cooler lines and it will totally flush the trans fluid. In our Rogue's it is not recommended and there is no oil cooler except the paddle shift version. I made a DIY for the CVT fluid change, here is the link cvt-transmission-fuid-change-t572758.html?hilit=cvt diy If you don't search for it you will not find it and it is not in the DIY section of this forum. I guess many other people will not know about my DIY and people will be adding 7.75 quarts of oil and causing problems and damage to their CVT transmission. A good example is deeohgee81.

As for your other problem's you might be better off starting a new thread because it will be off topic.

I feel really bad for deeohgee81 for his problems that he has with his transmission. Hope everything will work out for him. If the dealer wants to replace his transmission instead of replacing his step motor, I can post some pictures of where it is located if that helps. Just keep in mind that going into the valve body requires care and high technical skill because it is the heart of the transmission.

Thanks Dave; you're right, I should have posted on a new thread. Anyway, problem solved. Everything in questions 1 and 2 were normal. And all they did was a drain and fill using 4.5 quarts. Appreciate your help.