2023 Nissan Rogue: What to check before buying

Complete failure, often at highway speed, is the main pattern. Reports describe knocking and whistling that grows with throttle, heavy shaking at idle, and sudden power loss, sometimes with a steam or smoke cloud. Dealers find coolant in the spark plug wells, failed head gaskets, or metal chunks in the oil pan, and call for a new engine, often between 50,000 and 71,000 miles. Some replacement engines fail again. Many owners say the open engine recall has no remedy yet. Several also describe exhaust or fuel fumes in the cabin, and 3 injuries are reported.

Most of these reports concern the federal engine bearing recall, and many say recall parts are back-ordered with no repair date. Owners who did have failures describe sudden power loss at highway speed, smoke from the engine bay, knocking or clicking, and stalling. Dealers find metal shavings in the oil pan or coolant intrusion and replace the engine. In at least one case the knocking returned after the recall repair. Two crash reports involve a stall near a highway exit and the car speeding up while braking.

Highway limp mode is the main pattern. Power drops with an AWD error, multiple warnings, and collision-avoidance features shutting off. Dealers often find nothing or point to the engine bearing or turbo hose recalls. Other reports describe the shifter slipping from reverse into drive, a parked car rolling back, a transmission replaced at about 30,000 miles, and worn left motor mounts covered by a service bulletin causing heavy vibration. Composite oil pans with easily stripped drain plugs also appear. Two crash reports involve gear and rollback problems.

A strong raw fuel smell enters the cabin, usually within the first few thousand miles. It gets worse with the heater on or in stop-and-go traffic, and garages smell of gasoline after the car is parked. Owners report headaches, nausea, and lightheadedness while driving. Dealers often find no leak, replace a hose that does not help, or say the issue is under engineering review with no fix. A few reports also mention sudden reduced-power events that clear after a restart.

Many of these reports repeat the engine pattern. Every dash light comes on, the "Engine Malfunction Power Reduced" message appears, and the car is limited to low speed until it is restarted. Owners connect this to the engine bearing recall, which they say has no remedy yet. Other complaints describe the center screen going dark with automatic emergency braking switched off at startup, rear doors that fail to unlock, overheating, and jerking after auto stop-start. One crash report involves brakes not responding in a parking garage.

The rear hatch glass shatters without warning, often with a loud bang like a gunshot. It happens while driving or while the car sits parked, including in closed garages. Many reports mention cold or wet weather, and several had the rear defroster on. Drivers lose rear visibility, and glass ends up in the cargo area. Dealers generally deny responsibility, so owners pay for repairs themselves or file insurance claims. These reports describe no injuries, but several had children in the back seat.

Automatic emergency braking engages with nothing ahead, slowing the car sharply at highway speed. One crash with 3 injuries began this way. More often, cruise control and the driver aids shut off on their own with malfunction or lane camera over-temperature messages, leaving the car to coast down in traffic. Dealers replace distance sensors and lane cameras, sometimes more than once, and the fault returns. Some parts are back-ordered. A few owners say the system failed to detect real obstacles.

Cruise control and the driver aids cut out repeatedly with a "front sensor blocked" message, sometimes several times per trip and often in cold weather. Each time, the car slows suddenly on the highway. Replacing sensors has not fixed it. Other reports describe reduced-power limp mode at very low speeds, an engine revving against the brake while stopped, and unintended acceleration while parking. Two crash reports are included, one of them after automatic braking failed to prevent a collision.

No air bags deploy in some serious collisions. The two crash reports describe heavy side and front driver-side impacts with nothing going off and 3 injuries between them. One of those crashes also had no emergency braking or collision warning. A third report concerns engine failure rather than the air bags, and the fourth owner only got a notice that the air bag system was not working properly. The sample is small, with only 4 complaints.