Issues with 08Rogue hard to start/feels like it'll die

[reddplanet]

Hi there, Newbie here.

For about the last maybe 6-8 months now I have taken my 08 Rogue SL AWD (72ishK miles, have extended warranty) in to the dealership probably 4 times now, I even tried a second dealership, because when I come to a stop at a stop light, in Drive, but stopped, the car feels like it's going to die. It isn't relegated to just after being at a stop light, I notice it at drive throughs, like if I am at the bank drive up, I might be there for 10 minutes in line, and it will feel like that several times. Neither dealer seems to be able to find a problem, the second one "reset my idle" to see if that would solve it, it did not. I would also randomly have the slip light turn on if I had to make a sharp turn (say in a parking garage) and it seemed like power would briefly "cut out" and the car would jerk when that happened.

So far they've supposedly ruled out:
Engine
Battery and Alternator--more on this in a few
Idle
Transmission
AC Compressor

For the last week or so it's become harder to start as well, as though the battery is dying.

This past Friday when I took the vehicle in to get it looked at and see if it was battery or alternator, when I got it started, the AWD light came on and stayed on the whole time. No other light came on or stayed on. I drove to the dealership which is really not anywhere convenient to me at work or home, and left it there all day. The only thing they found in the system when they pulled codes (bec if there's no code "there's no problem") was something indicating a faulty ABS Actuator. Then the service rep said "that's not really anything to do with your problems, and it cleared itself. So you need to come back and get your car, and drive it for a few days and then bring it back to let us pull codes again, but it has to be here before 4pm when you do it because our techs leave at 4". Because I have all the time in the world in the middle of the day for that. I went back and got it, and the ABS light was on right out of the gate. I told them that so they could see it, but there were no techs to pull codes. So I sent a video to the rep's email so they saw it. It did it twice more that evening.

I got a call about a half hour later saying it's possible it's related to the ABS Actuator, but nothing about why it's hard to start. Just that the Battery and Alternator are fine. We did some searching here and around the net, and it sounds like our problems are not entirely unusual, but nothing identical to mine.

Yesterday it was hard to start again but no AWD light stayed on, last night we went somewhere and it started after an extra "breath" or two (like say 6 vs 2). This morning it actually wouldn't start until the 2nd try. I have had the battery and alternator tested four times now, all of which come back clean, and the original battery was replaced at 43K miles. This morning when I had AutoZone test it, the guy told me to wait on starting it, he wanted to see what charge there was first, and there was zero right out of the gate and I had only just turned it off a minute prior. Then we started it, and it took a few extra breaths to start. He said that was definitely not good, and that something is sapping the charge.

I am hoping like heck on Tuesday when they reopen I will be able to start the car to take it up. But if the actuator is sapping my power, which is all I can think of right now, there's no way.

Something I saw on here said to "tap" the actuator with a screwdriver lightly to turn it off, bec it's possible that it's still running. I think I found a diagram to show me where in there it is, but I figured maybe I better post before I go banging around under my hood.

Thanks!

[DTASFAB]

Sounds like a firing issue. Have they checked spark plugs? Could be fuel injectors, maybe a clogged valve or cone somewhere. Fuel/air mixture? Idle air control valve could be the culprit too. Hell, maybe it's something as simple as your air filter (not the cabin filter, the real air filter that you actually need) is clogged.

Most dealers are useless for diagnosing these types of problems. Take it to a local shop where they frequently see and have to diagnose cars that aren't OBDII compliant and actually have to use their heads instead of a little computer device that reads codes.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more likely I think it's your idle air control valve. That would explain the hard starting for sure, and could contribute to rough idle at stop lights and drive thrus. Have them look at the throttle body too. On a drive-by-wire vehicle, you won't feel any resistance in the pedal due to a clogged throttle body the way you would if there was a real cable connection between your foot and the throttle.

[reddplanet]

I am planning to take it elsewhere, however it is DEAD. D.E.A.D. Dead. The AWD light's been on solid a lot, the battery is likely dead as a result of whatever is lighting that up. My dad and I took it to Autozone again for another test this morning when he couldn't get it to start and it again had no charge and they said it has a bad cell. So we decided to take it right up to the dealership but it required a jump to get even that test, so it was a delightful experience.

Last night out of his curiousity, his neighbor (a mechanic for I believe Toyota) helped him pull the fuse for AWD out. They drove it around to charge the battery up, and left it overnight to see if that being disconnected would eliminate the power seep problem, but it didn't. So they put the fuse back in before we went for the test. The consensus was that the battery is bad, BUT it's either a separate issue OR as a result of whatever is going on elsewhere.

[reddplanet]

The verdict is in (finally). Bad ABS Actuator AND bad battery. The battery possibly killed prematurely bec of the actuator. But either way, the warranty should cover the actuator, and since the battery is under lifetime replacement through the dealership, that's covered too. It's 2-3 days for the part, and then I guess another for the repair at least. I HOPE this fixes the problem permanently. Because the part is $1300+ on it's own, I am darn glad I have the warranty.

[Rogue One]

The verdict is in (finally). Bad ABS Actuator AND bad battery. The battery possibly killed prematurely bec of the actuator. But either way, the warranty should cover the actuator, and since the battery is under lifetime replacement through the dealership, that's covered too. It's 2-3 days for the part, and then I guess another for the repair at least. I HOPE this fixes the problem permanently. Because the part is $1300+ on it's own, I am darn glad I have the warranty.

Fingers crossed, but given they had originally ruled those out, I wouldn't place any bets.

[reddplanet]

Yea I'm not entirely trusting this. They didnt rule the abs out, but did with the battery. I have never had so many issues with one car before. My first and last Nissan. I'll probably go back to Hondas.

Last I heard there has to be an inspector sent to approve this repair for the extended warranty due to the cost of the repair and there's a slight chance they won't. I am pretty much waiting for that to become an issue.