Rogue in cold weather

[Michael007]

Hi, All,
I owned a 2012 nissan rogue awd, when winter comes, temp below 20F, I need to warm up my car for atleast 15 mins to drive, otherwise, the RPM will stay up so high for low mph, like when I accelerating to 10MPH, the RPM was already 3k(it won't go down, if you keep accelerating, the RPM will go higher)...and this makes a really loud noice.. So what I am saying is RPM can get up high like crazy, but no power, just loud noice... Is this normal too all the rogue?

[darylzero]

Hey Michael007, I don't know if that's normal, but when it's -20F there is no "normal".

When it's that cold you NEED to warm up the engine before you drive. You should get a block heater (it's probably already installed) and use it.

[Michael007]

Yes, I did warm up the engine, but mine takes 15 mins, and my friend's car only takes 5 mins or less.

[followingnfront]

I dont remember my 2012 doing that. I dont remember it ever idling at 3k even in the coldest of temps. Maybe 1500 rpm but not 3k.

I would try to give the car 30 seconds to a minute to let everything get lubricated a bit, then Id take off...

Once I put it in gear it would regulate the RPMs accordingly.

I havent had the 2015 Rogue in anything less than 35 degrees yet, but the 2015 is much more refined than the 2012 (at least so far... Ive got 10,400 miles on it) so I dont foresee the 2015 having much of an issue with cold weather either....

Sounds like your IAC (idle air control) valve, or something with your air/fuel controls is off

[followingnfront]

Hey Michael007, I don't know if that's normal, but when it's -20F there is no "normal".

When it's that cold you NEED to warm up the engine before you drive. You should get a block heater (it's probably already installed) and use it.

I think he means temps below 20 degrees f... Like 19, 18, 17, etc... I dont think he is referring to negative 20 degrees. At least thats the way it reads to me

[Maximus099]

Yes it does this to me also and the techs told me its the cvt when cold. I let it idle for about 2 minutes and after a couple of miles while warming up it regulates itself. I was thinking of plugging it in this winter but doubt that this would keep the cvt warm or warm it up quicker?

[Michael007]

I dont remember my 2012 doing that. I dont remember it ever idling at 3k even in the coldest of temps. Maybe 1500 rpm but not 3k.

I would try to give the car 30 seconds to a minute to let everything get lubricated a bit, then Id take off...

Once I put it in gear it would regulate the RPMs accordingly.

I havent had the 2015 Rogue in anything less than 35 degrees yet, but the 2015 is much more refined than the 2012 (at least so far... Ive got 10,400 miles on it) so I dont foresee the 2015 having much of an issue with cold weather either....

Sounds like your IAC (idle air control) valve, or something with your air/fuel controls is off

I had been experiencing this for 3 years....I don't know if the problem was from the Air control, but I think it might be the engine oil needs more time to run over the car?

[Michael007]

Yes it does this to me also and the techs told me its the cvt when cold. I let it idle for about 2 minutes and after a couple of miles while warming up it regulates itself. I was thinking of plugging it in this winter but doubt that this would keep the cvt warm or warm it up quicker?

It takes atleast 10 mins to idle, so do you wait for the rpm go down to 1 then go?

[Maximus099]

No after about 2 mins I drive the car normally so it achieves its correct temperature. i try not to be too aggressive on the gas.

[TrevorK]

What you are experiencing is nothing at all what I experience with my 2011 Rogue. We receive temperatures up to -40F, with entire weeks being between -13F and -22F. We will have months in a row where the temperature never reaches above 20F.

When my Rogue is outdoors and it's below 5F I plug it in. I let it run for about 30 seconds to get the oil flowing, put it in gear, and go. I drive gently while it reaches operating temperature. At no time do the RPMs reach 3000 (in fact, I rarely reach those levels while driving regardless). Before I put it into gear, even at -40F, the high idle is between 1500RPM and 2000RPM.


What you are experiencing is definitely not normal, especially at warm temperatures like 20F.

[Maximus099]

I too experience high rpm for the first couple of miles driving at about 30-40mph idle between 3-4k. Vehicule never plugged in at temps between -25c and -40c. I guess with what Trevork says theres a big difference by simply plugging it in at those low temps.

[followingnfront]

What you are experiencing is nothing at all what I experience with my 2011 Rogue. We receive temperatures up to -40F, with entire weeks being between -13F and -22F. We will have months in a row where the temperature never reaches above 20F.

When my Rogue is outdoors and it's below 5F I plug it in. I let it run for about 30 seconds to get the oil flowing, put it in gear, and go. I drive gently while it reaches operating temperature. At no time do the RPMs reach 3000 (in fact, I rarely reach those levels while driving regardless). Before I put it into gear, even at -40F, the high idle is between 1500RPM and 2000RPM.


What you are experiencing is definitely not normal, especially at warm temperatures like 20F.

My sentiments exactly. It is not normal for a car to idle at 3k rpms... And even if for some reason it was normal, when in gear that should normalize it. In NYC we've definitely had some cold days over the past few winters and I've never seen either of my Rogues idle that high under any circumstances.

[jazzii]

I have (in)sam(n)e issue. New Rogue 2016, kind of shocked, had the car for less than 2 months. Have never experienced this with any other car. Behavior is 2.5 to 3K idle as soon as moving below -7 deg C i would say if not warmed up several minutes, eastern Canada.

I Would deally need to warm up car for a good 5-8 minutes if temp -10 C or less. Otherwise feel like i have no power driving, pressing on gas results in 3000 rpm and feels like not really moving, as if brake on. Its quite annoying because idle at stop is only 1500, so why rev up to 3000 - 3500 when car is moving just to get minimal power? Quite bizarre but the worst thing is that i find it could be unsafe to have what is basically impaired acceleration due to this situation until transmission warms up or whatever, not to mention huge fuel burn for 10+ minutes after start. Not very green behavior at all. Is this a limitation of Nissan cvts?

I haven<t spoken to dealer about this, not sure if they can tweak the engine trim at all to reduce this effect, but given our climate here i<m sure i<ll hear that its a common complaint. I have not experienced this severe impact with any other manual or auto trans. Other than that I love the transmission at nominal operating temp, it works well, cruising at 110 km basically at 1700 rpm, that<s where the cvt shines i guess. (note this is the n. american 2.4l gas engine with cvt.

[jazzii]

Also note, in Canada, people typically do not plug in cars unless temps are routinely sustained below 25C for weeks or months. This happens mainly in the prairies - alberta and sask and far north. In east like montreal/ottawa, normal coldest is -15 to -20 overnight, which does give you a rough start, but maybe less than a week a year anywhere below -25.

[Chowcman]

After I park mine for a week at Airport during Xmas below freezing, the CVT feel very sluggish. I had to rev high 3500rpm and SUV start to move for next 5 km. Already warmup for 10 min to clear ice and snow window.

If I drive it daily, no problem.

I ask dealer about CVT change interval and they said lifetime oil. BS. I will try DIY CVT change next week after tax season.

It has 28500km now.

[jazzii]

After I park mine for a week at Airport during Xmas below freezing, the CVT feel very sluggish. I had to rev high 3500rpm and SUV start to move for next 5 km. Already warmup for 10 min to clear ice and snow window.

If I drive it daily, no problem.

I ask dealer about CVT change interval and they said lifetime oil. BS. I will try DIY CVT change next week after tax season.

It has 28500km now.

Are you suggesting the factory trans. oil is not liquid enough at lo temp? why do u want to change it, these oils are usually rated for 100s thousands of km?

My car does this its brand new.

[jazzii]

Anybody get any answers from nissan on this?

You should be able to drive gently right after ignition in all but freezing cold weather like -20c or more with idle no more than 1200 and no impaired engine performance. at -20 i would leave warm up 2 mins max before moving in other cars just as normal procedure.

[Chowcman]

This is the first winter in my rogue. Of course, dealer dont believe me since my car is already warm up when i got there.

Sluggish CVT only happen twice if I park my car for more than few days.

[TrevorK]

Anybody get any answers from nissan on this?

You should be able to drive gently right after ignition in all but freezing cold weather like -20c or more with idle no more than 1200 and no impaired engine performance. at -20 i would leave warm up 2 mins max before moving in other cars just as normal procedure.

I drive my 2011 within 30 seconds of starting and experience none of the issues you mention. I also live in an area where it actually gets to -40 as well. Your described behavior does not seem normal, and I cannot see how it would be acceptable given the number of Rogues on the road in cold weather climates.

I have mentioned before in this thread - my RPMs rarely touch 3000RPM when driving, and never when warming up/after startup.

[jazzii]

I finally called my tech at the dealership. I was told, yes, when its really cold, "you will need to warm up the car 10-15 minutes!!! The transmission fluid in the cvt is extremely thick and never needs to be changed". I said, wow, that would be surprising given Nissan "Green" philosophy, and you want me to burn fuel for 10+ minutes before i leave my driveway. 1) This is bad for the environment, 2) costs me money 3) i dont have time to remember/wait 10+ minutes before going to work 4) this is utterly stupid and illogical from an engineering standpoint - i understand that only a few % of rogues in the world will be driving in below -5C weather, but kind of negates any benefits of the cvt gas saving benefits on hiways.

I said "is there any adjustment" - he said no. My next step is to talk to the head of service and then Nissan Canada after that.

As it is currently, if -5c or less overnight for example, if I start up in morning and start moving, it will take a good 5 min of driving to behave normally, and when temp gauge is a good half inch from the left line. I can still move, but the high rpms seem to interfere with getting normal power from the transmission. I can still go, but I would have to give a lot of gas - its as if the handbrake is on half way.

So i guess i will have to plan warmup time until i can get better answers.

[ImStricken06]

I finally called my tech at the dealership. I was told, yes, when its really cold, "you will need to warm up the car 10-15 minutes!!! The transmission fluid in the cvt is extremely thick and never needs to be changed". I said, wow, that would be surprising given Nissan "Green" philosophy, and you want me to burn fuel for 10+ minutes before i leave my driveway. 1) This is bad for the environment, 2) costs me money 3) i dont have time to remember/wait 10+ minutes before going to work 4) this is utterly stupid and illogical from an engineering standpoint - i understand that only a few % of rogues in the world will be driving in below -5C weather, but kind of negates any benefits of the cvt gas saving benefits on hiways.

I said "is there any adjustment" - he said no. My next step is to talk to the head of service and then Nissan Canada after that.

As it is currently, if -5c or less overnight for example, if I start up in morning and start moving, it will take a good 5 min of driving to behave normally, and when temp gauge is a good half inch from the left line. I can still move, but the high rpms seem to interfere with getting normal power from the transmission. I can still go, but I would have to give a lot of gas - its as if the handbrake is on half way.

So i guess i will have to plan warmup time until i can get better answers.

i see your frustrtion. my suggestion is get remote start or a block heater.

you have to throw out the "green" philosophy. car makers dont give a rats butt about it. they are only stressed to conform t o obama's EPA mandates; otherwise they get fined up the rectum. give what i just said, this is a pivotal time in our history, where auto makers experiment with different idea's to achieve good MPG's - even if it means changing the way we own our cars.

[TrevorK]

I finally called my tech at the dealership. I was told, yes, when its really cold, "you will need to warm up the car 10-15 minutes!!! The transmission fluid in the cvt is extremely thick and never needs to be changed". I said, wow, that would be surprising given Nissan "Green" philosophy, and you want me to burn fuel for 10+ minutes before i leave my driveway. 1) This is bad for the environment, 2) costs me money 3) i dont have time to remember/wait 10+ minutes before going to work 4) this is utterly stupid and illogical from an engineering standpoint - i understand that only a few % of rogues in the world will be driving in below -5C weather, but kind of negates any benefits of the cvt gas saving benefits on hiways.

I said "is there any adjustment" - he said no. My next step is to talk to the head of service and then Nissan Canada after that.

As it is currently, if -5c or less overnight for example, if I start up in morning and start moving, it will take a good 5 min of driving to behave normally, and when temp gauge is a good half inch from the left line. I can still move, but the high rpms seem to interfere with getting normal power from the transmission. I can still go, but I would have to give a lot of gas - its as if the handbrake is on half way.

So i guess i will have to plan warmup time until i can get better answers.

You are speaking to someone at the dealership that I suspect is completely out to lunch on how your CVT operates. I would strongly recommend following your path of talking to people more familiar with the vehicle. The idea that you have to warm your car up for 10-15 minutes just boggles my mind as being reasonable.

As well, have you went to a dealership and had a 2016 started (I see your profile states you have one) during this temperature to see if 3000RPM is normal? This should be evidence enough to support your claim of this being a problem.

[Rogue Jarhead]

Thats just the way the cvt operates. After siting overnight the rpm's are high for the first mile or so. We try to take it easy for the first five minutes or so of driving. Do I like it? No, I will probably never buy another vehicle with a cvt transmission. There are some advantages to the cvt, but I have not become enamored with them. Nissan has them , has their share of problems, mini cooper, likewise, jeep, ditto. Probably just an idea that needs some fine tuning.

[SergioM]

I warm up mine for about 5 min and than drive. I don't go higher 2000 RPM at the beginning for about 5 min. After that I go as I need.