NHTSA complaint #11767220

Owner complaint summary

Vehicle: 2025 Nissan Rogue (1.5L 3-Cylinder VC-Turbo Engine) Approximate Mileage: about 23,600 miles Failure Date: September 25, 2026 Incident Description: While operating my vehicle on September 24, the cabin climate control system suddenly stopped producing heat and began blowing exclusively cool air. The following day, while accelerating onto the freeway to merge into high-speed active traffic, a massive column of thick white smoke violently billowed out from the vehicle exhaust so thick I could not see vehicles around me. Concurrently, the engine temperature gauge spiked aggressively into the extreme hot/danger zone before erratically fluctuating back toward the normal range. Immediately following the temperature spike, the vehicle lost reliable acceleration, began severely lunging, jerking, and lost normal throttle response. The dashboard illuminated multiple critical malfunction alerts, specifically identifying a failure in the Emission Control System and the automatic Start-Stop system warning. Safety Risk Statement: The sudden powertrain failure and severe engine lunging occurred at highway speeds (65-70 mph) on a major freeway I-35, resulting in an immediate and hazardous drop in speed. As the vehicle slowed down rapidly in active traffic, I was forced to maneuver a failing vehicle across two active lanes of high-speed traffic and cut directly across a freeway on-ramp with a failing throttle to reach the safety of the shoulder, where I awaited a tow truck. This defect presents an immediate, catastrophic collision hazard. The manufacturer has expanding recalls on this specific VC-Turbo engine family, but claims my specific VIN is not currently covered. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. Elevated Nissan in Merriam Kansas has the vehicle and is evaluating it.