I have a 09 Rogue and noticed that my heater takes awhile to heat up but does not give a lot of heat even when warmed up. Not sure how long the warranty is on this to get it checked out. Also I have a smell coming from my vents even after I cleaned around the air intake. Anyone else have this problem?

Jostudly wrote:I have a 09 Rogue and noticed that my heater takes awhile to heat up but does not give a lot of heat even when warmed up. Not sure how long the warranty is on this to get it checked out. Also I have a smell coming from my vents even after I cleaned around the air intake. Anyone else have this problem?

there could be an issue with the anti-freeze (coolant) fluid/mix and or bubble in the system, but i want to remind you:

(for those that dont know)
since the heating system in cars work off of your engine anti-freeze / coolant: after sitting in the engine the now hot coolant enters a small radiator(heater core) inside your dashboard area (by your feet) and a fan blows air through that little radiator (which gets really-really hot from the hot engine coolant fluid) and that turns the air hot as it passes through that little radiator, which then enters your cabin as warm air) - IF the coolant to water mixture 1:1 ratio is wrong, your going to throw off the system (read #4 below)

1. you bought a small 4 cyl engine. that means it doesnt make a lot of heat, quickly. so it will take a few minutes longer in order for the anti-freeze to heat up in the block, for the thermostat to open/cycle. my 3.5L V6 maxima would have the heat ready in 5 minutes with the right coolant to water mixture.

2. smells will be normal in all cars, its due to moisture. try using the A/C feature and it should go away

3. which "intake" did you clean?

4. the possible issue with the coolant mixture: by having to much coolant and not enough water = means the fluid wont retain heat as well. that means it will pass through your engine block and not absorb any heat. the engine coolant then will flow into your heater core a lot cooler than it should be, and as the air passes through that little radiator(heater core) in your dash, its not able to warm the air enough). believe it or not, but water has higher thermal conductivity than antifreeze. Engine coolant has a awful name "coolant". it actually doenst cool anything down. it doesnt absorb any heat! thats the water's job. engine coolant needs to be called anti-freeze = as thats all it really does, aside from providing lubricational properties for the water pump. i know plenty guys at the race-track that only use straight 100% distilled water with a tiny cap-full of water-wetter(a pink lubricant for the water pump & seals). the water absorbs a TON of heat, and fast - and then can be cycled into the radiator where it cools down quickly. BUT THAT GIVES YOU NO FREEZE PROTECTION.

5. A plugged heater core. Accumulated crud in the cooling system may plug the core and block the flow of coolant. The only cure here is to replace the heater core. To prevent the problem from reoccurring, the cooling system should be flushed and refilled

ok, to end my little rant - try to do a flush with the proper anti-freeze to distilled water ratio. I just buy the premixed stuff, and add a tad (about 10%-15%) more distilled water than the pre-mixed antifreeze. i have to say, my heat is actually really-really hot.

Okay thanks will get the coolant checked

I find the heater in the Rogue very weak, even at the best of times the engine takes a very long time to heat up and even once it reaches operating temp I find the heat is just barely adequate compared to other cars I've owned. You may have an issue with your coolant system as discussed above, but I wouldn't expect the heat to ever be really stellar, in my experience with my 08 Rogue.

id really suggest you guys think about changing your 1:1 engine coolant ratio.

i know some of you folks live in canada and maybe your mechanics actually do the opposite (increase the anti-freeze to water ratio) but, i gotta say- if you can: reduce the 50/50 ratio a tad and watch your heater produce a lot more heat. I know that Canada hits some serious temps, and the last thing you want is to ruin your engine because of poorly mixed water/anti-freeze, but there are many different ratio's one can do and still obtain freeze protection, lubrication, anti-corrosion properties = and have amazing cooling properties & heat in the heater core. call your dealers if your from canada and find out what ratio they use. if they do MORE coolant than water, well then there is your problem. since your temps are so low, you dont need as much cooling protection, as you would need freeze protection. that will certainly diminish your heater core temps = resulting in poor heating properties.

The standard recommendation is to use a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water. This represents a compromise between cooling efficiency and the ability to prevent the mix from freezing during cold weather. After all, the initial purpose of antifreeze is to prevent freezing. But a 50/50 mix does not give the best cooling. For improved cooling in hot weather, we should use less antifreeze and more water, perhaps going anywhere between 50/50 to 30%coolant/70%water ratio.

Everyone knows antifreeze prevents corrosion, and corrosion is bad. True enough. But, even a 25coolant/75water ratio of antifreeze will suffice. id simply do the flushes more often. (once per year sounds right)
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i know my post above sounds unconventional, but then again so did hearing guys changing their oil every 5,000miles 7 years ago. The 50/50 is somewhat a dated mixture rate, for those handy enough to do their own flushes. its simply something dealerships do for liability purposes, in case you decide to travel from Florida to ny state to visit family for Christmas and end up experiencing 32degrees or below temps. For those that live in warmer climates(arizona/new mexico/south america/etc) and never will be around freezing temps - they dont need engine coolant at all. all they need is distilled water and the appropriate amount of water-wetter(protects seals and lubes the water pump) in their system and they will have great cooling quality, cheaper flushes. even if they still chose to use anti-freeze, a 20/80 to 10/90 ratio is all they would need. racebikes are NOT allowed to use anti-freeze. they are only allowed to use a Propylene Glycol based coolant(engine ice) or just straight water with water-wetter = and thats it. if an engine running at 9,000-16,000RPM full throttle can work on straight water & water-wetter, then there is no reason a rogue at 5,000rpm(max) cant. hell, my last track day i did a flush half way through the day on the bike, and only used distilled water. bike worked just fine, and i was near red-line constantly(16,000 rpm). the bike would reach 220degrees, the fan would kick in, and drop it down to 190.(exactly where our rogue sits) i went home and did a 1 bottle of premixed engine ice & distilled water which equals to (25%Propylene Glycol / 75%water)

the only thing i can say that could possibly result, is the water pump & thermostat having to work more frequently. because the added water will reach hotter temps faster - the thermostat will while open & close more often to cycle. but that will keep putting in fresh hot fluid into your heater core, and before that fluid looses its hot temps, fresh hot fluid will cycle and enter your heater core yet again - thus maintaining a higher frequency of fresh hot air being blown into your cabin. PLUS: your engine will reach hotter/operating temps faster because there is more water in the ratio.

Jostudly wrote:Okay thanks will get the coolant checked

i have this bottle and test my antifreeze often. try buying some on ebay to have


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acustrip-1550-C ... 97&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bars-Leaks-Cool ... 11&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pack-of-25- ... 21&vxp=mtr

I am using this one:



But I should say Rogue's heater/AC is the worst when compared to the ones that I drive.

Jostudly wrote:I have a 09 Rogue and noticed that my heater takes awhile to heat up but does not give a lot of heat even when warmed up.

From Canada

kerrton wrote:I find the heater in the Rogue very weak, even at the best of times the engine takes a very long time to heat up and even once it reaches operating temp I find the heat is just barely adequate.

From Canada

Qashqai wrote:But I should say Rogue's heater/AC is the worst when compared to the ones that I drive.

From Canada
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i gotta re-reference back to my prior post:
i know some of you folks live in Canada, and maybe your mechanics up there are actually doing the opposite, of those mechanics that decrease the amount of anti-freeze. I know that Canada hits some seriously low temps, and the last thing you want is to ruin your engine because of poorly mixed water/anti-freeze by not having enough anti-freeze, but having MORE anti-freeze will cause your heater to not be able to blow hot air. Call your dealers if your from canada and find out what ratio they use. if they do use MORE anti-freeze than water in their ratio, well then there is your problem.
I guess their mentality is: since our temps are so low, we dont need as much cooling protection(water), as you would need freeze protection(anti-freeze). that will certainly diminish your heater core temps = resulting in poor heating properties.

positives:
water: has a great conductivity rate. it cools fast, and heats up fast. low boiling point

anti-freeze: doesnt freeze as easily, doesnt heat up as easily either! lubricates the water pump & nourishes the seals. higher boiling points
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negatives:
WATER: having to much water wont lubricate the water pump, wont nourish the seals. will freeze quickly, and will heat up quickly(due to low boiling point). if not cycled fast enough by a reactive thermostat = you could boil & over heat. but because it heats up quickly, it will heat up your engine faster, and will bring more heat to your heater-core, more often, quickly.

ANTIFREEZE: doesnt absorb heat as well, so takes longer time to heat up. that means it will take longer to heat up, thus taking longer to heat up the heater-core, thus requiring longer intervals before fresh hot anti-freeze is brough into the heater core to replace the cycle that cooled down already. (that means air wont be warmed enough before it exits through your air-vents)

so if you live in the cold north, you have to think about what temps you guys face. do you really need more anti-freeze or could you skimp by 10%-15% and get away with it? you gotta see what your winter temps are and see what you wanna do. IM ALSO INCLINED TO SAY THAT THE THERMOSTATS YOU GUYS HAVE UP THERE ARE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE IN THE USA.

a simple and quick example: drain out about half a gallon from your radiator via the drain plug. replace with half a gallon of distilled water. see what happens! give it a couple days to mix the water & coolant together. result wont be immediate. let the fresh water and what was in there before time to co-mingle and spread out between the cycles. if the results are not what you want, simply drain out a quarter of a gallon and replace with 50/50 mix.

My 2011 Rogue came with the engine coolant already filled in the factory in Japan, right? That blue stuff, which has a very long life like hundreds of kms. So when they came from Japan, they didn't drain and refill with a different ratio right?

Actually last year I noticed that the engine coolant level was below max, so I went to the dealer and get that Nissan approved blue coolant. I add little bit to make it at max level. I know as long as the fluid is somwhere in between min and max, there wont be a problem...but i like the fluids in my car being at the max level

Qashqai wrote:My 2011 Rogue came with the engine coolant already filled in the factory in Japan, right? That blue stuff, which has a very long life like hundreds of kms. So when they came from Japan, they didn't drain and refill with a different ratio right?

if your VIN# starts with a J its from japan. but, that doesn't mean that once in Canada, at the dealer, that the dealer doesnt modify the blend during PDI(Pre-Delivery Inspection).

Way back, my Volvo had a curtain in front of the rad that could be raised (winter) and lowered (summer); part way or completely. Is anything similar available for the Rogue?

johny_maple wrote:Way back, my Volvo had a curtain in front of the rad that could be raised (winter) and lowered (summer); part way or completely. Is anything similar available for the Rogue?

depends on the exterior temps.

Crack a window and turn the Recirculation on. This will block wind while driving from cooling your Engine down through the heat core. Turn it off when engine gets to appropriate temps.
I've noticed when the Rogue is at appropriate temps. and I turn the fan on the gauge on the Cluster will drop. That proves how air through the heat core could affect the cooling system.