cwarwick wrote:I have read somewhere that putting the car into park could also work, but with AWD I'm not sure how that would work...

Any suggestions? Is this a parameter that can be changed?

I wouldn't throw the tranny into park at any speed. You will likely put a lot of stress on the tranny and possibly damage it.

And no, the ABS parameters or programming cannot be changed.

Hmmm, I don't fully understand, why would you want to use the park brake while moving to bring you to a stop, rather than just pushing on the brake peddle? If you do this, I don't think the ABS would work properly or at all. Also, I wouldn't recommend throwing your vehicle into park when moving, under any circumstances. If you hit a dry patch that could be ugly, and you don't want to take a chance with the tranny, very expensive to replace. I think you're over thinking things, the idea behind ABS and traction/stability control is that the computer takes control of these things, but if you start doing unexpected things like setting the park brake or putting it into park while moving, I think you'd be asking for problems. An expert would be able to give a better technical description for sure, but I think the message would be the same - don't do this!

Hmm, I've never heard of the P option you describe (although I sorta recall reading somewhere that if you do, the tranny will default to N as a safety mechanism - or maybe that is just when its put into reverse when moving forward).

I have found that the low gear (L) is excellent for deceleration under our current conditions. In fact, I've found it better than 'relying' on the ABS - i.e. braking normally, and allowing the ABS to kick in if slippage is detected. In low gear (is there an explanation of what this means with the CVT?) I decelerate more controlled AND more rapidly than with the brakes. Its awesome.

you got some big snow today buddy!

The conti 4x4s did OK today. Just went down the road to the diner, but I'm not any less happy than I was in the 01 Escape.

First good snowfall of the season today here in Boston. Rogue handled beautifully in the slippery stuff, even with the Conti's. Everyone else on the highway carefully treading along at 30mph and I cruised on by 'em all. People can't expect the AWD or VDC to compensate for everything... you've still gotta be smart about driving in the white stuff. It's when you get the "soccer moms" in their giant SUV's who think they're invincible is where you run into problems. My wife started getting that mentality about her Subaru Forester... until tonight when she did a 180 on the way home. WAKE UP CALL!!!

I am gun shy when it comes to the Conti's. All it took was one good scare with my Altima and the stock Conti TouringContact tires (it shares the exact same tread design as the 4x4 Contact). I gently accelerated while travelling down a snow covered highway at 45mph... and the car decided it wanted to swap ends on me. Well nearly, it fishtailed about 5 times nearly missing a guard rail and and several other cars in the process.

So when the 4x4 Contact were looking nearly half worn at 18,000mi (30,000km), I decided I wasn't about to tempt fate driving on them this winter. I bought snow tires before the winter. Today proved the wisdom of my choice as we received a good 8 inches of snow. Very few streets were plowed and I managed to make the trip home safely. The worst that happened was getting momentarily stuck trying to get through a 1ft snow pile created by the plow... a quick forward and back maneuver gave me the momentum to break through. And I don't even have AWD!

We had a pretty nasty snow storm move in here today and through tonight. I had to drive home from work with prob. a good 4-5in. of slick snow on the ground. The Rogue did scare me a bit by fishtailing around a sharp corner, but the road had heavily packed down snow from a crappy plow job. Once I got on my road which was un-plowed at the time, it was total smooth sailing. I was doing 30-35mph no prob. on my un-plowed back road, the Rogue felt very sure footed.I think the fishtailing is all to do with the tires. All in all, the Rogue beats the hell out of my old Spec V in the snow.

We, in the Pacific Northwest, are in the midst of a 20 year cold spell, which means all the snow and ice has stuck around, and will, until Christmas.

My first winter driving experience with our Rogue has been nothing but SPECTACULAR. We always drive slower and cautiously in bad weather and outside of 2 short wiggles from the rear end while making sharp turns into a snowy store parking lot, it has been flawless. We are more than impressed.

We have Dunlop oem tires and outside of lots of noise on snowy/icy parking lots, they have been fine. We have decided to get some more aggressive tires before next winter, tho, to get more stopping traction.

I had a blast today playing in Mass. with my Rogue. 2nd winter with the car. Last year I had Dunlop Sport M3 Winter tires. This year I got New Firestone Winterforce, mostly because my Dunlops were the wrong size. I drive through 8 to 10" of wet heavy snow, with no problem.

I even turned off the VDC so I could fool around in an empty parking lot.

The Rogue is quite capable to handle this winter weather.

No complaints about my Rogue in the snow yet, and here in WI we've gotten our fair share. The stock tires seem OK so far, but I've still got less than 1,000 miles on them. Will probably look into getting snow tire for next year. The paddle shifters have been very useful for slowing on hills and before turns and stops so I don't have to rely on the brakes as much. As far as I'm concerned, if you're consistantly engaging the ABS, you're not driving for conditions.

I've used the AWD lock a few times, and have noticed it turns off automatically. Anyone know what triggers it off...maybe if you exceed a certain speed for a length of time?

OP, I've not experienced any of the problems you are...that sucks. I'd be pushing for a replacement if possible because it sounds like you got a lemon.

mpattdu wrote:I've used the AWD lock a few times, and have noticed it turns off automatically. Anyone know what triggers it off...maybe if you exceed a certain speed for a length of time?

Yes, it's speed sensitive. You can read more about it in your owners manual.

Have you known anyone to use snow chains or cable witht the continental tires? The owners manual says to use a "traction" device because of the tire clearance. Any advice?

I have some scc ea1614 chains on my rogue with the conti's. I have had no problems with wheel clearance.

I live in NY and have driven my Rouge at least 5 times in snow 5 inches or more with no issues on Conti tires. The AWD works great.

rrs26ja wrote:I live in NY and have driven my Rouge at least 5 times in snow 5 inches or more with no issues on Conti tires. The AWD works great.

I dont' know if the Rogue comes in Rouge hmm interesting

Special order?

roguester wrote:I dont' know if the Rogue comes in Rouge hmm interesting

Very funny....

Hi, allnewbie to posting here but have lurked since getting my Rogue in May.I have the Rogue S FWD with the Continentals. My previous car, 98 Altima SE manual came with Fireston Affinity (sucked) which I replaced with Dunlop SportA2 (sucked more) and then Nokian WR (awesome tires).I'm willing to give my vote of confidence to these tires even tho I have never driven with proper winter tires. We've just gotten thru the worst winter conditions ever that has thrown everything from snow to sleet and black ice and now flooding conditions over 3 weeks. Granted, they are still new and I did slip and slide. But, I knew I was throwing myself into S&S in a controlled manner. Parallel parking in my usual spot I could go nose first and just let the back end slide in like a boat. Turning at an intersection in unplowed side streets I would direct the front in existing tracks and the back would just follow.

On black ice the VDC immediately kicked in and I knew that I just had drive way more carefully. In one situation that I knew when going downhill that the ABS would kick in I put the car in neutral to take the away the forward push of the engine.I do wish I had read Eric_C explanation of the VDC. I had my front tire stuck on 3 or 4 occasions that required shovelling. I wonder if I could have gotten out. I know with the manual stick of the Altima I could have rocked myself out. I just couldn't get any sort of rocking motion going at all with the CVT or the VDC buzzing away. I want a do-over.

So far I'm having fun in the Rogue this first winter.

I have S FWD w/ stock Conti tires and honestly, not much of an issue here in Chicago.

Yes, the ABS makes noise...but trust me that its not nearly as bad as some other cars out there.... *cough*Highlander*cough*

Traction control works fine, let it do its thing.

Little wobble/fishtail but very controllable.

and of course at the end of the day, its not about the car, its about YOU. Drive smart and you shouldn't have to rely on the electronic gagetry all that much.

Well, we have had a few good dumpings of snow here in Ontario, Canada. We have had a few 4-6" snowfalls along with lots of cold and icy conditions.

The Hankook iPike RW07's are still proving good value for the money. In deep snow they perform well, but on icy roads it's a bit disappointing. The 2yr. old Nokian RSi's on my wifes car perform much better on the ice.... but they also cost twice as much.

The road noise thankfully has not increased, but it's still present and the constant droning can be tiring on the highway. This is typical of most winter tires.

Drive safe out there!

Yeah I'd agree.. the car handles great in the snow.. but the tires need to go. Winter tires do wonders when the roads get slick.. on the Rogue, it should be fantastic.