My 2010 rogue now has 20k miles and I've started noticing this wierd behavor.

During steady acceleration with no change in pressure on the gas pedal. The RPM will drop super low to around 1200~ RPM @ 20mph then surge up again. I know CVT are supposed to fluctuate a bit but this huge RPM drop everytime seems very strange.

Anyone else running into this?

The rpm drop under light throttle as you describe sounds normal - if you drive conservatively the tranny will select a very high gear ratio quickly for optimum efficiency, HOWEVER the rpms should then stay constant at 1200ish, not jump back up again provided conditions are constant. Rpms should never randomly fluctuate wildly up and down for no apparent reason.

The only time rpms should increase once you're cruising is if you push down on the throttle (give it more gas) or if you run into a steep uphill grade.

Well hm.

I'm not a conservative driver but I dont jam the throttle either.

What it's doing is under acceleration from stop around 15-20 mph, around 3000 RPM it drops to 1200-1500 rpm then surge right back up with no throttle changes at all as in I'm still accelerating.

You have a full warranty on the powertrain, if this is a consistent and reproducable problem I'd suggest making an appointment with your Nissan service dept. and let them diagnose and repair the issue.

Igg wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:01 am

Well hm.

I'm not a conservative driver but I dont jam the throttle either.

What it's doing is under acceleration from stop around 15-20 mph, around 3000 RPM it drops to 1200-1500 rpm then surge right back up with no throttle changes at all as in I'm still accelerating.

Very old thread I know but did you ever get to the bottom of this? My 2012 Nissan X-Trail CVT 2.5 petrol (Australia) seems to be doing the same thing. I took some videos of it:

https://youtu.be/TQ9VJx_gFWY
https://youtu.be/pZKtEc-3ZmI

I'd really like to get this sorted on my car, any help is appreciated!