Under the hood: What’s with Nissan Rogue’s heat problems?
You are correct that heater/AC issues are also complained about by other Rogue owners in the 2014-2017 range. In cold weather areas this can be a safety issue due to inadequate windshield defrosting. When a certain number of complaints and/or warranty reimbursements occur for a given problem a car company will likely engineer a correction and issue a technical service bulletin spelling out how to implement the solution. They may also take a variety of actions ranging from providing warranty repairs to a “squeaky wheel” out-of-warranty assistance/policy adjustment, to a voluntary customer satisfaction campaign, or perhaps finally a NHTSA mandated safety recall.
Nissan released several technical service bulletins for improper heating/ventilation
BRAD BERGHOLDT
performance, including incorrect temperature output and/or air delivery location for vehicles in your range. The most recent — #NTB15045E, issued August 4, 2017 — indicates certain vehicles equipped with the manual HVAC system might benefit from replacement of the “front air control unit.”
I am by no means a legal expert but hope to offer a few thoughts vehicle owners might find useful. If the dealer is unable to provide the necessary correction for a problem — or, in this case, a seeming pattern failure that might arise after the warranty period — contact the manufacturer’s customer service folks and start off nice, telling of your family history and overall satisfaction with that brand. Gently make them aware that the web is indicating more than occasional consumer concern of the issue.
Be sure to obtain written documentation of your concerns and/or repair attempts both in and out of warranty. Ask for assistance and obtain their response in writing. If you are shot down for an outof-warranty policy adjustment, you might then join the club of folks complaining about the issue at
and in this case perhaps
It also wouldn’t hurt to get your nose into various owners’ forums to see how others may be dealing with the same concern (take this info with a grain of salt). I think the more widespread the issue becomes known, the more likely a car company will take helpful action
If it’s a potential safety issue one can go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website (use
and “vehicle owners”). You can search for recalls, check for active investigations, and report a possible safety problem.