14 rogue not heating up in cold weather?

[Dankristen01]

Hi folks!

Quick question about our 2014 Rogue SL. Roughly 82k miles, we purchased new and always maintained well. My wife got a new vehicle so I took this from her. Lately in Pittsburgh winter Temps, it seems to not want to heat up fast or all the way, sometimes cooling itself off when cruising on the highway.

Example going to work at 4am, it's up to temp as I enter the highway. Set the cruise on 55mph and I can literally watch the temp gauge go down. It really won't warm back up until I drive faster or do anything that requires giving it more rpms.

Another example, I took my son to school this morning. On the 9 minutes of us sitting in the rogue waiting for the school doors to open, the temp gauge dropped halfway from normal operating temp toward cold.

I did replace the thermostat last weekend thinking that the original one was stuck open, unfortunately this wasn't thy problem. Coolant levels are perfect as well. Any guesses would be greatly appreciated!

Dan

[VStar650CL]

Have you checked the engine fan, is it perhaps running constantly at low speed? It should be off with the engine below normal temp. At Pittsburgh winter temps, even at low speed a running fan will result in an abnormally cold engine. The only separate cooling circuit inside the engine is for the cylinder head, and there's no separate stat for that like on, say, an older Versa. So even a cross-leak between the two sides shouldn't cause the engine to lose heat.

[Dankristen01]

Have you checked the engine fan, is it perhaps running constantly at low speed? It should be off with the engine below normal temp. At Pittsburgh winter temps, even at low speed a running fan will result in an abnormally cold engine. The only separate cooling circuit inside the engine is for the cylinder head, and there's no separate stat for that like on, say, an older Versa. So even a cross-leak between the two sides shouldn't cause the engine to lose heat.

I did double check the fan, it seems to run fine, turn on and off according when it needs to. Is it possible it's just how this vehicle is? My wife drove this for almost 6 years and doesn't pay mind to anything. Sounds crazy, but up until this winter, I've never driven this thing in the winter since we've owned it. I'm just wondering if this is how it's always been in the winter.

[VStar650CL]

Hard for me to say, we don't get winters here in Arkansas like y'all get in western PA. I drive Rogues every day and just drove one here-to-Dallas last week in 30's weather, the temp was rock steady. But we don't get any sub-zero here. Maybe someone else in the forum with a cold-weather Rogue can comment on this?

[KoiMaxx]

I wonder if your issue has something to do more with the cabin heater core instead?

[VStar650CL]

I wonder if your issue has something to do more with the cabin heater core instead?

Can't just be the core because his temp gauge wanders. The gauge is what the ECM is seeing, irrespective of the heater box. I'm puzzled.

[Dankristen01]

I wonder if your issue has something to do more with the cabin heater core instead?

Can't just be the core because his temp gauge wanders. The gauge is what the ECM is seeing, irrespective of the heater box. I'm puzzled.

Yea, that makes 2 of us lol. I may run it down to my local shop, they're extremely trustworthy so it may be worth them dissecting it.

[VStar650CL]

Yea, that makes 2 of us lol. I may run it down to my local shop, they're extremely trustworthy so it may be worth them dissecting it.

Lol yes, but I'm a humble Nissan master tech who wraps his ghi in a white belt. I'm supposed to have more answers than questions. This one is a stumper, I'll be interested to see what your shop turns up.

[Lone Wolff]

Have you checked the Temp Sensor? I had one fail in a older Mazda pickup about 20 years ago. Similar symptoms as the OP, and I also initially thought it was a faulty Thermostat sticking open.

[VStar650CL]

Have you checked the Temp Sensor? I had one fail in a older Mazda pickup about 20 years ago. Similar symptoms as the OP, and I also initially thought it was a faulty Thermostat sticking open.

The ECM would be throwing a "thermostat function" code if the sensor was off by a lot but not flatlined, and the OP's Rogue has no direct wire to the gauge like your Mazda. The ECT data is sent to the Rogue cluster on the CANbus. It can be double-checked with a scanner, but unless there's a very weird issue in the cluster, the gauge should pretty much read whatever the ECM is seeing. Since the MIL isn't lit with the gauge bobbing up and down, the ECM must think the readings are within "normal" parameters. Which they may be -- as I mentioned, I've never driven one in temps lower than about 20F.

[Altair 4]

I'm in Pittsburgh and this winter hasn't been as cold as some. I haven't seen single digit temps this year so far. While I was reading the OP's first post, I first thought, "Thermostat." But he's changed it out.

Let me ask this: are we talking about temperature gauge movement or actual interior temperature in the vehicle, or both? If it's temperature gauge only that's one thing. If it's both gauge performance and the interior of the vehicle gets colder, that leads you somewhere else.

[Dankristen01]

I'm in Pittsburgh and this winter hasn't been as cold as some. I haven't seen single digit temps this year so far. While I was reading the OP's first post, I first thought, "Thermostat." But he's changed it out.

Let me ask this: are we talking about temperature gauge movement or actual interior temperature in the vehicle, or both? If it's temperature gauge only that's one thing. If it's both gauge performance and the interior of the vehicle gets colder, that leads you somewhere else.

Is both really. The gauge physically goes down. Turning the heat all the way up makes it loose temp even faster and the heat does occasionally begin to not feel so warm anymore. Both temp and heat tend to come back once the vehicle gets more rpms and / or stop and go traffic.

[Rogue One]

You've checked the coolant fluid level, but has it ever been serviced? This probably isn't the issue, but it's still a good idea to have it done.

The life expectancy of the Nissan factory-fill coolant is 105,000 miles (168,000 km) or 7 years. Coolant helps prevent rust while it is circulating the engine; this is one of the main reasons why you should change your coolant at its recommended intervals. Over time particles will be caught in the coolant and it won’t function as it should. By flushing the coolant regularly, you are preventing blockages from occurring and making sure that it performs at an optimal level.

[Dankristen01]

You've checked the coolant fluid level, but has it ever been serviced? This probably isn't the issue, but it's still a good idea to have it done.

The life expectancy of the Nissan factory-fill coolant is 105,000 miles (168,000 km) or 7 years. Coolant helps prevent rust while it is circulating the engine; this is one of the main reasons why you should change your coolant at its recommended intervals. Over time particles will be caught in the coolant and it won’t function as it should. By flushing the coolant regularly, you are preventing blockages from occurring and making sure that it performs at an optimal level.

Yes, had it flushed a little over 50k miles at firestone.

[VStar650CL]

Did a bit more research, I asked one of our customers who drives a '16 and lives in the Ozarks north of here. He sees real cold from time to time and says his temp needle is usually nailed to the gauge once the car warms up, regardless of outside temps. The only thing I can suggest is a defective or wrong-temperature thermostat, or possibly a cracked 'stat housing that's allowing coolant to bypass.

[Dankristen01]

Did a bit more research, I asked one of our customers who drives a '16 and lives in the Ozarks north of here. He sees real cold from time to time and says his temp needle is usually nailed to the gauge once the car warms up, regardless of outside temps. The only thing I can suggest is a defective or wrong-temperature thermostat, or possibly a cracked 'stat housing that's allowing coolant to bypass.

I greatly appreciate you looking into this! I replaced the factory (original) thermostat with a car quest model 14678 (https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/car ... 15480054-P).

I did this last week thinking the original was bad. Is it possible this brand new one is also bad? I suppose so. Should I maybe go buy a factory Nissan Thermostat and try that? Also after more research, it appears when firestone did the flush 2 years ago that they just threw in the universal green antifreeze. Should I goto nissan and flush back to the blue stuff? I don't mind spending the money if it's worth it. We love this rogue and it just turned 82k miles, it's easily been the best, most reliable car we've ever owned.

[VStar650CL]

Green or blue isn't as important as having a 50-50 mix. Straight glycol has a higher boiling point but crappy heat transfer characteristics, so even though it resists boiling, it will make the engine run hotter in hot weather. That's a devil's bargain. Your engine and CVT will both hate you starting June 21st. Too little glycol will of course make it freeze-prone, so your engine will hate you starting December 21st. 50-50 actually freezes lower than straight glycol and gives the best compromise of heat transfer and anti-freeze properties. Nissan has actually been known to void CVT warranties for people found to be running straight glycol. It mattered very much on the early Rogue and Sentra CVT's, which had under-designed coolers in their first incarnation.

Vis the thermostat, I've been over the cooling diagrams a dozen times now, and I just don't see a failure mode to cause this besides a bad 'stat or a bad housing that's letting coolant bypass the 'stat. You might try letting the car warm up at idle and watching the temperature at the radiator end of the hose with a point-and-shoot thermometer. If you only see a gradual ramping up of temperature, then the 'stat is definitely bypassing. What you should see, if the 'stat is working correctly, is a very slow rise until the 'stat hits "crack" temperature, then a sudden spike as hot water from the block rushes out.