2021 Nissan Rogue: What to check before buying
Owners have filed 269 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, transmission, and steering. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2021- Owner complaints
- 269
- Recalls
- 13
- Crashes reported
- 22
- 12 injuries
Your inspection sheet
Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2021 Nissan Rogue: inspection sheet
Paperwork and questions
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/1
Walk-around and cabin
Engine off, key in hand0/1
Cold start, engine bay, and underside
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2
Test drive
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/5
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Which Rogue is it?
EPA figures for each version of the 2021 Nissan Rogue. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5L 3-cyl | AWD, FWD | 33 mpg |
| 2.0L 4-cyl | AWD, FWD | 27–28 mpg |
| 2.5L 4-cyl | AWD, FWD | 29–30 mpg |
- The 2021 Nissan Rogue was sold in three versions. Confirm which one this is from the window sticker, the engine cover, or the VIN report before you compare prices.
- Reset the trip computer at the start of the drive. A Rogue that averages well under the EPA 27 mpg combined on a mixed route may have an engine or tire problem.
Check the odometer against these mileages
Owners report these failures starting around the mileages below. A car inside one of these ranges deserves a closer look at that part, or records showing it was already fixed.
Phantom automatic emergency braking
39,000–58,500 miles
CVT loss of acceleration
40,000–48,000 miles
Coolant loss and head gasket failure
120,000–140,000 miles
Why these checks: what owners reported
NHTSA complaints for the 2021 Nissan Rogue, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Electrical471 crash
Sudden electronic shutdowns are the most serious pattern. The car throws a stack of warnings, can shift itself into park and stall in traffic, or refuse to go into or stay in park. Other reports describe batteries draining with a headlight system error, infotainment screens that freeze or reboot, and failed door lock actuators. One owner ties shifter faults to water reaching the shifter assembly. Two fires are reported, one while the car sat parked. Some owners also say recall parts were not yet available.
Transmission213 crashes
The CVT loses drive while the car is moving. Revs climb, the car slows, and power usually returns only after shifting to park and back or restarting. Dealers often cannot reproduce the problem. Reports run from about 40,000 to more than 127,000 miles and mention jerking, slipping, and CVT warning lights. A separate pattern involves a shifter stuck in park or a car that will not hold park, and one owner blames water under the shifter. Three crashes are reported, including a rollaway that injured an owner.
Steering184 crashes
Inner tie rods bend or snap during ordinary driving, even on smooth roads. The car suddenly pulls hard to one side, wobbles, or stops with the front wheels pointing inward. Dealers have quoted a full steering rack, as much as $3,500, and owners report parts that are hard to find and long waits. Some link the failure to a federal steering investigation. Other reports describe the wheel locking mid-turn and loss of steering and brakes when the engine shuts off. Four of the 18 reports involve crashes, three with injuries.
Engine16No crashes
Coolant loss leads to overheating, white exhaust smoke, and coolant mixing into the oil. Several owners say a head gasket failed or the dealer called for a new engine, mostly between 120,000 and 140,000 miles, and one replacement cost $6,231. Radiator fan failures cause overheating at low speed and weak air conditioning. Other reports describe stalls on the highway, hard starts, and engines that rev without accelerating until the car is restarted. At least one dealer cited sludge and refused warranty coverage on a failed engine.
Brakes153 crashes
Automatic emergency braking misbehaves in both directions. The car brakes hard with nothing ahead, sometimes at highway speed or over railroad tracks, and in reverse it reacts to shadows. All three crash reports say the system failed to brake for a real obstacle. Separately, owners describe soft pedals that sink to the floor and grinding from failed calipers. Some owners say a caliper recall did not cover their VIN. Dealers often find no fault.
Automatic emergency braking141 crash
Phantom braking is the main complaint. The car brakes hard at 35 to 70 mph with no vehicle or object ahead, leaving drivers exposed to rear-end collisions. Reports cluster between about 39,000 and 58,500 miles, and some owners say it has happened repeatedly since new. The system also shuts itself off with a malfunction warning in clear, dry weather, which can disable cruise control and related features. Dealers usually cannot duplicate the fault. One crash report says no warning came before impact.
Body and structure14No crashes
Water leaks in at the top corners of the windshield and the A pillars. Owners trace it to roof rail mounts covered by a service bulletin. The water stains and soaks the headliner, and owners report mold and possible rust. Some leaks come back after repair, and one out-of-warranty estimate topped $3,000. Other reports describe sunroofs shattering at highway speed, failed door lock actuators, a door that would not open, and exterior pieces such as wheel well moldings and the fuel door cover flying off on the highway.
Airbags125 crashes
Deployment failures in serious crashes lead this category. Owners describe no bags firing in a rollover and a guardrail impact, or the driver's bag deploying late. Five of the 12 reports involve crashes. A second pattern is the roof rail leak soaking the curtain air bags and headliner, with one repair quoted near $4,000. Owners also report warning lights, a side air bag sensor repair around $1,460, and side air bags deploying with no impact. Some say recall or software updates never appeared for their VIN.
In owners' own words
Excerpts from complaints Rogue owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
Car was driving fine went into a store came out a couple hours later car wouldn’t start. After jump starting it check engine light is on and AWD system failure reads across the dashboard. The 2 back doors no longer lock/unlock unless you do it manually. Drove car home it is now shifting funny like a hesitation or slipping feeling while driving. There’s a little over 15k miles on it.
Filed with NHTSA, March 2025
Back up camera, and other cameras near corners of the car are not displaying. Contacted Nissan about the issue said there is nothing they can do even though they have other recalls on cars with the same problems, just not my model. I also feel as if other components of the car need to be checked to ensure upmost safe driving and functioning. Have photos of car in reverse but no display of any camera.
Filed with NHTSA, July 2025
The vehicle keeps throwing a warning on the dash that states "Engine Malfunction Power reduced Service now" and the performance of the vehicle becomes severely limited. I have had two dealerships attempt to diagnose and repair the issue and the last report back is "Customer States Reduced Powertrain Message Comes on cluster, found same concern on techline data base, no repair can be made at this time. concern still under engineer review".
Filed with NHTSA, January 2022
Went from a parking lot to the street and suddenly SUV wouldn’t accelerate. Pulled over, turned car off. Turned back on and put into drive gear and it moved forward. Car is 6 weeks old (bought 11/8/2022). Two weeks after obtaining the front crash warning light kept flashing. Then it told me it was a warning and not to drive. Comes on weekly. Then it doesn’t.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2022
The car belong to my father. This is the third incident. While he was going out of his property in reverse about 5 miles by hours the car sudently turn off itself making imposible to control the vehicle in any way , no wheel control , no brakes and almost kill his neighbors.
Filed with NHTSA, March 2023
While in drive mode my car just shut off. The dash cluster, screen, etc remained on. I was able to put the car in park and start it again, however this could have caused me a horrible accident losing power while in drive like this. I just purchased this vehicle in June of 2024. It has 81k on it. I called the dealership which I bought it at Mccarthy Auto in Sedalia MO. They said I should call Nissan.
Filed with NHTSA, September 2024
Head gaskets failed at 120,000 miles and had to replace engine. Now transmission failed at 180,000. This car is mostly used for airport taxi so mostly freeway miles.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2025
Leasing 2021 Nissan rogue and approximately September 2023 engine making terrible noises. Brought to dealership and was told engine failure and they were not covering it since they found some sludge. After fighting with them they asked for maintenance records which I gave them all up to date. They still refuse to replace engine. Car was held hostage unless I paid for engine which I did. Looking for way to recoup my money
Filed with NHTSA, May 2024
How the 2021 compares with other Rogue years
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2021 ranks fourth for owner complaints among 9 Rogue years, close to the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
- Electrical4731
- Transmission2122
- Steering185
- Engine1648
- Brakes1538
- Automatic emergency braking1423
Recalls to confirm (13)
Recall repairs are free at any Nissan dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
25V437000EngineJun 2025
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Rogue, 2019-2020 Altima, 2019-2022 Infiniti QX50, and 2022 Infiniti QX55 vehicles equipped with 3-cylinder 1.5L or 4-cylinder 2.0L variable compression turbo (VC-Turbo) engines. The engine bearings may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine failure.
Risk: Engine failure increases the risk of a crash. A bearing failure may cause a breach in the engine block, allowing hot oil to be discharged, increasing the risk of an engine fire.
Fix: Dealers will reprogram the engine control module (ECM) software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed February 2, 2026. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 800-647-7261 or Infiniti's customer service at 1-800-662-6200. Nissan's numbers for this recall are R25A8/A9 and R25B1/B2.
23V791000BrakesNov 2023
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue vehicles. The left and/or right rear brake caliper assemblies may be missing an internal bushing, allowing the O-ring seal to move and brake fluid to leak.
Risk: A loss of brake fluid may reduce braking performance, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right rear brake calipers, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 12, 2024. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC933. The two vehicles that were previously inspected under recall 21V-286 and did not receive a brake caliper replacement will need to have the new remedy completed.
23V093000ElectricalFeb 2023
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2014-2020 Rogue and 2017-2022 Rogue Sport vehicles equipped with a jackknife style ignition key. The jackknife key may collapse into a folded position while driving.
Risk: Driver contact with a key in the collapsed position could inadvertently shut off the vehicle while driving, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, if the vehicle shuts off while driving, the air bags may not deploy in a crash as intended, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will insert a spacer into the key slot of the jackknife key, free of charge. Interim notification letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed March 29, 2023. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 30, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22C5.
22V772000Backup cameraOct 2022
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2022 Titan, Titan XD, Frontier, and 2021-2022 Rogue vehicles. The in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system may continuously reboot when the vehicle is restarted, which can result in an inoperative rearview display. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: An inoperative rearview camera display reduces the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The IVI software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 18, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's numbers for this recall are R22B8, R22C1, and PC923/25.
22V666000Seat beltsSep 2022
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rogue vehicles. The rear seat belts for the left-hand and right-hand rear seats may not retract properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," and 209, "Seatbelt Assemblies.".
Risk: Seat belts that do not retract properly may be difficult to operate, preventing their usage, which can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rear seat belts, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 27, 2023. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC915.
22V527000Backup cameraJul 2022
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Rogue, 2022 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Titan rental vehicles. When the Sirius XM subscription is set to "Not Subscribed," it may cause the infotainment head unit to reboot, resulting in an inoperative rearview camera. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility.".
Risk: An inoperative rearview camera display reduces the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The Infotainment system software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 29, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan's customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R22A5 PC901 PC902.
21V957000Fuel systemDec 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue vehicles. Abnormal wear inside the fuel pump may cause it to overheat and fail.
Risk: Fuel pump failure may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 27, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R21B8.
21V555000Seat beltsJul 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue Sport vehicles. The seat belt automatic locking retractor (ALR) may deactivate early, reducing the protection offered to an installed child seat. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection.".
Risk: A seat belt retractor that does not function as intended can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front passenger seat belt and as necessary both outer rear seat belts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 14, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is RT049 & RT050.
21V525000Body and structureJul 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue Sport vehicles. The liftgate hinges can separate from the vehicle during a rear end crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components.".
Risk: Separated hinges compromise the protection offered by the liftgate, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right liftgate hinges, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 7, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R21A7.
21V474000SeatsJun 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue vehicles. The second-row upper tether wires may have been improperly welded to the seatback frame, preventing a child seat from being securely anchored. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 225, "Child Restraint Anchorage Systems.".
Risk: An insecurely anchored child seat can move during a sudden stop or crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rear seatbacks as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 30, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC812.
21V286000BrakesApr 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Rogue vehicles. The rear left and/or right brake caliper assemblies may be missing an internal bushing, allowing the O-ring seal to move and brake fluid to leak.
Risk: A loss of brake fluid may reduce braking performance, increasing the risk of crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the left and/or right rear brake calipers, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 10, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC804.
21V186000Wheels and tiresMar 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Nissan Rogue vehicles. The incorrect wheel nuts may have been installed, and may loosen causing wheel vibration.
Risk: The wheel vibration may break the wheel studs and cause the wheel assembly to separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wheel nuts and replace any incorrect ones, free of charge. The recall began May 4, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC799.
21V068000Fuel systemFeb 2021
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2021 Nissan Rogue vehicles. The fuel hose may not be secured in the proper position and the fuel tank lock ring may not be fully seated.
Risk: An improperly secured fuel hose may leak, increasing the risk of a fire. The fuel hose may also disconnect completely, causing the engine to stall and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, reposition and secure the fuel hose and lock ring, free of charge. The recall began March 16, 2021. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PC791.
Also looking at these instead of a Rogue?
Cars shoppers compare with the Nissan Rogue, with their own 2021 checklists.
2021 owner complaints, side by side
- GMC Terrain28
- Kia Sportage34
- Hyundai Tucson58
- Volkswagen Tiguan106
- Subaru Forester196
- Honda CR-V241
- 2021 Nissan Rogue269
