Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Nissan Rogue owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2012 Nissan Rogue. The contact stated that while driving at 35-75 MPH, the transmission failed to shift gear as needed. In addition, the RPMs decreased. The contact also stated that the vehicle accelerated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the vehicle was sold to a junk yard. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000. The VIN was not available. The contact would like Nissan to get him another car.
The CVT component on these cars causes it to lose power and acceleration which can cause an bad accident..one morning while going to work i got onto the expressway and car did not want to acceleration and almost caused me to get into a collision with an 18 wheeler.. The next day i took it to an mechanic shop whereas they told me nothing was wrong with my car and i should contact nissan and complain because the only problem they can guess is its my CVT and nissan made the car to do that so it last longer.. Then 2 days later I was driving on a commercial road with lots of traffic when all of a sudden my car would not acceleration even when I pushed the pedal to the floor.. I pulled over and turned the car off for awhile and then Crunk it back up and it was accelerating better.. …
1/2024 car loses power going from 70mph to about 40mph - dealership adjusted transmission fluid, 12/2024 started having power issues again dropping from 40mph to 20mph. Dealership said they couldn't do anything until it starts happening more frequently. So I'm suppose to just drive it with a potential crash that could hurt or kill someone. Not acceptable, Nissan needs to recall 2012 Rogues due to transmission issues before someone gets killed.
At 60,000 miles the car had a cvt replacement. 70,000 miles later car needs second transmission replacement. Nissan is aware of their faulty cvt transmissions, but refuses to comply. Car is immaculate aside from cvt failure, not accidents. Used as station car. Car stalled in intersection. Luckily I was able to get to side of road. Very traumatizing
When driving on the highway the vehicle will desegregate. Check engine light goes on and off and received 5 different codes for the transmission. Tire system comes on and off. The engine overheats a lot especially on hot climates. I drove from New York to North Carolina and had to stop 5 times on the side of the road so the car could cool down.
Unknown I was driving to st. Louis on the highway and was going 70 mph and then I hear a winding noise and loss acceleration and had my foot all the way down on the gas pedal and it would not speed up I was only going 40 on a highway that I was going 70 mph on and kept losing speed
While my 2 daughters(22,17) were driving at highway speed from N.E to Co. the vehicle without warning decelerated and dropped to 35 mph,In a panic she pulled off to the side of the highway and called my wife who googled nissan rogue issues and found that the transmission would overheat and then decelerate to protect its components from further damage without any prior warnings.If you wait awhile and were lucky that the tranny had not failed completely in about a half an hour the vehicle would reset and you would be able to drive it again.My daughters made it home and i started to research the commonly known issue with the C.V.T transmission! …
The main and most dangerous issue is first hearing high pitch whining/winding sound while driving as the rpm's start to spike and stay high resulting & causing vehicle to lose power and speed for no apparent reason. Subsequently, as you attempt to depress the gas pedal to increase speed to try to mitigate the issue, the vehicle continues to lose power and speed regardless of how depressed gas pedal is (even completely depressed to floorboard). Within seconds vehicle is forced to a stop from lack of power and acceleration and will not continue to drive at all. This issue is nothing less than terrifying and incredibly dangerous especially while on the freeway with heavy traffic speeding and whizzing past you at 70+ mph. …
After an 1.5 hours on an interstate (non-stop driving) the vehicle begins to decelerate speed. With no light indicator or explanation. The accelerator gauge is going up and down really quickly, like the car is out of Sync with the speed. No indicator light or anything turns on. I will be going at a speed of 75 or 80 and without warning, it decreases in speed. I can put the pedal to the floor and it still continues to slow down. There is no overheating fumes or smell at all. I have to pull over and wait until the engine cools down before returning onto the highway. This happened the first time in 2017 (probably 70,000 miles) when I took a road trip and I though it was a one time occurrence. Unfortunately, it has happened several times afterwards, but always after I've been on the road for more than an hour. …
In the last 30 days I have made the exact same 5 hour round trip drive three times. On two of these trips, I experienced sudden loss of acceleration after approximately 3-1/2 hours of driving (both instances started within 5 miles of the other). Though both occurred without any sign of a mechanical problem and continued until car had been stopped and shut off for 30 minutes or more, today's event nearly caused loss of life! When trying to merge onto I-95 from I-295 in jacksonville, florida during rush hour traffic I suddenly could not only accelerate to get on 95 and move over 2 lanes to clear the exit only airport lane but continued to slow down in massive high speed traffic! During this time the gas pedal was fully depressed without result other than RPM change to almost 3. No codes were detected either time. …
Acceleration complaints in other Rogue years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2012 Nissan Rogue?
NHTSA has 41 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2012 Nissan Rogue, 13% of the model year's 318 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Nissan Rogue acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2012 Nissan Rogue, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2012 Nissan Rogue acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 74,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.