2014 Rogue Select Moisture Problem

[jb208]

Hello,

I am having an interesting issue with my 2014 Rogue Select. I have had it since September 2014 and am the first owner. In November of 2015, I started getting large amounts of condensation on the inside of my windshield. I unfortunately do not have any pictures. But, I would need to run the defroster for 25 minutes to make it go away or would need to wipe it with my sweatshirt. The night after this happened the first time, I had an oil change at the dealer and brought it up to my service advisor. She told me they would take a look. They did and said it all looked fine and to keep an eye on it. They gave me a "yellow" for my cabin air filter, meaning it is not ready to be changed quite yet but will be by the next time I am serviced. I had about 14,300 miles on the car at this point.

I emailed the service advisor with my concerns, wondering if this "yellow" on the cabin filter was based on mileage and was not checked and trapping moisture inside the car. He ignored my email, which he never does (I have emailed him before), and I had my service advisors tell me that "would not be the issue."

This condensation issue happened for another month before I couldn't take it anymore. It was freezing and I had to scrape the inside of my windshield which was not reasonable with such a new car. I brought it to the dealer in January who kept my car for 5 days and said they could not replicate the problem/would not do anything about it. They kept telling me to bring it in when the problem was occurring which I could not do - I can't drive without any visibility! They said they checked the heater core, the cabin filter for moisture, ran a water test, etc. They told me to document the problem as it happens.

It seems to happen after a large rain storm or a very moist day. All of the windows would fog up while I was driving as well as my rear view mirror. My defroster had to be on full blast 90% of the time. There were no puddles underneath my floor mats or anything. I found the car constantly felt damp and humid.

Fast forward to March, I have been having the problem less but that has to do with the better weather. It would still occur to a lesser degree and but has been frustrating, especially as we are having rainy weather again in CT. I am due for an oil change tomorrow date-wise, not mileage and am at about 16,000 miles. I do not want to pay Nissan to change my cabin filter as I am able to do that myself. Please note, my last oil change was just under 15k and they gave me the OK on my cabin filter. This is the first time the cabin filter has been changed in the car.

I replaced the filter last night and then went to drive the car. I noticed immediately the vents, including my defroster, were blowing 10x as well as they had been since this problem started. My MPG has also jumped up another 0.8 mpg in a short couple of rides since changing the filter. The old filter was quite dirty. It would have been at my last oil change as well. I will need to give the car time to see if the condensation occurs again but I am already realizing my air flow is so much better that it is likely going to solve the problem.

Because I had moisture trapped inside my car for so long, I found rusting on the screws that hold the seat tracks to the floor in the back seat. I am concerned by this and am wondering what else could have been damaged.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this? Also, can I have the dealer replace these screws as well as any other damage all of this moisture may have caused if the air filter was indeed the problem? I am not sure how to approach this. They have looked at my car multiple times since this started happening and told me my worries were irrelevant. They told me having a windshield with ridiculous amounts of water dripping from it was "normal for New England weather." Silly me, should have realized the weather has changed so much since last fall/winter when my Rogue was not having this problem or the 5 years I had my beat-up 2001 Nissan Altima. They were totally giving me the run around.

I cannot upload images of the rust or the dirty filter right now but would be happy to later.

Any input or advice as to what I should do about the rust or dealer? I am really not happy with my them, that's for sure. This could have been solved months ago! My car is still under a full warranty.

Thanks!

[ImStricken06]

I replaced the filter last night and then went to drive the car. I noticed immediately the vents, including my defroster, were blowing 10x as well as they had been since this problem started. My MPG has also jumped up another 0.8 mpg in a short couple of rides since changing the filter.

impossible. placebo effect. mpg's and cabin filter are in NO WAY connected.

regarding the frost on the inside of the windshield: In my experience, most cases of interior window icing are the result of one or more of the following car owner mistakes:

• Using the recirculate function on the HVAC system, without the A/C being engaged to dehumidify the air.
  Failure to remove as much snow as possible from shoes before entering the car, resulting in moisture buildup
  Failure to remove wet floormats from the car in order to dry them, resulting in moisture build up
  Keeping windows open, rather than using the HVAC system (on the A/C setting if necessary)
  also, with the recent addiction to improve MPG's a lot of people are forgoing using the A/c function and simply recirculate the moisture-rich air. bad move. all thats doing is causing moisture to build up inside the car.

If none of these situations is applicable to you, then you may want to explore the possibility that the heater core is leaking, or is building up moisture due to backed up drip-tube. If the cowl or evaporator box is loaded with leaves or other debris, this can also cause an overwhelming amount of water to flow through the evaporator box during rain, causing the carpet to get wet.

do an experiment: buy a moisture detector and test the moisture level inside your car. then test the moisture level inside another car. do this a few times, at different times of the day, etc. i would also leave your car at the dealer, and test your car in the morning, against an identical car in the morning. do it in the evening too.

[phjake]

The best advice I can give is to request a meeting with the factory rep for your area. You can make the request through the dealer, or by calling Nissan at the number listed in your owner's manual. Not sure what they (Nissan corporate) can do for you, but at this point it doesn't sound like you are going to get anywhere with the dealer.

What I suspect happened is last fall you got wet leaves and/or other debris that fell through the holes in your windshield cowl (where the outside air comes in), and they got trapped in your cabin filter getting the filter wet, causing the moisture and low air flow problem. We don't have a moisture or humidity problem here in Phoenix, but leaves and other debris can fall through to the cabin filter. When this happens the smell that comes out of the vents is bad, and the only solution is change the filter. Best solution is don't park your vehicle by any trees where the debris can fall down into the windshield cowl.

[jb208]

Using the recirculate function on the HVAC system, without the A/C being engaged to dehumidify the air.
Failure to remove as much snow as possible from shoes before entering the car, resulting in moisture buildup
Failure to remove wet floormats from the car in order to dry them, resulting in moisture build up
Keeping windows open, rather than using the HVAC system (on the A/C setting if necessary)
also, with the recent addiction to improve MPG's a lot of people are forgoing using the A/c function and simply recirculate the moisture-rich air. bad move. all thats doing is causing moisture to build up inside the car.

I have enough experience to know that the issues listed above are not the problem, unfortunately. I do not use recirculate. This started before the snow and does not generally occur when it has snowed. My floor mats are all season and have never been a problem before. The windows I do roll down in the summer, but not the last few months. Also I have to keep the AC function on because it "might" help the moisture according to the dealer.

With that being said, this is not a little bit of water on the windshield. It is a very large amount that I find next to impossible to be owner mistake unless I drove two hours through a rainstorm with recirculation on or emptied a hose into my car and let it sit in the sun with the windows shut. The window becomes completely saturated.

I understand the MPG might be placebo, I just thought it was something that should be noted.

Regardless of that, is it possible that the clogged filter would trap moisture in the car and I may be correct? When I say the air flow is incredibly improved I am not exaggerating.

If none of these situations is applicable to you, then you may want to explore the possibility that the heater core is leaking, or is building up moisture due to backed up drip-tube. If the cowl or evaporator box is loaded with leaves or other debris, this can also cause an overwhelming amount of water to flow through the evaporator box during rain, causing the carpet to get wet.

The dealer supposedly checked the heater core and ran water through the system. The car was left there for 5-6 days and the problem did not occur. I tried to explain to them it is only after specific circumstances, usually when it has been driven and then sits. It was like the moist air from outside would enter the car and had no way out. This is without the recirculating feature being on. Ever.

The best advice I can give is to request a meeting with the factory rep for your area. You can make the request through the dealer, or by calling Nissan at the number listed in your owner's manual. Not sure what they (Nissan corporate) can do for you, but at this point it doesn't sound like you are going to get anywhere with the dealer.

Thank you, I might try this when I can prove I have been problem free after a rainstorm or two. Your theory regarding the leaves if very possible as I park outside and there are trees around. What I don't understand is why the dealer wouldn't mention it could be that the air filter was shot - if leaf particles were clogging it up you think they would have mentioned it!

[ImStricken06]

i wonder if your cars a/c draining port is clogged. that would trap a lot of moisture.
i wonder if you have that leak that some rogues were known to have. i think it goes along the firewall, and onto the floor.

i'd tell the dealer that the car needs to be repair, with no options. this is unsafe. tell them that you could crash with all the moisture building up.

[mpattdu]

It's been mentioned in the cabin air filter thread that dealers can't really inspect them. In order to inspect it has to be removed and it's difficult if not impossible to remove the cabin air filter without damaging it (then they have to replace it anyway). So the dealers likely rely on a mileage interval to change. Thus, the "yellow" probably just meant you were approaching whatever interval they use. You say that the filter was just dirty, though, not extremely clogged, so while the improved airflow helps some, it doesn't seem like it would be the cause of the moisture.

[mpattdu]

jb208, have you seen the thread called "Factory Water Leak in 2014 Nissan Rogue" posted by 8102? It's currently still on the first page of this forum. Lots of posters having similar issues as you.