air conditioning broken?

[superblackcoupe]

My one-month old 2009 Altima Coupe seems to only pump out hot air. I have to keep the temperature set at 60-61F - anything higher (62F+) and it gets unbearably warm.

Setting it to Auto doesn't do anything - the fans kick in but I only get hot air.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong?

Overall, it's a great car, but I seem to keep running into little problems like this ever since driving it off the lot (for example, TPMS failure).

[adidas2go]

Check your outside air temp on your digital display. If that sensor fails, it controls your AC as well.

[superblackcoupe]

Check your outside air temp on your digital display. If that sensor fails, it controls your AC as well.

The outside air temp on the digital display is fine.

The display shows a warning each time I turn on the car about it being "too cold" outside. Wish I could turn it off.

[mikegtr06]

if you go into the menu on the little display and then go to settings and scroll through to temp. you can turn off the "icy" indicator.

[adidas2go]

Then I would take it back to Nissan. Sounds like a faulty relay or fuse.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Side question...

Why would you want AC in PA during this time of the year anyway?

[dldjros69]

I second that side question. No need for A/C in pa in december.

Also i live in pa about 30 miles from you, there should be no reason your "too cold" sensor comes on. i thought that only comes on around 0 - 5 degrees???

[superblackcoupe]

Why would you want AC in PA during this time of the year anyway?

Because the car is uncomfortably hot when I set it to 62F. As in, the car only seems to blow hot air, becomes very stuffy, feels like 80F, etc.

I don't necessarily want air conditioning, I just want a fully working car, not this lemon.

Took the car to the dealership this morning and they told me that a temp sensor has failed and needs replacing - part won't come in until next week. Apparently the repair is invasive enough that they need the car for the entire day to repair.

Does Nissan have a corporate number that handles complaints? This is the second major issue I've had with the vehicle and it's basically brand new.

[superblackcoupe]

Well, my coupe officially sucks.

I took it in to the dealership yesterday and they replaced the bad sensor...and then they told me that they couldn't fix my "no cold air, only hot air" problem because they need to replace yet another part, something that they didn't notice when I took it in last week. Another three days of not being able to comfortably drive this overpriced piece of junk

[adidas2go]

Sh*t happens. Relax. It's life. The AC is not an overpriced piece of junk, its a great car, that very few people have had problems with. Plus for being the very first year this car is made, its going to have some kinks. I told you in the beginning it was the temp sensor, I knew that because mine went bad also. It happens.

[superblackcoupe]

I told you in the beginning it was the temp sensor, I knew that because mine went bad also. It happens.

The outside air temp reading was/is fine, so maybe it's a different sensor, or something. I don't know. My service manager isn't really that forthcoming on details.

What I'm really ticked off about is having to take my car back in on Friday for them to replace another part that they didn't notice was bad the first time.

Quote »its a great car[/quote]Not to me, when stuff is failing left and right. It's spent almost as much time being in for repairs as actually being driven. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop at this point, wondering what's going to go bad next.

Great engine, though, I'll give it that much.

[Hussain]

Sh*t happens. Relax. It's life. The AC is not an overpriced piece of junk, its a great car, that very few people have had problems with.

Not to me, when stuff is failing left and right. It's spent almost as much time being in for repairs as actually being driven. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop at this point, wondering what's going to go bad next.

it is for me lol i love my car..... at least its not like my dad's benz and costing $2,000 for little things to get fixed lol i love the car and so does everyone else.... i'm always getting complements on it and if theres 1 day i dont drive my car, i start to miss it

[marlin29311]

Great engine, though, I'll give it that much.

2.5 or 3.5?

You could also be experiencing the way that the car just warms up - in cold weather (which is what we have now) the car will spew out the hottest air it can make until the car gets to the desired temperature. Once it senses that it is where it wants to be, the air will come out normal temperature (no, this is not with auto either).

[Zerep]

if its colder then 62 degrees outside i think i spew hot air regardless because the ac will try to warm the car up to 62 degrees. right now in florida i don't even turn there air. Put down the windows and get some fresh air
Modified by Zerep at 6:27 AM 12/18/2008

[Rob.Vegan]

2.5 or 3.5?

Seriously, it has to be a 2.5. The 3.5 engine is good... but for real muscle you need a 2.5

[superblackcoupe]

2.5 or 3.5?

You could also be experiencing the way that the car just warms up - in cold weather (which is what we have now) the car will spew out the hottest air it can make until the car gets to the desired temperature. Once it senses that it is where it wants to be, the air will come out normal temperature (no, this is not with auto either).

3.5.

No, it spews out hot air all the time, even after warming up and having been on the road for half an hour.

if its colder then 62 degrees outside i think i spew hot air regardless because the ac will try to warm the car up to 62 degrees.

Except that it's warming the car up to 80+ degrees. I'm not kidding about the "80+ degrees" part.

Either way, I took my coupe in early today since the dealership said they received the other part, hopefully they'll finally get this fixed...

[Rob.Vegan]

good luck.

[superblackcoupe]

So, my car wasn't ready for pickup at closing time today (wasn't ready yesterday) like they had promised. The dealership didn't even bother to call to let me know that they couldn't fix it, made up an excuse about being understaffed or some BS.

Apparently, the problem is "more complex than what was initially diagnosed" and "required a call out to Nissan in California to advise on how to proceed." They (local Nissan) have admitted that they have absolutely no idea what's going on or how to go about fixing it.

Absolutely no guarantee on when it'll be fixed, either, so now I don't have a car for the foreseeable future. I'm looking some options at this point - researching how to declare the car a "lemon," whether or not it would be possible to trade in the car for a new one exactly like it or to go with a different brand entirely.

(Anybody around the Philadelphia area want to buy an almost-new, fully loaded, slightly problematic '09 Altima Coupe with less than 800 miles on it?)
Modified by superblackcoupe at 8:17 PM 12/19/2008

[Ferguson]

Persevere! I have an 09 and it is a dream - nicest car I have ever owned. No problems after close to 7000 km. You have unfortunately had a couple of bugs in yours. Nissan WILL make it good. As others have said, it's a relatively new beast, and somewhat rare, and parts aren't always available 'off the shelf', nor is knowledge among all dealer staff. New cars from all manufacturers exhibit similar problems from time to time. Another option, if possible, would be to take it to another dealer if you think yours is not up to the task. But hang in... the car is a joy.

[losenone]

Persevere! I have an 09 and it is a dream - nicest car I have ever owned. No problems after close to 7000 km. You have unfortunately had a couple of bugs in yours. Nissan WILL make it good. As others have said, it's a relatively new beast, and somewhat rare, and parts aren't always available 'off the shelf', nor is knowledge among all dealer staff. New cars from all manufacturers exhibit similar problems from time to time. Another option, if possible, would be to take it to another dealer if you think yours is not up to the task. But hang in... the car is a joy.

I agree!

Little things do go wrong, like this new issue that started 2 days ago, my tiptronic getts stuck when I shift!

[superblackcoupe]

Nissan WILL make it good.

I got a "complementary oil change" from management (?) the other day when they saw me loitering around in the showroom again while waiting for a diagnosis. Didn't make me feel any better. This car hasn't even had its first complimentary oil change yet.

I know what they could do to make things better and make a customer happy...but it wouldn't ever happen.

I agree!

Little things do go wrong, like this new issue that started 2 days ago, my tiptronic getts stuck when I shift!

I've never owned a Honda that has flopped like this coupe right out of the gate. I didn't pay ~30k for a brand new car for multiple "little things" to go wrong so soon or to be treated like crap/getting the run-around by the service department. If I wanted that, I'd buy American.

I bought a car to, y'know, drive it. Which I haven't been able to do comfortably for a while now (and for the past two days, not at all).
Modified by superblackcoupe at 12:43 AM 12/22/2008

[superblackcoupe]

Got my car back today, they claim that they've fixed it. We'll see.

Service manager rudely refused to give me an invoice/part list of everything that was swapped out or changed, claimed that it "wasn't ready" and he'd send it to me in the mail. Riiiiight...

From what I can gather, though, they made 3-8+ repair attempts/part replacements - sensor replacement (Friday, failed), five undisclosed part replacements (Saturday, failed) and then "ripped parts out from another $30k coupe" and then installed it into mine. I'm debating whether or not I need to get a lawyer at this point:

Quote »It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to repair or correct a nonconformity if the same nonconformity has been subject to repair three times by the manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealers and the nonconformity still exists[/quote]Something that I'd just like to point out to people around the Philadelphia area: avoid, avoid, AVOID the service department at Exton Nissan. Sure, buy your car there if you must (in fact, I'd encourage it, the guy who sold me my car is/was funny as hell and really knowledgeable and friendly) but AVOID getting it serviced there. Getting them to give an update on the status of your car's repair is like pulling teeth - they don't respond to messages left on voicemail, nor do they call to let you know that a vehicle might need more time than expected for the work to be completed.
Modified by superblackcoupe at 1:54 AM 12/23/2008