Random skips when driving Nissan Rogue 2009

[geo1234]

When driving the car seems to skip a gear? Travel on an interstate highway daily have 92,500 miles on a 2009 Rogue S.

Recently when driving can be going along at about 72mph and it sounds like it skips a beat almost like it missed a gear.
Recently had a snow storm and it skipped much more in the snow at lower speeds in the snow. It's like a skip or hesitation

Could this be a CVT issue?

[ImStricken06]

WELCOME TO NICO!

now onto your issue:
we dont have gears, so idk how it could "skip a gear". please explain a tad clearer as "skipping a gear" could mean a ton of different symptoms and feelings. do you mean that while driving, power seems to cut-out briefly? do you feel the problem is in the engine or the transmission? does the engine RPM stay the say/shoot up/dip? any dash-lights light up while the power is lost? how long did the loss of power last each time?

"skip a gear" as a symptom or feeling could be a ton of issues. generally hesitation or loss of power could be many things:
faulty spark plugs, clogged fuel filter, broken fuel pump, poor ignition coils, faulty abs sensors(registering a slip or skid)

[geo1234]

RPM dips slightly only lasts a second. Then goes back to normal driving. And is very random. No dash lights. lasts only a second and goes back to normal.

Although in a snow storm where the roads were slippery it happened
more often at lower speed around 30 to 40 mph. around 1500rpm or so. Today was traveling 72mph I think around 2000 rpm I believe rpms dip slightly then go back
to normal.

It's a loss of power feels like . If it had gears feels like it skips for a second. Does not happen every day . In the snow it happened much more frequently than normal driving. Normal driving it can happen at anytime. My drive is 45 miles each way to work traveling on average 72mph. on a normal day it may happen once or twice (not everyday) on the way. This was the first real snow of the year and it happend much more frequently when driving at around 30 mph to 40 mph.

[ImStricken06]

i doubt its the transmission. id say it more of the issues i have listed before:

faulty spark plugs, clogged fuel filter, broken fuel pump, poor ignition coils, faulty abs sensors(registering a slip or skid)

[geo1234]

great thanks

[ImStricken06]

great thanks

at your mileage its time for a good 'tune-up' to be performed.

engine oil & filter.
engine coolant drain.
brake fluid flush
spark plugs (could be the culprit that your feeling)
coil packs (could be the culprit that your feeling)
rear differential fluid drain
trans-axle fluid drain
transmission fluid drain service
inspect & clean or replace ABS sensors (could be the culprit that your feeling)

[darylzero]

Geo did you get this Rogue brand new? Do you know if the transmission oil has ever been changed?
ImStricken is the man and knows what he is talking about and could be any of the things he listed.

I would suggest checking your trans oil just because you says it "slips". Take a look at the trans oil and tell us what color it is and if it possibly smells funny. If it's never been changed that is what I would guess, but it's just that, a guess.
BTW looking at the engine the trans oil is located front right and is a little round cap with a sticker on it I believe.

[2010RogueSL]

I'm actually experiencing what I think to be the same thing. I have a 2010 SL with 45,000. Very randomly the car will buck, almost like a mis-fire while driving. Sometimes on cruise control sometimes on slower city streets. It's very inconsistent and happens 2-3 times during a 30 mile trip around town. No other symptoms, car runs great otherwise.

Would you keep your thoughts on the spark plugs and/or coil packs? Could it be a bad fuel injector? I don't believe it is related to the CVT or the ABS sensors based on what I'm feeling while driving.

[Jason F]

I have a 2010 murano SL and it is (bucking) in the exact same way. I feel that it is somehow related to the air intake system. The reason I say this, is that I only really notice the problem when it is snowing outside. Now the roads are not slippery in anyway but the blowing snow seems to be briefly clogging something up. Any thoughts? And has anyone else got to the bottom of their problem? I have already spent over a thousand dollars on miss diagnoses. Ie mass air flow sensor, fuel treatment etc...

[ImStricken06]

I have a 2010 murano SL and it is (bucking)

describe the symptoms better. is it a loss of power? (does the rpm drop? or does it shoot up?)
is it a power loss, or surge?
does it feel like something is slipping, or just a cut in power
etc etc

I feel that it is somehow related to the air intake system. The reason I say this, is that I only really notice the problem when it is snowing outside.

are your trying to say you think your car is sucking in the snow?

Now the roads are not slippery in anyway but the blowing snow seems to be briefly clogging something up.

odd are, the cold temps are causing your MAF or AIT sensor to fail. i HIGHLY doubt that snow is staying solid enough to go through the tunnel of turns and dips specially designed to avoid this 'theory' of yours.

i think you have 1 or more of these as your problem:
MAF / AIT sensor problem
bad spark plugs spark plugs
bad coil pack(s)
slipping transmission
etc

[Qashqai]

describe the symptoms better.

Departing from ImStricken's confussion, we have another Canadian member in our Forum

[ImStricken06]

we have another Canadian member in our Forum

and let me guess his next complain: my heater sucks! lol

[Qashqai]

...true.

[Rogue One]

we have another Canadian member in our Forum

and let me guess his next complain: my heater sucks! lol

Here's a fix for heat.

[Billmelrose]

My 2009 Rogue SL exhibits the same symptoms. There is a short drop in RPM for a brief moment.i believe it is snow induced not slippery roads. For example, One time I was driving behind a pickup truck on a clear sunny day. There was a burst of snow blow out of the pick up truck at my rogue andmy car did the same thing. I experience it at various speeds 30mph, 50mph, 65mph, etc when it is snowing out. I feel unsafe when this happens on snowy roads.

I first reported it to nissan in 2010 but did not correlate it to snow until recently. In 2010, it would happen on snowy night driving on small hill and curve. I felt the car slide as a result of the hesitation. I explained the problem occurred when snowing. The Nissan mechanic said there are no codes to indicate a system problem. He felt it was the AWD system kicking in. I disagree - advanced AWD system should not exhibit this behavior, They are designed to be transparent to the driver. But what do I know.

My mechanic is stumped because snow shouldn't be able to enter the system to starve oxygen from the system. This is exactly how it feels. The behavior reminds me of my 1997 Nissan Pathfinder when I had a bad distributor issue. The truck bucked like a donkey. I bought the rogue to replace the pathfinder (176k miles) in early 2009. The rogue is gone after this winter unless I can resolve the hesitation issue. This may be my last nissan product.

Frustrated with my rogue.

[darylzero]

My 2009 Rogue SL exhibits the same symptoms. There is a short drop in RPM for a brief moment.i believe it is snow induced not slippery roads. For example, One time I was driving behind a pickup truck on a clear sunny day. There was a burst of snow blow out of the pick up truck at my rogue andmy car did the same thing. I experience it at various speeds 30mph, 50mph, 65mph, etc when it is snowing out. I feel unsafe when this happens on snowy roads.

I first reported it to nissan in 2010 but did not correlate it to snow until recently. In 2010, it would happen on snowy night driving on small hill and curve. I felt the car slide as a result of the hesitation. I explained the problem occurred when snowing. The Nissan mechanic said there are no codes to indicate a system problem. He felt it was the AWD system kicking in. I disagree - advanced AWD system should not exhibit this behavior, They are designed to be transparent to the driver. But what do I know.

My mechanic is stumped because snow shouldn't be able to enter the system to starve oxygen from the system. This is exactly how it feels. The behavior reminds me of my 1997 Nissan Pathfinder when I had a bad distributor issue. The truck bucked like a donkey. I bought the rogue to replace the pathfinder (176k miles) in early 2009. The rogue is gone after this winter unless I can resolve the hesitation issue. This may be my last nissan product.

Frustrated with my rogue.

That sounds like your VDC kicked in and cut power.

[Billmelrose]

For VDC to kick in there would need to be snow / ice on the road. In many cases, the road is dry and bare. The commonality is snow flowing into the front of the vehicle.

[spider780]

I have a 2009 Murano with the exact same issue.

has nothing to do with road conditions or the VDC. The only common condition when it happens is it is either snowing or there is snow blowing around.....

[Billmelrose]

I disabled VDC during a snow storm and the problem still occurred.
After a light fluffy snow event, I drove off without clearing the snow from the car. The car almost stalled. Once the snow dissipated the problem stopped. Nice knowing I am not the only driver experiencing the hesitation.

Time to talk to nissan tech when it is snowing.

[tonyasue882]

Billmelrose, was the Nissan Tech able to fix the problem? This is the only thread I can find online that describes the issues I am having with my 2011 Nissan Rogue.

[Billmelrose]

I haven't been back to nissan yet. So far no fix.

[2010RogueSL]

Turned out to be the air filter. I must have logged that I changed it but never actually did. New air filter, no more bucking.

[tonyasue882]

I forgot to update everyone, but mine was also the air filter. Turns out with mine though, I had bought my car with the air filter missing entirely! And drove it like that for two years. Wow, glad it was an easy fix, but so mad that no mechanic mentioned this being an issue during the two winters of bucking.

[roosmom34]

Fingers Crossed! Thankful for this thread. Just replaced my air filter after reading. Hope it solves these same issues. I've been trying to explain to my mechanic and failing miserably. 2004 Pathfinder. Only happens with blowing snow. No lights, no rpm change. No code. Just a super quick and random jerk, hesitation, buck, loss of power, drag, or something in blowing snow. So hope this solves the issue. 5-8 inches of snow forecast for Sunday.

[RoushMustang]

Bringing this back from the dead.

I have an Infiniti EX35. I have been fighting what I thought was a transmission problem for years. This has saved me..!

[casperfun]

Good to hear this could be an easy fix. Personally I never had this issue since I’ve been pretty diligent in changing my engine air filter.

This is because I didn’t want to lose what little horsepower I had to begin with in the first place.