2018 Nissan Rogue Problems and Top Complaints – Is Your Car A Lemon?

Forward collision avoidance, service brakes, and electrical issues among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners

Updated on Author: Brian Jones

Updated on Author: Brian Jones

The 2018 Nissan Rogue is an SUV geared toward the family. Newer models come with the slogan “A Bold New Way of Thinking,” and we can’t help but agree that you must change your perception to drive this crossover. First of all, you can’t expect it to stop properly. Furthermore, the forward collision avoidance and electrical systems leave a lot to be desired. With all of these defects, we encourage you to think differently as well – about all the time you’ll spend in the shop.

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NHTSA Complaints for the 2018 Nissan Rogue

Complaint CategoryNumber of Complaints
Service Brakes
258
Unknown Or Other
117
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
96
Electrical System
83
Engine
45
Forward Collision Avoidance
44
Vehicle Speed Control
36
Air Bags
28
Power Train
27
Electronic Stability Control
26

Problems with the Brakes

Of all the systems you want working right on a car, the brakes are high on the list. When you push the pedal down, you expect to stop. Faulty brakes lead to accidents, panic and never seem to be easy to get a resolution to.

One owner on Edmunds listed a bunch of complaints about the Rogue. Here was the beginning of the list, “1. When I stop the car in front of a red traffic light signal or get stuck in traffic and the lever in position “D” my back feels vibration. I see the passenger seat swinging. I put my hand on the headrest and feel the vibration. 2. When I keep the speed of 30 … 35 mph I feel the vibration on the steering wheel, I hear the hum from the transmission, the rear-view mirror has an oscillation. 3. When I drive a car on the road, the wheel crosses a pit or knob, the right rear seat shakes noisily. 4. When I drive car 70 mph and push brake pedal gently I feel pulse beat on steering wheel. 5. I stopped on red light, while I release brake pedal I hear sound like “click.””

We don’t need to tell you that this list continued on about other complaints, but since they weren’t all related to the brakes, we chose to leave them out. The automaker has little to say regarding issues with brakes, even though many other complaints just like this one exist. The only time they discuss anything related to the brakes is with Manufacturer Communication #PC651 which discusses a defective rear brake hose bracket. Even then, they advise technicians to inspect the bracket and tighten it, if necessary. In the meantime, if you see a Rogue on the road, you might want to avoid it. Otherwise, it could hit you.

Problems with the Forward Collision-Avoidance System

With today’s sophisticated safety technology, drivers expect that the car will be safer than ever before. However, these systems seem to put people in more harm when they malfunction. In many instances, it would be better to drive a vehicle without this technology than battle against equipment that doesn’t work right.

Here’s what one user had to say on Edmunds, “My brand new 2018 Rogue automatic emergency braking system indicator flashed unnecessarily since the day I pick up the car.   The automatic emergency braking system activated for no reason when it stopped the vehicle in the middle of a left turn with nothing in front of it but cars behind it that needed to turn into oncoming traffic to avoid rear-ending my vehicle. I brought my car in for service after this incident and the dealership did not know how to fix it so they gave me a rental car while they waited for Nissan Corporate to tell them how to fix the problem.  That was 4 weeks ago and Nissan Corporate in Tennessee informed me that the investigation will take another 4 weeks.  I only drove the car for 700 miles and haven’t seen it since.  I feel that Nissan should acknowledge this dangerous safety issue and acknowledge that they are clueless on how to repair my vehicle and let me out of this lease.  I have totally lost faith in this brand and I do not trust the so called safety features that Nissan is not standing behind.”

Again, the list of people complaining about this problem goes on and on. So much, that the NHTSA opened an investigation #DP19001. The complaint argues that the system is defective because of false alerts and stopping when there’s no concern. There’s been no resolution at the time of this writing, but it appears a recall might be in order. Maybe while they are fixing that problem, the standard braking issues can get worked out as well.

Problems with the Electrical System

While less dangerous, there are multiple complaints regarding the electrical systems. The in-cabin conveniences tend to be filled with glitches and have become annoyances to drivers.

One Edmunds reviewer wrote, “In addition, the GPS is absolutely terrible & unreliable.  Literally, from the day I drove it off the lot, it took me to the wrong place!  So many roads/routes are mislabeled or nonexistent.  The Bluetooth system is also unreliable.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had dropped calls or people cannot understand what I am saying or I cannot understand them.  In addition, the voice recognition software does not work!  I’ll say “call Mary” and it comes up that there are several options for this name – none of which sound anything like Mary! (i.e., “Jeff”).  Overall, the car may look pretty, but there is no substance to back it up; nowhere near the price I have paid.”

There are plenty of manufacturer communications related to the electrical system. It would be difficult to weed through all of them, but one stood out in particular to us. Manufacturer communication #NTB18-071 refers to a security system that alarms any time a driver uses their key to unlock the door. It also doesn’t arm when using the key to lock the door. Still, Nissan isn’t looking to resolve the situation. Instead, they educate customers on how to arm and disarm the alarm. So, if you want to lock your door with the key, don’t expect to be protected from theft.

Your Lemon Law Legal Rights

Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Nissan pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.

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Brian Jones

About the Author:

Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.

See more posts from Brian Jones
7 COMMENTS
  • Terethia M

    My daughter purchased a used 2018 Rogue in February of 2022. The car had 18,000 miles the car has done fine until the battery died. We replaced the battery in two weeks the car shut off while she was driving but immediately came back on. The next day she was getting ready to go to work the car would not crank. She took car to dealership they stated they could not find anything. she got the car back it quit again the next day. She waited awhile the car crank back up. she took it back to the dealer. they stated they still could not find anything wrong.

  • Denny

    I bought a 2018 Rogue Sept 2018 and I love it. Never had a problem. I have 59,600 miles and still runs great.

  • Ben

    I keep getting all wheel drive error in my 2018 Nissan rogue sport but it seems to drive fine what could this be. It started when I went through Highwater

  • Celestina

    I purchased a used 2018 nissan rogue, I have only had it for 2 months and my engine light went on and stays on it detected a sensor…..has there been any issues like this with other nissan rogues 2018…I’m so frustrated because I can’t afford to fix the problem. Can I take it to a nissan dealer to repair the issue, or is this a lemon car???###

  • James P

    Car turning system broke and caused me to hit a person brick wall wtf?

  • John J

    I purchased a new 2018 Nissan Rogue in March 2019 from Nissan dealership. Within a few months time that vehicle repeatedly had trouble starting as the battery would not hold its charge. After repeated attempts by their service dept, replacing the battery a few times plus one of the computers, and a corporate engineer coming there to also investigate, they gave up.
    After working with the Better Business Bureau, Nissan Consumer Affairs replaced my vehicle with a 2019 model in March 2019. That new vehicle immediately had and continues to have the exact same issue with the battery. Again the dealership tried many times to fix the issue with no avail, having replaced this new vehicle’s battery 4 times and again a corporate engineer coming in to investigate. This vehicle remains completely unreliable for over 6 months now and I have had to call roadside assistance many times as well as purchase my own battery starter to get a jump start repeatedly each week and lately every day. My daily commute to work is over 40 minutes so twice a day that should normally charge the battery. I’ve lost much time from work as well as other personal lost time dealing with this issue.
    Is there an opportunity for a settlement where Nissan would pay me above just the original cost of the vehicle? I’m not looking to make money on this as much as I would like to get a small bit of compensation for the trouble caused. Nissan in my opinion is negligent in responding to my unreliable vehicle in a decent, timely manner. Now I will also need to spend more time searching for a reliable replacement car and I continue to lose time from work (salaried so no hourly wages to claim).
    Thanks!

  • Juan R

    I believe I had an issue with the emergency braking sensor. It is a 2018 Nissan Rogue and did have a recall. Starting to have anther issue with it. It has begun to shake and I have an appointment with the dealer in the morning. Please call.

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