2019 Rogue SL AWD Frequent Battery problems

[kbmoose1]

Bought a 2019 Rogue SL AWD in March 2020. Used, under 20,000 miles.

A week later, stopped for gas - wouldn't restart. Nissan dealer : bad battery. Replaced with 84 month Nissan. (I later learned that the "bad battery" was 2 months old - so someone else had a battery issue with this Rogue)

A week later - same problem. Different dealer couldn't find a problem.

Another week later - same problem. Tow truck driver: a ground wire was loose or bad. Nissan dealer tested, said he found a bad ground.

A year later. Shut engine off, ten minutes later battery was dead. Nissan dealer: battery fine. No explanation, except he said I must have had the radio on after I shut the car off. (I didn't, but it really was only 10 minutes. I was waiting for my wife to pick up a prescription.)

6 months later - dead one morning, no reason. We hadn't started it for a week.

A month later: same as above. We hadn't started in 6 days. Made sure nothing was plugged into power or usb outlets. Made sure audio and heated seats were powered off. Stood outside the car looking at interior for any lights of any kind still on after shut off 2-3 minutes. One orange light on console may have been on.

2 days later: started 7 AM. Ran for 5 - 10 minutes. 8:30 AM - totally dead.

Autozone says battery is fine. (It does have bad corrosion on tie down clamp. No corrosion on posts or cables.)

Any ideas? I'm looking at replacing if I can't resolve.

[Frzninvt]

If the battery keeps dying i would be looking at the entire charging system (alternator, relays, etc.).

[Land_Rover]

There's a device called the "amp hound" and it will be invaluable in your electric gremlin hunt. It works by you pulling a fuse and inserting the probing lead in it's place, and it measures the current draw. You turn off the car, and go through every single fuse, looking for a high current draw. You can do the same thing with a nice multimeter if you have any around.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0LR29B/?c ... _lig_pi_dp

Your battery can also just be crap, especially after all the deep discharge cycles. Knowing the cold crank voltage, the charging voltage and the voltage drop overnight would be pretty useful.

[casperfun]

Just curious if you get a clicking sound or 1 click. Maybe your starter is going bad.

I know that reading a variety of car forums that some people’s cars die even after not using for a weekend or 2 days which really sucks. Yah, they upset too. I had my car won’t start phase myself. Was my starter.

From the sound of it, since yours starts, I say trying relocating the grounding wire. Install a new ground strap. Or maybe all those extraneous electrical items like that pro-pilot baby sitting driver aides perhaps is draining your battery somehow.

But since your battery is fine, that’s a tough one. This is why I’m so glad I got the dinosaur rogue with just the basic amenities.

Go to YouTube, many people have the same problem. Might get a breakthrough there. It helped me solved many problems.

I’m also interested in your solution just in case this happens to me.

[kbmoose1]

One of my problems has been that the good mechanics I know won't work on the Rogue. They tell me I have to go to Nissan, their computer's don't yet have the 2019 Nissan models.

I talked to a retired Auto Electric friend last night and he told me the battery is OVERcharging, based on the corrosion that's visible.

This morning it was dead again, and after I jumped it I remembered that a year ago the last time it was dead, I wiggled the ground wire and it started right up. I'll try that next time it's dead.

Also, I'm going to talk to a rural auto electric guy I found and see if he'll do the "Amp Hound" testing.

Thank goodness for the pocket sized jump starters. I've got my money's worth out of that!

[VStar650CL]

This morning it was dead again, and after I jumped it I remembered that a year ago the last time it was dead, I wiggled the ground wire and it started right up. I'll try that next time it's dead.

This whole thing sounds very much like a connection issue, but it would help us if you could better describe the symptoms. What you said here makes it pretty well impossible that the battery itself is going dead:

"2 days later: started 7 AM. Ran for 5 - 10 minutes. 8:30 AM - totally dead."

So, no/one/lots of clicks? Cluster lights up or doesn't? Security light lit? Cluster darks out when the start button is pushed, or stays lit?

Just saying "didn't start" doesn't offer us much to go on. Details please, as many as possible.

[D1dad]

I’d start by giving the terminals a good cleaning and then install the felt washers that sit on the battery. Actually it’s under warranty so I’d just take it the dealer and tell them to fix it. My 21 rarely gets driven so I keep a maintainer on it every other day. The electrical systems when not being used tax the batteries pretty good. When I don’t drive or charge mine for 3 or 4 days the batteries discharged by quite a bit. Corrosion sounds like whoever installed the battery probably tightened the terminal with the strength of a gorilla and messed up the seal at the terminal.

[VStar650CL]

I’d start by giving the terminals a good cleaning and then install the felt washers that sit on the battery. Actually it’s under warranty so I’d just take it the dealer and tell them to fix it.

If it does turn out to be a "crud" or "loose terminal" issue, the dealer will probably call it "maintenance" and charge him for the service. I like the zinc "terminal protector" paint better than the rings, even though it's messier. Nissan's terminal plating is a bit inconsistent, and the paint seems to protect it better than the rings do. It lasts about 3 years on our Alties and there's never a hint of corrosion.

[kbmoose1]

When I ran it at 7 AM and it was dead at 830 AM, there were no lights, no clicks, nothing. The door wouldn't unlock electronically - I had to use the key.

Same thing happened yesterday - almost. I unlocked it late in the morning, and opened the back door to put a suitcase in. Dash lit up fine. A few minutes later I got in the Drivers seat, pushed the button - it made a single click and everything went blank.

So I wiggled the ground wire. No luck. Hooked up my pocket charger, started like the battery was full.

Since I wiggled the ground wire, it hasn't acted up again. I drove 130 miles with several stops. Started every time. Started this morning. Returned home with 2 prolonged stops - no problem.

It hadn't started twice in a row for a week before this.

Last year the Nissan guy did find a loose ground. His replacement wasn't very accommodating when I took it in - he thinks I'm running the radio on 'accessory' and that's why it's dead. So I'm looking for a different place to take it.

Someone suggested "moving the ground". I looked at the ground where it attaches to the battery - what is the extra stuff? I took a picture of the ground cable and made it my 'avatar' for this forum, so that you can see what I mean. My older cars just had a clamp on the post - this has lots more.

[VStar650CL]

What you describe is most definitely an intermittent contact someplace between the battery and the car. Make sure both nuts at the ground terminal are tight, the 10mm on the lug and the 12mm on top. The latter attaches the battery current sensor to the lug and cable. The same is true on the hot side, make sure both (or all 3, depending) 12mm nuts are tight, not just the 10mm on the lug. We've also occasionally seen the other end of the ground cable cause issues (at the transmission). That's more frequent on Versas because they have a powder-coated bracket attaching the cable (heaven knows what rookie engineer came up with that), but a loose ground there will also cause mystery-issues. Lastly, make sure the battery card on the hot terminal isn't cracked internally. That's rare but will also cause intermittent-disconnection symptoms.

[kbmoose1]

Thanks. I may take it to a different Nissan dealer under my extended warranty. When the problem was found last year, an old hillbilly tow truck driver had tried to jump it - it wouldn't jump - he looked at it, thought, used a different ground and it started. The tech at the two different dealers said "My computer says everything's OK" each of the times I left it there. The last time, I told him how the ground change started it and he spent a lot more time, found loose ground, and fixed. He's no longer there, his replacement says everything checks out OK. I do like my Rogue, but if they can't fix this I've started looking at Toyota or Subaru to replace it. My pocket starter works great, but winter is coming and I won't jump start it all winter.

[VStar650CL]

Do yourself a favor, break out a 12mm socket and give all those nuts a nudge before you bother the dealer. Guys don't always think to check them if the lug looks tight, but they'll cause exactly the crap you're talking about. If one is loose the dealer will probably charge you as "maintenance" and that will be ridiculous.

[kbmoose1]

I did as you suggested and the 12 mm nuts on both posts tightened.

I found no 10 mm nuts, but had a 13 mm which was tight.

The clamp holding the battery in place (7 mm - found I don't have one) was so loose it might as well not have been there - yet it was tight a year ago - the dealer replaced it and I checked everything after getting it back.

I suspect the battery movement due to clamp being loose allowed the cables to gradually loosen. I hope it starts regularly now. If it does, I'll check the nuts every couple of months.

Cleaned all the dust and stuff from the battery and every other surface and closed it up.

Thanks very much.

[VStar650CL]

You're most welcome. Once everything is tight, a good coating of galvanic "terminal protector" paint is in order. I get about 3 years out of a coating on both of our Altimas and there's never a hint of corrosion, and I also use it on all of my customers' rides. Messy to work with, but the stuff works gangbusters to prevent the "green rock candy mountains" Nissan terminals are famous for.

[kbmoose1]

I did spray a pink 'terminal protector' on the posts and tie-down clamp. I did this immediately after the dealer installed a new battery in April 2020, and renewed it yesterday. (My daughter's Toyota Camrys have uncontrollable corrosion on the battery posts. Even frequent NoCo hasn't stopped it.)

[kbmoose1]

Could a bad IPDM cause the starting problems? They returned, and check engine came on. Autozone diagnosis says to replace IPDM

[VStar650CL]

Yep, the IPDM contains both of the relays that actually feed the starter solenoid. So it can definitely cause issues if one of them goes south. However, there are other things that can make it throw relay codes that aren't from a bad relay. Post the codes and I'll give you an opinion.

[kbmoose1]

P0315 and U1002

[VStar650CL]

The U1002 comes back to the ABS and means there's some other unit in the car it isn't hearing from, possibly the Steering Angle Sensor. There are only these 3 possible causes listed in the manual:
•CAN communication line
•ABS actuator and electric unit (control unit)
•Steering angle sensor

P0315 doesn't come back as a valid code for any system in a '19 Rogue. Is that a typo? What system was it in?

[kbmoose1]

The codes are from an Autozone printout, and there are no typos. The check engine light was on for a day or so, then went off. Battery has been acting OK since then, but I have no trust in this car any more. I normally keep vehicles several years - this one may not make 2 years (it's at 21 months) if I have to jump start it in cold weather a few times.

[kbmoose1]

I took the Rogue to a mechanic who I trust a lot. He did a full analysis of the battery and electrical system, and found ZERO problems. He checked all fuses. He measured the power drain when not running. Almost no drain.

So I've got a good battery which has nothing drawing power from it when it's not in use. Yet won't start if it sits for 6 days. This has happened three times - we go to visit kids, taking our Van and leaving the Rogue at home, and when we return the Rogue won't start without a jump.

It's consistent. Each time, although I ran it for 20-30 minutes after jumping it, the next morning it would not start. After I drive it 20 miles after jumping it, it has no issues.

Since the check engine light is now 'off', the dealer says there is no problem.

I can't argue - as long as I start it daily, there's no problem.

[casperfun]

Running it won't charge the battery, you need it to go above a certain rpm, basically high, not just ignition on. I say use a maintainer if you're letting it sit around for a week.

Some people's battery dies just sitting for a weekend.

[kbmoose1]

I guess I've led a sheltered life. I've left a car at the airport for 10 days at 5 below zero and remote started it from the shuttle.

I've never had a new, heavy duty battery go dead sitting for 6 days. But this car does it every time.

My 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan can sit for weeks without being started and I open the door, turn the key, and it's running.

I had a 2015 Nissan Rogue and it often sat for 2 weeks with no starting problems.

This 2019 Rogue, after 6 days, doesn't have enough juice available to unlock the power doors. I have to take the key apart and go manual.

It had a battery replacement at 10 months (previous owner), then I bought it with 16,000 miles on it. It had another battery replacement at 14 months. Nissan dealer - heavy duty 84 month battery. This battery has been tested by Nissan, Autozone, a local battery specialist, and an mechanic expert. All say it's good in every way.

I give up on finding a problem.

[casperfun]

Not that this makes you feel better, but our 2003 Toyota Camry could go 2-3 months without starting or just used maybe once in 6 months and still start. Sold it last year with only 85k miles. Still a baby in miles. That sucker was bulletproof and never failed to start. Had a 7yr old autozone battery in it too when sold.

[kbmoose1]

Your Camry experience is what I'm accustomed to. We have two vehicles, but my wife rarely drives. I tend to drive our Caravan for trips, so the Rogue sits when we visit our daughters (frequently). The Rogue just won't cut it if I have to jump start it in cold weather much more - my old bones don't care for that, and I can find something else.

I really like the Rogue - in 2015 I was looking for a Rav4 and a friend who sold Toyotas told me she thought the Rogue was a better car (I'd never heard of it). After she let me drive a Rav4 for a few days, and I test drove a Rogue, I agreed.

The 2015 became a 2019 because I got a really great price and trade a week before Covid lockdowns. I usually keep cars at least 8 or 9 years, I should have kept the 2015 Rogue.

A car not starting frequently is a game changer. I still think there is something fixable causing the issue, but I'm not spending any more time on it.

The good thing that's come from this - I bought a pocket sized booster after I had the 2019 Rogue a month or two. It works so well I bought each of my son-in-laws one for birthday gifts. And both have needed the booster a few times. A 2011 Camry with battery cable issues (Firestone replaced corroded ground cable and it keeps working loose) for one, and a 2008 Chevy truck which had an elusive bad battery (tested good, but finally started smoking) for the other.