The problems from the CVT failures were people not servicing them with genuine Nissan fluid or the proper fluid and not servicing at proper intervals. Yes, back before the D-suffix CVT transmissions, there was a flaw that was warrantied and the transmission was redesigned, unlike Ford which kept shoving defective transmissions out until they had to discontinue the sedan line of cars it was so bad.


The Ford transmissions have been an utter failure and the GM 4L60 is absolute trash. Has always been, but people just keep shoving parts in them and think they're great.

I JUST purchased a Rogue Sport AWD after buying the Juke AWD 2 years ago. The Juke has been flawless. It let me know when the transmission fluid needed servicing when it disconnected the torque converter clutch to prevent belt slippage. I changed the fluid with OEM fluid and it's been perfect.

The Nissan CVT will NEED fluid service every 35K. Do not use ANY other fulid other than the recommended OEM fluid it will destroy the transmission. You can do it yourself like an oil change in less than 30 minutes.

Cousins wife has a Juke. They have no complaints and this from a family with a 2020 Power Wagon and mid 90's Viper.

My only dealings with Nissan has been for rental vehicles and I wasn't a fan. Last year, I ended up in a Rogue and it was flat out one of my least favorite rides ever. The transmission is atrocious. I hate CVT's in general, but that was the worst yo-yo feeling thing I've ever been in. It was very similar to driving an old farm truck with a worn clutch. Give it a little gas and it would barely go....a little more and you'd get rolling but you had to really finesse it because if you weren't careful, the thing would surge and take off due to being higher in the RPM range. Felt like I was working too hard to keep the thing happy and really took my attention off of the road where it should have been. If all you do is Interstate/highway miles with long stretches of 60+ MPH and you're looking for a gas miser, then it'll probably work, but it wouldn't do for stop and go traffic. Look at Toyota or Mazda for better fit/finish, reliability, and resale value.

We have been driving Nissan’s practically exclusively since 1982. That’s included one of practically every model they offered at one time or another. I can count on one hand the number of issues I’ve had. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but there you are.

Have three of them right now and am satisfied with all. Having said that, I’m not all that impressed with CVT technology

My boss' daughter has a mid-teens Altima & his wife has a 19 (i think) loaded (Platinum Reserve or something like that) Rogue.
Both have been really great for them.

My brother-in-law's wife also has a couple year old Rogue SL & they love it as well.

Personally, I've never been a huge Nissan fan, from a DIY perspective, their parts always seemed considerably higher priced than the competition.

Had a coworker with a Sentra that needed a window motor or regulator. The part was triple what the same part was for my Acura TL (via rockauto).

From the few I've driven (rentals) I'm not a fan of the Nissan CVT. The Subaru CVT, on the other hand, felt almost like a traditional automatic.

So far I really like my new Rogue Sport a lot.
It's smaller than the full sized Rogue, but way bigger than our Juke. I've only had it a few weeks now. It was a year old with under 20k on it and I got it for almost half of sticker of a new 2020. All of Nissans 2021 offerings will be a redesign.

I get anywhere between 28 to 31 mpg driving mixed traffic city/highway every day.


The AWD is fully locking so it will apply traction to all 4 wheels at once. Even in a turn, so don't lock it on the pavement.

My brother bought the full sized Rogue with the 2.5 in it and it's a very nice car inside. We changed his CVT fluid back last fall with the Juke's and it was just as easy as the Juke.

I did the CVT fluid in my wife's 2014 Rogue at 60K, even though manual calls for 100K. And I used Nissan genuine CVT fluid. Pricey but doable when you DIY.

I've rented over 500 cars over the past 20 years of business travel. When I've ended up with the Nissan four cylinder and CVT, I've had to whip it to get it to move. The V6 (Maxima, Murano) with CVT is fine because it has the HP to get it going. I've had the V8 in the Titan and Armada (drove like a fat lard) and it was fine. The Frontier is a fine, simple little truck and plenty capable in the semi-off roads of the Permian basin.

If I was in the market for this type of vehicle (small to medium size crossover), I'd look at either the Subaru Crosstrek on the small end, or the Toyota RAV 4 on the larger end.

The Crosstrek is really a small station wagon with a little lift, so cladding, and a bit of attitude. But they added 30 HP this year, because heretofore it was a bit underpowered. The new engine should cure that, and it's handling should be pretty car like.

The RAV 4 has been discussed to death here. It's well liked.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Is there something compelling about this particular vehicle that is appealing to you?

Nissan, as a whole, has been really poorly managed, and I haven't read anything about the brand lately that sparks confidence.

Brand reputation drives resale (and thus overall ownership cost), and I wouldn't go anywhere near Nissan anymore.

Of the Japanese brands, my perception is that Mazda and Subaru have moved up the ranks while Nissan has dropped several notches, barely above Mitsubishi. Toyota and Honda still continue to profit from their reputation of producing boringly reliable vehicles.

I had a 2014 Mazda 6. Mechanically it was fine. Electronics on the other hand were terrible.

I rented an 2020 SV AWD Rogue for 2 weeks, last month.

It has all the whiz bang stuff you'd expect in a newer car and was drivable enough on interstate and state highways. I can't speak to the AWD part of the equation, nor the long term reliability, but it was decent enough.

Android-auto was usable, ergonomics were decent, as was power. That's all I can offer based on 2 weeks of use.