New Owner

[FlashFyre]

Just picked an 2011 SL AWD and have a few questions:

1) The front and rear bumpers are painted slightly darker than the rest of the body. Is this normal with other Rogues? Or is it a defect and have people sought compensation for the discolouration?

2) In navigation map mode with XM as the selected source, is there a way to have the song displayed in the top left? It only displays the channel and preset # and I can't figure out a way to have it display the song/artist. If the normal radio is the selected source, the RDS will display the song/artist info.

3) Driving on the highway on mostly level road, the steering wheel is cocked slightly to the right to keep the Rogue straight. The service person said the steering wheel is calibrated to level when the wheels are straight on the road and not level to the dash. There is only one large spline so they can't remove the steering wheel and make it perfectly level to match the dash lines. Anyone else experienced this? The service person said it is more and more common in the newer vehicles.

I am kinda disappointed in the old style batteries. I remember learning about the old cell type batteries that require maintenace by adding water in auto class 15 years ago. I can`t believe they still exist. As well the oil change every 6000kms/3 months is kind of unnecessary IMO.

Otherwise I am pretty happy with the Rogue. Gas mileage has pretty closed to posted.

[TaiLuu]

Yes, Someone can finally see my POV on the Oil change!
but what colors the Rogue. I have a 11' Rogue AWD SV and I've never noticed any weird discoloring.
But then again I don't really pay attention to looks and I haven't seen my Rogue in over a month.

And when I got my Rogue I never noticed any steering sound.
I haven't seen any post about battery problem so I wouldn't worry about the battery.

The Rogue is the best in it's class

[philipa_240sx]

1) The front and rear bumpers are painted slightly darker than the rest of the body. Is this normal with other Rogues? Or is it a defect and have people sought compensation for the discolouration?

The bumpers are made from urethane plastic. Although the factory uses the same colour paint, there can be a slight variation in gloss & color vs. a similar painted steel body panel. This is normal and the variation depends on the color, lighting, etc.

In navigation map mode with XM as the selected source, is there a way to have the song displayed in the top left? It only displays the channel and preset # and I can't figure out a way to have it display the song/artist. If the normal radio is the selected source, the RDS will display the song/artist info.

I don't think there is a way to change this. Have you checked the manual?

Driving on the highway on mostly level road, the steering wheel is cocked slightly to the right to keep the Rogue straight. The service person said the steering wheel is calibrated to level when the wheels are straight on the road and not level to the dash. There is only one large spline so they can't remove the steering wheel and make it perfectly level to match the dash lines. Anyone else experienced this? The service person said it is more and more common in the newer vehicles.

This usually depends on the slope/crown of the road. It's normal for the wheel to be slightly off centre as you need to keep slightly to the left to compensate (the road slopes to the RH side to aid in water drainage).

I am kinda disappointed in the old style batteries. I remember learning about the old cell type batteries that require maintenace by adding water in auto class 15 years ago. I can`t believe they still exist.

The battery is mostly maintenance free. I have rarely if ever had to add water to mine. I don't really consider it old school... most cars still use lead-acid batteries and the technology hasn't changed much in decades.

As well the oil change every 6000kms/3 months is kind of unnecessary IMO.

6K/3mo oil change intervals isn't that far from the norm. Depending on make and model, most vehicles are around 6000-8000km nowadays. Some luxury makes (ie BMW & Merc) have much longer oil change intervals, but their motors are designed differently and use synthetic oil.

Nissan engineers designed the motor and have determined the optimal oil change intervals. Why question them? It's not like an oil change is expensive... and it's way cheaper than replacing a motor!

[kerrton]

Hey FlashFyre,

If you can post up a pic or two of your Rogue paint job that would be helpful, but in my opinion you shouldn't be able to see any difference in the color of the bumpers compared to the rest of the car. My color is consistent and you wouldn't know the bumpers are made of a different material unless you tap on it.

My steering wheel is perfectly straight when traveling on the highway, I'm not sure what to suggest on this one if the dealer already indicated that they can't make the fine adjustment necessary to correct this.....perhaps others will have an idea?

[FlashFyre]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/img]

[FlashFyre]

Posted pics showing the body vs bumper in 3 spots. The lighting isn't that great but you can still see a slight colour variation. I know its not that bad, but when a neighbour notices it from 10feet away, I don't think it is normal.

I have read through the manual twice looking for a display change method. Can't find any. Just wondering if there was some unlisted method of changing the display.

I know of road crown. I drive rental vehicles frequently and its something I really haven't noticed on many of them except my Rogue.It is more pronounced in the left crown, because of the left slant, vice the right lane and right slant. If I would match the steering wheel level with the dash, the Rogue would go left at highway speeds. There is no pulling to one side if I let go of the wheel. To keep the car straight requires a touch of the wheel to the right. Was just wondering if others were experiencing the same thing.

Thanks

[TaiLuu]

Forgot to mention the rogue has eps.
and from my experience cars with eps will turn you wheel if your on a slop.

-Mobile

[kerrton]

Flash, you've got the same color Rogue as I do, and my paint is exactly the same color throughout the vehicle, you shouldn't see any difference on the bumpers.

Regarding your steering wheel, if it is not straight when driving on a straight stretch of road, this is not right and you need to get this addressed under warranty. That is an annoying problem that shouldn't be on any vehicle and especially not a new car under warranty. And it isn't rocket science, your tech's will be able to get everything perfectly straight, and if the steering wheel isn't the answer, then perhaps they have to look deeper at the rack etc to find the problem.

There is a Tech Service Bulletin on this, it might help to point this out to them as it could be describing the exact issue you have: http://nissan-techinfo.com/TSB/TSB_xml/ ... modelyear=

[FlashFyre]

Thanks Kerrton. I am going to head over to the dealer and let them know about the TSB. I have already had it checked once before just after I took possession and the service person couldn't find anything. I am going to try a different dealer.

Now with the paint issue, what do you think is the most likely course of action? Will they paint the bumpers again? Or just offer some $ to ease my pain and suffering? :P

[takeshi]

Wow, that's a mess. Try (I'm using the code tags to keep it from being interpreted):

Code: Select all

[img]http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3307/img4578w.jpg[/img]

...to get this:

[harryg]

I have a pearl white 09' Rogue and I too have noticed a difference in color between the metal body and plastic bumpers. I feel that it is normal.

[DC_Rogue]

When I took delivery of my Rogue I found that the alignment was off. I asked the service advisor and he flat out told me I was wrong, that it was calibrated when they built the car.
I asked him very nicely to check it anyway, he again said no... I got my sales rep (who was some high up person in dealership) to have him do it, sure enough it was off by 2 degrees. When I got the car back and he was telling me, he said he's never seen that from a car with less than 100 miles.
So- you should insist they dig a bit deeper.

I have a silver Rogue, and the paint matches perfectly.