Hi. Wondering if anyone had any ideas for my issue below - 09 Rogue with 90k miles (I drive very little). Past couple of hundred miles, starting to notice a burning smell coming from the engine bay that I can't quite tell if is a fluid or rubber or metal or electrical ... my sense of smell is just not that normal.

Once, after accelerating harder than normal (~3.5k rpm), I got a faint smell in the cabin (may have come from outside, I don't know) so I pulled over opened the hood and tried to find the source with the engine on outdoors but no smell now. After mixed highway and city driving for 20+ min with gentle acceleration (rarely hitting 3k), I can smell it after I park in the garage but can't find where it is coming from.

Work done:
0.5 years, 200 miles ago - engine air filter change
6 months, 1k miles ago - CV boot kit replacement on both front inside axles (boots torn), brake pad replacement and engine oil change.
2 years, 10k miles ago, diff/transfer case fluid drain and fill, brake fluid flush and fill.
4 years, 20k miles ago - CVT drain and fill.
5.5 years, 30k miles ago - coolant flush and fill (by dealership).
7.5 years, 40k miles ago - serpentine belt change.

No fluid loss - wiper, engine oil, coolant, brake, diff/transfer case or CVT. No visible smoke to trace or cracks in hoses; wires all look fine, still in insulation wrap. Tried to find if the smell is stronger near at the belt or hoses or brake pads or CV boot or any of the fluids but can't quite tell. CVT fluid does not look dark at all but definitely smells stronger than new NS-2 fluid. Any ideas?! It seems to have started since I change the engine air filter but that makes no sense! I pulled it out and checked it - looks clean!

Also, I don't remember overfilling the CVT when I did the drain and fill but please see attached photo measured with the engine hot and running after driving for ~20 miles and cycling through gear stops - should the level be in the > HOT < zone or the grid pattern or the notch pattern!? I thought the notch was cold and grid was hot. Either way, mine is much higher - comes right up to the bend. Should I just drain some? Please see photo below.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for reading!

I always go in the middle of the crosshatch marks.

Thanks. I’ll try to drain some for good measure. Also, want to add that no codes found using Blue Driver.

Does it smell like burning plastic / rubber?

I had a burning smell coming from the engine bay of my 2011 Nissan Rogue.

When I took a look, it was the cable / plug for the block heater. It was loose and rubbing against the accessory belt.

I went and wrapped it with electrical tape and zip-tied it in place so it wouldn't rub against the accessory belt anymore.

TheRogue wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 28, 2023 2:12 pm

Does it smell like burning plastic / rubber?

I had a burning smell coming from the engine bay of my 2011 Nissan Rogue.

When I took a look, it was the cable / plug for the block heater. It was loose and rubbing against the accessory belt.

I went and wrapped it with electrical tape and zip-tied it in place so it wouldn't rub against the accessory belt anymore.

Thanks but there’s no block heater in this car :-)

Just FYI, spent a lot more time trying to trace the source of the smell - does not seem to be CV boots, brakes, serpentine belt so drained the CVT fluid a little less than half a quart to get it back into the cross hatch mark (so it was not that overfilled). if the smell still lingers, will try drain and fill CVT fluid and if the problem persists, need to try the mechanic.

It looks like the Rogue also has a transmission filter? Does anyone know if Gen 1 (2009) has a filter that needs changing and what the schedule is? Thanks!

Inside the transmission pan is a filter but I prefer to call it what it’s normally called which is a strainer. I changed this long ago.

I prefer to call the real transmission filter which looks like a miniature oil filter that is located inside the behive. If you ever added a transmission cooler, you would know what I’m talking about.

I never changed this because I’m too lazy and personally not worth my effort. My rogue is 13 yrs old too.

casperfun wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 02, 2023 3:31 pm

Inside the transmission pan is a filter but I prefer to call it what it’s normally called which is a strainer. I changed this long ago.

I prefer to call the real transmission filter which looks like a miniature oil filter that is located inside the behive. If you ever added a transmission cooler, you would know what I’m talking about.

I never changed this because I’m too lazy and personally not worth my effort. My rogue is 13 yrs old too.

Thanks. Found exactly what you're talking about and changed the screen, filter and pan gasket (pics attached for others' reference):
However, while removing the pan, I noticed there is a slow leak further back from the black part (part of the frame)? Looking at my garage floor where the car has been parked the last 11 years, I think it has been leaking this slow drip for a long time now as there is a pretty big multi level stain.
Any ideas where that is coming from? It is not coming from the pan and I reached up inside to touch around to see if I could trace the source but no luck ... I'm going to drive around for the next couple of weeks to see if the smell goes away but if you have any ideas where this could be, I'd greatly appreciate it! The fluid is green for sure but is not coolant (my coolant is blue) so I think it is CVT fluid? Thanks again for all your help.

Hi quick update on this - turned out to be the valve cover gasket. DIY tips welcome!

Did my valve cover little while baçk after watching couple diff youtube videos. Need new valve cover if you do job because the spark plug seals will likely be leaking.

I found it silly how much had to be removed to get to the valve cover. i ordered this one for my 14 select and haven't had a leak since.

https://www.amazon.com/MITZONE-Engine-C ... gue+Select

the link has the option for the newer select and the older models too. Make sure to use a torque wrench and tighten the bolts in multiple steps to prevent snapping the heads off.

Step 1 : 17 in-lb
Step 2 : 74 in-lb

Awesome, thanks. Quick question - I saw YT videos where they only support the oil pan with a block of wood on a jack while removing the engine mount bolts - is that sufficient?

Thats the way i did it.

logster wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 30, 2023 5:41 am

Awesome, thanks. Quick question - I saw YT videos where they only support the oil pan with a block of wood on a jack while removing the engine mount bolts - is that sufficient?

+1. That's how we do it in the shop, too, but it's a jackstand and block of wood with the car on the lift. The engine isn't going anywhere provided the other mounts are good, so vertical support from underneath is all that's necessary.

OK. Great. Thanks. I think I’ll try this … don’t have $900 lying around :-(

Iheartjeeps wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 30, 2023 4:56 am

I found it silly how much had to be removed to get to the valve cover. i ordered this one for my 14 select and haven't had a leak since.

https://www.amazon.com/MITZONE-Engine-C ... gue+Select

the link has the option for the newer select and the older models too. Make sure to use a torque wrench and tighten the bolts in multiple steps to prevent snapping the heads off.

Step 1 : 17 in-lb
Step 2 : 74 in-lb

I think they changed the part somewhat where this one has 10 holes but 2 of them are plugged; I think I'll need this one for my 2009:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JVQMGQH/

They did change the part, but structurally it's fine to use a 10-hole cover in place of a 12-hole. Nissan only sells the 10-hole version now, cars that had 12 supersede to the 10-hole part if you buy from a dealer. I think I'd just grease or RTV the unused holes to keep the threads clean in case you ever change back to a 12.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:33 pm

They did change the part, but structurally it's fine to use a 10-hole cover in place of a 12-hole. Nissan only sells the 10-hole version now, cars that had 12 supersede to the 10-hole part if you buy from a dealer. I think I'd just grease or RTV the unused holes to keep the threads clean in case you ever change back to a 12.

Thanks. I ended up getting the Dorman: https://a.co/d/9j656KN

Question - how high do I jack up the oil pan from the tires on the ground - 2”? 4”? I’m just trying to support it while removing the mount and not actually lift it up right? Sorry, never loosened the engine mount before!

I usually drop the car until the jackstand puts just a little upward pressure on the mounts. That way nothing drops when I take the nose mount loose, but it's still within threading range for the attachment bolts without the bolts needing to pull the engine upward to tighten.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:58 am

I usually drop the car until the jackstand puts just a little upward pressure on the mounts. That way nothing drops when I take the nose mount loose, but it's still within threading range for the attachment bolts without the bolts needing to pull the engine upward to tighten.

Thanks man. If it wasn’t for this video https://youtu.be/vTzhA9Zpq4o and help from people like you on this forum, I would not even try this!

I got a bit confused because at 45:58 when he lowered the jack, it just looked like it travelled a good 2-3 inches but when he put the Jack up at 13:03 he said the same as you did - that the Jack was there just to put a little bit of tension on the oil pan and that it would not travel much because of the subframe anyway - so I was confused on why it would move 2-3” when he lowered the Jack back down …

The nose of the engine will drop quite a bit if you let it, but it's really tilting itself and not dropping. It's still suspended on the trans, rear, and center torque mounts. Frankly there's no reason to drop it just for doing a rocker cover, that only requires getting the nose mount bracket off and out of the way.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 31, 2023 11:54 am

The nose of the engine will drop quite a bit if you let it, but it's really tilting itself and not dropping. It's still suspended on the trans, rear, and center torque mounts. Frankly there's no reason to drop it just for doing a rocker cover, that only requires getting the nose mount bracket off and out of the way.

OK, cool thanks. I should get the tools, paste and cover by tomorrow so I’ll try it on Sunday. Thanks!