Climate Control Problems on V8 LE

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Zen_master
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Climate Control Problems on V8 LE

Postby Zen_master » Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:51 pm

Wondering if anyone else with the electrically controlled climate control have experienced what can best be described as thermostat problems.

I purchased my 2011 V8 Pathfinder in the Spring and therefore never had a need to operate the heat. I have run the A/C quite a bit and it seemed the A/C was always very cold. I could have the A/C on and have the temp dialed up to 80+ degrees and it didn't make much of a difference in the air temp coming out of the vents.

The other day was in the 50s overnight and in the morning I tried turning the heat on. From what I could tell the heat was inoperable. It didn't seem to matter if the defroster was turned on, the panel vents, or the floor vents. It was all the same. The air being blown was the same temp as the outside ambient temperature which on that day was rather cool. I even cranked it up to 90 degrees on the dial and the air temp didn't change. And yes, vehicle had been running for 20 minutes or more and the radiator temp indicated it was at normal operating temperature.

So it seems it doesn't not matter what temp I turn the climate control to, I only get one and it is cold.

The vehicle is under warranty and I will get it fixed. Just curious if anyone else experienced this issue and what was the fix so I can direct the service technician where to look first.

Thanks in advance.


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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:48 pm

A number have people have had similar issues, mostly those with rear heat and A/C, due to air pockets in the system and/or low coolant. The usual fix is to make sure the radiator is full and the coolant reservoir is at the "Max" line. Install the caps and jack up the front of the vehicle (or park it on an uphill incline), turn front and rear heater controls to the max heat position and run the vehicle. This will help any air pockets purge out of the system. I usually run the vehicle at 2000-3000 RPM for at least 10 minutes.

Calicajun
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Postby Calicajun » Mon Sep 16, 2013 5:11 am

I'm having the same problem with the climate control system in my 2012 PF. Gives nothing but cold air at any temperature from 88 degrees or lower and full heat at 89 and 90 degrees. Took it in for service once to the dealer and they said that was normal and didn't fix the system. That was six months ago. Stopped by a different Nissan dealer just this weekend and they said the problem sounded like the actuator value and to bring it in for replacement. Plan on giving this new dealership a go and see what happens.

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Serpens
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Postby Serpens » Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:05 am

I had this happen for the first time about a month ago. Everyone in my car was freezing and even with the temp turned to 80 degrees the car was not offering any heat whatsoever. Very strange.

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eieio
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Postby eieio » Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:12 am

usually:
low coolant level or air trapped in cooling system............
adjust coolant level as necessary, burp system, repeat as necessary

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Zen_master
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Postby Zen_master » Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:04 am

Thank you for the replies.

Logically burping the system would fix the problem with the heat not working, but I wonder what bearing it would have on the cooling system.

The problems I'm experiencing with the climate control system are two fold - the A/C is max cold all the time. It does not matter if I set it to 60 degrees or 90 degrees the cold air temp is the same. In addition the heat appears to be inoperable and gives no sign of 'life' whatsoever.

Please advise if these two are linked through the burping method or if they may be linked in another manner such as a faulty thermostat.

Thanks

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Serpens
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Postby Serpens » Mon Sep 23, 2013 6:10 pm

I forgot to respond to this thread. It got a little cold this past weekend and my AC was set to auto, 78 degrees. It was just sitting there billowing cold air until I pushed the mode button and selected split air level (foot/face). The temperature immediately changed to the appropriate heat and made for a comfortable drive.

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Zen_master
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Postby Zen_master » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:35 pm

Finally took it in to the stealership and they diagnosed it as a failed heater core pump. This explains why the A/C temp could not be adjusted. Mechanically the A/C runs one temp and to increase the temp some amount of warm engine coolant is introduced to the system. When the heater core pump failed there was no warm coolant being delivered to the system so no heat and no adjustable temperature on the A/C.

Stay tuned.

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NmexMAX
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Postby NmexMAX » Tue Oct 01, 2013 6:46 am

My AC condenser fan failed so I get no cold air parked or going slow in traffic, only gets cold when driving greater than 40MPH or so. Not sure if I want to fix it at this point in the season, but I first noticed it on the 4th of July grreeat. So I ordered one form RockAuo and the electrical connector was not the same, sent it back, got refunded. That's what I get for trying to save $$$. Ordered one from Nissan, so hopefully this one fits.

I also experienced this briefly (no heat at 90ºF setting) late last winter. It only lasted for a short time and then began throwing heat again. But from what I remember on here, and I believe you were also in that thread if not the thread started, a lot of people mentioned not to use AUTO. Not sure if that's a fluke or true, but nine has worked fine (heat) ever since.

Calicajun
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Postby Calicajun » Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:31 am

The climate control system in my 2012 PF started working the other day. I was pushing all the control buttons, when there was a loud click noise and then it started working. Not the way I would suggest having a problem fixed but until it goes out again, if it goes out again, I'll just have to live with it for now.

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Serpens
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Postby Serpens » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:25 pm

Zen_master wrote:Finally took it in to the stealership and they diagnosed it as a failed heater core pump. This explains why the A/C temp could not be adjusted. Mechanically the A/C runs one temp and to increase the temp some amount of warm engine coolant is introduced to the system. When the heater core pump failed there was no warm coolant being delivered to the system so no heat and no adjustable temperature on the A/C.

Stay tuned.
Hmm. Let me know how much that ends up costing you. It hasn't gotten cold enough for me to see if my heater is suffering from the same thing.

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Zen_master
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Postby Zen_master » Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:26 pm

Serpens,

The dealer comp'd it. Technically it didn't fall under the extended warranty but I calmly explained to them I would not have purchased the warranty if it had been made clear at the point of sale there were trivial exceptions such as this one part. I told them the A/C system was one of the things they orally listed as covered and any reasonable person would believe that to include this part. They agreed and covered it free of charge to me.

For the record, parts and labor plus tax would have been around $314.


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