Hello all, I didn't see another similar issue in the FAQ's.

So my girlfriend's Rogue has started making a mechanical whine. It doesn't always happen, but when it does it is around 2500 RPM and is only during acceleration. I was certain that it was a fuel pump issue at first because it makes the same sound, only a little louder. We noticed it about 30 minutes into highway driving once, and it happened two minutes into a quick trip to the store in town once, so I don't believe it is due to an overheating issue. Today it happened after about 20 minutes of driving while we were on a country road.

She says she thinks it happens more often when the fuel tank is at a quarter full; I know it has happened when full though. She also mentioned that she thinks she has noticed a slight decrease in power, but it could be to us being loaded down too. We aren't having the other issue of not being able to accelerate past 3K RPM's like others are having. I have also noticed the tin/exhaust rattle sound from time to time, but that isn't this issue.

I can't seem to find anything about this on the internet, only similar issues that aren't quite the same. Any help you guys can offer is appreciated!

Thank you all for welcoming a previous hardcore Chevy/GM follower who has been forced to start considering other manufacturers.

RNDraper2 wrote:We noticed it about 30 minutes into highway driving once, and it happened two minutes into a quick trip to the store in town once, so I don't believe it is due to an overheating issue.

the quick 2 minute drive to the store, was that first thing in the morning or in the middle of the day. if the engine/tranny fluid was not completely cooled, your quick 2 minute trip does not disprove the overheating CVT issue.

it sounds like an overheating CVT issue. What year and trim on that Rogue?

I had the same issue for about 3 years, mechanical whine on longer trips in warmer weather, gets louder with higher rpms, and gets worse as the miles add up. I've had the hot weather safe-mode bull crap too, which always seemed to be connected to the mechanical whining noise.

At 105,000 km, a few weeks ago my front passenger CV axle bit the dust, puked grease everywhere and tech told me the axle was worn out and needed to be replaced. This is a common weak spot and repair item on the Rogue and you can see evidence on this site, there seems to be a balancing issue causing abnormally high wear on the passenger side which is the longer shaft compared to the drivers side.

Anyway, after the axle was replaced I can not believe the difference. The mechanical whining noise is gone, even in extreme heat which I was fortunate enough to be able to test this spring already when the temp hit 33 deg. C. I haven't taken it on a long hot road trip through the mountains yet, but so far the difference is significant and I'm really surprised. This would indicate that the CVT was not making the whining noise, but instead it was the axle.

Bottom line, don't make assumptions and be too quick to assume you have a bad CVT tranny. These tranny's have gotten a bad wrap primarily due to early model flaws that I believe were quickly rectified. My 2009 CVT has really been trouble free for almost 8 years of hard stop-and-go city driving, with the exception a couple problems I had on hot mountainous road trips. And, the fluid looks as clear and clean on the tranny dipstick as it did when new, with no need to change the fluid unless you want to be really proactive. Contrast this with Honda's for example, which have a great name for reliability, but their transmissions are notoriously weak. The top of the line Honda Pilot, for example, requires very frequent ATF fluid replacement on their 5-spd auto which is still in service as of the 2015 model year Pilots - very expensive service required and if you plan to tow or beat up on the tranny I'd be worried. This is pretty common knowledge, yet nobody has labelled Honda's "poor reliability, with crap auto transmissions" like some have labelled Nissan. Honda's keep selling with high resale value based on perceived reliability. I'm not saying Honda's are unreliable, I'm just saying some components are unremarkable and Nissan's perceived issues with the CVT I believe have been overexaggerated.

If you put a few more miles on your Rogue you may find that the axle is the culprit of the strange whining noise....good luck!

its the cvt. join the club lol

kerrton wrote:I had the same issue for about 3 years, mechanical whine on longer trips in warmer weather, gets louder with higher rpms, and gets worse as the miles add up. I've had the hot weather safe-mode bull crap too, which always seemed to be connected to the mechanical whining noise.

At 105,000 km, a few weeks ago my front passenger CV axle bit the dust, puked grease everywhere and tech told me the axle was worn out and needed to be replaced. This is a common weak spot and repair item on the Rogue and you can see evidence on this site, there seems to be a balancing issue causing abnormally high wear on the passenger side which is the longer shaft compared to the drivers side.

Anyway, after the axle was replaced I can not believe the difference. The mechanical whining noise is gone, even in extreme heat which I was fortunate enough to be able to test this spring already when the temp hit 33 deg. C. I haven't taken it on a long hot road trip through the mountains yet, but so far the difference is significant and I'm really surprised. This would indicate that the CVT was not making the whining noise, but instead it was the axle.

Bottom line, don't make assumptions and be too quick to assume you have a bad CVT tranny. These tranny's have gotten a bad wrap primarily due to early model flaws that I believe were quickly rectified. My 2009 CVT has really been trouble free for almost 8 years of hard stop-and-go city driving, with the exception a couple problems I had on hot mountainous road trips. And, the fluid looks as clear and clean on the tranny dipstick as it did when new, with no need to change the fluid unless you want to be really proactive. Contrast this with Honda's for example, which have a great name for reliability, but their transmissions are notoriously weak. The top of the line Honda Pilot, for example, requires very frequent ATF fluid replacement on their 5-spd auto which is still in service as of the 2015 model year Pilots - very expensive service required and if you plan to tow or beat up on the tranny I'd be worried. This is pretty common knowledge, yet nobody has labelled Honda's "poor reliability, with crap auto transmissions" like some have labelled Nissan. Honda's keep selling with high resale value based on perceived reliability. I'm not saying Honda's are unreliable, I'm just saying some components are unremarkable and Nissan's perceived issues with the CVT I believe have been overexaggerated.

If you put a few more miles on your Rogue you may find that the axle is the culprit of the strange whining noise....good luck!

The CV axle is connected to the CVT. I would imagine that a worn axle will put more load to the CVT. More load to the CVT will also cause CVT to overheat faster such as during towing or aggressive driving. So changing to a brand new CV axle probably eased up this load and would explain why you no longer get the CVT whine issue. So it still points out to the flawed CVT design.

That's a great point, you could be bang on with that assessment. Thanks for sharing the thoughts!

I'm hearing this noise in my Rogue now too. The sound happens only @ 2800-2900 rpm. I threw it out of gear to make sure it wasn't an engine issue, and it wasn't. Is it really the CV axles making the noise? I feel as if it would make the noise beyond 3k rpm if that was the case.

Is this the sound you were hearing?

I am hearing this sound right after changing the axel, passenger side (It was a real challenge to remove the axel from its aluminum carrier), I also changed the tran. fluid (can changing fluids damage the CVT?!!), Not sure which one resulted in making that noise!!!

mohammad wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:50 pm

I am hearing this sound right after changing the axel, passenger side (It was a real challenge to remove the axel from its aluminum carrier), I also changed the tran. fluid (can changing fluids damage the CVT?!!), Not sure which one resulted in making that noise!!!

When something occurs right after a repair, inspect what you did. Many apparent "trans/gearbox" whines turn out to be noisy CV joints. It isn't uncommon at all on gen1/gen2 Rogues and other Nissans with passenger-side half-shafts. You might have a bad one out of the box.

I also hear this "skroink" on occasion as my CVT upshifts or downshifts. I believe it is the stepper motor being commanded to spin fast in order to change gear ratios. I noticed that it happens when you stomp it or let up. I don't know the minimum number of degrees per step, but I can imagine you would need a furious amount of pulses for a quick ratio change. I accelerate slowly so I don't hear it for upshifts, but sudden stops sometimes brings this sound.

I don't think it's a good idea to stomp on the gas pedal with these crappy cvt's.

I admit I did it when I tried an italian tune up with sea foam. I absolutely smash the hell out of it, by stepping on the gas full force like half a dozen times I think.

Similar to breaking a board with your foot, I mean literally trying to stomp a hole into my floorboard.

My stupid a$$ thinking i was doing good getting rid of carbon.

Anyways, just waiting for my original cvt with over 100k miles to implode and die to complete its circle of life.

I do normally drive with a light foot or gradual acceleration.

glaze182 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:38 am

I also hear this "skroink" on occasion as my CVT upshifts or downshifts. I believe it is the stepper motor being commanded to spin fast in order to change gear ratios. I noticed that it happens when you stomp it or let up. I don't know the minimum number of degrees per step, but I can imagine you would need a furious amount of pulses for a quick ratio change. I accelerate slowly so I don't hear it for upshifts, but sudden stops sometimes brings this sound.

Is the noise you are hearing similar to the noise in the above video link?

It is the exact same noise. I hear it during decel when traffic slows suddenly and the CVT has to do a quick ratio change.