Why Does My Nissan Rogue Say “Chassis Control”? We Answer

"Chassis Control?", "Is everything under control?", "What is this even supposed to mean?" These are all questions that one could ask whenever they notice the "Chassis Control" warning in the instrument cluster of their Nissan Rogue. If you are unfamiliar with the system, the warning might be a little bit confusing, since it doesn't tell you anything specific about what is happening.

However, you shouldn't worry. In this article, we're going to tell you about the situations in which you might notice this warning message, how to tell when there are problems, how to fix them, and how to avoid them in the future.

What is "Chassis Control" on the Nissan Rogue?

Before talking about how this system fails, we believe that it's important for you to understand what is this system for and how it works. To make things easier to understand, simply think of this system as a more sophisticated and advanced version of an Electronic Stability Program (ESP), found on most cars made in the last couple of decades.

Not only does this option allow for more stability and safety while driving in rougher conditions, but it also helps in improving the vehicle's ride quality. This system uses the brakes to manipulate how the suspension performs under certain conditions, which affects the suspension's bump stiffness. You could think of it as a cheaper way of having adjustable damping. Quite clever, right?

How to tell when there's an issue?

First of all, just like in the case of any other traction and stability control system out there, whenever it engages, you will notice either a blinking warning light or a warning message in the instrument cluster of the vehicle. In this situation, there isn't an actual fault in the system, but this feature is just to show you that it is active.

However, there are situations in which this warning light remains on or when the message in the instrument cluster also tells you that there's an error. In this case, yes, there is something that needs to be checked. Here are a few ways to tell that the "Chassis Control" system on your Nissan Rogue is faulty:

• Poor stability - Does the car feel strange when going around corners? When the system fails, all of the electronic aids that helped improve the stability are no longer active and in this case, the car's behavior when going through bends might seem different.
• Bad ride quality - You are probably quite disappointed, as you've bought the Rogue for its good ride comfort, yet all of a sudden it feels nothing like it used to. This might be because of the "Chassis Control" failure.
• ABS stops working - If you had to brake hard and you noticed that the wheels locked up under braking, this is because the Antilock Braking System is inactive, which can be caused by the "Chassis Control" error.
• Reduced engine power - When the engine cannot perform how it should, the system we're talking about will not work properly either.
• Vehicle goes into limp mode - In certain situations, your car might even go into limp mode. If you're unfamiliar with what this means, this is a safety system that limits the engine power drastically in order to avoid any other damage.

What could have caused the system to stop working?

• Bad tire

Something as simple as wrong tire pressure could trigger such errors, yet most people choose to ignore this vital aspect. If the pressures are good on all four corners and the tires are all the same makes and models, one of them might have way more wear on it than the others, in which case, the system will detect that something is wrong. Basically, any physical damage could result in this error.

• Blown fuse

As with all electrical systems, one of the first things you should do, would be to check the related fuse(s). Many times, they are the culprit and they are also quick, easy, and cheap to fix. You wouldn't want to start replacing any other expensive components before checking such a simple thing, right?

• Bad battery

If the battery is a little bit older and has lost quite a lot of its capacity, you might want to think of it as a possible culprit. Bad batteries will almost always trigger all sorts of weird electrical issues that might make you think that your car has gone insane. If you can't remember when is the last time you replaced your battery, this might be the perfect time to do so.

• Bad connections

Are the battery terminals tightened properly? Are the connectors corroded? Do these things also apply to other connectors related to this system, such as the wheel speed sensors? If so, this is almost certainly the reason why the "Chassis Control" error is bothering you. It's important to know that electronics are very sensitive to bad connections and they will almost certainly act up in such situations.

• Bad wiring

Just like in the case of the connections, the wiring can be damaged as well. With time, the insulation might degrade and the wires themselves might even break.

• Transmission fluid level

There have been cases in which the actual problem was the low fluid level in the Rogue's transmission. If none of the above reasons are the culprits, you might want to think about this too. If you don't remember ever servicing your vehicle's transmission, now might be just the right time to do so, since it won't do any harm anyway.

• Engine fault

Just like we've mentioned above, if the engine is not working as it should, systems such as the "Chassis Control" might stop working too. Of course, a fault in the engine can be caused by loads of different things, but pretty much anything that will affect its performance could also cause issues with stability and traction control systems.

How to fix problems?

As with all electrical problems, fixing the issue starts with performing a diagnostic. By doing so, you will be able to see exactly what errors the vehicle's computer has stored and from then on, you will be able to troubleshoot further.

Also, remember to check the fuses and connections, since this is something that can be done easily by pretty much any amateur mechanic at home, you might be lucky and one of these things might be the fix in your situation.

However, if you feel uncomfortable with working on your vehicle, you shouldn't panic, since pretty much any of your local shops will be able to help you. They will probably perform a diagnostic and a battery test and will continue the troubleshooting from there.

If they find that the wiring is the issue, keep in mind that if it takes them a lot of time to find where exactly the bad wire is located, the bill might be a little bit more expensive than you were expecting, since they will charge you by an hour and finding a broken wire might sometimes turn into a nightmare for any specialist to find, especially in newer cars which have so many electronic systems onboard.

How to avoid issues in the future?

Avoiding issues basically consists in checking your vehicle's connectors from time to time and performing basic service operations such as replacing the battery, the tires, and the transmission fluid level. Anything else has very little to do with how you use the vehicle and might fail a bit unexpectedly.

Also, even if it might seem a little bit strange, we would advise you to avoid driving your vehicle through water and mud as much as possible, because such conditions might affect components such as the wheel speed sensors, which will trigger the "Chassis Control" error. Of course, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't drive whenever it's raining outside, but you could try to avoid driving through water puddles, for example.

Is it safe to drive like this?

The answer to this question depends a lot on what the actual fault is. If you feel like the vehicle's behavior isn't heavily affected, then you shouldn't have any problem with driving to the nearest shop, but if the car feels very different and the stability and braking are no longer as good as they were, you might want to consider having your vehicle towed to a nearby shop since driving the vehicle like this might prove to be both challenging and dangerous.

Final thoughts

To sum everything up, the "Chassis Control" message in the instrument cluster of the Nissan Rogue doesn't necessarily mean that there's something wrong with the vehicle, but when things start to feel different and the car doesn't perform as it used to, you might want to consider having your vehicle checked, in order to avoid putting yourself in unpleasant situations.