Shifting from 1 to 4

[dvshyper1]

Hey everyone, I noticed that everytime I go from a complete stop, my Rogue feels like it'll start off at 1st gear and then straight to 4th gear. It pulls away fast and then the engine feel weaker until I reach about 30-35 mph. Is that just the way the CVT system works?

Thanks

[kdearduff]

I've had a rogue for less than 24 hours, so I may be off here, but I think it works like this:

The cvt doesn't have gears, it uses pulleys to constantly adjust the ratio between the engine and driveshaft. A 6spd car would have 6 ratios, a cvt has an "infinite" amount of ratios. So, when you take off in "1st", the transmission is trying to get you off the line and is using the best ratio for low-end acceleration. Since the rogue isn't a sports car, it then changes to a ratio that is more focused on delivering good gas mileage as opposed to acceleration. I'm still learning about the paddles, but my guess is that using the paddles just make the cvt jump to specified ratios, mimicking the changing ratios associated with a 6spd changing gears. If you kept the gas floored, I'm guessing the cvt would behave differently, though I only have 8 miles of driving experience under my belt to speak from!

[kerrton]

Hey everyone, I noticed that everytime I go from a complete stop, my Rogue feels like it'll start off at 1st gear and then straight to 4th gear. It pulls away fast and then the engine feel weaker until I reach about 30-35 mph. Is that just the way the CVT system works?

Thanks

My Rogue does this too (I've had mine for over a year now), and at times it does seem very strange, it gives that "surge" feeling as the transmission goes from low gear to a very high gear very suddenly.

Not everyone will experience this with their Rogue, because it depends so heavily on how you drive. If you just hammer on the throttle you won't experience this. I experience this "surge" scenario as you described when starting from a stop, with the engine and trans warmed up, and with a VERY light gas peddle/throttle. The CVT surges into a very high gear after about 1 second and it feels as though something is not quite right, but I believe this is how it is designed. At times it does worry me though, because it feels so strange.

To be honest, I give it a little more gas in these situations to prevent this from happening, because to me it instinctively feels like it's hard on the CVT and engine - that surge as it locks into high gear and the engine rpms drop right off AND the vibration starts (this is also normal BTW) seems a little hard on the car but of course I can't say for sure. The bottom line is that this seems to be normal designed operation for the CVT in order to provide the best fuel economy, but I'm more concerned with avoiding extra wear and tear than a minor increase in fuel economy.

[philipa_240sx]

Some have commented Nissan CVT's have the best programming out there and behave more like a conventional automatic than the other CVT's on the market. Anybody who's rode on a snowmobile knows what that is like... annoying high rpms and noise.

IMHO Nissan has got it right with thier CVT's... drive aggressively and it will keep the engine rpm's high for maximum power. Drive it gently and it selects the highest gear possible for maximum fuel economy. Once you get used it, conventional automatics will feel very unnatural by comparison!

[kerrton]

I would agree to a point, I am happy with my CVT but the "surging" effect that we are describing here is something that will likely make a lot of owners nervous as it feels very strange. I drive an Escape hybrid at work and although the CVT part is the same, it feels very different than the Rogue due to programming I guess. To be perfectly honest I prefer its programming to that of the Rogue as it is very seemless and I don't get any surging or high rpms/noise. Anyway, I couldn't be happier with my Rogue and I can live with some of the little quarks of the CVT programming.

[takeshi]

I can't recall experiencing this but the Rogue isn't my primary car and I have a lead foot...

[dvshyper1]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I feel a little more confident now about the CVT. I just wanted to make sure this was a normal.