2016 Nissan Rogue

Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues

Power train is the leading concern among 540 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 19 Rogue model years with reports.

Complaints by model year
  1. 540

Of the 2016 reports, 35 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 36 people were injured and 3 people died.

Primary concernPower train176 reports · 33% of complaints
Owner complaints540Filed with NHTSA
Recall relationship7 safety recallsNHTSA campaign records

What owners report most often

  1. Power train176
  2. Electrical system125
  3. Other or unspecified87
  4. Engine63
  5. Air bags61
  6. Structure30
  7. Vehicle speed control25
  8. Steering23

Recalls and investigations

  1. Electrical system, ignition, anti-theft, immobilizer/proximity, key/senderFeb 16, 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.

    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.

    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.

    Campaign 23V093000 on NHTSA.gov

  2. Electrical system, wiring, interior/under dashJan 21, 2022

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Rogue vehicles. The electrical connector for the under dash harness may corrode due to water and salt intrusion from the driver's side foot well.

    Corrosion in the electrical connector can result in power window/seat failure, all-wheel-drive warning light illumination, battery drainage, and electrical connector damage that increases the risk of a fire.

    Dealers will remove the harness tape and harness covering and replace both connectors and apply white lithium grease to the connectors as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 23, 2022. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669. Nissan's number for this recall is R21B9.

    Campaign 22V024000 on NHTSA.gov

  3. SeatsNov 14, 2017

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2016 Nissan Rogue vehicles. The vehicles have front passenger seat frames that may be improperly welded. As such, these vehicles fail to meet performance requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 202a, "Head Restraints" and FMVSS 207, "Seating Systems."

    In the event of a crash, the improperly welded seat back frames may increase the risk of injury.

    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat back assembly, free of charge. The recall began January 08, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

    Campaign 17V716000 on NHTSA.gov

  4. SeatsOct 18, 2017

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Nissan Rogue vehicles. The recliner joints on the lower seat frame for the rear seats may have improper welds. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) number 207, "Seating Systems," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."

    The insufficient welds can increase the risk of injury to the occupants in the event of a crash.

    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat frames and replace any defective lower seat frames, free of charge. The recall began December 6, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

    Campaign 17V663000 on NHTSA.gov

  5. Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationDec 19, 2016

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.

    If the front passenger seat occupant is misclassified, the air bag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

    Campaign 16V911000 on NHTSA.gov

  6. Air bags, sensor, occupant classificationApr 26, 2016

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.

    If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.

    Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-867-7669, Infiniti customer service at 1-888-833-3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020.

    Campaign 16V244000 on NHTSA.gov

  7. Structure, body, hatchback/liftgate, support device/strutApr 15, 2016

    Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Nissan Rogue vehicles manufactured July 31, 2013, to January 16, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the rear lift gate support stays may corrode due to insufficient anti-corrosion treatment.

    Corrosion of one or both of the rear lift gate support stays could cause a sudden release of pressure. If this occurs, the support stays may break off, increasing the risk of injury.

    Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear tailgate stays, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2016. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

    Campaign 16V219000 on NHTSA.gov

Representative owner complaints: power train

176 reports, newest first. Show all

  1. Power train, Jul 26, 2022

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission fluid level indicator was fluctuating. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission fluid sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

  2. Power train, Jul 18, 2022

    2016 Nissan Rogue had transmission faililure while driving: gear slippage, engine racing and loss of power - unable to place in gear to drive. No warning message given. Vehicle was towed to Grossman Nissan in Old Saybrook, CT. It was diagnosed by dealer as CVT transmission defect internal failure and transmission replaced with a different transmission system on 6/23/22 with a bill of $4100. This is a known Nissan defect and could have caused an accident and injury.

  3. Power train, Vehicle speed control, Jul 16, 2022

    Our vehicle uses a CVT transmission and when driving the vehicle it will frequently get stuck in a lower gear that does not allow the vehicle to accelerate. This sometimes can get remedied by pulling over to side of the road if possible and then turning off the vehicle and turning it back on. Unfortunately, this is very dangerous because most of the times it occurs when we are in the middle of traffic or merging to another lane. The vehicle will not accelerate pass 40 mph and the rpm is very high. We have brought it up to the attention of Nissan but nothing is ever said about it. We believe this issue is very dangerous to owners of the Nissan Rogue and Nissan also has a history of issues with CVT on earlier models. We believe that the issue is being ignored by Nissan to repair or replace the CVT transmission on these models.

  4. Power train, Jul 13, 2022

    We've owned this Nissan Rogue since since we bought it around 6,000 miles. I've maintained it and driven it almost completely all highway miles as we live in a rural area. Required maintenance schedule was followed and CVT transmission service was done at a Nissan Dealer. Without warning, the car lost acceleration/power in the middle of the highway as we were driving into town to take my son to baseball practice. We were nearly in a major accident as we could not accelerate. The engine kept revving as we put the pedal to the floor but would not move faster. Bringing it to the nearest dealership less than a mile away, he inspected it and informed us that the transmission would need to be replaced. Their little dealership had already done "over 70 of these" as Nissan "had a known problem with their CVT transmission." According to him it was poorly designed and they knew it. They had remedied some of the problems in the new/rebuilt transmission that could replace it, but refused to issue a recall for the defective transmissions. Cost to repair: more than $5,000! We could have been seriously injured or killed! This is a huge safety hazard that Nissan absolutely knows about and refuses to fix.

  5. Power train, Jul 1, 2022

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. Additionally, the vehicle would not exceed 20 MPH while accelerating. Also, while operating the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not yet notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.

  6. Suspension, Power train, Jun 23, 2022

    At 135,000 miles, this car should not have transmission failure. The Constant Variable Transmission is defective and should be eligible for recall.

  7. Power train, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 21, 2022

    on a few occasions in 2022 (3 that im aware of) the rogue would stop accelerating. The top speed was about 15 miles an hour while the RPMs ran about 4000. Last week the problem happened again. I was 1 mile from a mechanic so I drove it slowly in. The mechanic hooked up some diagnostic equipment (about the size of an iPad )and was able to confirm that I had a transmission issue. He let me know that I needed to bring it into a Nissan dealership for the repair. He was aware of the problems with the Nissan CRT transmission and thought it may haver been recalled. The mechanic reset the error codes to I could drive it home. That was a few days ago and the car is running fine still. I took the car to Nissan of Devon to have the problem addressed but they were not able to do anything since the error codes had been reset. They did recommend I spend $150 for a software update. I had that done. The problem now is that the car is at 83,453 miles. The dealership let me know that in Leo of a recall the warranty was extended but the new expiration is now 84,000 miles. That doesn't leave many miles to go. Even though the problem with the transmission is dangerous I need to drive it in HOPES of making the situation happen again in the next week or so.

  8. Power train, Visibility/wiper, Jun 9, 2022

    My drivers side window doesn’t go up and down consistently, also just spent 1500.00 for a total tune up, always do my oil changes tires brakes etc. now I’m driving down the road and my car jerked so hard it caused my forearm to beep the horn and the driver behind me just missed rear ending me. It happened two more times driving very slow to get home and again almost got rear ended. I spent 32,000.00 for this car not even six years old. I have a 2007 Nissan Versa bottom of the line that has over 200,000 miles no problems. Nissan is very aware of the problem with these CVT’s and the extended warranty isn’t helping me as I drive a lot for work all highway, I can’t even work right now! This is ridiculous! They tried to tell me that 125,000 is a lot of miles I was like are you kidding me this is a 32,000.00 car! My Versa was 16,000 and almost ten years older and still going strong. If they are ok with these cars some only lasting from 45,000 miles to 125,000 miles then the price should be reduced severely!

  9. Power train, Jun 5, 2022

    Several months ago, my car would seem to shift into low and rev very high without moving any faster. I took it in to the dealership, and they added transmission fluid. Since then, the frequency of this occurrence has increased to several times per week. This last time, the check engine light came on. I have an appointment on Monday to take the car in for repair to the dealership.

  10. Power train, Mar 11, 2022

    Around 60k miles, the car started intermittently having a significant delay from the point when the accelerator was pressed and car moved. Often, once car started accelerating it went much faster than anticipated. Sometimes the car had a jerking motion mostly when traveling up a hill. I reported it to the dealership but it was to be deemed no trouble found. The rep did indicate that what I was describing sounded like a common transmission issue, but I am already past warranty and recommended just keeping an eye on it. Over time it progressively became more frequent. It failed completely at 96k miles with i's last run that took around 5 seconds from accelerator was pressed to the car moving. At which point, the car jutted out into traffic but was unable to accelerate. These problems have caused potential accidents where I could have rear-ended someone else because of the sudden fast movement after a delay. Or in the case of the last run (which incident is being reported), cars behind me had to swerve to avoid hitting me because I was unable to get car moving at the traffic's speed. The check engine light came on after the fact, but there were never any warning lamps or messages related to the transmission prior to the incident and because of this the dealership was unable to discuss with manufacturer early on about a warranty exception.

  11. Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Mar 8, 2022

    My car will randomly stall out when I drive and forget it’s in Drive…..my RPMs will shoot up but the car does not go, it looses the power of driving as if the car was put into neutral but wasn’t.

  12. Power train, Vehicle speed control, Seats, Mar 4, 2022

    At seemingly random times the 2016 Nissan Rogue SUV will jerk or shudder while in motion. I would normally travel at a consistent speed but this issue causes sudden jerking/shuddering. I believe it involves the transmission. This creates a significant safety hazard to myself and others while on the road. If my car suddenly stops or significantly slows down while on the freeway it could cause a crash. Additionally when I turn corners I will periodically hear and feel a creak in the front driver's seat. It legitimately feels like the seat is not properly secured and that I would slide out of position given enough force.

  13. Power train, Feb 28, 2022

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently stalled without warning. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the roadway and then towed to a dealer. The contact was informed that the CVT transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V024000 (Electrical System) and the contact was informed that part was not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000

  14. Power train, Feb 19, 2022

    CVT transmission issues.

  15. Power train, Feb 18, 2022

    Just purchased car a few months ago, transmission just went @ 40,000 miles

  16. Power train, Feb 10, 2022

    While on highway car suddenly was not accelerating. Pulled to side of road and turned off car and restarted and would not go forward or backward, was like it was in neutral. Towed the vehicle to be looked at and was told a new transmission was needed.

  17. Power train, Jan 27, 2022

    The vehicle is doggy and won't shift. The rpms just keep climbing with no power causing me to be in a high speed limit area slowing down significantly fast as the transmission won't engage, almost getting rear ended.

  18. Power train, Dec 29, 2021

    I have been having issues with the transmission in my 2016 Nissan Rogue. At the date of the filing of a class action lawsuit regarding this issue there were 38 complaints lodged with the NHTSA regarding this same issue, for just that year of the model. That total does not include any complaints regarding the Pathfinder, Altima, Infinity, Versa, or Sentry, or prior or consecutive years of the Rogue, even though there are multiple complaints regarding the issue. The NHTSA does not seem to be concerned with the safety of those that have filed complaints regarding this issue, as they have not ordered a recall. I was even informed earlier that there were no complaints on record, so either the representative did not look closely enough, or at all. To explain the issue all you have to do is look at all other complaints regarding the CVT issue in the Nissan models, lack of acceleration, increased rpms due to revving, lagging when driving, increased shaking when stopped. Please take the complaints serious and have Nissan fix the defect that they are more than aware of. Nissan only acknowledges a problem after warranty expires, and now they are minimally extending warranties to address problem, but most have already gone over mileage extension. This needs to be addressed as an imminent safety issue.

  19. Power train, Nov 3, 2021

    The transmission began to fail and caused the vehicle to stall for approximately 5 to 6 seconds before moving. There were several instances where I was unable to move my vehicle while in the parking lot and came close to being hit by another vehicle or came close to hitting another vehicle. It is known to Nissan that their CVTs fail and my vehicle had began to fail at 35k miles. They replaced the transfer case 4 times but never replaced the transmission despite my request.

  20. Power train, Engine and engine cooling, Oct 21, 2021

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated with the RPM rising. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to respond with the accelerator pedal depressed all the way to the floorboard. The contact stated there was a discrepancy between the speed of the vehicle and the RPM. The contact also stated that the passenger’s side front seat belt failed to restraint the passenger when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V663000 (Seats, Seat Belts). The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated once. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the TCM and ECM software needed to be updated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

  21. Power train, Air bags, Latches/locks/linkages, Oct 18, 2021

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked while depressing the accelerator pedal without warning. She also stated that the vehicle would stall upon the depression of the accelerator pedal to the floorboard with an unknown red warning light intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. Additionally, she mentioned that the trunk would fail to open and that the passenger’s side airbag warning light would intermittently illuminate without an occupant in the seat. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

  22. Power train, Oct 18, 2021

    The contact's daughter owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at various speeds, an abnormal banging sound was coming from the engine without warning. Her daughter had initially taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who repaired the transmission housing; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was brought back to the mechanic who then notified the local dealer of the failure. The mechanic was informed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty; however, the local dealer agreed to cover half the cost for a new transmission. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was given the same information as the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

  23. Power train, Oct 17, 2021

    The check engine light came in my car. Thinking it was something simple, because it only has 28k miles. I took it to a non Nissan mechanic for diagnostics. After finding out it wasn’t simple, I called Nissan warranty. They told me I had to take it to their mechanic for diagnostics. So I’m doubly diagnosed with a failing transmission that needs to be replaced. Nissan warranty has offered to pay 70% of repairs. Two weeks ago I asked for an estimate, and a trade in price for my car. They still haven’t returned my call. This is so frustrated because I paid cash for my car, and now all I want to do is dump it.

  24. Power train, Oct 12, 2021

    The contact owns a 2016 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, when the vehicle began to jerk forward and decelerated to 20 mph. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park at a near gas station and was stationed for 30 minutes before continue driving to her residence. The contact also stated she was unable to reverse the vehicle from her garage. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,098.

  25. Power train, Oct 7, 2021

    Delayed acceleration, engine revving higher rpms without increasing its speed, after being in very slow moving traffic car will only go about 30 mph but rev very high