Rogue Paddle Shifters

[mag318]

My 2008 Rogue came with paddle shifters which were great fun to play with when I first bought the AWD version. Since then I seldom use them but it's still nice to know they're there should I want to. This week my wife and I took a road trip to north western Illinois to Galena where the roads are very twisty and hilly. For two days while driving the area I constantly used the paddle shifters and rediscovered how much fun they are. Using the engines braking power on downhill runs save large ammounts of brake wear, yes at 56,000 miles I'm still on the original brakes. I'm contemplating buying a new Rogue in 2012/13 but see that Nissan has dropped the paddle shifters. I only hope that they realize that error and start putting them on Rogues again. Seems like in for the 2011 model they dropped another option I really use a lot, the Homelink mirror with the garage door openers built in. Perhaps by the time I'm ready for a new one these options will again be available.

[bill875]

I was aware they dropped the paddle shifters which is a shame. I don't use them often, but they sure are fun. The one thing that I have really gotten spoiled with is the auto-dimming Rear-view Mirror with Homelink and the Compass built in. This would quite possibly be a deal-breaker for me.

[Nick 568]

I really like shifting down to first then blasting through the roundabouts.
They're fantastic when towing. I always use them to slow down in addition to the brakes to help save wear (despite rotors warping at just 25k...).

I can see why Nissan dropped them (save money, allow for other options at a lower price that have now become almost industry standards), and I find it hard to be very upset over the loss. I view them as nice to have, but would be fine without. That being said, if the 08 didn't have those paddle shifters, I wouldn't be on the Rogue forum...

[takeshi]

Homelink mirrors are easily added. Paddle shifters, however, are not.

[MadOx75]

The paddle shifters were neat, and I was sad that they didnt offer them in the 2011. However, its something that I rarely would have used, and I've found that for those times I would have used the paddle shifter to gear down and blow past someone or for extra power up a mountain that the overdrive button right on the shifter is just as useful and more convenient... One little click and I gain all kinds of RPMs.

[philipa_240sx]

FYI:

The paddle/Manual shifters were deleted on all US spec Rogue's starting in MY2010. They were still available in Canada as part of the SL Premium Pack in MY2010.

With the MY2011 refresh, this option was deleted from Canada spec Rogue's as well.

[psfod3]

Is the ability to manually shift on the center gear shifter still available or was that option also removed with the paddle shifters?

[MadOx75]

Is the ability to manually shift on the center gear shifter still available or was that option also removed with the paddle shifters?

Nope, that's gone too. Its basically just a standard automatic shifter with P-R-N-D-L and the Overdrive button.

[ImStricken06]

My 2008 Rogue came with paddle shifters which were great fun to play with when I first bought the AWD version. Since then I seldom use them but it's still nice to know they're there should I want to. This week my wife and I took a road trip to north western Illinois to Galena where the roads are very twisty and hilly. For two days while driving the area I constantly used the paddle shifters and rediscovered how much fun they are. Using the engines braking power on downhill runs save large amounts of brake wear, yes at 56,000 miles I'm still on the original brakes. I'm contemplating buying a new Rogue in 2012/13 but see that Nissan has dropped the paddle shifters. I only hope that they realize that error and start putting them on Rogues again.

THATS EXACTLY WHY THEY DROPPED THE PADDLE SHIFTERS.
YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO DOWNSHIFT AS A FORM OF A 'JAKE-BRAKE". WHAT YOUR SAVING IN BRAKE PAD WEAR, YOUR NOW PLACING THAT WEAR & TEAR ONTO THE CLUTCH-PACK & INTERNAL STEEL BELT OF THE CVT transmission. (and your wasting gas by making the engine rev higher thus using more fuel)
From my experience on racing the bike at the track, one thing i watch rookies learn the hard way: is when down-shifting and NOT blipping the throttle to rev-match.
either your going to lock your tires up, or your going to blow your clutch out- one of the two is going to happen.
THE MOTION OF THE VEHICLE ISNT GOING TO STOP; ITS TO GREAT & THE HORSEPOWER OF THE ENGINE IS NOT GOING TO LOOSE IN THIS EQUATION EITHER.
YOUR NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO DOWNSHIFT WITHOUT REV-MATCHING IN A MANUAL CAR! (hence why the 370z now offers a rev-match button)

[mag318]

Whatever the reason for deleting the paddle shifters, Nissan made a mistake IMO. My Rogue now has 68,000 miles and on my last oil change they checked my brakes and they are still fine. When the next generation Rogue comes out next year I'll give it a look. If it doesn't really impress me I'll just keep my 2008. This Rogue has been the first vehicle in my life that I've kept for 5 years, it's that good. I still get 31 mpg on the highway and 24/25 around town. I hope the new American built Rogues coming next year will have the same build quality as the Japanese examples, we'll see.

[ImStricken06]

Whatever the reason for deleting the paddle shifters, Nissan made a mistake IMO.

i absolutely agree with you. i LOVE my paddle shifters. as someone who has driven sticks before, and currently also has a stick-shift g37s - having control over such a stubborn cvt that goes into what appears to be 6th gear so quickly, its nice to be able to tell it to downshift when entering a highway.

i just wanted to clarify that downshifting as a form of braking- is a BIG no-no in any car (unless its has a stage3 clutch that can handle the torque.)
And i feel that removing all possibility of stress on the CVT is the motivating factor why they removed the paddle shifters.
im sure plenty people where blowing their transmission's out prematurely by:
1. Driving in a low gear at high speeds continuously(over-heating the transmission)
2. Using the engine as 3rd brake and blowing the clutch packs out quickly.
3. Doing high pressure passing by downshifting to a very low gear at highway speeds and accelerating hard.
-=all of those are BIG no-no's with this cvt, and any automatic paddle shift vehicles=-

they just dont want to be changing transmission's out so often by people not knowing how to properly paddle shift for 10yrs/120,000miles.