Nissan Rogue Forum

Just wanted to know your thoughts on this. I bought a brand new rogue in June 2011. I've replaced the instrument cluster and a strut mount about a month later, on the same trip I told the dealership that my passenger side airbag light stayed on for my ride home which was 25 mins of drive time.(They will keep an eye out) Well, both items are making noises again, so another trip to the dealership. (I've been too busy to take it in, last time they kept my car the whole day) I also noticed that my muffler is having this huge dark brown spot. I have a feeling that eventually a hole will appear faster than I would like. On top of all this , I also hate the whole turning on the heat and the AC comes on when you switch setting and the flashing symbol/temp symbol is extremely annoying, too. (I don't need you to flash through my whole ride home, I know it is cold outside.) Well, I had my first oil change when the car hit a little over 3500 miles by the dealership. The other day I went to pickup my GF and her driveway is on a steep hill (about 4 car length long.) I noticed the car smoking as I was backing up the hill, at first I was like well maybe it is cold out and the car wasn't good and hot. After driving around to different stores, I finally dropped her off. Well, again I was backing up and noticed my car smoking. I arrived home and my husband says let me take a look. He raised the car and looked under the engine. He called me over and says you will not like this. I have a possible rear main seal leak. It has some dirt built up so I find it hard to believe that they did not notice the leak on my first oil change. I hate to say this but I am very upset that I have had so much issues with a brand new car. Is it just me?

I bought a brand new rogue in June 2011.
I've replaced the instrument cluster and a strut mount about a month later
my passenger side airbag light stayed on for my ride home which was 25 mins
Well, both items are making noises again,
SO GO HAVE IT FIXED! Listen new cars are going to have MORE issues than an already settled used car with 15k on the speedo. my wifes 2010 Infiniti G37s coupe, 6speed manual is on its 2nd tranny as the first one blew its bearings out. New cars are built with NEW(untested) parts, so once you go out and test it; you will know if the parts will last or not. thats why they give you a warranty.

I also noticed that my muffler is having this huge dark brown spot. I have a feeling that eventually a hole will appear faster than I would like.
this is absolutely minuscule. you will NOT find a single car that has over 500miles with a unrusty exhaust. think about it- the exhaust pipe is metal and gets extremely hot... THEN YOU DRIVE INTO A COLD PUDDLE. what do you expect? just because its has slight surface rust does not mean it will break apart. have you taken a look at your brakes? brakes go through the same abuse. hot-puddle-cold-hot again. its perfectly normal.

On top of all this , I also hate the whole turning on the heat and the AC comes on when you switch setting.
thats totally normal its the programing in the unit. the AC removes the humidity that will fog up the windows with the heat running.

the flashing symbol/temp symbol is extremely annoying, too. (I don't need you to flash through my whole ride home.
you can simply scroll through your speedometer menu and turn that feature off from what i understand.

The other day I went to pickup my GF and her driveway is on a steep hill (about 4 car length long.) I noticed the car smoking as I was backing up the hill
what color smoke? white? blueish? it makes a total difference. a smoking car is perfectly normal if its non-thick white smoke. its winter time, and cars will smoke even when its not super cold. its the moisture in the exhaust pipe thats boiling up in the catalytic converter thus creating steam.
dont forget, your engine breaths the outside ambient air. so if the air has moisture(humidity) in it, once the engine explodes the air/fuel mixture... ITS GONNA CREATE SOME STEAM. that steam builds up inside your exhaust system and eventually begins to boil. that creates the steam you see coming out of mufflers. perfect normal
(now if your pouring white smoke like a disco fog-machine out of your muffler, then your burning engine coolant)

I arrived home and my husband says let me take a look. He raised the car and looked under the engine. He called me over and says you will not like this. I have a possible rear main seal leak.
i dont know how he could see your rear main seal since its on the rear of the crankshaft which is hidden inside the bell housing of the tranny, but ok. for him to see the rear main seal he would have had to remove the tranny apart from the engine block.
Check the oil level. Then wipe off whatever he thinks he see's. See if it comes back.
Often times its careless people who spill oil while pouring it back into the engine after an oil change. i cant tell you how many times i have done it, even on my own car. hands could be shaking, looking elsewhere, or the bottle gushes the oil out.

and if your car is leaking oil, i doesnt mean it would cause smoke. i just sold my 2002 nissan maxima and it had the typical oil pan oil leak at 70+k. it leaked at least a table spoon a day at its worst. never did it smoke. it just leaked. i took off the oil pan, applied RTV sealant on a new oil pan and reinstalled.

if your car was burning off oil midway on your exhaust you would smell it. and it would be coming out from under the middle of the car- by your doors/wheel well's and you would smell poop, and see a bluish tinted smoke. and if it was burning that much for you to see, that much of it- boy... you'd be out of oil in 25miles.
i can tell you how many times i change the oil filter on my cars or race-bikes and get oil on the headers and it burns off for the first 10-15miles and it smells like poop, and has a slight bluish tint.

Yes you can turn off the blinking temp light. It's an option on the instrument display settings.

Regarding the repairs, yet it's very frustrating to have all these issues. You just have to keep prevailing upon the dealer to get the stuff repaired.

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I will look at the instrument display setting thanks.

@ Imstricken- I've seen the oil spill smoke that you are talking about before after an oil change is done. The hubby thought it might be the oil seal because of where the oil built up was. There was no signs of an oil spill from the top of the engine this was from the bottom where the tranny and block meets if I am describing it correctly. The drip would've had to come from inside. As for the smoke, to be honest I don't know where it came from I just know that it was smoking . I have an appt this week so I will let you know. I am one to get things fix pretty fast but these last couple of months has been really bad for me. It is just annoying that a new car can have so much issues to me. (IMO) As far as the setting in my instrument setting, I will have to take a look. Thank you for your help.

Thanks Rodentman for letting me know about the display setting too.

sometimes its just RTV sealant that has been squished out during assembly. that sealant is sticky and picks up road grime. perfectly normal.

as for a leaking emanating from inside the bell housing...
it doesnt automatically have to be engine oil from the rear-main-seal.
inside the bell housing is a torque converter. it works on tranny fluid.
check the color of the fluid and that will tell you what it is.

Well, I got the car back today and I have to take it back in about a week. They put some dye in the transmission and engine. They want me to drive it around for about a week so they can figure out where the leak is from. They are saying that the cluster sound is normal. (I still don't believe it.) The other issues got fix. Well, I guess next week I will know. Oh, my temp is not flashing anymore, so there was a setting. Thanks, all for your help.

if its in the area your husband says its in.... my guess is:
input seal or torque converter seal or front pump gasket is somehow leaking.
the TC seal tends to do this. it requires dropping the tranny, and replacing the seal and its done.

let me ask you, have you noticed any clunking noises upon revving the engine? have you noticed strange whining noises? have you heard strange metal rattles upon turning the key on, or immediately after turning the engine off(we are talking milliseconds here)