2017 Rogue Climate Control Issue

[joanzen]

I have a 2017 Rogue SL (Premium, Platinum, Platinum Interior) with the automatic climate control. I've noticed an odd functionality and wanted to see if anyone else has noticed this? There are times when I simply want fresh air, without the A/C. For every car I've ever owned, I've always just turned off the A/C and set the temp to the coolest possible. With my Rogue, however, I've noticed that when I turn off the A/C (the button is not illuminated) and set the temp to 60, the vents continue to blow what is clearly "conditioned" air. I have a photo showing a thermometer inserted into the center vent and showing that the A/C button is not illuminated. At the time the photo was taken, the outside temperature was in the mid-80s, but the thermometer is showing the temperature of the air coming out of the center vent as 50.7F. I've noticed this behavior consistently. Note that if I increase the temperature, the air does get warm, as I would expect.

When looking at the climate control section of the owner's manual, I also noticed information that indicates when the defrost button is pressed and the outside temperature is above 36, the A/C will automatically turn on. My Rogue doesn't do this. I've also confirmed that the climate control "should" work this way by watching the official Nissan video related to this climate control system (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdZ4EnhL570). The pertinent information is found at about the 2:00 mark.

I took the car into the dealership and while they agree that this behavior is odd, they (and I) confirmed that several other Rogues on the lot operate exactly the same way. I find it odd that Nissan would design this system so that I am, in effect, unable to consistently turn off the A/C. It's also strange that, with respect to the defroster, my car doesn't operate the same as the official video.

Can anyone else confirm this behavior?

Thanks.

[colonelcasey]

I have the same issue on my 2015 Rogue. I used to be like you...turn the temp knob to the coldest, fan on, AC off, just to bring in air from outside. The Rogue never seems to want to comply and still conditions the air coming in. I got side window vents instead and that's my way of getting around it for now.

[joanzen]

I have the same issue on my 2015 Rogue. I used to be like you...turn the temp knob to the coldest, fan on, AC off, just to bring in air from outside. The Rogue never seems to want to comply and still conditions the air coming in. I got side window vents instead and that's my way of getting around it for now.

Thanks for the response. Boy, I'm not happy to hear that it was behaving the same way two model years ago! I was hoping that maybe it was just a "feature" with the new model that would be remedied with a software update...

[Frzninvt]

My 2016 Premium SL will do the same thing with the AC not engaged you can tell it is conditioning the air. Especially in the summer months when you konw the incoming air should be warmer. I have to shut the climate control down completely or turn off the vehicle and turn it back on ot make it stop, very annoying. My 2012 Frontier did a similar thing.

[larry1301]

I am trying to understand the ventilation system on my new 2017 Rogue SL.

It is just starting to get warm here and I want to use the system on 'Vent Only". In previous cars there has been a "Vent" switch on the heating/cooling knob. I want to do the same here. No heat, no AC, just the vent.

If I turn the heating/cooling system off, no air moves through the vents. If I turn it on, the fresh air intake button is on. The auto and AC buttons are off and the Fresh Air Intake button is set for air to come through the center and side vents and cold air comes out of the vents

If the system is off and I increase the fan speed, the system turns on and cold air comes out of the vents. I don't have the AC turned on but the air coming out of the vent is colder than the outside air. If I turn the AC on, the air seems to be the same as with the AC turned off.

Is the AC actually on or am I just imaging it.

[colonelcasey]

I think it was discussed before but there's no real fan-only mode on the Rogue with automatic climate control. It's pretty stupid but that's just how it is. I haven't been able to figure it out on my car so I just set the thermostat to roughly match ambient temps in order to limit the effect of the AC.

[PoMansVan]

Auto climate control is going to do what ever it needs to do to reach the temperature set point you have dialed in on the display. It will add A/C or heat as needed.

[larry1301]

So even though the AC light is not on, the AC is running depending on the temperature showing?

[sprocket]

So even though the AC light is not on, the AC is running depending on the temperature showing?

Sometimes.

I run vent only, or fan only all the time without the A/C compressor running.

For vent only, you want to first turn off the system, then push MODE instead of adjusting the fan speed. The system remains off but the vent actuators will work. Recirc must be off and vehicle must be moving at a decent speed like on the freeway to push air through the cowl and in to the vehicle, no air will pass if vehicle is stopped or moving too slow. Adjust the temperature all the way down to let cooler outside air in, or up if you want to heat the air.

For fan only mode, just remember one thing. Everytime you cycle through a mode with front defrost or front defrost + foot, the A/C compressor will be switched on. When you cycle out of any front defrost mode, A/C compressor can remain on. You will need to:
- first pick a mode that is not front defrost or defrost-foot
- turn off recirc to draw outside air mix in
- cycle A/C on and back off (to turn off compressor)
- then adjust fan to your liking
- turn temperature up for heat or down to draw cooler air in
The system is on at this point (fan is on) but compressor is off. If you cycle modes and go through front defrost or defrost-foot, then you need to cycle the A/C on and off again.

[outtolearn88]

Why..... O Why ! Does NISSAN have to reinvent the simple wheel......

My 1st and LAST NISSAN !

[sprocket]

Why..... O Why ! Does NISSAN have to reinvent the simple wheel......

My 1st and LAST NISSAN !

You do know that most OEMs have hidden logic that forces or turns on the A/C compressor in the background right? I think you'll be hard pressed to find any modern vehicle without​some form of background or hidden operation.

The problem is that there are people that don't understand how car A/C systems work and what settings are needed to make it work the way it's supposed to work, and then turn around and complain that it is faulty, report issues that are actually caused by operator error or request warranty claims.

I understand why OEMs have to do things in the background to make the system more foolproof.

[Frzninvt]

Yep mine works exactly as described above as did the system in the '12 Frontier that I had before it. The work arounds are simple to figure out.